Man's Best Friend (Incomplete)
23:32
One
Chinese New Year was probably the most unforgettable event
for Ibrahim. The incident took place in the year 2007, back when he was still
an undergraduate. Being a Muslim, canines are forbidden from being touched by
bare skin when wet. In addition to that, Ibrahim was pretty much born with
overbearing fear towards dogs and anything alike. However, an event that
occurred later that year caused his perspective to change. For good.
One
fateful day, Ibrahim was invited to his Chinese friend’s house. Like most
Chinese Malaysians, his friend Meng Hoon kept a dog as a pet; a Dobermann
Pinscher named Mollie. Habitually, Meng Hoon would keep Mollie secured in his
backyard, which was exactly what he did that day. However, due to his nephew having
grown up over the years, Mollie was set free by the child, which caused havoc
indoors.
The
sight of Mollie drove Ibrahim insane. He was completely shaken with fear from
head to toe, feeling his heartbeat rate increase inhumanly. “M-M-Meng… Meng
Hoon! Bawa d-dia pergi!” he screamed frantically in Malay, leaning up against
an embossed grey wall. “T-Tolong aku!” Without haste, the latter bolted towards
a growling Mollie, whose face depicted ferocity and hunger. “Anand, tolong
saya!” Meng Hoon yelled, calling out for their friend Anand. “Mollie ni sudah
out of control, saya rasa dia mau gigit Ibrahim!” he continued as he yanked the
leash attached to the dog’s collar.
Mollie
refused to budge. It insisted on emerging towards Ibrahim, who was practically
trying to climb up the wall by then. The other guests could only watch as the
entire scene went on, bewildered by the ferociousness portrayed by the dog.
Anand came rushing over as soon as he was summoned, instantaneously grabbing
onto the leash without any second thoughts. As expected, it took the power of
two to hold the dog down. As Meng Hoon had said earlier, Mollie was simply out
of control. Since the party was obviously ruined by the incident, guests left
earlier than planned, intending to let Meng Hoon take some rest.
“Ibrahim’s shaking so bad that he
can’t drive,” Meng Hoon muttered, hinting to Anand that the former needed to be
sent home. The latter didn’t say much; he simply gathered his and Ibrahim’s
things and excused himself. Later that
day, Anand gave Ibrahim a ride home. “Thanks Anand, sebab tolong aku tadi. Aku
rasa… Aku rasa macam nak rebah je tadi. Kau tau tak betapa fobianya aku kat
anjing??” Ibrahim sputtered those words out without warning, igniting a
conversation out of the blue. “No problem lah man. Aku tau, kau tu memang
penakut sikitkan?” Anand paused, letting out a soft chuckle. “Takpe bro, nanti
aku suruh Meng Hoon hati-hati sikit lain kali. Aku pun takut juga dengan Mollie
tu. Garang gila!”
Following that incident, Ibrahim was left with a permanent
scar right in his heart to remind him of how canines terrified him almost to
death.
Two
Many
months had passed, but Ibrahim still could not get over the incident. In fact,
his phobia became so severe that he would run amuck at the sight of a harmless
puppy. The trio had planned to go camping near the Tembeling River, Pahang in
mid-November, despite the fact that it was during the rainy season. But given
the reason they no longer had enough free-time to spare for one another, they
decided to go on with their plan.
Upon
arrival, Meng Hoon and Ibrahim immediately got down to work, putting up a tent
while Anand went searching for firewood. As Meng Hoon diverted his attention to
unpacking, Ibrahim took the courtesy of lending Anand a hand at firewood
hunting since they needed to build a campfire by sunset. “Whew, lama tak pergi
camping dengan korang,” Ibrahim chirped as he stashed a large chunk of wood
into an ignited flame. “Tau takpe, rindu juga aku pun!” intervened another,
preparing their sleeping bags inside their tent.
The
following day, the trio were awakened by a rustling sound from outside their
tent. When Ibrahim popped his head out through the zipper, he was quite
surprised to see a pretty young woman setting up a tent next to theirs. The
woman, after noticing him peeping her, greeted him with a smile and a brief ‘Good
morning’ wish. He held his gaze just another couple of minutes, just before he
pulled himself indoors in disbelief. “K-Kat luar-! Ada perempuan Mat Salleh!
Lawaaaa!” he yelped, making his friends shoot up in a sitting position at once.
“Mana? Biar betul kau Berahim!” retaliated a doubtful Meng Hoon, who in turn
popped his head out for reassurance.
“Mat
Salleh memang ada, tapi mana perempuan lawanya?” the Chinese youngster sighed,
faced with disappointment at the sight of a white man setting up the tent
instead. The man did the same thing the woman did, and called out to her in a
thick Australian accent, “Olivia! It seems like we’ve got company here!”
Hearing those words, Meng Hoon invited his friends out to meet the Australians as
to show them the Malaysian courtesy. The three friends were immediately smitten
at the sight the beautiful Olivia, who was fixing up a bowl of soup for her and
her companion. “Hello there, lads! Beautiful mornin’ isn’t it? I’m Olivia
Greene, and this is my husband, Frederick Greene.” The man smiled upon being
introduced to the locals. “I’m best known as Fred.”
The
couple invited the trio for breakfast, which they gladly accepted due to lack
of food prepared for the trip. As they were digging in to their soups, Ibrahim
suddenly became nervous. “What’s wrong man?” Anand questioned, looking over at
his friend. Before anyone could react, all five of them were approached by a
Welsh Sheepdog. As soon as it made its appearance, Ibrahim disappeared into
their tent. “Eh? What’s the matter with your friend?” asked Olivia, who was
slightly puzzled by the scene he caused. “Oh,” answered Meng Hoon, who was
still sipping at his soup, “Ibrahim is afraid of dogs. Besides, Muslims are not
allowed to come in physical contact with them.”
The
explanation made it clear to the couple about Ibrahim’s state of mind. “That’s
not all,” Anand began to speak; his Anglo-Indian accent obvious, “Ibrahim is
also phobic of canines. He becomes gila each time a dog comes to him.” Both
Olivia and Fred tilted their heads. Gila?
“Sorry,” the Indian lad added, “I meant to say crazy.” That fact brought a
smile to Fred’s lips. “If that’s the case then…” He got up onto his feet, set
his bowl of soup down and held his dog’s collar. “Olivia, you go up and
apologize to the man on our behalf while I take Quincy here into our tent,
yeah?” Without further discussion, his wife too, got onto her feet and made her
way to their neighbouring tent while Fred took Quincy into their huge,
army-style tent.
“That’s
a nice dog,” Meng Hoon suddenly blurted, paying Quincy a compliment. “Why thank
you,” was Fred’s response, “We found it near a riverbank during our expedition
in Vietnam with a broken leg and a gash bore into its side. Found out it was a
rescue dog after examining the scarf wrapped around its neck. A brave warrior
it is.” His story completely blew Meng Hoon away. The latter’s mind then went
back to the vicious Mollie, who did as much good as a rat trying to fix a
rotten pumpkin. That heartless war machine; that ruthless, earth shaking beast.
Despite all its insane traits, he still viewed Mollie as a pampered pup.
Olivia
tapped on the nylon surface of the trio’s tent, in hopes of capturing Ibrahim’s
attention. “Abraham?” she called, her voice calm and collected. “Are you alright
in there? Will you come out and talk to us?” Shortly after, she was joined by
her husband, who was also trying to lure him out with the intention of
apologizing to the young lad. A few minutes had gone by, and the zipper finally
trailed down its course. Ibrahim’s head popped out, and he uttered, “Yes I’m
fine. And it’s Ibrahim, not Abraham.” With that, he left his covert and joined
the rest. “We’ll make sure that Quincy doesn’t bother you again.”
The
five of them carried on as normal adventurers and explorers would,
jungle-trekking and canoeing and things of the like.