Serendipity in Langkawi
The smell was musky, with hints of laughter and secrets shared before. The ceiling was clothed in signs and flags for the 18 languages available - including English, Korean, Bahasa Malayu, French, Turkish, Ukranian and more. The flags fluttered in the wind, brushing books stacked up to the ceiling. Piles and piles of second-hand books laid on shelves divided by 4 isles. A world map was displayed proudly in the 2nd isle of the room, tracing the roots the store was founded on. Above, a small wooden sign that read "Your Language Books Corner".
"Welcome! Where are you from?" A husky but friendly voice travelled from the man standing at front desk. He was a humble man - short in stature but exuding with enthusiasm and happiness. His teeth gleamed and he had a certain passion in his eyes. A Maine Coon ash grey cat affectionately grazed his left arm, strolling over to the nice pillow near the cash register. Framed news articles covered the wall behind him, echoing years of achievements and accolades given to this place. The words were starting to fade, but you could just imagine his proud showcasing these articles to his close family & friends. His squinted at my face, his eye wrinkles etched on his tan skin. In a silver, rusted frame nearby was a photo of a younger man, filtered in black and white. Was it him in his hay day?
"Depends on what you mean! I'm from Singapore at the moment, but I'm born in Australia". I always get confused with these questions. I tried to study the articles on the back of the wall further. I could make up a couple of the words, such as "around the world" and "luar biasa" but they were too hazy. I traced the spines of the books, crippled with broken & torn pages. A familiar title caught my eye - "Pray, Eat, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I opened the front cover and it read:
The sign above read "European" but I ended up finding the small label on the shelf reading Croatian - close enough. I glazed over the Cyrillic characters and truly wish I could read them. I did take some classes back in primary school but to no avail, I just couldn't recall the letters nor their meanings. It was hard to make out what the books were about, but they seemed to be discussing something about finance based on the dollar signs on the front cover slightly burned in the bottom left corner. I moved towards the Bahasa Melayu section, seeing if I could make out some of the words. Some, but not all. I shifted towards the English section once more. There were plenty of copies of old trends from another time, like Twilight and yes, even 50 Shades. But there were also classics like Dickens and Austen, and others I wasn't familiar with. Standing in the store was a snapshot in time - of books that were once valuable to people, or perhaps never valuable at all, but stories that transcended the pages inside.
"I think I'll get this one today." I said as I grabbed H.G. Well's book, The War of the Worlds. To be honest, this has never been on my reading list, but I thought it might be good considering I haven't seen the movie yet starting Tom Cruise. The upper pages were perhaps slightly water damaged, spine bent at page 17, but the words were still typed clear. I placed 15 ringgits on the table as he pushed the numbers and receipts into the cash register.
"Thank you for coming today - be sure to tell your friends to come!" he said enthusiastically, handing me his business card.
And that's all it was - serendipity in Langkawi.
"Welcome! Where are you from?" A husky but friendly voice travelled from the man standing at front desk. He was a humble man - short in stature but exuding with enthusiasm and happiness. His teeth gleamed and he had a certain passion in his eyes. A Maine Coon ash grey cat affectionately grazed his left arm, strolling over to the nice pillow near the cash register. Framed news articles covered the wall behind him, echoing years of achievements and accolades given to this place. The words were starting to fade, but you could just imagine his proud showcasing these articles to his close family & friends. His squinted at my face, his eye wrinkles etched on his tan skin. In a silver, rusted frame nearby was a photo of a younger man, filtered in black and white. Was it him in his hay day?
"Depends on what you mean! I'm from Singapore at the moment, but I'm born in Australia". I always get confused with these questions. I tried to study the articles on the back of the wall further. I could make up a couple of the words, such as "around the world" and "luar biasa" but they were too hazy. I traced the spines of the books, crippled with broken & torn pages. A familiar title caught my eye - "Pray, Eat, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I opened the front cover and it read:
Dated: 14.5.12
Hi Sarah,
I hope you enjoy this book and gets you through the tough times.
I know it helped me.
- Chris
The pages were folded and creased, showing the journey it had been through. Who was Chris? Who was Sarah? What were those tough times she was facing? I let my mind wonder on the possibilities of our lost, or perhaps fallen, lovers.
"What is your name?" He enquired.
"Anastasia" I answered.
"Ah so you're Russian?"
"No actually my dad is Serbian."
"Ah, we do have Serbian books!" He exclaimed, gesturing towards the first isle of the store.
The sign above read "European" but I ended up finding the small label on the shelf reading Croatian - close enough. I glazed over the Cyrillic characters and truly wish I could read them. I did take some classes back in primary school but to no avail, I just couldn't recall the letters nor their meanings. It was hard to make out what the books were about, but they seemed to be discussing something about finance based on the dollar signs on the front cover slightly burned in the bottom left corner. I moved towards the Bahasa Melayu section, seeing if I could make out some of the words. Some, but not all. I shifted towards the English section once more. There were plenty of copies of old trends from another time, like Twilight and yes, even 50 Shades. But there were also classics like Dickens and Austen, and others I wasn't familiar with. Standing in the store was a snapshot in time - of books that were once valuable to people, or perhaps never valuable at all, but stories that transcended the pages inside.
"I think I'll get this one today." I said as I grabbed H.G. Well's book, The War of the Worlds. To be honest, this has never been on my reading list, but I thought it might be good considering I haven't seen the movie yet starting Tom Cruise. The upper pages were perhaps slightly water damaged, spine bent at page 17, but the words were still typed clear. I placed 15 ringgits on the table as he pushed the numbers and receipts into the cash register.
"Thank you for coming today - be sure to tell your friends to come!" he said enthusiastically, handing me his business card.
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| This is me ... telling my friends with this blog - please visit him! |
He leaned back underneath the sign of his shop, the "Book" arrow fluttering in the wind. His lips crooked a smile, and it was hard not to do the same. My cheeks hurt from the grin on my face, feeling so humbled.
As I walked away, I heard him gesture at another tourist, perhaps from the United Kingdom by the sound of their accent, passing by. A seemingly simple conversation, that would leave so much more than I'm sure they would expect.
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