By 2am my grandmother was already shaking her awake. The lorry, sixteen wheels, tall as a house, wouldn’t arrive until 5am, but timing it right across so many households near the water was never simple, especially with the flood water rising fast. My mother would wait in the dark and cold, half-asleep, until it was time to go. School didn’t start till 7.30am, but they’d already be there by 6am, napping on benches until the gates opened. Afterward came the cleaning, the ruined chairs, the tables, the small sentimental things the water simply took. It was enough to make a young girl swear she’d move to a city one day, and never live like this again.
My mother was born and grew up in a village in Malaysia. She studied in a government Malay school near the village. The village was near the sea. There were occasions of flood probably due to monsoon season. Water of the Roads were waist high. The water rose very quickly. Floods damaged many furniture, especially the chairs and tables in the living room. Residents would hear of estimations from fishermen in the village around 4 hours beforehand. These fishermen had fished for generations and are very experienced. Students had to wait for high lorries to bring them to school instead of usually cycling to school. The lorries were at least 16 wheels, very high and very big lorries. My mother’s mother would wake her up around 2am, the lorry might come around 5am. The timing was difficult to arrange because the lorry picked up students from many households. The lorry also had to leave for school, before the water got too high. My mother and her neighbours would reach school around 6am though classes actually start around 7.30am. As they reached school earlier than usual, they had nothing to do while waiting. Many students would nap while waiting, it was dark and cold. The school security guards were also aware of such season and would open the school gate for them. My mother was terrified of such living conditions and one of her life dreams was to move to a city so that she would not have to undergo such terrible conditions again. My mother recalls cleaning the house post-flood and many sentimental belongings were damaged of lost. My mother ever wanted to skip school due to the flood, but her parents were very strict about attendance.