Written by Jill
Once upon a time, in a lonely small town,
A lonely girl with a book and a pen in hand sat daily by the window,
The pen would scritch and scratch all day long till dawn,
Till satisfied with the marks, only to be continued tomorrow.
Day by day, she marks the calendar,
Counting how many days had passed by,
With no desire to venture, though counted as an islander,
Her little house was her island - lacked no supply.
“Which is your favorite place on earth?” a friend asked,
“Paris, Japan, and Perth are my favourites,” she replied.
Foreign cities, culture, and croissants - she favors and basks,
Ignorance of her city was no surprise.
Stuck in her cozy bubble, her comfy life,
Stuck in luxuries and lift not to look beyond the eye,
Loads of adventures to look ahead, waiting in lie,
Yet hidden in sight for those who close their eyes.
One fine evening during graduation,
Came a subtle but fine invitation from this friend,
A call for an adventure, a one-of-a-kind invitation,
Her mind races and rejects, calling to suspend.
Hiking was never a plan in her wildest dreams,
Given her poor condition and traumas from the past hike,
What was he even thinking, dragging this poor soul with low self-esteem?
With every reason to say No, she said Yes, though she disliked.
She never said no to him,
For he had a charm like no other,
He knows her in ways others don’t,
His ways are always full of whims.
Despite the anger and feelings that evening,
The battle of the mind lasted for almost a week,
But he talked and cleared that mind of weak,
“Don't you want to fill that life with meaning?”
His talks, his words, were medicine,
His bitter shots, mixed with healing,
His best shot at persuasion was elegance,
His efforts led to her green light for this dealing.
The day finally arrived,
The girl finally meets her fears,
Past hike in her youth, she barely survived,
Present hike in full gear, but filled with tears.
Staring at the gates of Bat Cave Temple,
Yawning at the foot of Penang Hill - it's seven morning,
She misses her breakfast, her easy morning that’s simple,
Here she was, with mosquito bites in the midst of exploring.
“Let's go,” he said, “I’m right behind you,” he assured.
“We’ll reach in 5 minutes,” he lied, “You can do this, it’ll be worth it!” he cheered,
With every step into the hill, into its heart,
A new view painted with nature’s amazing art.
Oh, how nice! Look at the uncles and aunties,
Sipping their kopis in oriental teacups and nice roti kayas,
Mixed aromas compete in the air, every nose raises, and tight,
Short chickens and tall trees eavesdrop on their stories - Oh, peaceful sight!
“Woah!” the only word out with gasp - don’t blink or you’ll miss it to grasp,
A gem, a beauty, a special land - there’s no challenger to this island,
Ask our neighbours near or far, they’ll tell you we’re bizarre,
Everything feels top-tier and balanced, so embrace every second in silence.
Who needs the cities and croissants from foreign lands?
When you get everything right from here, from Penang,
Why search so far for an adventure, for a life,
When this precious island breathes life into everyone, to everything, it sheds light…
