ONE

 

A TRANQUIL OCEAN WITH THE BREAKING FOAM of waves is uncompromisingly soothing. Sea breezes are sweetly aromatic and as tender as petals brushing your face. The sound of the wave is calling for an encore every time the wind blows and whistles. The water is clearer than the queen’s diamond ring. The waves pan across the endless beach over the horizon. The aromatic air smothers everyone’s nose. The beach can tell us the most beautiful story for anyone who dares to be awestruck. Everything seems so selfless. Nature sacrifices everything to be in harmony all the time. Yes . . . it is that good to be here now.

Nearby, on the beach, a woman is humming a song: “Summertime.” She is hanging clothes on the laundry lines beside her house. We hear some noise coming from the other side of the beach: kids playing a game.

Her house is right on the beach. It looks rather worn out and rundown. It just does not look stable at all. It is barely holding itself up with poorly constructed wooden pillars; and just a few leaves on the rooftop to avoid rain. That is about it. Oh, well, at least it defines itself as a house to her.

She seems to be enjoying herself, being by the beach and doing her chores. I cannot see why not. Effortlessly, she is humming. This beach is the best place to hang clothes. It gives you the cool breezes constantly and is sunny all the time. Can’t ask for more. She seems to submerge into her own private world every time she hums the song. She is about to finish her work and looks over at the boys playing soccer down the beach. It seems that she is looking at one boy in particular.

There are lots of boys playing soccer. Maybe around twenty of them in different age groups. The age doesn’t matter to the boys. All they care about is to have fun together. In this kind of location, no one gets to choose many things anyway. You just have to go with what is there. They, of course, make a lot of noise.

“Hey, pass it to me!”

“What are you doing?”

“Watch out!”

“Let me have the ball, too!”

“Don’t pass it to him. Pass it to me!”

And so on . . . typical yelling from any ball game.

Strangely enough, there is a well-dressed man who joins the game. Kids don’t notice him so much. As long as the man doesn’t change the game too much, it is fine with them. The man gets into the game quickly. Now everyone is making lots of noise. Wishing, the man feels sad and is trying to catch his tears with his hands. A ghost from the future . . . The game goes on.

A few other guests are observing the game. There are a few loud, stealthy seagulls; jaw-dropping turtles; and some eye-rolling chameleons. They have been spectators for quite a while, ever since boys started playing games. Presumably these animals don’t really care what the boys are doing. All they see is a going back and forth for no apparent reason, with lots of noise. It just doesn’t make any sense to the animal kingdom. These animals are unable to think as they watch with their questioning eyes.

There is a boy playing a defence position, not too keen on the game, but rather interested in staring at the animal spectators. He is our boy, Anij. Suddenly the ball hits him right on his head, of course.

The woman is grinning at this and calling Anij. “Anij, come for dinner.”

“Yes, Mom. I will be right there.”

Then he is telling the other boys that he is leaving. Many boys are angry.

“Okay, boys, I am out. My mom is calling. Okay? Let’s play again tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, whatever. I will see you tomorrow.”

“What are you doing? You are leaving? Just like that?”

“I will kick your ass tomorrow again.”

Some other boys don’t seem to care too much about Anij leaving the game. It is usual enough for everyone. He leaves immediately and runs to his mom. But the game still goes on.

“Come on, guys. Don’t look at him go.”

“Keep playing!”

“I think my mom is coming.”

“Come on! You can’t just leave”

“Sorry, guys, I’ve got to go now.”

So the game ends abruptly. A few boys are kicking the sand, and some others start to leave.

Anij and his mom are walking to their house chatting joyfully. They don’t care how the house looks. They probably haven’t even seen any of those multi-million-dollar houses anyway. In their house, the bedroom, kitchen, living room, and other areas are all combined together as one unit. It is a multipurpose room for all.

“So, was your team winning?”

“I don’t know. I was not really playing the game. I was looking at the animals. You see, they were actually watching us playing ball. It was funny.”

“Oh, were they? They must have been thinking about playing the game. Anyway, here is the fish that you were talking about.” She brings out Anij’s favorite dish.

“Aha. I knew it! This is why I love you, Mom.” He hugs his mom and quickly sits down. The fish looks just so savory and succulent. He starts to eat the fish as though he had never tasted anything so good before.

“Eat slowly. Not like that.”

Just imagine that there is beautiful music playing in the background. And the music is calming and soothing. They are eating and indulging themselves with a delicious dinner. It is almost like a slow-motion moment. Anij asks his mom why she always hums the same song and if she knows what the song means . . . his mom asks Anij what he has been up to the whole day. When they are about to finish their dinner, Anij’s dad comes into the house and greets his family with lots of kisses and big, wild hugs. Anij’s dad quickly takes his seat on the floor and starts to eat with the others. His dad puts Anij on his thigh and joins the conversation. With lots of smiles, the house is always full of bliss.