Kopi Peng

The kopitiam she used to frequent looks precisely the same, except now it’s located in a row of shop lots stuck in between two shiny skyscrapers. The noise in the city is overwhelming, prompting her to switch off her hearing aid the moment she got down the red and white cab. Kuala Lumpur was, is, and always will be under construction. She smiles, reminiscing days of the past; some blurry but some that will always remain crystal clear.

She enters the kopitiam, switching on her hearing aid to low volume again as she grabs a seat in the middle with little effort, for it was already past lunch time. She waits eagerly for someone to take her order, hoping that she will surprise Navindran with her appearance, but also half-expecting the fact that one could not have been waiting tables for the past fifty years. She knows that the chances of meeting him here was incredibly slim.

“Aunty, minum apa?” She turns around to a strangely familiar voice. There he is! Except he isn’t dressed in his usual white singlet and he looks precisely the way she remembers him to be—but she also remembered that people need to age, and that instantaneously made her realize her simple mistake. “Aunty, you ok ah?” He asks again.

“Yes, yes, ah boy, I’m okay. You just look a lot like someone I used to know. Say, do you know if there’s anyone named Navindran who used to live here a long, long time ago?”

“Oh, I’m not sure lah aunty, but I can go ask my grandpa.  Wait ah.”

He leaves to call for his grandpa. She sits alone at the marble table, thinking about the Kopi Peng he used to make for her. Always a tad bit sweeter than the usual, just the way she likes it.

“Who is this aunty you’re talking about? Your own grandfather’s name also don’t know ah?”

It’s unmistakable. It has aged, but she can recognize his voice from miles away. She smiles widely, knowing that the man approaching her from the back of the shop is the Navindran she has been looking for. She stands up and turn to greet him, gracefully as she was half a century ago.

“Hello, Navindran.”

He was speechless.

“Oh my, oh my. Hello, Su Lin. It’s been so long... What took you so long?”

“My flight was delayed. I’m so sorry, Navindran.”

They hug, leaving young Raju completely confused.