Under my umbrella

My roomie is still with a cast on his leg courtesy of a skating adventure that worsened an earlier injury. This means that I and another guy are his helpers; let’s just say room service, shall we. Wearing a cast for more than a month is certainly very aggravating, not to mention missing out on a few finer points in ones final sem. I had to get him a letter from the clinic so that he can be consulted at the KL hospital on Tuesday.

The fun starts from here.

It was about past 4pm when I was told of this, and a sudden downpour ensued. I suddenly got this urge to go out, even though it was pouring cats and dogs. Knowing how my actions would affect me (given previous experience), I wore slippers and an old pair of trousers. Come to think of it, this surge of excitement was overtaking me, impatient to get going. I think this is the first time in the semester that I used my umbrella. Commonly, guys would rather get wet than carry an umbrella; maybe because it’s a bit girly.

I came out from my hostel gate near the sports complex intentionally wanting to make the walk longer. Rain drops crashed on my umbrella with a rat-a-tat-tat sound, while the wind desperately trying to rid me of my shield against the rain. I listened to its sound, and this may sound a bit weird, but it has a beat. Like an orchestra playing instruments to certain notes, the difference being, its impromptu. As I neared the t-junction, I crossed to laws. While walking to the junction, I was smiling to myself without the simplest reason why. I happen to raise my head and caught the expression of person driving past, and he gave me a ‘he-must-cuckoo’ look. But I didn’t give a damn, which is a bit contrary to my behaviour. I liked the many pools of water along the way, and dragged my feet over them. The best is when water is going down a slope, which glides over your feet. It was glorious!! Upon entering laws, a dilemma crossed my rational mind. It dealt with going through laws (minimising getting wet), or from its outer perimeter (more rain!!). I turned off the rational switch in my head -outer perimeter it was- while saying ‘screw it’ simultaneously. I was going to get down and wet, old school style.

One thing about laws is that its greener compared with econs, which made me a bit jealous. I was like- where’s the equity, man?? But never mind that, it’s all cool though. Following the outer perimeter, I arrived behind the library and went up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, water had filled up because the floor fell an inch or two beneath it. It was a lovely sight to watch; rain drops hitting the pool of water creating ripples and at the same time making a splash. Little drops of water erupting above the surface in a mushrooming effect. It hardly took a second to just jump into it splashing the water with my legs.

It reminded me of rugger practice during the rainy season. Everyone was so happy when it rained because exhaustion was less, but ball handling had to be of superhuman proportions since conditions were wet and slippery. After the rain, there would be large pools at several places of the ground filled to about a maximum of 4 inches; length would be about 3 feet. All the guys lined up and had sliding competitions near the pools. The only objective was to slide the furthest as compared to any other. Good times, no doubt.

Then passing celpad roundabout, I reached the main road and mahallah Hafsa (if any curious soul should wonder how I know that its Hafsa, the name was visibly spelled by paper cups on its fence) came into view. Ladies’ sure know how to conjure creative means of publicity!! Leaving Hafsa with every step behind me, the destination was visible. I took the role of a flood victim entering a clinic; blow the thighs completely soaked, and wet overall. Even my slippers make a squeaky sound announcing my arrival a few feet in advance. I walked to the counter and stated my business. While standing there, drops of water had trickled down my trousers creating a teeny tiny puddle. Then I went to take a seat, but the water made a trail. It was like one of those detective movies where you have to follow the trail of blood and discover a corpse. But only this time, it was water and no corpse. I got the letter and took the same route back.

Overall, the experience was lovely, spontaneous and exciting, not to mention wet. It was not the wet-wet scenario, but rather a happy-wet one. I’m content that simple phenomena such as rain can make me feel glad. I find it beautiful to just sit and watch, the rain changing direction, intensity, and force. Keeping life simple is a cardinal rule that I wish to maintain.