Cry-Baby

At the risk of repeating myself, I have always been an over-protected child. Oh, I was bullied by my elder siblings alright but I had my parents to defend me. My aunt said I didn’t cry easily when I was a child, for instance I didn’t even Shed A Tear at my first day at school (that was because I never went to kindergarten and hence was actually looking forward to going to school and meeting friends). My aunt also said I was ‘tougher’ than my elder sister: she who cried buckets when she went to boarding school – and whenever we went to visit her, yes, even during SPM exam period – me, I hardly cried when my parents came to visit and left.

But I would be lying if I say I hardly ever cried or that I’m such a tough cookie. I did cry when I got scolded by my parents and siblings (yes, even the youngest child gets lectured a lot). I cried hard when my cat died. And I cried while watching those old Malay movies. In fact, I still do cry when I watch sad, moving dramas or movies (and I watch a lot of Korean dramas which tend to be tear-jerkers). Heck, I even cry watching Disney movies.

So it was hardly a surprise that I was crying like a baby by the end of the latest Petronas CNY ad. And I find myself churning out fresh tears every time I watch the ad: I cry for little orphans everywhere and I cry for all those unfortunate children being given up for adoption. [I once cried myself to sleep one Ramadan evening after watching a documentary of an orphan raised by his aging grandparents – his parents had died in a car accident (I prayed his grandparents would live a long life and be able to take care of him). And years ago, I also cried myself to sleep after watching a documentary on an orphaned Bosnian baby with an amputated leg gurgling at the camera. I remember wondering what kind of future the baby had with his amputated leg in a (then) war-torn country.]

And I cry because I am so thankful that I still have my parents, family and friends.