The Eid-ul-Mubarak Chronicles
by YBLalat

[Part 1: The Call Home]
(4:08 pm - Night before Raya)
I rung up the phone in the privacy of my room. It had been weeks since I last made a call home. Hopefully somebody is already awake at this hour in Kuala Selangor. I hope mom is at the end of the ringer. Click.

"Along?", said the soft voice.
I don't believe it: it's mom! And she knows it's me!

"Mak?", I asked, as if it could be anyone else but her.
"Kenapa kau?", she asked spontaneously.
I seldom make calls home; it's always her ringing me up. And even if it were my calls home, never would I make them at this hour, at this day of the week. The long-distance charge will strangle me good.

"Um...selamat hari raya, maaf zahir batin."
That was so awkward being said over the phone. No feelings at all. No trace of sincerity whatsoever. Just plain automatic -like a robot- after years of having to celebrate Raya away from the family.

"Hah?" and a short laughter follows.
"Apasal mak?"
I guess she was able to sense my monotonous greeting. It must have been really dry, really obvious.

"Tak pernah-pernah kau ni. Apa kau buat tu?"
Right on the nose. Who knows a son better than his mom, eh?

"Tengah tunggu nak berbuka ni, hari puasa yang last."
"Apa makan?"
I was afraid she would ask about that. Thank God I don't have to lie to her on this one.

"Nak makan kat rumah keluarga Malaysia ni, rumah Abang Rijal. Dia ajak."
"Oh. Orang lain belum bangun ni. Adik-adik kau pun. Kat sini, baru pukul 6:11 pagi..."
"Ye ke?"
Yeah, I knew that. When I was back home, the earliest that we woke up was a half hour before the sembahyang raya. Dad, me and my three brothers, all in queue to use the shower - a routine scenery.

"...Mak pun baru nak angkat takbir Subuh ni, kau pulak call."
"Oh, mintak maap lah. Memang sengaja nak call, takut nanti budak rumah yang lain sibuk beratur nak guna phone pulak karang."
"Oh, semua dah nak call rumah masing-masing dah, eh?"
"Ha'ah."
And believe me, even tough guys like my roommates take the longest time to say the same thing that I just said to my mom to their moms. Sometimes, with the company of baseball-size tears down the cheeks. And I just said mine upfront and quick. No pain, no tears.

"Bila berbuka ni?"
"Lagi 25 minit kot. Pyan nak hantar naik kereta."
"Oh."
"Semua tak bangun lagi? Ayah pun?"
"Mana dia nak bangun dulu. Kalau boleh, dia yang nak bangun last sekali."
I just could not stop myself from laughing after hearing that. How true, how true. The old man never gets up until the last minute, even if it means a war of words with mom.

"Penat memasak?"
"Tak adalah mak nak memasak apa-apa tahun ni. Mak tunggu kau balik sebenarnya."
"Oh. Tak beraya ke?"
"Ni, lepas sebahyang raya ni, kang kitaorang baliklah ke Sungai Tawar."
Kampung Sungai Air Tawar, Sabak Bernam - my dad's favorite hideout. The tower-tall coconut trees and the dark green river streams lining up on both sides of the road have always been the best medicine for his office tension. He keeps going back in there every time, no matter what mom thinks of the place.

"Berapa hari balik kampung?"
"Pergi pagi balik malam je. Tak tahan mak lama-lama kat situ."
She will never get it, my dad said to me once, You just have to be born there to enjoy the place. I just had to retort, You can't blame her, dad. Just look at where she was born. Upon hearing that, he simply sighed back at me and said, Well son, that's what you get for marrying a town girl, I guess. I will definitely make use of that one. Thank you for the advice, dad.

"Rumah Tuk Mat Klang?"
"Raya kedua", she replies with a happier glow to her tone.
"Dengar cerita dia masuk sepital?"
I actually got that news from Iruz, my brother, my second-in-command, via MSN Messenger. He is always online and on the computer until late at night since his SPM stint was over weeks ago.

"Alah, Tuk Mat kau tu, jatuh dari membetulkan atap bumbung aje. Tak ada apa-apa. Hidup lagi."
"Oh, ingatkan masuk sepital pasal asthma dia, bukan?"
"Mana. Orang tua tu memang tak makan saman. Buat habis duit je belikan ubat asthmma ke, bil hospital ke, tak nak jugak makan ubat. Dia ingat bersenam dengan buat kerja-kerja tukang ni boleh ubatkan asthma dia apa? Degil!"
"Biasalah tu mak..."
Sorry, mom but I just could not be bothered with the small (and annoying) matters regarding the larger members of the immediate family; all I am looking forward to hear when on the phone is my kid brothers...

"Budak-budak tu nanti, bila Along balik, dah nak dekat bukak sekolah ke?"
"Ish, tak ah. Diaorang start naik kelas 6 Januari. Iruz tu, entah lah, mak tak tahu kalau-kalau dia dapat offer macam kau dulu, dari mana-mana sponsor. Tapi kalau masa Along balik tu, ada lagi lebih kurang 2 minggu kot cuti sekolah."
"Ah, okay ah tu, 2 minggu."
Now, that is news to my ears, and not some old hag with his senile, crappy attitude.

"Itu je nak dengar sebenarnya, mak."
"Budak-budak tu pun tak sabar nak tunggu kau balik, 'Long."
"Oh, ye ke?"
Likewise, I am also counting every single day till the day I meet them again soon. Such a torture.

"Ada apa-apa lagi? Mak nak sembahyang ni."
"Ah, takde ah, tu je. Ingat ada yang dah bangun dah."
Actually, I lied. I wanted to speak to mom only; others are just not good with the concept of a long-distance call. They think I am just calling home from Ayer Keroh Melaka or around the block or somewhere.

"Ha, kalau macam tu mak letak ye?"
"Ha, ye, letak ah."
"Okay, assalamualaikum, kirim salam budak rumah Along semua."
"Ye, mlekumsalam", and an ending click.

And even until the end, she did not say a 'Selamat hari raya' to me. Hm. Interesting. And oh so suddenly I feel like a piece of an unwanted garbage. Is this some kind of a mother-and-son reverse psychology thingy? Is it just my mom or does your mom also act like this?

...to be continued with 'Part 2: The Eid Prayer'...