La Joie, Sois-Disant.

(French for: "Joy, Supposedly.")

"How was raya for you?"
"Had a blast for raya? How was it?"

Bunga api. Yes, I know you can tell that.

I don't know how to answer these questions. In fact, I calmly said it was just fine.
Raya was about 3 weeks ago. Only now, I am writing.

I found myself in extremely tight schedule, where preparations for university had lots of demands I had to do. I will tell about that in some time later.

Leaving for KL around 8. Should've spread my hands here. Haha.

I was putting on my jubah & grabbing a little of my hair wax, when the takbir first sounded in the morning dew of my hometown. It was just a normal countryhouse, that has a little rocky roads on them and a huge acres of ricefield. Across the farm is a water-line that provides water and sanitation for the ricefield. Ate a little of lemang and nasi impit with rendang and that gravy nut, kuah kacang.

Yes. I was opening my eyes properly. It is true. It is raya.

After going to the mosque & perform the prayers, it didn't felt like before where I was so into, looking forward for some laughs. Duit raya & stuff. Something like wishing happy things to happen around me

It was peculiar. There was a bit of sadness as I walked over the bridge, back to my grandmother's house.
The part where we shook hands, hug with our parents to relatives, it was for me, meaningful.

I didn't felt gobbling much of Raya's treats or what sooner after that.

It was as usual. Kids fighting off each other and obsessed of games on phone, trying to get iPads and so on. I'm not complaining. But losing that sense of "together-ness" at your own kampung at such young age like that. I can't really understand but to accept today's generation, are like that.

They don't even try to play bigger firecrackers these days.

The days where we pull coconut leaves driving "taxi", fishing on the riverside getting a few catfish and et cetera, was over.

Bored, I fetch a book of Haruki's "1Q84."

It is true, what the adults say.
"When you're big, raya isn't that much of a thing to you anymore."

I thought it was only those who worked on raya who would said things like that. It isn't.

Because knowing the meaning Ramadhan is much better than knowing the meaning of Raya.

There wasn't such days in your calendar, that you could learn so much from doing good things. Ramadhan passed for days. The world revolves into another view, showing you things that matures you, from the good and the bad.

You felt really grateful even if things you had around you was so much to so little. There was a bigger meaning in your life if you were grateful even for the little things that you had. Little things, brings you such happiness.

For me, it's more than enough. For having laughs, smiles and warmth around you, that always brings me such happiness. People were blind to see such small happiness like this. And cherish the way it is.

Yes.

What people need to do is to stop, close their eyes, think, breathe in and out. Feel the air around you. If you feel it's tense, chill. Solve things one by one. Only then, you could see the thread going crumpled around, to one thin straight line.

Yes. Cherish the way it is.
Asyraf Amir. 08182014.