This teapot has been with me since I was four, a present from my mother, who could not bear to see her first born daughter cry for wanting to have an English teapot from an old crockery shop, in little Simanggang town. Next to the hair salon where my mum had just had her hair permed was this little shop that sold all things crockery, from plain coloured enamel-covered iron basins to lovely flower printed teapots and teacups. As usual, my mum stopped to 'check' out some new stocks of teacups and teapots...and I was following eagerly behind...As I looked at the array of cups and teapots, there was this one teapot that caught my eye. I pulled mum's hand and pointed to the teapot. I told her I wanted it. She asked the lady shopkeeper how much was its price. I remembered clearly till now that she said "six dollar and thirty cents", and with that mum said 'no' to me, because she had run out of cash, because we had spent our money on groceries. I started to cry...my little heart broke when I heard that she could not get that beautiful teapot for me...and at that tender age, I thought that it was the most beautiful teapot I have ever seen. The lady shopkeeper, having known mum for a long time, took the teapot, wrapped it in used newspaper and put it in my mum's rattan shopping basket. "There", she said, "let your little girl have it, and you can pay me the next time you come to get more teacups from me", and mum, not wanting to owe her too much must have given her last remaining 5 dollar note to the lady. "I'll be back tomorrow", she said as she firmly pulled my hand as we walked out of the shop....Ever since that day, that teapot has always been with me till this day. That was my first porcelain teapot! And with a teapot, I learned to love drinking tea......
