Within 24 Hours

It's less than 24 hours now before the akad nikah. My parents, my two sisters, Kak Yah and Kak Na, with their families, and my cousin with his wife just arrived from Kelantan about two hours ago. Surprisingly, my primary school teacher and his wife also tagged along with the convoy.

My mum managed to dig out an old tepak sirih from the store, to accompany the sirih junjung. We don't have the sirih yet, but we were told that we could pick them fresh in Kg. Berkat Chembong in Rembau. I sure hope we'd find some. Otherwise, we would have to replace it with some other leaves. Hmmm ...

And I have yet to order the wedding cake. Neither have I bought myself a pair of shoes to wear for the day. Or some pairs of new socks for that matter. Well, I hope I could find a cake shop on the way to Rembau tomorrow. And I pray that a few doors away, there'll be a shop that sell shoes.

A few hours ago, I didn't know that I have a pengapit either, until I was told that my dad had asked Ayie to be there by my side. I have known Ayie since I was 11, and he has been my good buddy whenever I would come home for the school holidays. Little did I know that two and a half decades later, he would turn to be my matchmaker. Yup! If not for Ayie, Cec and I would probably not have end up together. Thanks, buddy! I owe you a lot.

Cec should have her hands covered in inai by now. She wanted me to put it on as well, but I said the fashionable inai look wouldn't go too well with my conservative shirt and tie when I go to work on Monday. Sorry, dear. I hope you had a splendid berinai session, surrounded by loving friends and family. :)

The ceremony will be after Isyak. We'll be blog-casting it here live with minute by minute updates for those who are too far away to make it. Heh! You wish. :) But you'll be there in our hearts, I'm sure.

To Lisa and Joey, my precious darlings, I'll always be your daddy, no matter what. I understand how the news of your daddy getting married might overwhelm your thoughts with worries and perhaps distract your emotions with anger, hurt and jealousy. But I also know that deep within your hearts of heart, lies your very being, unscathed by the passing thoughts and emotions, unfazed by the illusory dramas in life situations. Seek your true selves, my children. Go within. There you will find the true me. And we shall know only love. For there's nothing else in life worth pursuing.