Old time

"I like photos because it will never change although the people in it changes. A lot." (4 Utarid, 2005)

It was the last week of June, the usual school week, and after 24 consecutive days, myself feels like missing something, or someone maybe. It was all begins the nights before. When I went to sleep earlier than usual and on that night I dreamt of my old friends; my old primary school, the old situation, environment. Sekolah Kebangsaan Ampang was teeming with students, parents 'unloading' their child at the front gate. Me seeing my friends, playing, talking, eating at the canteen. But then, all those thing began to fade away after I woke up at dawn and realizing the fact that it was a dream. A dream that used to become a reality. The thing is, there's no primary school, naive friends, playing polices and thieves.. any more. No Aina, Ainina, Aqil, Syafie, Syahir, Fattah, Iskandar, Diana, Aura, Fatin, Hazwan, Huzir, Qayyum neither Nisha anymore. We don't talk, interact nor communicate to each other anymore. I don't know who drifted away my old friends from their old 'them'. I mean, they all changes a lot. In both many negative and positive ways. I really miss the old time, when nothing changes yet.

The next day at school. I became passive. I sit in my place all day long. Thinking what I could done if I know those things will go away. Will become just memories. It seemed wrong to just let it happen without realizing it, like those football players who finally retire and have to face that first Sunday at home, watching on TV, thinking, "I could do that before". I have learned to appreciate things that happen on the time, before it became just memories. Because regret will not bring back the memories to become realities. There was the time before all these happens but none of us do appreciate it. Its not just "jangan lupa aku nanti taw?". It really should be a real promise to not forgetting your friends. Building promises is not an issue at that time because we often fulfill our promises at that time. It has only be an issue now, when we don't know the value of promises any more. When words are just words, not something to be hold on. Pathetic, but that's the reality and we have to face it because we also do it.

We're not friends any more. We're strangers with memories.

M. Qarin Al Maduri