Written piece
Wheels Above Water
Abu Danial Diosomito Zaili
Brunei
About this piece
A Bruneian family's battered Proton Saga bridges Kampong Ayer's watery life to solid ground. But endless fuel and family demands teach Father true sacrifice: progress demands putting loved ones first.
In the heart of Kampong Ayer, where stilted houses lined the murky Brunei River, Zainul's family longed for solid ground. For generations, they navigated waterways in longboats, racing to Bandar Seri Begawan. Everything changed when Father brought home a battered Proton Saga—a car promising freedom from the water village.
"Our future is on land!" he announced, grinning widest, voice brimming with hope as he fired up the engine. Mother slept in, no longer rowing vegetables to market at dawn. The children donned clean, dry uniforms for school. But the car brought burdens: fuel vanished fast, oil leaked endlessly.
Father became a chauffeur and referee. "Baba, school first!" cried little Aisyah. "Market now, or we starve!" urged Mother. The tank drained quicker than his patience.
Quiet village nights turned to bickering in their riverbank home. "Why sacrifice our home for this iron beast? Hungrier than a crocodile!" Mother wept.
Father gripped his keys, staring at the moonlit river, tempted to toss them to the catfish below. He saw his reflection: a man adrift, yanked by every current.
One stormy dawn, the car choked dead. Aisyah missed her exam; Mother's stall wilted, unsold.
With his brother's help, Zainul rose early to mend the engine himself. Their woes weren't heavier than the car could bear—it could carry them all. It was Father's sacrifice that mattered.
They left Kampong Ayer behind in days to come, but his lessons flowed eternal: true progress demands a father's quiet surrender.