Once upon a time there lived my father…
A deep blue sky kissing down a long range of mountains along a runway has never been in my bothering thoughts of Malaysia. The refreshing first glimpse of Kota Kinabalu airport and its tranquility put me at ease to find the paths tread by my father long ago. All I had with me was his last postal and a death certificate issued from Kota Marudu, a very remote place in Kota Belud, Sabah, East Malaysia. I could not find a single excited face at the airport; no big queue unlike in Dubai or India; and whoever looked busy was using the airport Wifi service. Finally I got the immigration officer to share my reason for visiting Sabah, and her eyes widened when I said I lived in the country until 6. But I could not give a clear reply when she asked me whether I am in search of my roots. On the way to the hotel, with a heavy heart, I tried to visualise the place, where my father had made big prospects; and where I lived with parents ‘once upon a time’; the room where I locked up