A Tale from The Land under The Wind

by Mr B





"Fakkkkk samurai bodo!!!, lari!!”



Three guys are running out of a restaurant while being chased by a fat bald man with a three feet long katana sword in his hand. Earlier the three guys were sitting in the restaurant ordering drinks from the waiter when Benny decided to “pau” the restaurant, so he got up from the sitting position and walk to the counter and says “hello” to the owner, Mathir and Poji sat quietly enjoying their drinks, they know Benny would do this since the restaurant’s waiter was rude to them earlier. Benny puts his hand on the counter’s deck cabinet and he speaks to the fat bald man behind the payment counter who happens to be the owner of the restaurant.

“Bro how are you, I’m afraid I need to charge you la bro for the inconvenience, your waiter got no respect la, now empty the register!”

The fat bald man starred at Benny and smile, but Benny does not notice the man’s hand was reaching for something below the counter’s cabinet and suddenly a shiny metal object appears. The bald man tried to slash Benny with it. Luckily Benny’s reaction was faster that he manage to avoid the katana attack and shouts.The voice of Benny yelling alerts Mathir and Poji and they stood immediately, Poji is holding a chair from where he stands and Mathir was ready in his so called “Silat Kekuda” position. He is in his fighting stand ready for a fight.

“Lari, lari bodoh! Hari ni kita salah pau orang la, hahaha”

Benny shouts to Mathir and Poji, and they laugh. He is still trying to escape from the wrath of the fat bald man. The fat bald man keeps attacking Benny with that sword, but Benny was smarter. He loves to fight and the best thing about it, He is good at it. He waited for the fat bald man to lose all of his energy, and he kicked that fat man in the stomach as hard as he can while Mathir and Poji are still standing from their last position waiting anything to come to their way and fight it off like WWE royal rumble match. They will hold off anything so that Benny can escape from the fat bald man, Suddenly a guy starts running towards Mathir and Poji, it was the rude waiter that took their order earlier. Poji throw the chair and it precisely hit the waiter’s face and then Mathir sprints towards the waiter and gives a flying kick right on the waiter’s nose. The waiter fell hard but Mathir has not stopped from attacking him. Mathir gives more kicks to the waiter, he was like a pro soccer player trying to score a goal kicking the waiter constantly and ends it with a stomp on the waiter’s face.

“Thirrr, lek ah bukan melawan pun kimak tu hahaha" said Poji.

People are running away from the restaurant. Everyone is panicking as they rush to the main door where the exit lies, Benny and the fat bald guy are still fighting, but it seems the fat bald guy loses a lot of energy and he fell once when Benny kicked him.

“Bangsat punya budak! Kau kenal tak aku sapa pukimak!”

The fat bald man screams at Benny and he swings the katana once more, but this time it was weaker than any swings before that. Benny realize that the fat bald man had used up all the energy out of himself. Now is the time for Benny to attack. He jumped and give a side kick to the man’s head and he fell hard.

“Haha doremon buntal tumbang!” screams Benny.

But the fat bald man was muc tougher than they had thought, that he did not fainted after that kick. Instead he rise up again with unlimited anger and he swings the sword again and again. Benny runs away as he just remembered that they have a gang meeting afterwards. Benny then runs towards Mathir and Poji as both of them are fighting off a bunch of waiters. Mathir and Poji's fists was red with blood stain due to the punches they have thrown constantly.

“Blah, blah wey, Mansor nak jumpa kan lepas ni, babi la lupa” said Benny to the two adrenaline-high monkeys.

Both Mathir and Poji realize that they have forgotten their gang meeting. Both of them lead by Benny then fight their way out of the restaurant. After several minutes, they reached the main door of the restaurant. The fat bald man was still chasing them, but luckily he was slow like a fat sweaty pink pig.

“Gemok babi!” shout them.

And they run as fast as they can to Poji’s car, the fat bald man was exhausted and after a while he stopped chasing. And he shouts

“Aku cari kamu semua sampai kiamat bangsat!”

Benny, Mathir and Poji were laughing hard while running, Benny said “Fakkkk, kita salah org sial, hahaha, babi punya orang tua boleh ada samurai plak”

“Tu la pasal serious shit kita salah kacau orang jo harini haha” Mathir reply.

“Dah dah naik kereta dulu nti kita cerita” Poji was already starting the engine.

Poji is driving very fast. He has always been the driver for Mathir and Benny. Mathir will always sit at the back of the car since he is the youngest among them, he is only 15. Benny will always call shotgun because for them, that seat is only for those who have earned it. Benny pulled out a box of cigarette from his pocket and took 3 sticks of cigarettes. He lights it all in his lips and passes them to Mathir and Poji. Benny was the leader of the pack. Lighting up cigarettes for his brothers has been his habit for so long. Mathir and Poji take it as sign of kindness from an older brother.

They have always looked up to Benny, to them Benny was their savoir or maybe a brother they wish they had. Benny was born poor in a messed up family. His father was a drunk drug lord, well he used to be, now he is in jail in God-knows where. His mother was an ex hooker who smoke crack, dope, meth and jerry every single day. He was raised badly, where he had no father to fight with, and no mother to whine to. All that he has ever knew was hardship and loneliness, but only until he was 11. His parents were messed up. Benny have to find money and means to survive by his own, so at the age of 11 Benny decided to quit school and work to earn money. He wants to build up his own life and leave his parents. His first job was washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant nearby his house. That job taught him a lot, including the work ethics of the Chinese, which is for him is a very strict discipline. Besides, because of that job he met Mansor, a boss of a local gang that goes by the name Amuk, which he started himself.  Benny first met Mansor when he was 11 at the dark back alley of the restaurant he was on a smoke break. He was sitting on the bench at the back of the restaurant while smoking and suddenly a half Malay-half Pilipino looking guy approached him and asked him for a lighter.

“Dik lighter ada ta?”

Benny gave Mansor a lighter and start wondering what is up with this guy as he is entering the restaurant from the back door. Suddenly he tuns to Benny.

“Uncle Law ada?”

Now Benny understands. This guy might be a gangster who works for Uncle Law. For Benny, Uncle Law is an example of a kind gangster boss. He loves to helps the unfortunate people, for example the restaurant that he runs, half of the profits goes to the orphanages.

Benny's mind was flashing back and forth in his collection of memories. He was brought back to the present by the annoying voice of the self-proclaimed Paul Walker.

“Weyhh apahal senyap semua?”

Poji raid the silence and he start asking Benny while driving like a mad man

“Ni meeting nanti ni pasal apa eh Benny?”

Benny explain to them that Mansor has summoned all of his “budak” for meeting in order to tell them that he will replace Uncle Law soon as leader of 99

“Damn Abang Mansor jadi taiko besar la nti?” Mathir shouts excitedly

“Lepasni Amuk take over!"

Poji was in favor with Mathir but somehow Benny was silent and his face shows that he is thinking of something. He explain to Mathir and Poji, that it is a good news for them that Mansor will take over the whole entire leadership of the gangster organization, but he also explain the threats that comes with it,

“Korang imagine eh dalam 99 ada Amuk, NGG, Logpond, Zheng-Zi and Bulls, kongsi ni semua join under 99 before Amuk wujud lagi, kau rasa apa kongsi lain fikir Amuk take over?”

Benny’s statement made them think and suddenly all of them shout at the same time in the rusty Charade 88.

“War is coming!”

And the conversation ends just like that without any closure. Poji keeps on driving, Benny is messaging Mansor about their location and he also tells him that they will be there in 20 minutes, but everyone knows croods and punks are never punctual. Mathir is asking for another cigarette as he feels a sudden rush of anxiety, He wishes for all the smokes that he blows will take away all his worries. All of them were thinking about what will be ordered by Mansor for them to carry out later on.

End of part 1


Earthly by The Overnighters X The Stonesbury





Verse 1
When you think about the earth, come to mind, hah, yo
When you think about the earth what comes to mind, come on man don’t be blinded by sight,
The world is never getting better, no never ever,
There aint gonna be no healer, that’s sadder,
Its we better work together and for the better,
We gotta change it now son, its now or never,

Bridge
No matter if we drive big cars,
Or even big rockets up to mars,
If we don’t know, reasons behind a war,
We don’t need to search that far

Chorus
The more you give, the more you get,
Better yet, you give all that is said,
Instead of hatred, why is not love that we spread,
Okay okay enough of this (sing)
Okay okay enough of this
Simply, where is the world that I miss,
Okay okay okay enough with all of the worlds conspiracies

Verse 2
Be one of kind,
cause kind is contagious,
Me and you, wegotta be, hazardous,
Of the world that we living in,
All the people only care bout cashing in,
And in the end she keeps on dying and dying,
We keep on throwing and using, buying and wasting,
Huh, wasting, again?  

Bridge
No matter if we drive big cars,
Or even big rockets up to mars,
If we don’t know, reasons behind a war,
We don’t need to search that far

Chorus
The more you give, the more you get,
Better yet, you give all that is said,
Instead of hatred, why is not love that we spread,
Okay okay enough of this (sing)
Okay okay enough of this
Simply, where is the world that I miss,
Okay okay okay enough with the world conspiracies

Verse 3
Yo all this contamination and pollution (haih)
Got me thinking and pondering about the situation,
we need more than humans and buildings,
To start building a real nation,
Step outside to my beautiful world (is it)
say hello, to the beautiful birds, but wait,
Didn’t A samad Said that he saw a bird in a drain?
Oh God were we created out of disdain?

Chorus
The more you give, the more you get,
Better yet, you give all that is said,
Instead of hatred, why is not love that we spread,
Okay okay enough of this (sing)

No matter if we drive big cars,
Or even big rockets up to mars,
If we don’t know, reasons behind a war,
We don’t need to search that far

(3rd place,
Earth Day Songwriting Competition,
IIUM)

Lyrics : Shakesbo

Music : Zicko Adanan





Save Me by The Stonesbury





Rap verse 1
I sat in my room watching the news at night,
I saw two different countries that were in a fight.
Blood was spilled, with burnt trees strayed at the hill,
They don’t think about how the Mother Nature feels!
I wish that the world would go back to the olden days,
Not like this world, where trees and rivers decay.
God created the nature and it was flawless!
But we destroy it while being thoughtless!
Brothers, excuse me for saying this,
You’ll ponder about the nature that your legacy will miss.
You think of clothes, foods, and diamonds to wear,
But you forget about the earth who screams to be repaired!

Bridge :
When all is gone, what’s left to take
When all of this are gone, what’s left for you to take
When all is gone, what’s left to take
When all of this are gone, what’s left for you to take

Chorus:
Save me
From the greed of of all your dreams and fathers
Save me
From the hands that pave me for a dollar
I wont be here for so long
If youre just singing to this song
Cant u see all this rusty tears
We’ve been here for so many years
Save me
From the hands that pave me for a dollar

Rap verse 2
To feel the nature, I went to the riverside,
To watch the fishes swimming with nothing to hide.
There were amphibians, mammals, and reptiles too!
I said Alhamdulillah, the sky and river are so blue!
But the river turned dark, stamped by devil’s mark.
I saw trucks; they came with two guys and parked.
What I saw that day made me sick to my liver,
Thinking “what we’ve done to this precious river.”.
They threw toxic waste, doing whatever they please,
The earth is dying, slowly rotting as she yelps,
If we take this road, earth will surely be missed.
Please just think about it, the Mother Nature needs our help.

2nd Chorus

Bridge

Save me
From the greed of of all your dreams and fathers
Save me
From the hands that pave me for a dollar

(1st place,
Earth Day Songwriting Competition,
IIUM)

Lyrics : Shauqi Shiro and Abraham Slothface
Music : Zicko Adanan





We are still here

by Shakesbo




we are still the same, 
do not be angry if we were lazy,
do not let us take all the blame,
i remember everything, the laughter the moments, the talks, 
everything as if it was in a picture frame.

we can hear cause we're still here.

'weh guys letsgo out?'
'eh malas lah penat lah do'
it is not a word or a phrase we hear too many,
blaming, deceiving, hurting, 
what ever happened to those scouts,
who in their early years couldn't keep a single serious thing serious?

we can hear cause we're still here.

holding everything you've got for a crowd,
but appearing, judging concluding before a stance,
sometimes the road isn't straight, sometimes it is not allowed,
shutting down everything but a chance.

we can hear cause we're still here.




The Adventure of Inspector Wahab

by Abraham Slothface





"What the heck"
"Only 3 kilos and the whole world need to know. Fuck you la Hana. Who needs to know about how much weight you lose when you look like that? Motherfucka." 

"Lan, kau dok mencarut-carut apa tu. Kau ingat mak ni tak tahu?"

Azlan ignored his mum and continued scrolling the timeline up and down, up and down until nothing is left for him to devour, but his mind keeps on bringing him back to that stupid girl's post. 

"Only 3 kilos, and the whole world needs to know? I can't see any difference. Can you hippopotamus? Have you ever heard of the word exercise?  Go for a jog for fuck sake."

Azlan takes a deep breath and his fingers begin to dance on the keyboards with all the profanity he's capable of.



_________________________________________________________________________________





It is not a great morning for Inspector Wahab. It is only 5am, and he just drove all the way from the warmth of his wife to meet a dead kid in an unknown neighbourhood. A girl just hung herself in the living room. She had been put down to the ground by somebody long before the police came, and the rope has been removed from her neck leaving a intricate pattern pressed on the cold dead skin. A new guy accidentally kicked a part of the broken chair on the scene, but everyone just ignored it.

"Nurhana binti Hassan,"
"Ah fuck this. Fuck all of this shit, I'm out,"

Now this case is going to be big for a week in the news and there, another sleepless nights for whoever that is going to be replacing him after he submitted his immediate resignation notice. He's been stupid enough working day and night when he could sit back and enjoy endless vacation if he had just sell his lands in Kedah earlier.

"Say goodbye to Inspector Wahab shitheads,"

He's glad that the dead kid's dad called the police immediately. Inspector Wahab is tired of half decomposed bodies that smell much worse than how it looks. The only few things that is bothering him is the dad's whereabouts, and the closed tab of Azlan Rooney's Facebook page on the laptop full of Hello Kitty stickers in the girl's bedroom.




_________________________________________________________________________________





"This is the best thing of the week, and its only Friday!" 
"Hana hasn't been replying your comment yet since last night you retard. I can't wait to see her face in the class," Amir keeps on swiping his iPhone screen up and down, up and down. Then he takes a look at Azlan who has not stopped yawning since the moment they exited Amir's dad's BMW. 

"Do we really have to talk about that hippo? Amir, my Manchester United jersey. Make sure its an S size."
"I wont wear any M okay?"

"What? Hahahaha fuck you la Lan. I'm gonna buy you an XXL."
"How big is an XXL actualy?" 

That is the last thought in Amir's mind, before his instinct takes over and he pushes Azlan out of the way with all his strength. The impact was so immense it sends Amir flying few metres away from the crash site. The sound alerted few passerbies who are usually numb is this cold morning air as it could be heard from the nasi lemak stall on the other side of the road. 

The Proton Waja immediately leaves the scene, screeching and leaving trails on the asphalt. The road in front of SMK Taman Indah becomes congested that morning.



_________________________________________________________________________________




He is smoking for the first time in years, and he is on his fifth ciggarete.  Hassan takes out his wallet and manages to gather around RM14 worth of banknotes and coins. He regrets not going to the ATM first before he begins his hunt. His work clothes since last night are drenched in sweat, and he is stuck in the middle of nowhere with his now fuel-less Waja. His shivering hands are gripping tight on the steering wheel.

"Dear God. Why is this happening to me?"
"Maybe you should just kill yourself. Then you can be with your daughter in hell,"

Streams of tears running down Hassan's face, as he wonders if his sins are too much that God just have to take everything away from him. He exits his Waja and decides to leave it on the petrol stations car park, and he begins to walk on the side of the road. As he passes a thick spot of bushes, he takes out his phone and car keys and throws them away for good.

Hassan's plan was to cross the border and find a place to hide, but now he doesn’t know if that is possible. He still regrets not turning back and finishes the job. He will come back, he promised himself. Even if he has to be a beggar in Thailand for years, he promised that he would come back for that boy. 

He would get his revenge for his only daughter and skin that bastard Azlan alive. If only he had hit the right kid.



_________________________________________________________________________________




IPOH: The suspect for the hit and run case in that killed a student in front of a school in Subang two days ago was found dead last night on Jalan Maling with a large amount of drugs in his possession. He was located by the locals in a location more than 200 kilometres from where he lives, and declared to be dead due to overdosing on drugs by Assistant Commissioner Chu Kai Sok.

"This is an example of a good connection within the police," according to him.

He was first missing from his house after he called the police, informing that his daughter had just committed suicide. He was then involved in an accident in front of SMK Taman Indah that killed Amir Hafiz bin Khalid Romzi, 15 and escaped from the scene in a Proton Waja.

He is suspected to be under the influence of drugs during the accident. According to the neighbours, he worked night shift most of the time and used the drugs to give him some sort of strength. His daughter's death is said to be caused by the depression due to his recent divorce.



_________________________________________________________________________________



"These reporters are so fucking good. Right? No wonder they are so expensive,"
"I was thinking about killing you too. But you really remind me of Amir every time I look at you,"
"Whiskey? You?" Datuk Khalid's voice echoes on and on in the spacious office.

Inspector Wahab nods. Maybe some whisky can help him to forget what happened last night. He needs a clear mind to plan his dream retirement.

Azlan keeps on running his dead eyes on the article again and again while ignoring Datuk Khalid. He is now aware of the fact that it doesn’t matter if he tells everyone the truth, everyone would still believe what is written in the newspaper. Hell, they would cite it.

"Everyone is a killer. Mine is just an unfortunate accident,"
"I did not kill three people. I did not kill Amir."

He put down the newspaper, and shifts his gaze towards the book racks. He then tries to make meaning out of the scattered vertical titles on his left.

"What's his name Wahab? Hassan right?" Inspector Wahab nods again.
"I asked him kid, why did you kill my son? Before he even answered I stepped on his face again and again until I realised I was jumping on him! Like on a trampoline you know? His ribs caved in when I checked,"
"No guns kid. No guns, just plain old hiking boots"
"Can you believe that he's walking to Thailand? Crazy right?"
"We were supposed to be in England now my son,"

And Datuk Khalid goes on and on.

Azlan finished his search for meaning in the book racks, and turn his head towards Datuk Khalid, and he sees what Amir would one day turns out to be if he were able to live long enough. Datuk Khalid has drunkenly mistaken Azlan for Amir, as he slips deeper into the alcohol. 

Inspector Wahab asks for another drink, as he tries not to think of how he could postpone his plan to sell his lands in Kedah. Hell, with the money Datuk Khalid just paid him he could book a ticket to Mecca and never come back. Maybe the sight of the Kaabah would help him to forget Hassan's face.



_________________________________________________________________________________




Hana can't stop looking at herself in the mirror. The diet plan she promoted on Facebook really works. The 3 kilos she just lost really shows.

"This is so much better than exercise," she turns around and around looking at her own reflection.
She can't help not to notice how Amir was looking at her all the time, and she feel loved. But it is not Amir that she wants.

After around half an hour worth of gossiping with her mum on the phone, she decided to take a bath. As she feels the water dripping all over her, she tries her best not to think of Azlan and how he moves on the field. It's like he has a third eye high in the sky, mercilessly scoring goals after goals. Goals after goals.

Goals after goals, like an angry god punishing weak human. When the whistle blows she would come running down the field towards him and celebrate his glory in his arms. Around them are their kids, miniature Azlan ranging from 3 to 9 years old.

The sound of the beeping rice cooker wakes Hana up from her midnight daydream. She scrutinize the food in the refrigerator to make sure that it would still be good when his dad got back from his night shift. After double checking the locks on her front door, she sprints with all her might towards her bedroom and dives into her bed. As she lifts her laptop onto her tummy, she notices a notification icon on her Facebook, and her heart stops beating for a fracture of a second.

"Azlan Rooney,"





You Only Live Once

by Mr B




You only live once,
Make mistake twice,
Don't be wise,
It will be a fast life.

You only live once,

Cheat on your love ones,
Make a fuss,
So that your name will rise.

You only live once,

Save none,
Hate everyone,
Make a mess till you are done.

You only live once,

Hold the grudge,
Have the whole pie,
For you are going to die.

You only live once.



For Life Has Been A Struggle

by Zicko Adanan




This is not a mere tale

For life has been a struggle
Such a boat without a paddle
As death has got its angle
Cruising along the west flow.

For life has been a struggle,

Reality was never realistic
If simple truth was all tricks
Life was never worth living
If living means struggling.

For life has been a struggle,

Up above they're dining
Down below we're rotting
Rendered away to the outskirt
Where abstract was more in favor
Where everything was more in flavor
Where truth is pure, where life is life
Where Death awaits
to bail us out of this life of a mere pawn
Away from the manufactured lies and nonsense
of this concrete world,
The impostor of reality.

For life has been a struggle,

This is not a mere tale
To fool a nightingale
But a reason for more ale
As remedy for a lonely owl.



Thorns

by Shauqi Shiro





The tall thorny tree - a silk floss tree stand in the wide jungle,
Standing still as it is, a Rafflesia tries to mingle.
Thorns cut a bit on the stranger, as it senses danger;
Startled but oblivious as scar cuts not to the harm bringer.

Thorns small as sharp as pointy nails it bears,
Wondering not the penalties it wears.
They are not afar but so damn near,
Why does the silk floss tree need to fear?

The thorny tree is blind like a pawn,
That a steeply straight scar can be sewn.





Listen Dear

by Zicko Adanan




Listen dear,
We’re not that young anymore
Day by day we crawl forward,
Pushed by time
to the tip of that somber sword,
So thin, so sharp and deadly,
We’re all gonna get killed someday.

Listen dear,
We can’t go back anymore,
The past only educates
not for us to cling onto,
All our foolishness were only chances
given by time,
So we learn.

Listen dear,
Time won’t tolerate anymore,
We’re nearing the sword now,
Open up those eyes,
See how vivid it becomes,
See it shines brighter day by day,
Then only we realize and tremble.

My dear,
We’ll be wondering,
When will it strikes through?
What would it feels like?
Remember my dear,
We’re not that young anymore.




Empty Glass

by Abraham Slothface 




I've felt much worse, but when I realised
how long I've been staring
at this blank white page
without having my fingers moving,
tapping on alphabets like it does before
when I want it to, I saw a man
who could say nothing but silence, slowly
sinking into stagnant sea he called his life.
Sometimes by mistakes they do deliver it to me
word by word, and I am a grateful servant,
a typewriter made of flesh,
better than a beggar I am right now.
As night crawls deeper the stronger
disappointment is persuading, pulling me
deep into sleep. But the bright canvas
lending its light into the bedroom
keeps on waking me up in the dark,
while whispering, not yet. Not yet.
So to kill the insulting guilt,
on how easily I am defeated
by the void that has claimed my mind,
mercilessly swallowing sentences
and drowning uninspired inspirations,
I keep on writing for you my dear
about how I can't write tonight.