Color Me Blue
Mar 27th, 2010 by Abdul Ghani
Rashimi enters the room with a tray of boiled rice and smoked fish. He serves the hearty breakfast on a low table before taking leave from Uncle Dan. A wonderfully fragrant aroma permeates the air. It plays with my senses and reminds me of family get-togethers in the holidays. I thank Uncle Dan wholeheartedly through the steam that rises from the rice bowls. He bows his head and we begin to eat.
‘Weren’t you scared?’ asks Uncle Dan as he pushes his plate aside. He dabs his mouth with a napkin and searches my face for an answer.
I look down at my now empty plate. His question is one that I hadn’t prepared myself for. I had a long list of icebreakers in mind; top of the list being the forthcoming rice harvest. I consulted myself carefully before answering and found that only the truth resided therein.
‘Being of service to my Sheikh overrode any fear that I may have had.’ Uncle Dan smiles and nods his head. He begins to share his own travel experiences of the Far East. ‘No one ventures through the jungles of Borneo alone. You could have fallen ill, gotten lost or been injured. What made you think you could do it alone?’ I take a sip of the ice cold water in front of me. My mind wanders back to the jungle. ‘Faith,’ I reply. ‘Faith in creation, faith in myself, faith in my Sheikh and most importantly faith in Allah.’ Uncle Dan asks no more questions. He simply calls for Rashimi to clear the table and reaches for the huge set of keys on the bureau. I feel an overwhelming and palpable sense of relief.
I follow Uncle Dan into a huge room that instinctively reminds me of Sayyad. It has me craving a cup of hot spiced chai! Uncle Dan walks the length of the room before stopping at an impressive bookcase. I cannot help thinking that he is going to test my knowledge on a random subject. He places his hand on the bookshelf and pushes hard. The bookshelf revolves quickly and quietly paving the way to a secret and well disguised room.
We stand together shoulder to shoulder in front of the closed vault. Uncle Dan handles the many keys and rotates the dials in different directions. A loud clicking sound echoes throughout the room. The door opens with a deliberate creak. We stand back.
An overwhelming calm washes over me. A sweetness of blackcurrants and tart berries fills the air. Sheikh Ibrahim reads the inscription on the bottle. He smiles as the blue waters of the lagoon carry the secret to Imam Zafran. The wind blows gently. Leaves flutter in the island breeze. The rivers wind in different directions. An echoing cacophony of sounds slowly evolves into a sacred and perfect rhythm. Imam Zafran rotates between our worlds. He raises his hands to the sky. In each hand is a blue lotus. His head is tilted back and his eyes are closed. Together they walk the waters of the blue lagoon. They recite the name.
………………..‘Blue Brunei’………………..
I reach for my rucksack, unwrap the package and place the missing link in the vault. The most perfect fit! No words can express our joy. The world passes by in a split second as Uncle Dan offers me a cup of well earned chai.
