The first week of October, my group of girlfriends went to an orphanage house in Bangi. It was nothing spectacular or big. It was just a simple event to have pizzas for lunch with them since the last time Irna went, one of the boys got so excited when he heard pizza but there were just bihun and kuih muih. It was a nice, humbling and joyful experience for me. A fulfilling reunion with my girls given everyone's tight schedule these days. We had all the intention to do more next round, find a less-well-to-do establishment to contribute to... insyaAllah, may Allah pave the way for us. Not to say this establishment is well taken care of but only after 10 minutes we finished eating our food, there was already food (nasi + ayam) outside the dining hall. MasyaAllah. Such a caring community we have. =)
The next day, Aizat, Irna, Shasha Id, Hubby and I followed Aizat's ex-colleagues to go hiking at Gunung Angsi. It is the 3rd highest peak in Negeri Sembilan and apparently has a tougher trail than Gunung Kinabalu. I was all excited and pumped-up before we started our climb since it had been a long time since I last hike a mountain. The last one must be Gunung Ledang in 2002, right after I left MMU. What happened to my vow in 2001 before I left TKC to never go hiking again?
We started our hike around 9.50am, nearly 2 hours delayed from the original plan. The hike up was not too bad. We talked and laughed and took a couple breaks. It was damn tiring and it made us really thirsty. Shasha and Aizat's shoes gave way but only Shasha was lucky enough to be given spare shoes from Mizi while Aizat had to tie the sole of the shoes to prevent them from falling off. The trail up was quite steep and there was this one place where we had to climb up using a rope ala2 rock-climbing gitu. We reached the peak in one piece around 2pm.
Climbing down was a nightmare. The first two hours was tough but manageable. I, as usual, climbed down very very slowly. Hubby waited for me and we walked together silently. We reached the 1st river crossing where Irna, Aizat, Mamat and was it Firdaus, stopped for prayer. I continued on knowing well enough how slow I am. However, at the 2nd river crossing, hubby wanted to stop for a quick dip in the water. By that time, half of my legs were in the water already, a result of being too lazy to balance myself on the slippery rocks to cross the river. But that was as far as I went. I sat on the rocks, waiting for hubby. Soon, Irna, Aizat, Mamat & Firdaus caught up with us so we moved together. It was 5pm.
By that time, I felt super drained and tired and dehydrated I felt like fainting. I moved very2 slowly. Hubby walked slowly in front of me. Occasionally offered to carry me but I insisted on walking on my own. Irna and Firdaus went ahead. Aizat and Mamat behind us given that Aizat shoes were in a very bad condition already. The path back seemed unusually long. I remembered it only took us one hour to the Kem Tangga Batu (near the river where hubby took his dip). We heard the first bell at 5.30pm. I was really frustrated that I was still in the jungle. I thought I could be done with all these by 3pm and go back to my baby girl. So I refused to stop. Must. Keep. Going. I was half walking, half crawling by then. Focusing my mind on something to make sure it would not be taken over by some other spirits since I was having my 1st day period that day. Keep on chanting "a little bit more... a little bit more". By 6pm, we heard the second bell. Hubby was getting worried. We should be out of the jungle by Maghrib. So he insisted on carrying me. He also didn't want me to slow Aizat down. I let him because I also want to get out as soon as I could but I was in no condition to run. I let him carry me THREE times. The third time, I got panicked halfway that I struggled to be let down while hubby was carrying me through a very narrow path, just by the slope. We could have fallen to our death at the waterfall below us. Lucky, Very Luckily, hubby could manage his balance for both of us... After that, I walked on my own. Aizat and Mamat nowhere to be seen. I guess, Aizat felt just as tired as I was since she didn't try to catch up.
We arrived at the picnic area around 6.15pm. Visitors there were starting to pack up their stuff. Hubby wanted to follow the trail we used that morning but I insisted to go by the river where there were many people around. We managed to reach the carpark around 6.30pm. Aizat came out around 6.45pm. That was a very close call and I cannot describe how glad I felt that everyone got out safely.
Okay. I vow to never to do this AGAIN. I should remember this experience before I drag my ass up Gunung Kinabalu and slow everyone else down. MUST REMEMBER! One good thing that came out of this experience was the renewed feeling I have for my husband. 10 years of togetherness... made me rethink the feelings we have for each other. I kept thinking whether we still feel the same, whether the love is still as strong, whether we could live with each other for the rest of our lives. After what we went through that evening, I know his love for me is just as strong, if not stronger, given the responsibility he has as my husband. I know I can put my lives in his hand and he will protect me till his last breath. And I would definitely do the same for him.
No comments:
Post a Comment