Friday, December 22, 2006
LIFE - Mind Of A Mankind - Chapter Seventeen
BUDI
"One day, when I'm grown up, I'm going to look for my father"
Budi's Wish (Bali, 1993)
One evening at the door, Yani turned around to face me with her arms akimbo and stared at me angrily. Then she said, "Where is my friend? Why you take away my friend from me? Om (Uncle), just because you're rich, you think you can take my friend from me! And now I've no more friend to play with me." Her voice sounded like a boy. I was surprised because Yani and I did not have any misunderstanding pertaining to friends. Adi was out with his close friend.
He called himself as Budi. He was looking for Soni. Budi stayed at the lifeguards' shed at Kuta Beach, which was not far from Yulia Beach Inn, where Yani and I accommodated in the past when we first came to Bali.
He said that he was the one who had nursed and taken care of Soni until he was healed from his injuries. Soni was knocked down by a car and became a crippled.
Budi did not know his parents but he told me that he had a photograph of his father who he had mentioned was from Singapore.
He loved Soni because they had always played together at the riverbank. He and Soni used to earn money by running errands for the tourists to buy foods, drinks or cigarettes for them at Kuta Beach and the tourists would then give them tips. I did not know whether Budi knew Soni's real name. It did not cross my mind to ask Budi what name he used to call Soni before Soni came into my life.
When I asked Budi whether he would like to stay with us, he said that he was already big enough to take care of himself. I told him that he could come to our home anytime he wished . He could eat, watch television or listen to music, take a bath, meet and play with Soni. I told him that I wanted him to be near Soni again. He liked that idea. He wished to learn to play the guitar and I taught him some tunes. That day onward, he became a part of our family. Later when Natalia met me, she said that Budi was about six or seven years old and he looked like a Chinese or a Japanese. He was an orphan too.
"One day, when I'm grown up, I'm going to look for my father"
Budi's Wish (Bali, 1993)
One evening at the door, Yani turned around to face me with her arms akimbo and stared at me angrily. Then she said, "Where is my friend? Why you take away my friend from me? Om (Uncle), just because you're rich, you think you can take my friend from me! And now I've no more friend to play with me." Her voice sounded like a boy. I was surprised because Yani and I did not have any misunderstanding pertaining to friends. Adi was out with his close friend.
He called himself as Budi. He was looking for Soni. Budi stayed at the lifeguards' shed at Kuta Beach, which was not far from Yulia Beach Inn, where Yani and I accommodated in the past when we first came to Bali.
He said that he was the one who had nursed and taken care of Soni until he was healed from his injuries. Soni was knocked down by a car and became a crippled.
Budi did not know his parents but he told me that he had a photograph of his father who he had mentioned was from Singapore.
He loved Soni because they had always played together at the riverbank. He and Soni used to earn money by running errands for the tourists to buy foods, drinks or cigarettes for them at Kuta Beach and the tourists would then give them tips. I did not know whether Budi knew Soni's real name. It did not cross my mind to ask Budi what name he used to call Soni before Soni came into my life.
When I asked Budi whether he would like to stay with us, he said that he was already big enough to take care of himself. I told him that he could come to our home anytime he wished . He could eat, watch television or listen to music, take a bath, meet and play with Soni. I told him that I wanted him to be near Soni again. He liked that idea. He wished to learn to play the guitar and I taught him some tunes. That day onward, he became a part of our family. Later when Natalia met me, she said that Budi was about six or seven years old and he looked like a Chinese or a Japanese. He was an orphan too.
# posted by Zulkifli @ 6:11 AM 
