A Conversation with Stranger

Assalamualaikum, and have a bless Sunday guys.

Yesterday, after finishing my Takaful exam, I waited for a taxi to go home. After 10 minutes of waiting, finally a taxi appeared. After asking him to send me to my home, and he agreed, so I hop in to his taxi.

For a while, we didn't talk with each other. I was only looked out the window with my mind wondering around (well, I have FAILED the exam T^T), thinking about what will happen next.

I saw him looking at a job advertisement, as a factory operator, then I asked him.

Me: "Are you looking for another job, uncle?" 

Taxi driver: "No lah, this ads is in my newspaper. I'm just looking at it. The basic salary only RM 800, far lower from what I have now. Why switch? In Kuala Lumpur, it is impossible to live with only RM 800. Some more when you have family, yada, yada, yada...(well, he basically talked about how much expenditure on his family)."

Me: "It's true, here is a tough city."

Taxi driver: "So, what you doing there?" (He asked me why I'm there, the place where he picked me up)

Me: "Oh, I'm taking an exam."

Taxi driver: "So, you are still studying?"

Me: "No, I'm working. Started two months ago. You can say that I'm a fresh grad."

Taxi driver: "I have a daughter, the eldest one. After she finish her  study, she just get married. I thought she will be the savior of the family, to help me, and her siblings."

Me: "What, she never contacted you after being married?"

Taxi driver: "It's not like that. When she have her own family, well basically her family is her first priority. She have to listen to her husband, isn't it?"

Me: "Oh..."

Taxi driver: "Sometimes, when I asked to borrow some money, she always complaint that she too don't have enough money. Just imagine, as a father who asking to borrow some money, and get a replied like that from his own daughter, my tears are almost coming out."

He paused, and continue...

"Children nowadays, aren't similar as children at my time. When I was young, with wages only RM 300-RM 400, always spare some for my parents. Unlike my daughter, I just wanted to borrow some, just borrow, and she can't help me with that."

"As a father, I willing not to eat, if there aren't enough foods. I just let my children fills their stomach first. And when they grown up, they just being selfish."

"Well, I'm not blaming her. I just thought that it will be nice, if she just work for a while after graduate and help the family instead of marrying too soon."

And I just sit back there, nodded all the while.

Well, a father/mother can take care his/her 4-5 children, and the 4-5 children are hardly can take care their only father'mother.

My parents and I may have some issues, I mean there are some disagreement between us. But I always pray, and hope that I will never be a Si Tanggang, who forget his old mother when he success. 

I miss my ayah and ibu. Going to call them after this.

Treasure what you have, don't mourn when there are nothing left.