Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Musim Tengkujuh

Ya, it's that time of the year again. Has been many many years ago, since I experienced the real "bah" (local dialect for "banjir": flood). My house... errr maybe it's time I start to use "my parent house" instead. But it doesn't sound right. bleh.

My house back in the hometown was by the river side. This time of the year always had the adults in the house in apprehensive. But not me, in fact I had secretly been awaiting for this time of the year to come. That was when I was still small. That was the only time, when I can "play water".

Even though our house was just about 200 meters away from the river, I can never get too near to the river, what more to swim in it. The river and it's bank was a forbidden zone for me and my other sibling. That was the decree by my late grand father, and nobody dare to break. Though I have to admit, there are a few occasions in which I did sneak out with some friend to the river bank. Yeah, just the river bank. I don't know how to swim when I was small, and being the chicken shit I am, I wasn't dare to jump into the water without being accompany by any adult.

Anyway, as far as I can remember our house was flooded for not less than 3-5 times. Our house was situated on the higher ground of the village. If our house is flooded, it would mean most part of the village has been well under water. That's why even though the village was flooded like almost two years once, our house was not affect all the times.

The highest the flood water ever experience by me in our house was about 1 meter in the front part of the house, and 1.5 meter in the back part of the house. That was among the most enjoyable flood I ever experience. The whole house is turned into a big swimming pool.

And at night, when the whole village was silence, I can actually hear the water downstair. On and off, there are also sounds of sampan being rowed just outside my house. It was like living in the water.

During that time, my grand parent was still operating a sundry shop. So the upstair was fully pack with all the goods. Boxes are stacked up even higher than me at that time. This is the reason why the adults in the house are in apprehension during this time of the year. They have to move all the goods and furniture upstair. And it's like plenty of goods to moved. I my memory still served me well, the whole moving operation tooks like more than one whole days.

Sometime, we get villager row boat into our shop to buy provision. Kind of funny. Though the stock does deplete a little bit through out the flood, there are still plenty to moved down later on.

For reason unknown to me, the water without fail seems to reside completely out of our house during the wee hours of the morning. There are plenty to be done, during the receeding hours. We have to stir the water in the house, otherwise a feet deep of mud will be left behind, though this I never experienced myself because without failed I was still deep in dreamland during that hours.

Heard over the news just now, the flood are impeding in my homestate if the rain keep pouring. Hopes, my house (my parent house) won't be affected this time round. Though there is less to be worried about the moving the stock, now that my parent has cease to operated the sundry shop, but still there are furnitures need to be moved. And all the cleaning up in the aftermatch of the flood, there are plenty work to be done.

Let's hope that there are less lives lost to flood too this year.