Tribute to Aathi.

Every village has one, there is no village without it, a village idiot. In my case, and to the people of Chamang, Bentong, it would be Aathi.

Everyone knows her, a thin small Indian lady, she is famous, everyone knows her name, a very well known household name in Chamang. Kids make fun of her when she walks by, and she is half mental but not a total nut case. She is married, with one son, her husband is working as guard/mandor somewhere.

I remember making fun of her when I was young, she comes to my father's shop for groceries (where we provide 555 book credit card service). She use to beg my dad to give hutang to buy sirih and pinang and while she is in shop, I use to shoot her with kacang hijau in a straw and she complaints to my mum about this all the time. I buat dunne jer.

And when grew up a bit she complained to my mum that I am trying to hit on her (mengorat) ha ha what a joke. My mum just laughed it away.

After sometime, her son grew up and left the family, leaving her and her hubby alone, she worked with my mum as maid for a while, the she stopped (or fired, don't know which one).

She alway very energetic, no one would have believed she is in her fifties. She always seen walking hastily in Chamang, where she goes and what she does, no one knew. She like to collect flowering plant all over Chamang to be planted in her house.

Recently I had a news that he she passes away in Bentong hospital. She had cancer. I felt sad. Sad thinking of her life. Only after she passed away, I was thinking why was I so mean to her? Why I treated her badly? Why did I just followed the trend and made fun of the village idiot? Would it been too hard for me to treat her a bit better? This really got me thinking.

Now that Chamang has lost one, I am hoping that I would treat the next in line for the village idiot with little more respect.