Midnight bloom

Perhaps mothers and grandmothers will remember this flower from their past. The Bakawali flower. With an intoxicatingly extravagant fragrance, it will only bloom once, in the mysteriously unpredictable dark coldness of the night. A trait that makes this most rare flower only more obscured in Malay myths and superstitions.

Late last night, my mother in her pyjamas, shocked me by being awake at an odd hour, storming outside while mumbling incoherent words, armed with a camera no less.

Knowing better than to stop her, I followed her, who at that point was already switching on the camera and adjusting the focus lenses with a fervour that I have never seen in her. I didn't notice the captivating scent lingering in the air at first. But when I saw the flower, I was instantly hypnotised.

The size wasn't the only thing that awed me. I was certain up to this point that this flower is only a myth. It is notorious for being ridiculously difficult to cultivate. Perhaps also, it was the colour, and the almost glowing beauty it radiated. But what really fascinated me was my mother's eyes peering into the camera's lenses.

My mother's eyes. It was brimming with an almost childish innocence. She looked transformed, like something changed within her.

"Ingat Mama masa arah Nini Uncu mu, kalau bunga ani mengambang, kana banguni tah ni kami semua untuk meliat tangah malam"

It was when she said that I understood everything. This flower reminded her of that distant childhood she once had, the innocent little child she once was, and most importantly, the people she truly misses, her mother, her sisters. Some are gone, some are still here.

We stood for a while just staring into this beautiful creation of God, and thought, how lucky I was, to have a flower that, one day, will remind me of my mother and though she might not realise, the amazing moment that she just gave to me.