Apek and Me

The story of me and Apek. Well not really a story but just another example how i went and get myself attached to people. Well Apek is an old man that i used to see stationed along jalan kuching near the segambut roundabout. I first saw him way back in 1994...i think. Apek offers tyre changing service for motorbike. He'll be there until late at night. Sometime when we drove home atound midnight...he will still be there. I always wonder whether he has a family or not. Maybe he has a wife who likes to nag..that's why he didn't go home and other sorts of possibilities were created by this imaginative mind of mine. And when i came back from UK, otw back home...i looked for him. When i saw him..there was this huge sigh of relief...for i felt that by him being there, nothing's really changed. Everything is just as how it is supposed to be. It's the same when i came back from Sabah...when i didn't see him, there's this feeling of longing. Turned out he is now stationed at Caltex still in Jln Kuching. But this time he looked so old and sick. His legs looked bad....could be because of diabetes. The people at the petrol station told that he couldn't eat or drink lots of things. Went over to him once but didn't get to ask his name. Instead he was surprised to see me and when i came over again to see him...he said.."lu lagi". After that i didn't dare to go near him again. It was so sad seeing him like that...alone, sick and nowhere to go. I even saw him sleeping there most of the time. It makes one appreciate one's life more, i think. I still look out for him especially when i need to pump fuel. I always try to make it a point to go to that petrol station...