light the wick

It was a noisy night, just the way that I had remembered it. There was a palpable boisterousness in the atmosphere. Such days were a dime a dozen before, but when it happens now, it sure is worth its weight in gold. Because when you grow up, you grow taller and begin to see the tens and hundreds of paths sprawling away from your little cottage-house, like lava trails flanking the sunken caldera. You realise how fortuitous it was to be incarnated in this very time, this very place. Maybe it is the internalisation of PAP's policies that posit families as the building blocks of society (that readings love to critique as manipulations by our paternalistic state blah blah), but such nights were meant to be carefully folded in lily-scented handkerchiefs, to be unwrapped and sighed over when the night-time blues swashes in. Prior annoyances at forgoing a nice dinner with a subsequent karaoke session (my only ticket to late nights out, the blasphemy!) quickly dissipated, when it was three of us at the dining table, making fun of each other and comparing the sizes of our bloated bellies. Reigning champion speaking, thank ayou very amuchy. Then, the brother and the parents crowded around, drawn by the hub-bub. We moved on to Catherine, the crazily difficult and mentally exhausting game that Gus loves to play. Efforts at sabotaging, pulling blocks here, cat-fights between the characters there, ostentatious celebrating inyerface everywhere, outsmarting sometimes, doing stupid things other times- it is always nice to laugh to tears and have your stomach hurt and cheeks ache from mirthful vibrations. Moved on to watching shows after, and hence, complementary snacking habits + synchronised swooning over Blaine from Glee + musing about Phil resembling somebody that we know. The sun nearly rose by the time we slept, but anything for old times right? Sunday afternoon, that was when things settled back into its well-worn pattern, so adieu adieu, and tucking away of the hanky into the corner of the warmest pillow. It will be another two months? Hmm. I wonder how next year is going to pan out.

( all the seasons start to run )