I was determined to run away from my home. I hated living here with my mum's constant nagging. I hated it when she started her lectures whenever she aw me without a book in my hands. How could she do this to me? I was seventeen, but she treated me like I was a small kid. So, I decided to leave home, forever. I promised myself to never come back again.
It was 11:45 p.m. At last I was free. I looked around, trying to figure out what to do with my newfound freedom. So I hailed a taxi and asked the driver to send me to the railway station. The driver was a man in mid fifties with graying hair and a wrinkled face.
The railway station was almost deserted when we arrived there. I sat on an antique looking bench, the the taxi driver followed suit.
"Where are you heading to, young man?"
"Kuala Lumpur", I answered shortly. "Oh, yes! Kuala Lumpur- a city for dreamers. My son was one too." He said in strange tone.
"I had high expectations for him and I wanted him to be a doctor. On the other hand, he went on loafing. As a result, he didn't perform well in his SPM examination."
"One night, I let all my anger towards him. I scolded him for wasting his life. And that was the last time I saw him..."
By this time, he caught my attention entirely. He continued, "A week later I received a letter form him but I never replied. He managed to join into the armed forces and asked for my blessings. Deep inside me, I knew that I am proud of what he had become. And I miss him too! But now, he is back for good this time."
By the time he had finished his story, I was torn between my decisions. Should I or should I not run away? As I lost in my thoughts, he suddenly asked me, "Do you still have parents, young man? Sometimes they seem bad to you but they act the way they do simply out of their love towards you. There's not single parent who doesn't love his or her child." His words had left a deep impact on me. Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the arriving train. He immediately stood up and I stood up too, looking for a young man dressed in an army uniform. But the next scene that greeted me had made me stunned and speechless.
A casket wrapped in a Malaysian flag was being lowered down. Soon, there were six army officers carrying the casket, walking slowly towards us. He turned around and said, with tears welled in his eyes, that it was time for him to go or he would be late for the funeral. But the last words kept haunting me. "Treasure your parents while they are still alive." At that very moment, I realized, "home is where the heart is." 💖
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