.: I told ye to stay :.

A matter of choice.

“Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.”
Malcolm Wallace, Braveheart.

All my life, my family gave me allowances to do whatever I want. As compared to my sister, I have more freedom. *no inkling why* Due to my active involvement in extra-curricular activities in school, there had been times when I was forced to come home late or had to stay away from home. My sister never really got to do any of those. She’s living it now bit by bit. Even so, my parents do impose several restrictions when it comes to social issues and etc.

Throughout Hajj, the responsibilities that came with my freedom become more apparent. Next to my uncle, my mum appointed me as the navigator to the mosques, shopping malls, pharmacies, bookstores, restaurants and any other establishments of importance. *me, the human GPS* Alhamdulillah, I had an acute sense of directions. It really wasn’t that hard. It was like Hansel and Gretel following the trail of pebbles. All we had to do was follow the India flags, instead of white pebbles to get back to the hotel plus there were many Malaysians and Indonesians around if language was a barrier. More often than not, I was allowed in and out of the hotel anytime.

Over there, my mum made friends with some of the Malaysian students. Mum was asking about the dates market, thus I replied we could always go there by cab. To my astonishment, the guy reprimanded me by saying it’s not safe for women to get in the cab, you shouldn’t be going places on your own, the people here aren’t as nice as you think they are and mother, please talk to your daughter. *Somehow it felt like deja vu and why is he calling my mum, mother? Indeed we are brothers and sisters, and I am conscious of your concerns, however at that instant it felt so wrong. Sorry, it’s just me being a brat."

All this while, I thought that no matter where you are, it’s the same. There is no safe or perilous place. It is how you carry yourself. My faith tells me that Insya’Allah, Allah S.W.T shall shelter us from misfortune if our intent is to do good. If something untoward happens along the way, the reason lies in Allah S.W.T. and it is at our best interests. For some, conceivably I’m being somewhat optimistic.

There-anent, I’m vindicating that I could easily go to mosques and musollas during Hajj. In Malaysia, it’s not as simple as that. The instant I tell my mum I want to go to one alone, she’ll ask me to wait for someone or to disregard it altogether.

Now you tell me, which place is safer?

9.36am Malaysian Time