Water
What is so special about water?
Covering slightly more than 70% of the Earth, water is one of the more vital things on this earth that Man cannot do without. Coming in different forms, water is just like humans, all different but made up of the same things that make one human.
This story begins with a simple coincidence, a simple meeting. The sound of laughter, the splashing of water, dirty bodies rolled around in mud, the different sights and sounds, all alien in the eyes of the child no more than 7-years-old. While other children might be frightened and scared, running in search for a pillar of strength and comfort, I simply stood fast and just took in everything my eyes landed on. I am Brienna and this is my story.
Entering the kampongs of Singapore was like entering a whole new world. It was my first time ever going out of Britain and looking at the kids playing without a care in the world made something in my heart ache. Therefore, naturally I was delighted when the sounds of thunder and rain fell on them, seemingly helping me to punish them for behaving in a way I knew I never could. Gleefully I stood feeling the cool splash of water dropping on my skin while everyone ran for shelter from the rain. To me, the rain was an everlasting and one that will never betray me. Having to grow up while still a child, I never could fully fit in. While children my age saw me as an adult, adults nevertheless still saw me as a child. The reason for my loving the rain was because I saw it as something very like me, an unnatural occurrence that will never fit in with the normal flow of life. While I am neither a child nor an adult, similarly, the rain can never be classified as to whether it truly belonged on earth or part of the huge expanse of sky.
Suddenly, I detected an unnatural movement. Turning around, I saw that while others were running from the rain, a boy, around my age, was actually frolicking in the rain as though it was the most natural thing to do to celebrate such beauty. When his eyes caught mine, something kicked in, and I slowly tried to get away from him. Before I knew what happened, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a dance. At first, I resisted as I felt improper to be behaving in a way deemed childish by the adults that I so wanted to belong in. However, instinct conquered and that buzz and thrill I felt there and then was something indescribable something that captured all those feelings I thought were lost many eons ago. With such a starting, Tom, the name of the boy, and I soon became fast friends.
Tom taught me many lessons in life and more often than not I was surprised by the simplicity of things that I simply loved to complicate. Although I had been through more in life, what with my mom dying, having to become not only the daughter of my father but also his wife, taking and ensuring that the house was in order, and having to come all the way to God-forsaken Singapore, yet it was the childlikeness of Tom that taught me I could be all these and still remain a child. He taught me that no matter what others said, crying was never a sign of weakness, but instead tears are borne by only the bravest. Tom became my confidante, my protector, and at the same time, a teacher. It was also at this time in which I realized that I was slowly learning how to fit in and not simply watching how the other children indulge in their fancies. I was overwhelmed at the change one person who was simple at heart can do. He turned me from a hermit to a brilliant person.
While all these were happening, things were changing in my family. Finding a beautiful and responsible woman that he loved, my father remarried and I soon had a new mother. My father, who once loved me with his whole heart, started to change into someone else. Whatever little attention he once showered upon me, it was now gone. Instead, in his eyes, all that he ever saw was his beloved wife. More so than ever, I started to heavily rely on Tom.
One day, my dad came up to me and revealed his intentions for moving back to Britain. I was stunned for words. On one hand, going back to Britain was something wonderful as it was something that I had prayed for ever since I had stepped on the lands of Singapore, yet going back to Britain meant leaving Tom behind, and I would be all alone again. Totally upset, I ran all the way to Tom’s house.
“Hello,” I croaked.
“Hey Bre, are you okay? Your coming here surprises me.”
Hearing my pet name coming from his mouth, I felt a pang of sadness. Was this going to be the last time I would ever hear my pet name coming from his mouth? Slowly, without my even realizing it, tears began to well up in my eyes.
“I’m fine, I was just feeling bored and wanted to see if you could come out.”
“Sure, just give me a minute”
That week was the best I had and believe will ever have. Everyday, I made sure that we cycled out to the fields and simply laid there and talked all day about every single subject under the sun. I wanted his opinion on everything, and most importantly on rain, but I always could not bring myself to ask him. On the last day, while cycling, it started to rain. We cycled to the shelter hoping the rain would end. There I finally gathered up my courage to ask him as to why he pulled me into his dance the first day he met. I kept waiting for his answer, but he seemed to be buying for time, and soon, I was fast asleep.
By the time I woke up, I was back in my house and it was time for me to board the ship. I desperately wanted to go over to Tom’s house and say my last goodbye, but my dad forbidden me. So, without ever saying my last goodbye, I went back to Britain.
As I grew up, I grew up with only the knowledge of knowing that somewhere out there I had a friend by the name of Tom. At the same time, the rain now possessed a new meaning for me. It is not only my everlasting buddy, but my visible reminder of Tom. Each time I look at it and I will remember the words he wrote on the card he gave me.
“In you, I could see someone special, someone that did not need to be taught how to appreciate the rain, but one that needed to learn that rain is still water. In you, I saw someone who was confused. So, I felt right that you should be taught that no matter what you do, you are still a child and thus need to enjoy life like a child should. Goodbye. I know you’re leaving, so I wish you luck on your journey. Never forget that you should not complicate the simple matters in life.”
Covering slightly more than 70% of the Earth, water is one of the more vital things on this earth that Man cannot do without. Coming in different forms, water is just like humans, all different but made up of the same things that make one human.
This story begins with a simple coincidence, a simple meeting. The sound of laughter, the splashing of water, dirty bodies rolled around in mud, the different sights and sounds, all alien in the eyes of the child no more than 7-years-old. While other children might be frightened and scared, running in search for a pillar of strength and comfort, I simply stood fast and just took in everything my eyes landed on. I am Brienna and this is my story.
Entering the kampongs of Singapore was like entering a whole new world. It was my first time ever going out of Britain and looking at the kids playing without a care in the world made something in my heart ache. Therefore, naturally I was delighted when the sounds of thunder and rain fell on them, seemingly helping me to punish them for behaving in a way I knew I never could. Gleefully I stood feeling the cool splash of water dropping on my skin while everyone ran for shelter from the rain. To me, the rain was an everlasting and one that will never betray me. Having to grow up while still a child, I never could fully fit in. While children my age saw me as an adult, adults nevertheless still saw me as a child. The reason for my loving the rain was because I saw it as something very like me, an unnatural occurrence that will never fit in with the normal flow of life. While I am neither a child nor an adult, similarly, the rain can never be classified as to whether it truly belonged on earth or part of the huge expanse of sky.
Suddenly, I detected an unnatural movement. Turning around, I saw that while others were running from the rain, a boy, around my age, was actually frolicking in the rain as though it was the most natural thing to do to celebrate such beauty. When his eyes caught mine, something kicked in, and I slowly tried to get away from him. Before I knew what happened, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a dance. At first, I resisted as I felt improper to be behaving in a way deemed childish by the adults that I so wanted to belong in. However, instinct conquered and that buzz and thrill I felt there and then was something indescribable something that captured all those feelings I thought were lost many eons ago. With such a starting, Tom, the name of the boy, and I soon became fast friends.
Tom taught me many lessons in life and more often than not I was surprised by the simplicity of things that I simply loved to complicate. Although I had been through more in life, what with my mom dying, having to become not only the daughter of my father but also his wife, taking and ensuring that the house was in order, and having to come all the way to God-forsaken Singapore, yet it was the childlikeness of Tom that taught me I could be all these and still remain a child. He taught me that no matter what others said, crying was never a sign of weakness, but instead tears are borne by only the bravest. Tom became my confidante, my protector, and at the same time, a teacher. It was also at this time in which I realized that I was slowly learning how to fit in and not simply watching how the other children indulge in their fancies. I was overwhelmed at the change one person who was simple at heart can do. He turned me from a hermit to a brilliant person.
While all these were happening, things were changing in my family. Finding a beautiful and responsible woman that he loved, my father remarried and I soon had a new mother. My father, who once loved me with his whole heart, started to change into someone else. Whatever little attention he once showered upon me, it was now gone. Instead, in his eyes, all that he ever saw was his beloved wife. More so than ever, I started to heavily rely on Tom.
One day, my dad came up to me and revealed his intentions for moving back to Britain. I was stunned for words. On one hand, going back to Britain was something wonderful as it was something that I had prayed for ever since I had stepped on the lands of Singapore, yet going back to Britain meant leaving Tom behind, and I would be all alone again. Totally upset, I ran all the way to Tom’s house.
“Hello,” I croaked.
“Hey Bre, are you okay? Your coming here surprises me.”
Hearing my pet name coming from his mouth, I felt a pang of sadness. Was this going to be the last time I would ever hear my pet name coming from his mouth? Slowly, without my even realizing it, tears began to well up in my eyes.
“I’m fine, I was just feeling bored and wanted to see if you could come out.”
“Sure, just give me a minute”
That week was the best I had and believe will ever have. Everyday, I made sure that we cycled out to the fields and simply laid there and talked all day about every single subject under the sun. I wanted his opinion on everything, and most importantly on rain, but I always could not bring myself to ask him. On the last day, while cycling, it started to rain. We cycled to the shelter hoping the rain would end. There I finally gathered up my courage to ask him as to why he pulled me into his dance the first day he met. I kept waiting for his answer, but he seemed to be buying for time, and soon, I was fast asleep.
By the time I woke up, I was back in my house and it was time for me to board the ship. I desperately wanted to go over to Tom’s house and say my last goodbye, but my dad forbidden me. So, without ever saying my last goodbye, I went back to Britain.
As I grew up, I grew up with only the knowledge of knowing that somewhere out there I had a friend by the name of Tom. At the same time, the rain now possessed a new meaning for me. It is not only my everlasting buddy, but my visible reminder of Tom. Each time I look at it and I will remember the words he wrote on the card he gave me.
“In you, I could see someone special, someone that did not need to be taught how to appreciate the rain, but one that needed to learn that rain is still water. In you, I saw someone who was confused. So, I felt right that you should be taught that no matter what you do, you are still a child and thus need to enjoy life like a child should. Goodbye. I know you’re leaving, so I wish you luck on your journey. Never forget that you should not complicate the simple matters in life.”