meaningful 15 minutes with a stranger

adik, adik duduk la depan tuh. ape lagi yg mau tunggu? masuk, masuk. tunggu ah. saya pi tgk org yg nk pergi south city sekejap.

that...was the man who drove me back to uniten tonight. with his yellow cab, plate number, erm...i forgot already laa...name..well, let it be mr. P.

i learnt something from him.

about my safety. as a girl.

ey, u mau balik uniten ka? sy antar itu perlis mau x? mana tau kan, saya ni penculik ka apa ka.
adik, ape itu keselamatan? keselamatan adik, x perlu risau laa...saya bwak kereta, sy laa yg jge keselamatan adik. tp, keselamatan ape yg adik ade dlm kereta???

that question struck me. not in a bad way, but in a very truthful way it's like seeing something soo bright right in your face. yeah, what did i do to protect myself inside the car?? what if this uncle is gonna do something bad to me?? what if i might not reach uniten tonight?

what am i supposed to do??

then, later uncle P pointed out my biggest mistake..

adik...kenapa adik x da mintak sama saya tiket taxi adik?? adik tau x tiket itu manyak penting punya untuk keselamatan.

this is the reason.

ON THAT TAXI TICKET, there is a serial number that can be easily traced by the authorities to detect wrongdoings among the taxi drivers. uncle P explained, saying that, if anything happens, MAKE SURE ONCE U ENTER THE CAR, D FIRST THING U SHUD DO, IS GRAB ( i mean, ask) FOR THE TICKET. DO NOT FORGET.

uncle p continued to question me.

adik, apa nama saya? apa number ic saya?? kereta ini warna apa? brand apa? nombor plate, kamu tau ka?

i realised i didn't. that was very dangerous for me, usually i wouldn't let my observant nature be in a vulnerable state but tonight, i really felt tired. all i know is i felt grateful that i got an early taxi once i left the train. i didn't even bother to know uncle P's name, or any sort of identification that my usually quick mind will memorize. therefore, after this, REMIND YOURSELF, NO MATTER HOW TIRED YOU ARE, ENSURE THAT U ALLOW URSELF TO SILENTLY MEMORIZE THE NAME, IC NUMBER OF THE TAXI DRIVER N REGISTRATION NUMBER OF THE CAR. this helps the authority in a very significant way when something unwanted happens.


also, i would love to add here, my friend recently lost her phone in a taxi while she went for a ride in it. she didn;t realize it was missing until la the taxi tuh dh drive away with an unbelieving speed. BEFORE WE LEAVE ANY PUBLIC TRANSPORTS, ENSURE THAT ALL OUR BELONGINGS ARE STILL WITH US. CHECK ESPECIALLY THE POCKETS AND UNDER THE SEATS. THEN, IF GIRLS, DO ENSURE THAT BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE CAR, U HAVE ALREADY ZIPPED YOUR BAG.

see what i learnt from a 15 minute journey from serdang to uniten. i really felt grateful to learn from a man like uncle P. he really does his job as an individual who cares about the whole community.

terima kasih, adik. jangan lupa ah apa saya sudah pesan. saya cerita sebab kamu sama saja macam anak saya.

thank you too, uncle P. may god bless u with all the kindness in the world in your life.

luckily, it was uncle P.