I was eight or nine when there’s a new snow house opened in town.  I told my mom about it, that I wanted to be the first among my friends to experience that. I quite sure my mom was pretty reluctant upon this for the first time. I guess she just didn’t have much money left before the next paycheck. She however gives it a go as for to satisfy my curiosity about the snow, snowman, pine trees, winter experience and all-sort-of-good-things you hear about negara atas angin.  We did go there and it’s quite a hefty sum entrance fee. Beforehand, she equipped us with cheap and thin nylon jacket and I certainly can almost remember mine is turquoise green and hers is blue in color. The waiting queue was quite long and my excitement could not hold any longer.. Finally, our turn arrived and there we went.  It was really cold in there. I couldn’t stand the cold, and the artificial snow stung my eyes and I said I wanted to go out. We barely spend ten minutes and we’re on our way out already. It’s surely a waste of her hard-earned money she barely has but she showed no regret. As long as I could have the pleasure to brag about the experience the next day at school and make everyone jealous but little did I know how she coped being penniless and starved at several lunches to the next paycheck just to satisfy my curiosity.

I wish she is like she was and I am like I was back then. When I was young, naïve and curiosity seems to linger longer before the bitter reality bites but for all I know we were all happy back then.