In The Beginning

“Your heart should adapt and be as good as normal.”

With that, I was given a new lease of life by the cardiothoracic surgeon who had operated on me.
What do I do with it now?

I have left my past behind; what used to be my song for him, ‘Symphony’ by Clean Bandit, no longer gets me teary-eyed when I hear it playing. In fact, I mime through the melody and whatever memory invoked by the chorus tunes doesn’t sting anymore where the wound used to be.

I decided to travel, starting with within the country, and then throughout Southeast Asia. I needed to see the world, the bigger world beyond what I used to know as a devoted wife whose only perspective was the home and the office, nothing further than that.

And I found out that, like a tea bag, I am strong as one that is steep in hot water. I can travel solo. I can climb mountains. I can get about in a foreign country where most of the citizens can’t string a proper English sentence.

As I was exploring the lush forests and volcanoes of Java, I stumbled upon a quaint souvenir shop that sold knick-knacks produced by the locals. There were some art and craft items, tea and biscuits which I thought were pretty interesting as I had never seen anything quite like them in Malaysia.

Then, something caught my eye – packets of drink labelled ‘Wedang Jahe Jawa’. I knew from my spattering Javanese that ‘jahe’ means ginger and decided to buy a packet.

It was time for me to head home and unpack. I gave my haul from the trip to Ben as he was unfortunately unable to join me this time around. I almost forgot about the ‘Wedang Jahe’ packet drink. It was a pleasant surprise when, after a few days, Ben brought me a piping hot mug of the drink.

I was instantly bewitched. As soon as I sipped the tea, the taste of the red ginger gave a fiery sensation and left me hankering for more. The strong ginger taste, mingling with spices, was soothed by a slightly sweet flavour which I later learned was from the gula aren. I felt instantly lifted, invigorated and refreshed. Ben gave me a sly smile to signal that we might be on to something. It so happened that for some time, I had been looking for a trading business to run, mulling over potential runaway products that might possibly become a great success, if marketed properly.

And so that’s how I started selling Halia Kasih. Halia (ginger) is a potent ingredient with proven health benefits backed by science, and Kasih simply means love. A business borne out of love, the love of a mother for her child.

It has been a wild few months, and I sincerely thank everyone who has supported my product, Halia Kasih. As a mother, I want to show my daughter that I am willing to work hard to make her happy, and that she must be brave enough to fly high and reach for the stars. This will be my unedited journal, documenting the challenges I face and the heartbreak of almost giving up from time to time.

I hope my journey will encourage my daughter to always pursue what her heart desires – especially
now that I know first-hand how fragile life can be.