he peeps through the door, investigating if i am awake already
its a routine...
he taps my toes, in an irritating fashion, i know instantly it was him
i returned the gesture with a slight kick and a soft sigh

"nak ape..e...e?"
It translate to, "what ?"

"bangun, bangun.... tak sekolah nyari? huh..."
In english that means, " wake up, schooling today??"

"mmmm...."
I am still cozily wrapped in my blanket, i look like a twisted nymph wrapped in its cocoon.

he taps my toes again... I hate evertime he does that, especially when I intend to finish this incredible dream..

"orang tahu..uuu..."
Meaning," I know ...(when to wake up)"

Then begins the morning rituals... drag myself to the loo, while my Daddy make his rounds in his domain. I am usually embarress of the fact that he does most of the housework in the house, when my mum's not at home. He will first check the kitchen sink, next to the washing machine and then to the ironing board.

My daddy does his own ironing of his work uniform while he incessantly sips the morning coffee prepared Mum. He will then change the frequency of the radio to Warna, 94.2FM from Perfect 10. He will patiently wait for the morning news as he wanders in the house to clean up the mess left last night.

I let a moan from the toilet when I realise i wont have much time to change for school. I playfully put the blame on my Dad for 'waking me up late', while I know he is going to take it seriously. A wicked smile forms on my lips when my father apologises, with my harsh tone of voice left unchanged.

I run out of the loo, take a pick at today's choice of clothes and run to the ironing board. I pretended to rush, to invoke my Dad's guilt and sympathy. While ironing, I ran to and fro to drink Milo, spread jam on my bread. My dad will then let out the gentlest whimper,

"Nak telur?"
Translates to," Want boiled eggs?"

Like a Lady, I replied,
"Tak nak!" (NO)

I left my poor daddy have disappointed. He has always taught us to up our intake of proteins by eating half-boiled chicken eggs on certain mornings. "Its good for growing children" he use to remind me and my sis.

"Makan la...." (C'mon eat)

"Orang dah lambat laaaa...." (I am late already....)
Once again blaming on my guilt-ridden Dad for my lateness.

After dressing up, I scurry to my hell-hole and grab my sling bag and rush off cause as I really running late. Spent far too much time in the loo. From far, I noticed that disappointed look on his face. As if he was saying, " My daughter is all grown up and no longer eats half-boiled eggs with me"

I slipped out off the house after spraying a wift of Escada Sentiment and scurried to the lift lobby, as my Daddy was asking me to eat eggs with him. I felt so bad, leaving my Dad, for that very moment. I went to the first floor and walked towards the Kangkar LRT. Halfway through the journey, I realised I forgot my laptop which will be used for E-Learning class today!! I ran as fast as lighting ( I miss using that phrase since Primary school) back home. It was such a nice feeling to see Daddy still fiddling with the egg container, getting the egg out of its shell.

"So what did you forget, this time?", my dad mocked in Malay.

I gave him my killer eye-roll and grab my laptop from my room.

"Nah, eat this egg first"
I let out the longest moan... in retaliation.. but of course, I yielded. I love men of authortity....
I was gobbling down the semi-solid fluid, while my dad was rummaging for black sauce and pepper for me from the fridge.

"You don want kicap?"

"Mmm..na..nak" I gurgled and the egg slid down my throat. It was my Dad's turn to eat the egg, so I wanted to wash my bowl and pass the clean one to him. I know he is a very clean freak like a true Al-Attas, as Rizwan ever mentioned to me.

"No need", he took the bowl.. from my hand and broke his egg into the used bowl. I could see a smile forming on his lips, but he kept it perfectly straight..

"Papa nak pakai bekas Myra?" I asked if he was willing to use my bowl, cause I am a clean freak myself.

" umm", he nodded in agreement. I was touched but i never dared to show! My sweet Daddy.....

I gave him my most pleasant smile and went on my way to school. But upon rushing to the door, I decided to go back to my Dad and kiss his hand. Its an act of respect, in a Malay family to kiss our parents' hand before and after going out.

Unfortunately, very few people are still keeping up the tradition :(

I realised, its little things like this that makes a person whole... For me its having a lovely Daddy like him ;)