Friday, April 11, 2008

No white pillows for Umar...

My blog friend Konot told a story about her lovely daughter Balqis’ imaginary friend Gina. Her account made my goosebumps have goosebumps, really. Yikes !

The Malays have always believed that due to children’s innocence they are rather sensitive to spirits and the likes. That is why although imaginary friends are normal to the westerners, to the Malays it is quite daunting. Is it really an overative imagination or… ?

The Modern Malays are tolerating ( to me le as one of the Modern Malays … he he ) the idea of imaginary friends due to books and the very influential telly. I said tolerating because the first thing we will think when we hear about imaginary friends is “ Err…. hantu ( my family call it ee-eeekkk ) ke ?

Umar did not exactly have an imaginary friend. To categorise her as an acquaintance is also too familiar. It all started when he refused to sleep on white pillows. When I asked him why, he said something like “That girl kata white pillows are for hantu only.” Aaaa ? I did not prod further because Dan wasn’t home and therefore I am so not gonna go there. I told him there is no such thing as ghosts but changed his pillows to a coloured one anyway.

Sometime after that (this is according to my friend. I have forgotten the story but she reminded me of it) I saw him patting some pillows. When I asked him why he said it is for the girl. You just can’t imagine how I feel at that time. When I asked him of her whereabouts he said she is just right there !! Waaa…. !!!!

He last mentioned her a few months after that. I was bathing him and his little sister when we heard a loud thud from the bedroom. I went to investigate and found nothing amiss. When I re-entered the bathroom, Umar asked me, “Is she here ?” Aiseh.

For as long as we lived in that house he refused white pillows. When we moved back in with Dan’s parents’ he still insisted for coloured pillows because the white ones are for the ghosts. Reading 3 Qul in bed doesn’t help him. Until Dan placed buku Mari Belajar Sembahyang under his pillows. Then he started to be okay. I think as of last year he had stopped being scared of white pillows.
Kenapa ya ? Why is his imaginary friend a ghost ?

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