Welcome back, readers! Before we moved on to my secondary school life, let’s go back to my childhood. This period was the highest pinnacle of my life before it resumed the downtrend. The best childhood I had ever experienced. Let me immerse you, readers, the pleasures of this time period.

The playground just a few minutes’ walk from my house had a facelift with a design which was different from the mainstream. The place was surrounded by shops and a few apartment buildings. As days passed, the playground received a stream of visitors mainly kids LOLS. Laughter and cries mixed together, kids shouted across all spectrum. The days were full of joy.

Supernova

There was this slanted elevated circular object which can be moved like a merry go round and you can stand or sit on it. It was only a few centimetres off the ground. The object was called “Supernova”. I remembered the time where all of us kids would sit facing each other on the object talking nonsense and doing nothing. Most of the time, we had “running competition” on the object whereby we would run on the circular object and it kept spinning faster and faster until all of us will fall and one of us remained. Usually, my then athletic younger sister will win the contest with her agility. No one cared about their safety back in those days.

Block Catching

We played “block catching” where we used one of the apartment building nearby as a playing zone. This is a very mischievous outdoor play because we will also be using the lifts to have an easy escaping method in case the catcher is coming close to catching one of us. I remembered this memorable experience where all of us were rushing into one tiny lift and the doors closed just in time as the catcher watched helplessly. It was very disruptive for residents who want to use the lifts properly.

Bomb Bag

My Chinese friend whom I recalled his name vividly, Ong Ching Hao, introduced the “bomb bag”. You squeeze the thing, throw on the floor and it would make a very loud “POP” sound. He was quite a naughty kid and would often throw on other kids who were playing happily at the playground. The kids were running for their lives after it had been thrown. Good times, indeed!

Duel Masters

At that time, Duel Masters was the rage which was a card game. My friends were actively buying the cards in the hope that they would get a powerful one. There were 5 elements: Darkness, Light, Nature, Fire and Water. If you could get a deck with each of the elements, you are unstoppable. My best friend, Shafi’e, had the strongest cards available to counter me. We were going to the playground as usual and one of the kids there want to challenge my friend and he lost miserably.

---

Sometimes, we had a soccer game on the void deck nearby. I was always a goalkeeper as I did not know how to pass properly to a friend. My friend kept advising me to keep my legs close to avoid ‘ole’ which means the ball going towards the middle of my body with my legs open. Time and time again, I did the mistake but fortunately, they were lenient with me.

My father had a mountain bike then which I quietly use when my father was out working. I would cycle to the known paths admiring the scenery. What a good childhood experience that I would always look to this moment when I am reminiscing something.

Now, the playground had a completely new look on them and I think that it would never be the same again. The Supernova is no more, the swing is gone. All the memories which held dear to me are only in my brain. Signing off! Sejuk!