Layang-layang and wisdom of the old

The other day I was running on my way to gym when the sight of kites soaring high in the sky made me stop
I'd just watched the movie 'The Kite Runner' the day before
The kites I saw were so high up in the sky - there were 3 of them
They'd been cut loose and it almost looked like they were only too happy to be free of the lines that were holding them back
I stood where I stopped, transfixed watching the kites - oblivious to the world around me
It must have been a good 5 minutes or so
When I came to, there were 5 or 6 other people near me watching the kites too

I've never successfully flown a kite
I remember making a kite during art class in primary school
My kite was purple, wrapped around a lidi frame - a lidi is the stiff midrib of the coconut leaves
It never flew
Anyways, I digress
This is not about my failed attempt at kite-making

As I walked away from the crowd watching the kites, I caught sight of another flight of kites - the bird-kind
More than 20 soared across the sky, crisscrossing each other
I stood again, transfixed by the elegant dance of flight of the swallows
I watched 1 swallow break away from the group
As it soared higher and further away, I was reminded of the kites I saw earlier
In malay, both the bird and the man-made object of flight are called by the same name - layang-layang
I now appreciate why
and it only took me 30 years...