The other day I took a walk because I felt so cooped up in my room. I took my ipod and headed toward the playground where I used to play so often when I was a kid. I went there around 4pm and for some reason, it was not so hot and the sun was not strong at all. There was some wind which gave some relief to the humid weather.
When I got there, it was empty. No one was around. I was completely alone to recall everything in peace. I looked around and I could see it used to be so full of kids running around, screaming at the top of their voices. It was strange to have it so empty right now. Ever since I, Grace and Josephine grew up, the number of people we knew who loved to play playground tag games just dwindled.
In those days when we used to play games like Blind man, Computer Virus (I made that one up but it is similar to tag), Dear Diary and Colour tag…etc. There were a number of ‘em.
Playing Blind man gave me a lot of strength in my arms and legs. I climbed on top of monkey bars, climb onto slides and from the bottom climbed up the rail. Man, those days really gave me some muscles (helped a lot in secondary 3 camp).
‘Computer virus’ made me the fastest runner in the playground. I used to be the turtle there. The girls from my primary school would ask me to play with them and they always made me the catcher. I don’t need to say why. I never liked them because at the end of the day, I was laughed at and called names. However when they stopped coming to the playground, no idea why, for some reason, I began to build my confidence again. When I got to know Grace and we started to play tag, by the end of that time, I was the fastest runner. Everyone called me the Cheetah.
That is still one of my proudest memories. It really is.
During my walk, I climbed onto the slides and finally sat on the funnel slide top. And like a magical moment, a nice breeze tossed up all the leaves from the ground. The sun light streamed through the leaves and gave off a beautiful scenery. Then and there, my neighborhood hardly looked like Singapore. In fact, it looked like this whole moment was being filmed. Maybe it is a film. :}
I sat there for quite awhile and I could still hear the sounds of the kids in my memories playing back. If I had brought my camera, I would have taken a photograph of playground. Then again, I won’t know if it would look as magical as I saw it.
It is as they say, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”.
Finally I knew it was time for me to get back and continue my work. I got off the slide reluctantly and made my way out of the playground. I walked one round around the playground just to take in what it used to feel like. Before I finally walked out of the playground’s sight, I looked back and realized…back when I was younger, I told myself that it will forever be this way. Tag, laughter, hanging around, it will forever remain this way, no matter how old I am.
How naive was I to think that such moments would remain forever? Before I knew it, all of it became history. Only my thoughts and memories allow my to relive the feelings that were there but never partake in it again.
I dearly miss it all. If I could relive those memories of playing tag and running around one more time, even for a short while, I would love to.
Overall, I think that walk was meant for me to be there, at the playground, to remember what it used to be like.
So the next time when adults tell me to not be in such a hurry to grow up, I will know why.
life's a secret to be told...
(Virgo by Dark134 ~ Deviantart)
