LOVE, Kloudiia

It is just a humble, little egg.

In fact, the humbler and more “tattered” it looks, the more substance it contains within it’s plumpish body.

When I stood before a stall selling this tea-boiled egg (茶叶蛋) for the first time in my life–eons ago, may I add–I peeked into this big pot of boiling blackish liquid and blurted out “Eee”. Countless eggs, half and fully soaked in the mysterious black liquid were popping their heads out like pebbles on a low-tide beach. My friend told me those were Tea-Boiled Eggs, and I went “What’s that again?”

Though I don’t fancy food that wears a Darth Vader-like suit, but the eggs made my resolve went limp. Yes, I love eggs, regardless of how it is cooked, or uncooked! So I started choosing. Guess what? I went for the eggs that looked as wholesome as they could be–not a single crack could be found on its shell. Perfect!

My friend immediately shook her head, and whispered the secret to choosing a delicious Tea-Boiled Egg: pick the one with the most cracks on the egg-shell. There! She pointed, like this one.

Urgh! The “Chosen  One” had spiderwebish cracks that crawled all over, exposing its flesh in a flamboyant way, which, by now, had turned into a dark brown colour. It had been “polluted” by its dark surroundings. Talk about being innocent!

Since it was my virgin experience, so I chose to be wise and heeded my friend’s advice. The egg tasted delicious.

By now you’ve probably guessed the logic behind the choice. The more badly cracked the shell is, the more it allows the flavour of the tea–yes, the blackish liquid is actually a soup with tea leaves and spices–to be seeped into the egg, hence the tastier. But, you wouldn’t have thought that would be the case, would you?

Maybe you did. Okay then, you’re the smart one. I was the foolish one. Foolish enough to only go for the pretty-looking ones, when they are exactly the eggs that lack the flavour, and hence the substance!

What does this say about us, and our lives?

In this society where people perceive–I shall refrain from using the word “judge” here–each other based on first impressions, the way we speak and carry ourselves, in short, our self-image, how are we allowing that to sway our opinion on others?

Of course, I wouldn’t deny that I fancy speaking to a stranger dressed attractively, as opposed to another who has an entourage of flies and other unmentionables. And, please don’t get me wrong. Looking good is always the preferred option than looking bad. It’s a choice we make to put effort in making ourselves look good, in presenting an image to the outside world that gels with our inner us.

I just want to point out that while our external image is important, please do not be too obsessed until we overlook the inner side. Someone who is dressed in very simple clothing may just be the real gem. And you wouldn’t know until you start to take notice of this person, and to have a real conversation.

That’s why I would always go for this tattered Tea-Boiled egg, rather than

this wholesome, perfect egg!