Once

The plunger had extracted sufficient caffeine from the ground 100% Arabica to deliver a mellifluos buzz to my frontal cortex. The effect is such I could almost feel the hum on my temples with a light touch of my fingers. I feel a surging emotion in my chest. My eyes well up from it. It is a song. Meaningful words meld with beautiful harmony in enchanting melody.

Sitting here in the hotel room, in Melbourne, I pound the keyboard for the latest post. Has it been that long since the last? Let's see, since then: The Malaysian General Elections have come and gone, in its wake an altered political reality for the country. Arsenal has relinquished its claim on all the possible silver-wares this season. Bear Stearns have gone bust. Locals and monks in Tibet have demonstrated big-time and the Olympic torch extinguished from disruptive protests. Jaguar and Land Rover are now owned by Tata. And I am now a delighted owner of an iPod Touch. Hah! iPod Touch, wallet Ouch!

Yup! It's about time for an update. Also time for the next paycheck, to recover my iPod outlay. I must admit I was nudged on by the fact that I just could not log-in to my Facebook account since arriving here this morning.

The caffeine is slowly losing its influence. An episode I witnessed on a ride on the MRT in Singapore comes to mind:

Yours truly was on his way from the Changi Airport station to the Lavender station on the East-West line. In spite of the availability of seats initially at Tanah Merah station, I opted to hang onto the rail-handle. I'd be compelled to give up my seat to some elderly or lady traveller eventually when the carriage fills up anyway. At Bedok station, a Chinese lady in her late-fifties settled in the seat in front of me. Sporting a checked shirt with cargo-pants, she clutched a knapsack out of which a rolled copy of Today stuck. Then, as passengers boarded or disembarked at Kembangan station, this lady was heard calling "Achi! Achi! " to an Indian lady who had just stepped onto the train. "Sini ada tempat," she said while placing her hand on the vacant seat beside her. This slightly older lady sat down and the acquaintances started chatting. My heart gets warmed easily by instances like this. As I was smiling to myself inside, the nice women's conversation was interrupted by the Chinese lady going "Eyyh... Xiao Pern Yo (little friend)" to a boy no older than 7 standing in front of the carriage doors. The cherub was struggling to fold his yellow raincoat.

The lady gestured him over, which he sheepishly did. The smiling lady then took the raincoat from his hands and, with a loving countenance, started to fold. She apologised to the bemused pakcik to her left for taking some of his 'personal' space while compacting the garment. All, while making the kid comfortable by asking him his age and the whereabouts of his school, his destination. She praised this six year-old dude for his courage to travel alone to school. Before we knew it, the raincoat was now a folded mass of 3" X 3". The kid accepted the rearranged form and, almost dumbfoundedly, back-tracked to his original location. I was close to tears by then. This surely was an earth-bound angel before us.

Once in a while, something reminds us of the kindness and love that humans are capable of. It gives us a different perspective, and with it, renewed faith in the inate goodness in all of us amidst the myriad sufferings and cruelty around the globe.

It may be a scenario like the one for me on the MRT. It may be a book, like The Witch of Portobello, which left an indelible mark on me like the other Paulo Coelho gem, The Alchemist. Or, it could be a movie, like Once.

Once, is a simple movie. And because, rather than in spite of that, it is realistic. I felt every minute emotion nuanced by the characters. The most drawing moments are those complemented by a song. The soundtrack is, as the movie, simple. When it's simple, we relate immediately. Very much like the simple acts of kindness and grace by that lady on the MRT. May God bless her.

I was touched. And I hope I am better for it.

Oh, and the song that had a stronger effect on me than caffeine was 'Falling Slowly', from Once soundtrack.