.smells and memories.

assalamualaikum peeps!

what do you grow up with?

as far as i can remember,

my childhood was largely influenced

by disney animated movies and oldies songs.

i performed the cha cha cha by lola dee
in a competition during my form 1 english class.
i even came up with the dance steps
and my group members reluctantly agreed to it.
do you know the song?
here's the link if you want to hear it.
oh...by the way, we lost.

well, mostly oldies.

we also listened to michael jackson,

sheila majid and ella.

i don't know backstreet boys until i was around 14

and it was only because a few friends

were going gaga over them.

then came westlife, the rest of the boy bands

and siti nurhaliza, of course.

.the innocent and gullible teens. can you find me?.

as my tears welled up and i sniffled
while watching the remake of dumbo,
my husband can't relate.
while i animatedly sing along to my favourite things,
(not ariana grande's version)
my husband looked on weirdly.
but when he happily sings his kindergarten's anthem,
i, in turn, am puzzled.
he went to PASTI as i went to tabika perpaduan.

how about smells?
you smell something and it triggers your memory.
this is Proust effect.
involuntary memory.
olfactory memory.

when i smell black coffee,
it brings me back to the morning of hari raya in my kampung.
many years ago.
i see myself sitting on top of the stairs in opah's house,
a towel placed loosely around my neck,
looking towards the kitchen,
waiting for my turn to use the bathroom.
mak and my aunts were busy,
chattering and preparing breakfast
before we go to the mosque for solat sunat hari raya.
then, as if by magic, simultaneously,
i can smell the delicious fried rice and rendang ayam too!

the smell.
it made me feel loved,
safe and blissful.
it was calming.

when i smell twisties roast chicken flavour,
it will bring me back to the moment
in our wooden airport quarters
where my brother and i licked the floor clean.
i can't recall the exact taste
(maybe it was double decker prawn crackers?)
but i vividly remember that
abah sternly asked us to pour the content of the snack on the floor
because we were quarreling over who get to hold the packet.
so, we did
and never quarrel over the same trivial matter again.

oh my,
i need a whole new entry just for that topic.




so,
what is your best smell?

.

.

.

thank you for reading!