Suddenly the lights went out, i put my handbag on the coffee table, thank god it was still dusk, specifically 6.46 in the evening. Another hectic day come and go, and now, a black out happened just as I stepped into the house. Angrily, I flicked the switch but to my dismay, not even a single flicker of light. Suddenly a tap on my back sent me jumping. The hair on my spine jumped and I let out a loud, screeching scream, it echoed through the house. I heard a chuckle coming from the darkly lit figure.
I shouted “Honey! You’re so mean! I hate you!”
Shah laughed and shook my shoulder. “Welcome home!” he said, then continued, “The utility people said there’ll be a blackout till tomorrow due to maintenance work.” Cheekily I said, “Woah! Even a new bungalow in Damansara also experiences blackout!” Shah replied, “Well, now I think the bungalow’s owner would like you to get out of the house now!” While he unlocked the door and opened it for me. We then laughed. A thunder strike crackled and bellowed out of the blue, I immediately jumped to hold my husband’s arms, he laughed again while mumbling “Scaredy-cat!”
We piled the candles we had on the dining table and started lighting them up. From aloe vera to lavender scented candles, we lighted them all. And then we set it different places of the house. As Maghrib came, I proceeded to take a bath and he went to the mosque.
And so, as I was just getting out of the bedroom, a tall white figure with an ugly face jumped at me, and exactly at that time, I slapped it! I knew it was my beloved Shah with his Halloween mask and robe that he went to the mosque with. The house was filled with laughter again. But as silence crept over again, I twitched my ear, the rain had stopped, I then looked through the window. The sky had cleared, I could see the stars, I could see the moon and all the Kuala Lumpur lights at all its splendour. Shah noticed my gleaming eyes and he then said something very surprising, “Want to have a campfire dinner at the garden?” Oh, how could I resist?
I started by defrosting the chicken and beef, then i whipped up a 10-minutes salad and quickly moved to the marinade, some Coke, barbeque sauce, pepper and salt, garlic and lots of love it what Shah prefers when it comes to barbeque marinades. The folks back in Puchong taught me the recipe and it has never failed to attract Shah. Well, as they say, “The key to a man’s heart is through his tummy!” I then left Shah to do the barbequing.
At 9.16, we ate our fill accompanied by the candles, the sound of crickets, the round full moon and starts. Try to compare that with Paris! I ate up 3 steaks and two pieces of chicken with a helpful of salad. As for Shah? He ate twice as much, as usual. Not to forget, with some Coke we got from the nearby department store. We talked about work, business, family stuff and whatnot. But the highlight is yet to come!
The clouds have really gone and I watched the night sky, counting the stars and staring at the moon. The best part was, having my husband with his barbeque stained clothing beside me through each second of it. Also, for the first time, he showed me the stars that we saw, among them that I could recall is the Orion Belt, Scorpio, Gemini and the common North Star. But when it started to drizzle again, we ran helter-skelter, back to the cosiness of our humble abode.
As I wiped my hair, Shah suddenly came in wearing a helmet with a gigantic torchlight attached to it. He looked like one of the gold-miners in Discovery Channel. He then let me wear it, and just like a little child, he made shadow puppets on the tangerine coloured wall. We then found it very amusing, so we built a fort of pillows and blankets, and then continued on making funny shadows on the ceiling. We made birds, cats, dogs and even dragon!
It was not long before Shah fell asleep. His exhausted deep breaths filling the silent room of our house. I covered him with a blanket and he then curled into a foetal position. I smiled at his cuteness and then heard he mumbled, “I love you, Dikna.” A tear crawled on my cheek. That night, as I was falling asleep, I told myself, tonight is the best night of my life.
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