COMMENT | Yesterday, my neighbour Kak Ros came up to my parents’ backyard with a carton of eggs in her hands.

“Nak buat apa dengan telur ni, Kak Ros (What are you doing with the eggs, Kak Ros)?” I asked.

“Nak bagi kat kamu lah (I am bringing it for you),” she replied.

I quickly unlocked my rusty gate to the backyard while my mom clumsily put on her headscarf and joined us.

“Banyak telur ni, Kak Ros (That’s a lot of eggs, Kak Ros),” I commented as my eyes wildly attempted to count them.

“Tiga puluh biji untuk keluarga kamu (30 eggs for your family),” Kak Ros explained as she passed the carton to my mom.

Looking at my mom’s hesitation, I asked Kak Ros why she was giving us the eggs. I just wanted to make sure she did not mistake the white T-shirts and the blue underwear hanging at our clothesline to be a call for help...