Sofie’s boys…

It’s exactly 4 weeks since I last went to visit Sofie. At that time, Ika, her youngest daughter had to be hospitalised and I ended up having to visit them at the hospital for a while before I got Saiful, Sofie’s 3rd son, to follow me back to their home so I could unload the groceries.

2 weeks later, it was Ika who called me – this time to tell me that her mother had to be hospitalised. Oh dear, they seem to take turns to get warded. I didn’t visit then, as I already had other plans for the weekend.

So today I decided to visit Sofie and deliver the monthly supply of groceries as well. The house seemed quiet when I got there, but the front door was open, so I knew they were in… unlike during my visit last month when the door and even the windows were closed. When I gave the salam, it was Ika who came out and helped to unload from my car. Saiful was sleeping in his room, while Sofie’s eldest son, Azlan, was at work.

Sofie herself seemed rather weak. Not as bad as the time when she had to be warded, but I could see she actually still needed some rest. But more rest would mean less income for the family so she’s still continuing to sell nasi lemak in the mornings.

Sofie was complaining that ever since Azman went to the culinary school, he had been asking her for money too often. When Sofie told him that she herself doesn’t spend as much at home and didn’t have much money left, he said to her, “Mak sayangkan duit tu ke, mak nak saya belajar?” He even suggested to Sofie to use the savings in his younger siblings’ bank accounts and transfer to his bank account. Whoa! Don’t you dare touch their savings boy! Their savings are for their future! You think you’re the only one entitled to a brighter future?

Ooohhh, I’m not going to tolerate this. I think this boy is getting a bit too bigheaded. At this moment he probably thinks he has the brightest future amongst his siblings, thus his mother should be willing to spend her entire earnings on him. Wonder if he remembered his promises to me earlier when I sent him to the culinary school – that he’d spend according to his means and that he’d be using the money in his savings account only when needed.

The main problem is he had been befriending students from rich families. So he’s spending like they are. Well, not a problem for them as their families could afford it, but for Azman, surely he knows well enough what his mother had to go through all these years. He knew what it was like before we Buddies came into the picture to help them out. It hadn’t even been 2 month since he was given the opportunity to study at the culinary school and already this? The next time I see him, he is no longer going to get a short lecture from me. He’s going to get much more!

On another note, Azlan, Azman’s older brother, now waiting for his SPM results, and who had been working at a small factory before, had stopped work there. Initially Sofie was unaware of the reason, he only said “kerja teruk, gaji sikit”. Later on she found out the real reason, especially when she saw some positive changes in Azlan’s attitude. Azlan had always been more problematic than Azman. He goes out with his girlfriend and comes home late at night and whenever Sofie advised him he wouldn’t listen.

Apparently he had been going out with a girl who has another boyfriend who is now in jail. His “gang” reported to him about Azlan going out with this girl and so he sent a group of friends to hit Azlan and warn him not to go out with the girl anymore. This time Azlan really got scared. He immediately quit his job at the factory and no longer goes out at night. He even agreed to help his mother sell nasi lemak in the mornings (although initially his mother got tensed because he was really really slow in packing the nasi lemak for the customers).

Now he works as a security guard during the day and later at night he works at a petrol station. And he still helps out his mother at home.

Looks like there was an immediate hikmah to the bashings he got.

Ah well, you win some, you lose some…