Hazia’s Reflections

In a dreamy state, Cinderella continued starring at the photo of the gorgeous Eurasian stud in the swimming trunk. All tan, he posed at his hotel’s poolside in Tripoli, Libya. Her Prince Charming will only be in town for four days and they had a plan.

After chatting online for a month, they would finally be meeting each other for the first time. He would pick her up at BSC in his father’s silver Porsche. They would then break the ice with dinner at the elegant Carcosa Seri Negara and adjourn to the cozy Rasa Peranakan at Hyatt Saujana to get to know each other better.

Their plan started off quite harmlessly but to her surprise, it glided by smoothly to the next stage.

He: You don’t have to leave by midnight, do you? Are you a night bird?

She: Well, it depends…

He: You want to stay out till the wee hour of the morning?

She: Until Subuh?

He: Yes. My friend has a place at Hartamas, it opens till really late.

She: Ok, we can watch the sun rise.

Did she actually say that? She must be insane! She did not trust herself with a man like that.

Her closest friends sure have a lot to say about it. She realized what amazing insights they could offer when their bits of experience were combined.

Tora: Yummy! Just follow your instinct. This guy is a pro, no point bringing a pepper spray. He wouldn’t force you to do anything but he may seduce you till you surrender though.

Elis: Every man wants to sleep with a virgin! May I suggest that you hold on a bit and not get too comfortable with him too soon? Survival tactics!

Zul:? Wow! I guess Kayu Nasi Kandar is beneath your standard?

Nurul: That is him, in the pool? There goes your pahala for puasa, haha!

Kim: Hot. Hot. Hot. Decision. Decision. Decision. I bet you are thinking like that this instance.

However, before she knew it, it had catapulted to a whole different territory altogether.

He: After a few days in KL, I want to drive to JB to check my car at my apartment parking lot. It has been a few weeks already.

She: Hmm…

He: Shall we go there?

She: JB?

He: Yes. You can stay at my place.

She: What?

He: Then, where are you going to stay?

She: Err…in the car.

He: Right! What about the garage? You will be more comfortable there.

She laughed, he was teasing her. Wait a minute! Did she just agree to follow him?

Last week, he told her about his neighbour. The 30 year old doctor had a huge crush on him and she had fast forwarded their first date to something further than he had experienced before. She wore a head cover for their ‘buka puasa’ dinner but took it off on the same night because he told her he did not fancy women with ‘tudung’.

Upon seeing him drinking, she wanted a glass of wine too and they ended up with a whole bottle. Before the night was over, she confessed her love and willingness to take care of him for the rest of her life. That was unusual, even to a Romeo like him.

Cinderella reminded him of the incidence with the doctor.

She: Actually, if I stayed at your place, what happen if your doctor fan sees me? She may run amok with a parang. I am scared.

He: Haha…no problem. I can just let my dog out. That would scare her off.

She: Oh my god! You have a dog? But you are Muslim, right?

He: Yes. Why? You do not like dogs?

She: If it touches me, I would have a tough time to find clean soil to ‘samak’.

He: Hey, you all took the wrong concept. Many Muslims in the Middle East have dogs in their home. It is okay as long you do not touch the dog’s nose.

She: What? Does your dog run freely in the house?

He: My dog is a big fella, Doberman. He is well behaved. Don’t worry, he does not lick. He also understands three languages, Malay, English and Tamil. Amazing, isn’t it?

She: Yes, that is something.

He: He likes looking at ladies though.

She: Just like his owner, haha…

He: Hmm…Maybe he copies me.

She also heard what happened to his new Subaru last year.

He: I don’t really fancy flashy ladies. It is not about high maintenance and money. I have everything…. house, car and all.

She: I see. What do you look for then?

He: I’m looking for someone simple, homely, able to get along with my friends, able to socialize. The ones my mother introduced to me were always too crazy, over glamorous.

She: Really?

He: Just like this Malay lady that I met sometime in February last year. She was 26 years old. I started to go out with her a few times, got to know her better. I was free because I was on leave for 3 weeks.

She: What happened then?

He: I took her along with me to meet my friends, around 20 of them. I started drinking. I told her that I do consume liquor and I smoke as well. She accepted it. That night, she threw a fit. She poured a glass of wine on me in front of my friends and took my car keys from my pocket. She drove my car and slammed into a divider and hit a tree at Subang Jaya. We discovered it when we were on our way home. There was a traffic jam along the road and later we realized it was my Subaru.

She: Oh my god! Poor thing!

He: My friends were shocked. I was numb, looked like a fool. Their girlfriends and wives called to console me for a week.

The female obsession spread right into his professional life. He headed the South East Asian branches before finding out that he also has to now oversee the Libyan office. He used to be based in Malaysia.

One day, she found out about the employee closest to him.

He: My secretary’s face looks swollen since this morning. She was crying. In fact, she was crying so hard in the washroom that the staffs thought I scolded her.

She: Maybe she was sad about you leaving for Libya.

He: Maybe. She has started to pack some of my books already. She didn’t speak much, she was very quiet. I shall speak to her later.

He paused for a few minutes.

He: Oh my god! She wanted to follow me there!

She: What? All the way to a no-man’s land?

He: Yes. She said if my boss does not agree, she will speak to the regional director so that she could be a helping hand, that she knows my working style. Lot of excuses!

He flew off to Libya the next day. A few weeks later, they had a video conference with the Malaysian office.

He: She cried!

She: Who?

He: My secretary. We have just finished the video conference. She asked about my health. I told her I could have been better. She asked me to move closer as she couldn’t see me. I did. Suddenly, she burst into tears. I asked her what the problem was. She asked me to go back to Malaysia quickly. She begged me not to here stay anymore. I got a shock. I wonder what had happened. I’ve never seen anybody cry during a video conference before.

She: Do you look sick? I thought you have recovered.

He: Yes, my face is still red. My eyes are swollen. Also, I didn’t shave. So, I am quite a sight.

She: Pity you. Your life is such a drama.

He: Yes, I feel as if I am watching Discovery Channel everyday.

That was the last blow. His secretary was one of the many women in his life who completed the perfect picture of insanity. It seemed that every member of the female species who came in contact with him would, at some point of time, lose her mind.

Cinderella gazed deep into the night sky. By the time they were done, she wondered if he would make her insane too. Perhaps she should jump into her pumpkin coach and flee before the clock strike twelve.

Note: So, what do you think? Obviously I’m a bit rusty but your thoughts are welcome. BTW, this is a non-fiction, everything written here is true;)