The Reason Why We Say 'Hi!'

Walking pass through the narrow corridors of a HDB flat on the way home, I lay my head down, drained of energy from a day work. My mind was drifting in the air before it was conscious of a corner much familiar to me. I raised my head in quick response to the adjacent opened windows of a chinese-residence home. An elderly man who was seemingly resting quietly on his favourite chair caught a glimpse of me. He stood up immediately as if to be bestowed with the gift of life. The next would be a scenario of our small conversation:

Old man: Hello.......boy! Lu dari mana(You from where)? (Not suprisingly, he knew abit of malay)
Me: Ouh...ni hao? I from work ah. Just came back only!
Old man: Sudah makan (Have you eaten)?
Me: Ouh.....sudah sudah! You sudah makan?
Old man: Yes. You want some oranges?
Me: Nvm lah uncle. I also don't really like orange. But thanks anyway!
Old man: Okay, okay! Bye!
Me: Bye!

Of course, this was just a vague scenario of what happened. And it was the common manner of how we greeted each other. Every time I past that corridor it was a short conversation with that man or a mere 'HI!'. But what caught my attention was the way he would be delighted during our confrontations. There was this one time when he was in a dispiriting mood, sitting in his chair undisturbed by his many relatives who were mining their own business. All of a sudden, he would be hyperactive as I strolled past by and said 'Hi!'. He greeted back with such an open-hearted gesture that for a moment I was speechless by his instant reaction as well as the sudden stares from his relatives of who this boy may be.

A few months passed...(to be continued)