An encounter I'll never forget

 Hi all, 

I've been wanting to start a blog since a few years ago but finally had the motivation to actually create one today! As I have yet to establish a theme to this blog and the purpose of me writing, I've decided to search up some writing prompts and came across this interesting one:

Write about the kindness of strangers. 

My mind immediately flew to this one incident when I was 12, with the details of the incident so vivid and engrained it my head it was as if I'm watching it as a movie from a third person's perspective. It was my first time visiting this remote restaurant that is best known for its organic chicken, something that my dad highly raves about (and if you know my dad, you would know that he has pretty particular taste and isn't impressed with a lot of outside food). He dragged my whole family and our neighbours to come try out his latest discovery- which to this day, I still have no idea how he stumbled upon it because it's REMOTE remote. 

I was still young back then, but I definitely remembered driving further and further into the "sam pah" just to get there. (I googled it and it's in Kampung Gombak, Kuang if anyone is interested). Upon arrival, we were greeted very warmly by this Malay uncle who graciously shook all of our hands and introduced himself as Rani, the owner of the restaurant/chicken farm. 

He took us on a tour around his chicken farm- complementary ducks and geese were scattered across, his fish pond and his humble "restaurant" (apostrophes because it was realistically just plastic tables and chairs under a small pondok less than 100m from the chicken farm). Come to think of it, I just realised that the set-up of the chicken farm is equivalent to large chinese restaurants, wherein you are privy to the presence of fresh seafood, and also the capture and eventual slaughter of it upon your ordering. 

Violent? Yes. But at the time all I could think of was how that was the juiciest and most tender chicken I've ever had the priviledge to taste in my ENTIRE life. This statement still stands to this day. Okay enough about the chickens geez. 

After a hearty meal and we were preparing to leave, he asked me how old I am and when I told him my age, he immediately associated it with UPSR (national exam taken by students in Malaysia of that age), swiftly grabbed a small unripe green mango from the tree closest to us and pressed it in my hands as he said: "Girl, you better study hard yeah? I want you to study your hardest, get good grades, do something useful with your life and make your parents proud."

It wasn't so much what he said, but the sincerity and belief behind his eyes that I could achieve whatever he said. The way the man looked at me fueled me so much that night because I was a mere stranger to him, yet it was almost as if he believed in my potential and cared about my future more than my parents (at that point). I'll never forget that look, that green mango (which I kept in my study until it rotted a week later) and the blessing of a stranger that motivated me to study every single day for the upcoming UPSR after that incident. 

Uncle Rani, almost a decade has passed since then but best believe I'm still out here working hard and making something of myself, just like how you would've wanted. :) 

(Attached pictures were taken from Google, his fried chicken was the best chicken ever and no one could change my mind!)