Playground has once left a bitter aftertaste to my childhood so much so that my prior fond memories have been thoroughly wiped off leaving that one scene I vividly recall. I was on a swing. I went higher and higher, faster and faster thinking I could reach the moon if I tried hard enough. How? I do not remember. But I flew off from the seat and landed badly onto the concrete ground. My mother was in shock.
My legs were covered with so much blood. There was so much pain. In my mother’s arms I kept crying till I reached home. Or was I on my dad’s? No doubt I had tons of playground related fond memories before that incident. But that painful and bloody accident was the very last thing I associate playground with. Since then, my scar has long faded. But memory remains.
Today, the entire family has decided to visit the peak. In the old days we were used to take the cable car. Now we take bus number 15 – the only bus that reaches the peak. Initially I thought we would hike up and go around the peak. Instead, we stopped at the new Mount Austin Road Playground. The decoration is pretty. Beautiful backdrop of fountains and buildings and this playground has attracted even couples for their wedding photo shoot.
My dad has decided that this is a good place for the kids to play. Hooray! I thought I could take a back seat at the bench and enjoy the fresh air and scenery. Hong Kong has been cloudy since we landed and at times drizzles. In a rare moment, it was sunny. The sky was blue. The weather was much warmer. At the bench I took out my bottle of water and my tablet ready to …
My younger niece Lydia just over a year old kept asking for me. That smile of hers melt my heart. Her sister Bethany three years of her senior kept asking me to be an alien and chase down young girls. The two girls went up the slide and down the slide, running all over the playground nonstop. The moment I tried catching my breath, they called for me. I had no idea that having kids can be so exhausting. I hope the two girls remember that once upon a time in Hong Kong, this uncle of theirs has spent time playing with them. That they have a much better memory of the playgrounds compared to mine.
In the evening, my family had dinner with my uncle’s. My uncle is my mother’s younger brother and he has two sons. I do not recall when was the last time the two families have dinner together, with everyone presents. We are closer to this uncle than another uncle of mine. The elder cousin was raised by my mother and with my sister and I. My uncle has sponsored my overseas education and now, my mother has helped to fund his business.
In short, the two families are very much intertwined in a good way.
Barbaric as it sounds, between ten adults and two children, we had one young pig, a huge live fish in excess of five kilograms in weight cooked in three styles, and a large clay pot rice with preserved meat. Plus fruit and dessert. Man, I am stuffed and am still feeling so as I type this journal.