At age 8, I stared down at the table while my best friend showered me with eraser dust.
5 minutes later, I was standing in front of the mirror in the toilet weeping, staring at my tear-stained face, trying to get the eraser dust out of my hair.
Later I locked myself in a cubicle and sat down to cry.

The first time I felt hopeless and betrayed.
–

–

–
At age 12, I pretended to be invisible as my teacher shouted accussions at me for my mum’s complaint of her ignorance to me getting bullied by my sitting partner under her watch.  I was a spectator, I thought, as I watched the girl who was me looking stunned and holding back tears, whose heart was full of anger and sadness. The teacher granted her no mercy and demanded the entire class to not befriend her.

The girl spent the rest of the year lonely and invisible.

She made her mind up never to be a  teacher when when she grows up.

The second time she felt hopeless and betrayed.

–

–

–

–

At age 14, the girl she thought was her best friend, X,  told her she thought the girl was fat, ugly and disgusting. After making use of her for homework- copying and as a tool for comparism between the two (to show X’s own superiority in terms of both appearance and skills).The girl’s mum had warned her X wasn’t any good but the girl had stubbornly ignored her, feeling good about having a good friend.

It was the third time the girl felt hopeless and betrayed once again.

It was the last straw.

The girl has never had any good friends ever since.

–

–

–

–

But whenever things go wrong, be it broken friendships, a torn heart, or tears after getting thrown down the bus after puking (due to motion sickness), my mum would always be there for me, waiting for me to calm down, to welcome me with warm cuddles, and finally, that familar bowl of porridge cooked with heart, with love… lots of love.

–

–

I will always remember the words that came with it.

 Mum’s words… “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you…” she would say, face red and heart hurting as much as mine.

“You couldn’t have prevented it…” I would say, tears flowing and heart burning.

–

The bowl of porridge really meaned at lot. My mum read millions of nutrition articles and finally decided on its ingredients…

Porridge because it was easier to swallow.

+

Salmon because of Omega threes (for intelligence).

+

Carrots and wolfberries for good eyesight.

–

Loads and loads of random vegetables for fibre.

=

A bowl of love.

–

My mum hasn’t cooked porridge for 3 years due to a really packed working schedule. So I went and concocted my own. My version of the bowl of love… with some spice… and without fish (simply because there’s none at home)… and no freshly made stock (because this is supposed to be easy.

–

–

Here’s the recipe. Please cook with love.

–

Easy Tom Yum Porridge

Makes 1 serving

–

–

Ingredients:

A

3/4 of 1 Knorr’s Tom Yam stock cube

3/4 bowl cooked jasmine rice

1/2 tsp salt

A dash of pepper

B

4 tbsp of frozen mixed veggies (corn, carrot and peas mix)

1 stalk of celery, sliced thinly

Some cabbage, sliced thinly

1 slice vegetarian ham, cubed

–

Method

Heat water till it boils

Add in stock cube and stir till it dissolves.

Add in salt and pepper.

Add in rice and frozen veggies.

Cook on high for 1/2 hour. Stir occasionally.

Add in celery and cabbage. Cook for 10 minutes while stirring. Add in vegetarian ham. Stir for 1 minute and switch off heat.

Enjoy your bowl of love!

–

–