TEASPOON IN MY MUG

In the name of Allah The Most Merciful The Most Beneficent

      Kaneez was a close friend of mine. She used to come to my rented house regularly when I was studying in Cardiff. She was doing her bachelor's degree majoring in history. She was bright and very observant. She was also born with a cleft palate. But that didn't stop her from pursuing her real ambition.

Since our house was near the university campus, it became something like a stop-over for other Malaysian students who lived a bit far away from campus, to pray and to have light refreshments. Somehow Kaneez who is British, fits in well with us.

We used to have countless English tea with her. Little that we knew, she was observing us, the way we drink, the way we talk. She would ask questions that we would have never thought of. For example, she asked why we like to leave the teaspoons in our mugs while we're drinking. Hmm... I really don't know why we do that. But I just realized we do have that habit. Come to think of it, it is probably sheer laziness on our part. So every time I drink tea with a teaspoon in my mug, I will always remember her.

The other question she posed that intrigued us was... when we speak English, do we think in English or our mother's tongue language i.e the Malay language? Another hmm... never thought of that at all. So I just realized that automatically I would think in English when I speak English but... if I'm stuck on a word I would think in Malay and then translate it in English.

I love being with her. She always had fresh ideas and a lot of determination. I was a bit surprised when she said she wanted to read law after getting her degree in History. She actually wanted to be a lawyer. With her cleft palate,I was initially sceptical. But, after seeing her undaunted by any negative views about her ambition, I was ashamed with my scepticism about her. I knew she could succeed in anything she wanted to do.

Unfortunately I lost contact with her. The last I heard about her was that she did succeed in becoming a barrister. I am so proud of you, my friend and I will always remember you especially when I have a teaspoon in my mug.