The Little Women

Welcome to the mother’s lair. The lair is humble from the start, then it gets even humbler when her child enters the frame. Now let me tell you what you might see there : You might see her shoes scattered around because her child always gave it to her asking to go out. You might see the toys going places because they did go everywhere the child goes; you might see his animal figurines at the far end of the room because he throws them so, very far away and you might find little things hidden under the fridge; bed or anything with spaces underneath for the child to tuck in his small, precious things. Then comes the second lair is her car. Now the car is her second home then of course it became her child’s second home too. You will see that the balls are there (so many of them), his slippers; shoes; fresh diapers; wet wipes and anything else. You can also find his hat & his busy board. But underneath it all, you will see the mother who did her best. In every level at literally everywh...

I can always feel my mom whenever she’s near (or not), even when I was asleep. She wore her engagement ring on her left hand - index finger and her wedding ring on the right hand - ring finger. She always try to be calm to calms me even when she’s real panic inside. She slow her breathing down to slowed mine while holding me tight, stroking my back gently. She put her chin on top of my head - for whatever reason so I did the same thing; she clasps my cheek, lean me towards her then kiss me on the forehead. She will stretch her arms so wide to invite me to come to her embrace. She loves to cuddle; very, very excited to do playtime and loves storytelling in particular because it enables her to make funny gestures & weird sounds and all (she’s also very proud of the orange room) I’m also very, very grateful that my mom is always here and always near. Love you mom. Xoxo, Tondi. Ananda Khaira Azizah,  Pekanbaru, 13 Juni 2025. Hari Jumat, pukul 6 pagi.

Before the wind turns soft, Remember how hard you held on during those hard times. Remember how strong, how patient & how brave you were. All those fights between you and yourselves; all those doubts, the tears and everything else. When pray is your only way out and faith being the only hope, your bravery at that time really is outstanding. Then again, harsh times out the strongest warrior, right? You just never knew that you are one. A survivor. A warrior. You never knew you could do it but you did. You think it’s impossible but turns out it isn’t. You are so much stronger than you often give yourselves credit for.    Sometimes we do need to celebrate ourselves before we celebrate others, right? Ananda Khaira Azizah, Pekanbaru, 4 Juni 2025. Hari Rabu, pukul 6 sore.