This story happened long time ago and been kept in my draft for so long I forgot. Since I've wrote half part of it, better off I'll finish it and published ehh...

As a start, anyone whom close enough to my lil family should know that Alis can't live without her bantal busuk and puting. Somehow Erin inherited the habit from her. Sangat susah I tell you nak putuskan puting dgn bantal busuk der.

Sufficed to say that bantal busuk Alis have seen, survived and evolved in many phases. It's a long process for it to become what she is now. Macam caterpillar nak jadik rama rama.

From what we called normal baby bolster to what my baby sis called buah pinggang look-alike. My mum called it "candu" based on effects it does to her. Dapat cium bantal busuk der, cam high jek hahaha. Exactly like people smoking candu. Siap terpejam2 mata nih. Kekabu kat dalam tu somehow shrinking 3 times it original size due to repeatedly been washed and soaked. After good 4 happy years, kekabu tu terbahagi dua.

From bersarung, Alis decided that it is rather more syiokkkk to sniffed her bantal busuk without sarung so it has been sarung-less ever since.

From only to be used sebagai pemangkin tido, eventually became her twin I never gave birth to. She refused to go anywhere without bantal busuk and puting. She refused to sleep without one. Exceptional case if she was too tired to even ask for it, but very rare occasion I must say. Even if we go shopping, the bantal busuk comes with her, always on her hand. I think her bantal busuk somehow gave her sense of completeness. You know, like men can't live without hand phones or ladies without lipstick. Something like that.

When I gave birth to Erin, most of my confinement period spent at my mum's house @ Setiawangsa. We only go back to Puchong during En Muddy's rotational off day for 4 days. As normal,during his last off day, he'll sent us to Setiawangsa and then took bus to Pontian from KL. Caught off guard, we left Alis's bantal busuk behind and only noticed it when we reached Setiawangsa already. Realizing that there's no way she will survived bantal busuk-less for 4 days till En Muddy's next off day without making me gone bonkers, En Muddy made another trip back to Puchong just to take her bantal busuk. If I'm the one who left my suitcase behind and even if my life depends on the suitcase, I truly believed that he'll make me wear my mum's baju or buy new baju that last 4 days till he's back. Anything but 45 minutes trip back to Puchong. For Alis, of course, anything also can. That's what daddy's girl power had on him. Sighhhhhh...

Say anything if you must but we've tried so many ways to separate her from bantal busuk. Same story goes to puting ( pacifier). For puting case, we've tried putting garlic on it which turned out she enjoyed it and chew the garlic till it's last piece. This is how I discovered she likes garlic, just like me.. Kah kah kah. Then we tried coffee, same cases whereby she just nyonyot the coffee powder. Aduyaiiii....

I still remembered there's one time my mom in law asking my aunt whom believed to have ability to heal people traditionally or shall I put as medicine woman ( bomoh) to help us resolved this problem. I'm not so much of a person who believe all this stuff but if it can't help to solve Alis problem, I'll might as well shut up my mouth and just go by it. Like other "bomoh" always do, they'll read some ayat and blow it in plain water and ask us to give Alis to drink it and according to her, she'll grow hate for pacifier in no time. Well, long story cut short, it doesn't work ! AT ALL !! I think more or less, it's works other way around cause she's getting more attached to her pacifier more than before. Wrong spell maybe? Not ?

It got me really worried cause her likes for pacifier started gave her physical side effect. Her teeth started coming out upfront. In short, jongang ! Although we bought her puting that said to be safe for so-called orthodontic. Thank to Allah, her puting got lost during our trip to Cherating and it puts and end to it. As simple as that. En Muddy refused to buy her new one anymore and I can't agree more, although my heart urged me to secretly buy new one for her. Kesian sesangat wehh..

Settled one, one more to go.

With her bantal busuk, it wasn't as easy as solving her addiction to puting. Apparently, her bantal busuk has been to many places including Q8. Alis won't even let the custom officer to scan her pillow for cry out loud. She's giving those U-dun-even-try-to-touch-my-pillow-or-I'll-bite -your-head-off look and miraculously, it work wonders. They let her and her bantal busuk off un-scan and I just gave up trying to separate her from bantal busuk then.

After say about a month we're here in Q8, something happened.

U see, Alis was taught that there's 3 major things she can't play with or even touch it. Knife, needles and scissors. En Muddy made her memorized it everyday of this 3 rules thingy.

One morning, I was in the kitchen cooking and kind-off absorbed with what I was doing when suddenly Alis came to me and called me for attention. When my eyes laid on her, I noticed her face had this guilty-scared to death look. She almost wanted to cry so I asked her slowly of what had happened. I also can't help but noticing that she was trying really hard to hide something behind her back. My 1st guess was she accidentally cut her hair off, just like before but I didn't see anything funny with her hair so must be something else. When she showed me what's the big secret she's trying to hide, I was stunned ! I was in awe and shocked for about a minute then I laughed out loud. So loud it puzzled Alis coz I think she was expecting me giving her ultimatum, or a spank or hanger or as minimal as cubit.

I was laughing coz she was holding her bantal busuk with both hands. One part in each hands. Her one bantal busuk now became 2 coz apparently she was playing with my kitchen scissor and out of curiosity, she cut the middle part of her bantal busuk.

I just tell her off, this is what happen when U dun listen to Papa and this is what happen when u did nasty things behind my back. Secretly I am so glad she cut her bantal instead of her hand or Erin. I told her to throw away her pillow then before Papa comes home but she refused to. I also told her, I won't sew it back for her coz firstly, I dun have jarum and benang here, and secondly, I dun sew. Mummy cook, mummy clean but mummy just dun sew. If she still wanted to keep her pillow then, she had to live with it's latest condition lah. She had to bare the consequences of her action for she claimed she's big girl already. Akan tetapi, mummy will always be mummy la kan. Tak sampai hati sungguh so by end of the day, I tight her pillow using rubberband hahahaha..


However, out of boredom of having had to keep kutip kekabu yang asik berterabur terkeluar, she let us throw, sorry I rephrased- not us but En Muddy. She finally let En Muddy throw her 4 years old bantal busuk. I have no heart to do it for it has practically been a family member for so long. It feels like throwing your family member out. En Muddy didn't throw it at first but kept it safe and sound in high hidden place, incase she had troubled adjusting new life without bantal busuk. We even get her new bantal busuk as a replacement which she had the privilege to pick which one she like herself. Of course it look more decent, big enough it can't even fit in mummy's handbag so she will think twice to bring it out during outing, pinkish of course and princess-theme duuhhhhhh.. After few weeks, she seems to be okay and adjusting well, so we finally bid farewell to her old bantal busuk.

Bye bye " candu".

You've had served great service to my baby daughter. You've been there for her every day and nite without complaining. You even bare the embarrassment when she decided to publicly carry you around "naked" all over Malaysia domestically, Bandung and Kuwait internationally. You've survived all weather and all shape she molded you into. You did not failed her but she's all grown up now. You've done your time and you did great but now it's time for you to go. She's better off without you and you better off without her. We thank you for your loyalty and we will guaranteed that you will be deeply missed and hold special place in our heart. Good luck wherever your next destination, errrr or next garbage bin shall be. Do not worry a bit. You will not be alone for long. We will send your "baby sis" to follow you and keep you accompany once we had the chance to do it. Please pray hard that ur sister's owner called Erin didn't gave us hard time though.

Sayonara.



{ Hiii, My name Alis. I'm officially 48 days free from bantal busuk and 4 months free from puting }