Egypt To Me

 So, a few weeks ago, I went to visit my brother at Alexandria, Egypt. Well, I'm not gonna tell you about where we go, what we do. I just gonna tell you about what is Egypt to me, how I feel after visiting it.

 At first, I expect Egypt as a developing country better than Indonesia, the place maybe gonna be kinda dirty. And I also expect the Egyptians themselves are probably rough but kind and friendly to us.

 But, I was wrong. The dirtiness and highway jam are worse than Jakarta. Rubbish everywhere it looks like slums except at the at the city where the rich people live, of course. And they are very rough one. But if there are some of them who are kind, they are very, very kind. Oh, what was Hosni Mubarak doing all this time to you, Egypt?

  Not all the Egyptian Muslimah are well-covered. They're actually very 'fashionable'. Red blouse, blue tight jeans and red shawl. White inner, green sweater, green floral shawl, tight black jeans and nice furry boots. Wow.

 And it's a bit hard to differentiate the Muslims and the Christians here. There are Christians who also wear shawl like the Muslims. They also say Insha-Allah and Wa-Allahi when they talk because it's their language you know. And the shawls are also is their culture.

  While I was in Egypt, there are still 'muzaharat' a.k.a demonstration where they gather and talk and ban and sometimes doing chaos. Yeah, it still happen because the Pro-Mubarak and whoever are banning Mursi, the current Egypt president. And macam-macamlah kesnya. Well, it's not really teruk sangat. Just maybe, causing jam. Come on, you all. Mubarak is nothing anymore. Mursi is a nice guy and try to help you all. Come on-lah.

 The jam, oh yes. Especially in Cairo when the 'dustur' aka 'perlembagaan' baru cannot be carried and implemented as there are less vote for it to be implemented and used. So, they don't have, easy to say, rules yet. So, gosh the roads were so, so congested with cars and people crossing the roads calmly like there are no cars.One person almost stuck between two cars. But she just stay cool..

 But after venturing Egypt for two weeks, I see Egypt has a lot of potential to rise again. Under the new reign of Mursi, Egypt can rise as a developed country. I know that, I believed that.

And here are are some of our pictures in Egypt!

Forgive Me When I Whine

Fictitious. A short story inspired by a song from Zain Bikha.

 I remember, that breezy morning, I took a stroll at a park. It was kinda chilly but still, I was sweating as I just jogged around the park.

 After a while, I took a break and bend down, looking at my own reflection in a lake. Small slanting eyes, rabbit-teeth, freckles, and broad forehead. "What a hideous me", I muttered to myself. Suddenly, the water splashed and my reflection blurred as a stone was thrown into the water. I looked around and it was my brother.

"Whining?", he muttered.

"It's none of your business!", I exclaimed.

 Flustered, I stomped away from him, as far as I could. But he kept calling out my name. Annoyed, I turned around. Seriously, what does he want from me after he embarrassed me?

As I turned around, he slowly pointed his finger to........ to... me?

No. To something, somewhere behind me. He pointed to the playground. And there a girl caught my eyes. She with her silky black hair and a pair of blue eyes.

So beautiful, if only I have those beauty. So beautiful, I'm envious.

 I looked at my brother and gave some wondering gestures. Why?What's with that girl?  Did he just want to show me that I'm ugly and she's way prettier to make me jealous, or what? He just smiled while waving his phone from afar.

Then, I realized the ringing from my phone. A message!....
..from...... my brother. From him? I looked at him strangely.

PLAY WITH THAT GIRL. SHE'S ALONE

Alone? I turned to look at the girl. No, the playground wasn't empty. It was filled with kids chasing each other, laughing, hopping and moaning. She wasn't alone.

It's just that, she isolated herself from the crowd of kids and sat on a bench, gazing at the sky. What kind of 8 year old would just gaze at the sky, for that long when there's a playground behind her?

At first, I insisted not to go but, somehow my instinct beg me to. So, I decided to accompany her.

"Hi, can I sit here?"

The girl didn't answer. Instead, that shiny pair of eyes gazed at me with a smile. That was the most radiant smile I've ever seen and.....it..it was meant, for me. I replied her smile and took her smile as a yes.

Curiously, I asked her name. But, she just grinned and gestured she didn't hear it. I repeated my question when she suddenly took a stick and wrote something on the dirt. I wondered for a while and there written:

I'M SORRY. I CAN'T HEAR YOU.


At first, I didn't aware about 'it' and just joined her, writing on the dirt with the stick. I wrote :

Well, what is your name I asked?

MY NAME IS SARA

Oh, my name is Sara too. We're same.

 NO, WE ARE NOT THE SAME. I CAN'T TALK AND HEAR LIKE YOU DO.

  I was silenced for a while. And at that time I realized about 'it'. I looked at her. She IS pretty. But, she can't talk like I do. She can't hear like I do. She is deaf and mute. She can't even tell me her name.

 She probably have lived in silence for quite a long time, and she probably gonna live like that forever. That's why she enjoyed to gaze the sky. That's all she can 'listen'. Out of  conscience, I hugged her and almost cried. And there my brother,watched us and smiled at me. Now, I truly realize what he meant.

 The most beautiful thing is she hugged me back as if we are old friends thought we just knew each other with the words on the dirt. And as she let go of my hug, I saw a woman, probably her mum waved at her. Sara ran to get her mother. I just looked her from where I am and there she waved me goodbye with the smile that caught my heart, the smile that I'll never forget.

How beautiful, I learned these from a little girl called Sara. I should feel ashamed of myself. O Allah, forgive me when I whine.

THE END

-effarahim-

 And this is Zain Bikha's Forgive Me When I Whine