I texted my friend, Jay*, for my money back. He said he totally forgot about it!

I told Eric* about this.

Eric: Dia lupa sebab dah lama sangat kot! Setahun lebih dah!


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Friday can be a good day or a bad day.

A good day if you get to enjoy the long break. But a bad day if you need to do something, but everyone closes too early and opens too late in the afternoon!

This recent Friday was a good one turned bad for me.



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"Abang, I accident!" I told my husband over the phone.

What happened was, I was stuck in a traffic jam. One motorcyclist was probably in a hurry. He lost his balance and his motorcycle fell on my car. I asked him, "Okay ke bang?"

But he sped off, leaving his gloves behind. I continued driving. At my destination, I inspected my car but nothing was scratched. What was he scared of then?



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My husband had paid for two seats for us for Iftar with the orphans at De Palma Hotel, Ampang.

It was a last minute thing, so he told me, "Sayang pakai baju kurung tau! And tolong bawakan Abang punya kasut GA and shirt biru G2000. Abang jumpa sayang dekat sana je."

I went home and applied on a quick and simple make-up. I began my journey. I drove my usual speed, but was frustrated with the long queue for the toll. To kill time, I roughly calculated the amount needed for this Hari Raya. I now have an extended family that expect duit raya from me!

Suddenly, I realized there was something lying on the road. I didn't have the time to avoid it.

A loud thump and airbags covered my view. I decelerate and finally came to a stationery. Luckily I didn't hit anything else while I was temporarily blind.

My car was honking non-stop.

I felt tight at the chest. I released my seatbelt and took a breath or two. I thought the glasses were smashed but they were all intact. I began deflating the airbags. Then, I realized smoke was coming out from the dashboard, it was probably dangerous. However, I couldn't open the driver's door, so I came out through the passenger's side.

I took a peek outside and saw nothing really damaging.

"Abang, I accident," I told my husband, for the second time in one day!

Him: Accident apa?
Me: Tak tahulah. Tapi airbags semua keluar ni. Boleh tak datang?

Then only I sensed panic in his voice.

"Airbag semua keluar? Dekat mana? Nanti abang datang. You langgar apa tu? You bawa laju!" he scolded me.

After we hung up, I knew my husband would be arriving late, judging by the traffic in KL. I didn't want to call my family because I did not want to interrupt their buka puasa. Besides, I did not need their nags.

So, I called my friend, Eric*.

Me: You dekat mana?
Eric: Dekat my apartment.
Me: Kerja ke hari ni?
Eric: Taklah...Ahad nanti baru kerja.
Me: Boleh tak datang ambil I? I accident lah...

I told him the shorter version of the story and waited in the car. The smoke was still coming out. Then only I realized I had not switched off my car engine.

Surprisingly, nobody came to my aid! Not a single soul.

After 10 minutes or so, a Ronda jeep came to check me out. My car was in auto lock. They put the orange cones and opened the hood of my car. The battery circuit was intentionally disconnected so the honking would stop.

"Akak pergi ambil gambar lori belakang tu. Akak langgar barang dia! Nanti akak boleh claim insurans."

I followed his instructions.

"Teruk ke kereta saya?" I asked.

"Minyak hitam pecah, kak. Sampai keluar airbags, ye kak, teruk ni," he said.



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In between my wait, I received more calls from my husband. He scolded me again and again while asking me to call the towing service.

Him: Kereta boleh start tak?
Me: I tak berani lah. Ada keluar asap-asap ni. I tak tahu asap ni dari enjin ke, or it's normal if the airbags come out.
Him: You ni...I tau, you tu bawa laju! I dah suruh bawa slow-slow kan!
Me: You nak pergi buka puasa, pergilah. I dah call Eric. He can pick me up. I tahu you ada kerja. Tak payah datanglah.
Him: I dah on the way ni. You tunggu situ!

More suprisingly, I was super calm during the ordeal. I did not shed a tear, I was not in anger, I was numb, I guess.

I was smiling when the Peronda arrived, still smiling when meeting the lorry driver.

But, but, ada ke patut, dah nampak aku langgar barang dia, sikit pun tak ada nak datang tolong aku!



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Towing guy: Boleh tunggu ke?
Me: Lama ke?
Towing guy: Dalam 40 minit macam tu.
Me: Hhmmm, okay lah, nak buat macam mana.
Towing guy: Awak ramai-ramai kan?
Me: Tak lah. Seorang saja.
Towing guy: Kalau macam tu, awak duduk dalam kereta, kunci pintu.

A few minutes later, he called again.

Towing guy: Awak Muslim kan?
Me: Ha? Siapa ni? Awak nak cakap dengan siapa? Tak ada orang nama Muslim dekat sini.
Towing guy: Tak, tak. Awak puasa kan? Orang Islam kan?
Me: Ya, saya puasa.
Towing guy: Awak nak saya belikan apa-apa?
Me: Beli roti je lah.



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Eric arrived.

He helped me transfer my things into his car.

While we waited for the Azan, I told him that I felt really guilty.

Me: Husband I dah marah I dah tadi.
Eric: I am sure he didn't mean it. Yang penting, you selamat. In fact, he will feel very guilty for scolding you in the first place. It's not even your fault. Things happened.
Me: Mesti Husband tengah lapar. Dia memang cepat marah kalau lapar.
Eric: Yang penting, you dah selamat...
Me: I baru ingat nak save duit. I baru minta hutang tadi. Dahlah bulan ni banyak pakai duit.
Eric: Itulah pasal...I rasa, kalau nak repair ni, mesti mahal. Harap-harap enjin you tak rosak. Kalau kena tukar enjin...Dahlah enjin baru pula tu.



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The towing guy and my husband arrived roughly at the same time.

"Ni nak ganti airbags lagi. Stereng pecah ni. Macam mana you bawa kereta?" my husband scolded me in his car, on the way to the police station.

"Yang you nak marah-marah ni, kenapa?" I finally started to cry.

Husband: I bukan marah, I nak suruh you beringat. You bawa laju, tu pasal tak sempat nak elak!
Me: Patutnya, you bersyukur tengok I selamat!
Husband: I dah call you tadi kan, you cakap you okay!



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Husband: Janganlah nangis. You ni, suka nangis lah.

Me: Bila masa pula I suka nangis? Baru sekarang ni I nak nangislah! You tu, sibuk tanya pasal kereta. Langsung tak ada tanya pasal I. Biarlah kereta tu. Duit I juga kan? You nak marah-marah I buat apa? Dahlah mak I marah I, suami sendiri pun nak marah I ke? Mak I cakap next year mesti insurans mahal. Semua orang fikir pasal mahal. Why can't you just be supportive?

Why can't you see that things can get a lot worse? You marah-marah I cakap I bawa laju. Cuba you fikir, kalau I elak, terkena tayar I, mesti kereta I terbalik. You pun nampak benda tu besar, kan? I boleh mati, you tahu tak?

Biarlah I nangis. I had an accident, tak boleh nak nangis? Orang lain, kalau nampak isteri selamat, terus rasa lega. You tu, langsung tak sentuh I pun. I dah beritahu you tak payah datang, kan? You ada kerja, pergilah buat kerja tu. I boleh settle semuanya sendiri.

Kalau benda macam ni jadi pada you, I would never scold you.

You cakap, I selalu accident? You tu selalu kena tipu, ada I bising? I am always supportive for you!

You ingat you seorang je lapar. Habis tu, I tak lapar? I kerja tak penat?

Husband: Sudahlah...Jom, makan.

Me: I tak nak makan. You makanlah. I nak tunggu dalam kereta.

Husband: Jomlah. Kena kiss dulu ke?



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That definitely gave my husband a piece of my mind.

Yelah, orang dah stress-stress, dia lagi nak tambah stress.

But afterwards, I still felt guilty. He was so hungry that he had a migraine. Then, when he ate, even his favourite food tasted bland. He also had a tummy ache and he was so tired that he barely could open his eyes.

I apologized to him for a number of times after that.

I bukan sengaja pun....



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I don't know how extensive the damage is. I don't know how long the car can be repaired. I don't know how long will it take for the insurance company to cover for my loss. I don't even know whether the insurance will pay for the damage!

Hari Raya yang sayu.

Kesian lah pulak kereta I tu.

When I was younger, I used to believed that things had feelings. The result for altruism, you know, when you keep putting yourself in others' shoes, even though the others are only things!

The feelings are not as bad since meeting my husband, because he was the one who taught me, things are things, they can always be replaced. (Although, he did the opposite that night, making me feel bad and all!)

But, as I left my car in Subang Jaya, my heart dropped. I could see my car's sad face, leaving it under the scorching sun for days, it must be thinking that I am leaving it for good. I could imagine it's sadness when undergoing a major surgery, probably multiple surgeries, all by itself. It has been a very long time since I last felt anything for an inanimate.

Sorry, car. I will be missing you. Get well soon, okay?

You know, punyalah I jaga you bagai menatang minyak yang penuh, mileage pun setakat geli-geli hati je, sampai orang car service tu ingat I tak guna you, buat apalah nak servis you...

Tapi benda dah nak jadi, kan?

Car, I hope you understand. Be strong.