The Sky Isn't Always Blue

“Someone is missing beneath the same sky.”

Sometimes it isn't the person we lose, but the colour they once brought into our lives that slowly fades away.

A little story inspired by the song Langit Tak Lagi Biru, somewhere between tender laughter and a longing that never quite leaves.

At the end of the day, the sky was no longer blue, but love was still there.

A mother sat on the veranda, watching the evening sky slowly fade. The wind carried the scent of rain-soaked earth. In her hands was a little shirt she had been meaning to fold for a long time.

Sara came running over and wrapped her arms around her mother's legs.

“Mak, do I have to go to school tomorrow?”

Her mother gave her a faint smile.

“I don't know yet, sayang. School is quite far, and the road is all muddy.”

“Mak… Ayah said you shouldn't be sad. He said the sky will have colours again.”

Her mother fell silent.

Sara looked up at her.

“Mak… when the colours come back, will Ayah come home too?”

Her mother lowered her head and held Sara tightly.

“Maybe, sayang. Maybe Ayah is looking at the same colours too.”

Sara stared at the sky, her little lips pursed.

“Mak… the colours are so pretty. Like your dress at the wedding.”

Her mother laughed softly as tears began to gather in her eyes.

“Yes, very pretty. Like Ayah's smile.”

Suddenly, the neighbour's rooster crowed loudly, even though the sun was already going down.

Sara jumped.

“Mak! The chicken misses Ayah too!”

Her mother burst out laughing, only for the laughter to catch in her throat and turn into a sob.

For a moment, she was laughing and crying at the same time.

And somehow, the sky seemed to smile with them.

It was still grey.

But it no longer felt quite so lonely.