The door opened and in she went. Following close by was me. Before I could say “Six, please thank you” the service has been rendered. I stepped behind and waited as we were lifted up from the ground to our respective destination.

I observed her on the sly. First, her ear - no ear phones plugged in. Second, her hands - one was occupied with some plastic bags holding her groceries and the other was free. Finally, her face. Gosh, she must be feeling pretty bad today I reckoned.

That must be the reason why she didn’t even bother asking me which floor am I going and just took matter into her own hands by pressing all the levels the lift could stop at. Fortunately, there were but 2 choices.  I wonder if she will behave like this too if there are more than two levels for the lift to stop.

I guess for someone who is used to community living, this must be a far cry from the good ole’ days of kampung spirit where everyone knows everyone and friendly gestures, smiles and goodwill services are aplenty. In this case, I can’t complain since I was saved from that little effort to press the lift button, though I would have much preferred that she pushed the right one and not cause the elevator to expend more energy that it required.

Such silence prevails in today’s Singapore. Whether one treasures it or not is debatable. 

This is a stark contrast if my mother is around. Effortlessly, she can whip up a short conversation with anyone, though she doesn’t do this in wholesale. A tad more reserved than my mom, I might chat a little bit lesser, but I would wholeheartedly move beyond the “er”, “erm”, ”ya” and ”bye”.

What can come out from such liaisons my mom is good at forging? Relationships. Connections caa be formed without saying a word, but they won’t and can’t go deeper than that inital link if no conversation takes place. Hence speaking is an inevitable part in life.

Speaking conveys thoughts and intentions, though the original meaning may not always be captured by the listener. Nevertheless, it’s better to be misunderstood than no attempt to comprehend.

In my case, it only means one futile lift trip can be saved.  

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