Many thanks to bros and sis who supported the previous story.
Here is another one dating back much earlier than the first, a time when I was less mature and more reckless.
Well, there is never a right time to start writing so please excuse me if updates are irregular at times.
Angel is a woman who left an unforgettable chapter in my earlier life, someone whom I believe would have shared a blissful marriage and a happy family with me. Regrets? I don’t know but it is history that still comes to mind once in a while.
Tracing back to the time when I was still schooling and if I remembered correctly, I just got promoted to secondary school when a new family moved to our little neighbourhood, or should I call it a village. That was when I got to know Angel, who was then known as Ah Mui. Nowhere in her name was there a “Mui” character but that was how everyone addressed her. In those days, parents had the tendency to give their children 奶名 or 乳名 (nick name) in belief that it would be easier to bring them up. Of course, I was known as “Ah-something” as well.
In the village lived people of different races, occupations and backgrounds. A few families looked better off with cars while the majority was average or below average income families. From my stand as a teenager, what the adults were doing for a living was none of my business. The top priority was to achieve results that could keep me away from “eating kway teow” (caning). On weekends, most of the children would be hanging out by the playground (only 2 swings and a slide) trying to participate in any games organized by the older boys and girls. Some of the bigger boys were real bullies but their attitudes and cockiness were usually put down by the bigger sisters, whom always seemed the ones protecting the juniors. One statement I would forever remember from an elder sister was “你们不让那些小的玩, 我们也不玩了”. So we had hooligans and bookworms of different races and ages all playing together. There were still times when one or two would be left out, sitting pathetically by one side watching the rest having fun.
Among the group games we played were “tok-kar”, “police & thief”, “pa chiu bay long” whereby the youngest player could be only 8 or 9 years old while the oldest could be 16 or 17. Typical of such games, 2 best players would be appointed as captains while the rest of us formed into pairs waiting to be selected. Ah Mui and I were always a pair because we were of the same age, and as a result, we were playing against each other all the time. Why Ah Mui and me and not other boys of my age?
Don’t Laugh!
I was the shortest among those boys of my age and deemed only competent enough as an opponent for Ah Mui. She was nearing 1.7m in height while I stood only a meter and a half. I kind of disliked Ah Mui for that because she was a few months younger than me but would always ask me to call her “Jie-Jie” in view of our height difference. Even till today, she is the tallest I have seen for a thirteen year old and I used to quietly think of her as an ostrich. Anyway, all of us had fun despite occasional fights that broke out.
Another three years of my teenage life flew passed in that environment and it came the year when I had to sit for O Levels. Much lesser time was spent joining the outdoor games but I became one of the top seeds and Ah Mui was no longer the person to pair with me. Gone was my kiddy voice and my height was fast shooting towards 6 feet. Though that would have earned me some dignity lost in the last 2 to 3 years, it was insignificant as most of my time was spent on preparation for the examination.
That same year, Ah Mui’s family disappeared from the neighbourhood and I thought they shifted. How could Ah Mui leave without even saying goodbye? A week or two later, I came to hear from some gossiping adults that her parents died in an accident and Ah Mui moved to stay with a relative. Yet some others said her parents died in a fire and Ah Mui was sent to an orphanage. Struck by the sad news, I didn’t even know how to contact her to deliver my condolence. It was a time whereby most households would have a telephone but we never bothered to know each other’s phone number. From the playground area, you just need to shout for someone’s name and you would see heads popping out of the windows. That was our protocol. Such was the unfortunate event and I lost touch with a friend.
Growing up in that environment shaped me as the hybrid of a bookworm and a hooligan. Almost another 5 years down the road, I was clearing my ROD leave when I met Ah Mui again. At that time, the first MRT train just began roaring to and fro the North-South line, and my family moved out of the village into a HDB estate. There is a Chinese saying “女大十八变”. What happened to Ah Mui during those 5 years? How had she changed? How did she turn Angel and what made the Devil?
Thank you bros smlimau, adzeman, cupid xpress, alan0338 and zyspt for support!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
luvuass
welcum back bro OO, nice to read another story from u
How are you doing? Thanks for the warm wel-“cum”.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lexus118
Ah Beng meet Ah Mui Story, my fav kind….
Ah Beng… was once upon a time.
Continuing….
Five years wasn’t a short time, long enough for one to get married and be the parent of a 4 year old kid. At least two of the boys I knew in the village became very young fathers due the lack of sex education, more specifically, the use of contraceptives. People were all gossiping…. 把人家的肚子搞大了, 只好结婚啦…, and there seemed little said about abortion. Though I wasn’t one of them, I had two relationships, lost my virginity and did some wild things together with my hooligan friends. If there was anything I might have been proud of, it had to be passing my motorcycle license and owning a bike; from a little metal sheep to a bigger iron stallion. Not having to rely on public transportation was freedom only stoppable by the rain.
Completing military service landed me at the crossroad. Should I pursue higher education or start slogging for money? For that month I was on leave with the green card still in my wallet, it wasn’t legal to work so I used the time to source for possible options and did job hunting as well. Lost! I had never felt so lost before and it was like being thrown into the ocean with no land in sight. Everyone - schoolmates, classmates, campmates, neighbours and even the hooligans, had something to do except me. It was hard to believe that I couldn’t even find someone to lunch with, let alone soliciting for their opinions. Almost all whom I called gave me the same answer - “Weekend, can?”
Feeling rather dejected on one of the weekdays, I rode on my white iron stallion without a destination in mind. Cruising around aimlessly, I then found myself in the vicinity of my old village and saw that many trees and houses were gone. Riding further down, the marketplace was still there but I knew it would soon be torn down to make way for new developments. Seeing the place where I grew up getting demolished was like robbing my memories away and I could feel sadness filling my heart. Fearing that I might never get to see the place again, I stopped by the marketplace with the intention to walk around and grab a bite. Growing up in the small neighbourhood, most of the people knew one another and I was greeting almost every owner as I strolled along the stretch of shop houses, stopping occasionally to have a chat with some of them. Amazingly, that took the troubles off my mind and put my heart at ease, at least for that span of an hour.
Crossing over the narrow road with only one lane for each direction, I headed for the coffee shop. Thankfully, the stalls were all there and were still operating. Without hesitation, I took my pick at the Yong-Tau-Fu stall and found myself a seat on the outside where it was breezier. Minutes later, I was savoring a bowl of hot noodles topped with my favourite ingredients. After eating my fill, I walked back into the coffee shop to get a drink. Just like the old days, I helped myself at the gigantic fridge, chose my drink, opened the cap, inserted a straw and told the “towkay” I took a bottle of soft drink. As I was walking back towards my table, a young lady with long hair tied into a pony tail was seated at the table, playing around with my helmet. The view of her back did not resemble anyone familiar and I increased my pace to recover my helmet, lest it got dropped and scratched. Standing by the table and wanting to demand my helmet back, I was totally taken aback when the lady lifted her head to greet me.
Me: Ah… Ah… Ah…
There I stood with one index finger pointing at the lady and shuddering words were barely coming out of my mouth. I could swear that I remembered her name so clearly except I was tongue tied. She stood up, stretched one hand over and wrapped my finger with her palm. With a smile brighter than the sun, she mimicked after me.
Mui: Ah… Ah… Ah… AH MUI! Call Jie-Jie!
To see a friend who disappeared so abruptly 5 years back and re-appear before my eyes when I least expected was a pleasant surprise. Not much difference in height from the last I saw her but she put on some weight at the right places that made her look more like a woman, and a real pretty one. Though surprised and excited to see her again, I was at a loss of words. There were like a thousand and one questions I wanted to ask her but I didn’t know where to begin, and what finally came from my mouth was a crude line of greeting.
Me: Jie-Jie! How come you are here?
Mui: For summer vacation.
Me: Do we have winter?
From a short distance away, a voice came calling “Angel, we have to go!” and Ah Mui turned to wave at a middle-aged woman. At that same time, I realized…
Yo, bro.. I must agree with u.. The 1st or so call the girl u meet in school will always keep a special place in our heart… Cheers to good old times
Thank you bros leob, matthew44 and cygnet for support!
Continuing….
Though this land was previously a British settlement and the English influence existed in many facets of life, I grew up speaking Singlish. Ah Mui sounded different. She no longer spoke the way she did nor did she speak like what I heard over BBC. It was an accent distinctively differentiating her from a local, but she was, and that left me puzzled.
Mui: My aunt is calling me. Quick! Give me your phone number.
Must be a prank fate played on us. An abrupt and unknown departure, a coincidental reunion and an immediate separation! Under that circumstance, I had no choice but to run straight to the drink stall, got a pen and paper from the “towkay”, scribbled both my home phone and pager number down, and ran back to pass her the slip of paper. Saying that she would call me later, she turned and ran towards her aunt who was standing beside a white Mercedes (one of those with rectangular head lights). From her back, I was waving goodbye to that pony tail which was wagging left and right, watching them get into the car and drove off.
Ah Mui’s accent, an aunt and a Mercedes? The one thousand and one questions doubled up to two thousand and two. Shortly after they left, I went home as well. After a cold shower to freshen up and getting rid of the sweat, I laid on bed thinking about the past. When I first heard about the demise of Ah Mui’s parents, I was very worried for her, both her well being and life journey ahead. It must have been traumatic for her. To make matter worse, nobody knew exactly what happened or where she went. There were sleepless nights when I imagined her being ill-treated by her adopted parents, going hungry without food, dropping out of school and many more but none were good. It bothered me so much that I told my parents about my thoughts and even asked them if they would adopt Ah Mui. Father gave me a scolding and told me to concentrate on my studies while Mother suggested that I stop daydreaming. That was just me, often sinking into deep thoughts and I still do today. However, what Mother said about my daydreaming turned out to be visions in the corporate world, and that was a boost for me in career later on.
When I woke up from my nap, it was already evening time. Having met Ah Mui earlier in day, I believed she was fine and doing well, and all the worries I had before were likely unfounded. If she wanted to keep in touch, she would call. It was another day where I did nothing much and was watching television after dinner. Ah Mui called around ten o’clock and I was more than delighted to hear from her. Yet, I had a strange feeling about her elusiveness. Would the call be less than 3 minutes before she hang up and disappear again?
Mui: Hello Di-di, is it too late to talk now?
Me: Yes, if you don’t call Kor-Kor.
Mui: Don’t want. You have time for lunch tomorrow?
Me: I am very free for 3 weeks. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper also can.
Mui: Great! Shall we meet at 11:30am?
Me: Ok, where?
Mui: Mandarin Hotel.
Me: Where again?
Mui: Mandarin Hotel lobby.
Me: Must go so expensive place meh? I still doing NS leh.
Mui: Don’t meh meh leh leh! See you tomorrow.
Me: Ok lah.
Mui: Goodnight.
Indeed, the call was less than 3 minutes but at least I should get the opportunity to find out the answers to all those puzzling questions in mind. However, going to a 5 star hotel was definitely going to hurt my pocket and thankfully, Mother sponsored $50 (which was a lot to me at that time) after I told her about meeting Ah Mui.
The following morning, I decided to take the train instead as I didn’t want to carry a helmet walking around the hotel lobby. Reaching 10 minutes before our appointment time, I found a comfortable sofa and sat there waiting. On the dot at 11:30am, I saw Ah Mui walking towards me and she was dressed exactly the way I was – a black T-shirt, a pair of jeans, a pair of sports shoes. No, we weren’t a couple. It was a coincidence.
Mui: Where is your helmet?
Me: Now got MRT already…
First of all, welcome back! Loved your stories and looking forward to more.. Though I really liked the Sex education thread =)
Many thanks to bros Persistantly, uzumakiidii, matthew44, adzeman and ah_peng for support!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
d0itagain
First of all, welcome back! Loved your stories and looking forward to more.. Though I really liked the Sex education thread =)
Haha… Sex Education is written by bro ZhuGeLiang. I am waiting for his updates too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
eeemen
Bro O O, welcome back to writing! Camping here to support n enjoy ur stories , Thks n cheers bro, ………………..
How’s life bro? Thanks for coming to support!
Continuing….
There was a disappointed look on her face when she found out that I took the train and left my bike at home. Holding my arm with both her palms, she led the way to the restaurant, Chatterbox, which then just earned fame for its Hainanese Chicken Rice. We each ordered a set of the chicken rice and a drink and while waiting for food to be served, the answers I badly wanted to know started flowing in randomly.
Me: What are you doing now?
Mui: Studying.
Me: NUS?
Mui: No, S*******.
Me: Private school?
Mui: A university in the United States and I will be graduating next semester.
Me: I see. Sorry, I mountain tortoise. (means ignorant in Hokkein)
Mui: Are you in touch with the old neighbours?
Me: A few. Many don’t know move where already.
Pieces of the puzzle began to come together as I realized that she had been studying in the States and that explained her accent. Much as I wanted to know what she went through, she also wanted to know the local changes and the exchange went on and on. It was a very hearty conversation we had between 2 long lost friends. Having heard from her personally that life treated her well, I dropped the idea of asking about her parents. By then, food was already served, down our throats to the stomachs and we still had a lot more to say. From the past to then, then back to the past and took a skip to the future.
Me: When are you going back to the States?
Mui: A week’s time.
Me: After today, we can only meet again next year?
Mui: Tomorrow, since you are free.
Me: Say real one lah.
Mui: I don’t know if I am coming back.
Me: Must give me your address and number there ok?
Mui: Planning to visit me?
Me: Why not, when I have enough savings but must wait long long.
Mui: Come attend my convocation.
Me: Impossible lah. I say congratulations to you first.
As we were talking, a very well dressed lady came by and sat down beside Ah Mui. I recognized the stern looking face from the day before – the aunt. Ah Mui did a quick introduction and I greeted Aunt Debbie politely. Ah Mui did not say that her aunt would be joining us and with an elder stranger sitting together at the table had me all tensed up. I knew I had to speak and behave with the best manners I have. Nodding her head, she waved to the waitress and asked for the bill. What was happening? Why did her aunt show up all of a sudden? Yet, behind the cold face was a really warm and sweet voice.
Aunt: Angel has been talking about you the last few days.
Me: Sorry Auntie, I didn’t know you were coming and we ate first.
Aunt: It’s alright; I had mine in the room. Did you two enjoy the lunch?
Mui: Yes. I thought you left for the afternoon appointment.
Aunt: I came by to sign for the bill and to meet your friend. He doesn’t look short.
Mui: Shhh… I only said he was.
Aunt: OO, be real careful when you ride. I want Angel back safe and sound later.
Mui: He didn’t ride today.
Aunt: Then what are your plans?
Mui: We’ll think of something.
Aunt: Ok, just remember to be careful.
Aunt Debbie left for her appointment shortly and luckily I managed to squeeze in a word of thanks for the lunch before that. Why would someone eat in the room? How did she pay for lunch without money or credit card? Ah Mui gave the big mountain tortoise the answers. They were staying at the Mandarin Hotel and the bill was charged to their room. I had never been to a 5 star hotel room so we left Chatterbox and went…
Feels so good to see more and more familiar nicks showing up. Thanks bros!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SBY1IsTheDevil
Who is the devil, is it SBY1
I am under the impression that we are all angels in disguise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
plainjane25
nice story.
Thank you sis plainjane25. Correct me if I am wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tan-tan
Bro OO write new story. Standby chips & beer liao.
Can I have some?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DarthRevan
pls continue..thanks
Hope all is well with you. Thanks for coming by to support.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NikonCamera
I need to arrange a crane to move my previous camping ground from the “Bras” site to this new place…
Opps… and I am moving to “My Baggage and its Past”
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CptCum
Wah…another story by bro oink
support~~~
Good to see you sir!
Continuing….
A country bumpkin I was, Ah Mui brought me up to their room to show me what it was like. After my “wows” and “wahs”, we were heading back to my house as she insisted that I take her around on my bike because she never rode on one before. In the train, I asked a question that sounded stupid but I thought it was a form of respect.
Me: Anyone call you Ah Mui now? Should I call you Angel?
Mui (laughing): You can call me Jie-Jie.
Me: Ah Phui’s dog also call Jie-Jie leh. (I pulled a quick one. Ah Phui has no dog.)
Mui: Oh yes! Ah Phui! How is he?
Ah Phui (Fatty) was 2 years my senior and practically grew up together with me. Though a rural neighbourhood, old and unsophisticated, it produced a few talents and Ah Phui was one of them. However, he was different from those who earned scholarships or became professionals. Ah Phui was talented linguistically. One could hardly hear a sentence from him without any vulgarities. Sad to say, he had quite a complicated family background and stopped schooling at the age of 15. His presence always brought everyone laughter, be it his jokes, actions or those vulgar words he used. Fat he might be, he was very agile and whenever we wanted to praise him, we would call him 洪金宝. After quitting school, he did quite a number of odd jobs and was then working at a coffee shop. He was the key to all the wild things I did but ironically, always encouraging me to study hard. Not to mention the excess fats, he was a good looking chap and he changed girlfriends like changing clothes. On him, I saw “男人不坏, 女人不爱”, I also saw “男人胖胖, 美女相伴”.
After picking up the helmets from home, Angel wanted to visit the old neighbourhood again. The place she had in mind used to take us 30 minutes of bicycle ride to reach, a place where wild fruit trees, ponds and farms were found. It was still unscathed at that time and the visit with Angel was the last I saw of the place. Very reluctant I was to dirty my white stallion on those muddy tracks, I agreed with a smile. Outgrowing our teenage phase, I became conscious of physical contact and told Angel to hold on tight to my shoulders with both hands, and with Aunt Debbie’s word in mind, we rode slowly towards our destination. That entire afternoon was spent doing what we did during childhood days. We climbed trees, picked fruits, ate them on the spot and threw the cores on the ground without having to worry about being fined. At the pond, we threw pebbles across the water surface to see how many hops we could get. Going bare on our foot into the water, we managed to get a few tiny shrimps. By late afternoon, we were tired and sat on a thick tree branch that hung halfway across the pond for a rest.
Angel: Thank you.
Me: No need to thank me, I also wanted to come here. No kaki mah.
Angel: Not that.
Me: Then what?
A short pause and Angel leaned over to rest her head on my shoulder with both her hands holding my palm. While a little taken aback, I felt my body stiffened for a moment before resuming normal. Silence held itself for a few more minutes and under the clear blue sky, I suddenly felt a few droplets of rain on my forearm. Looking up, not a patch of dark cloud. Looking down at my arm, I found the source. They were tears coming from Angel. I didn’t know what she was thinking but she must be feeling sad so I kept my mouth shut. We were casted in that position for the next hour before she opened her mouth to speak again.
Angel: I miss my parents.
Me: They are somewhere watching over you.
Angel: I know you are refraining from asking about them.
Me: I am happy enough to see you living well.
Angel: Many times I wished I have a brother like you.
Me: Aiyo! I call you Jie-Jie so many years already.
Angel: 乖! Shall we go look Ah Phui up for dinner?
Me: Dinner? He cannot eat with us.
Angel: Why not?
Me: Ah Phui has to serve us… ha..ha..ha…
When Angel cleared her tears, we put on our footwear and were riding towards the coffee shop where Ah Phui was working. Half an hour later, I was parking my bike at the lot behind the coffee shop and we heard a loud voice coming from the front….. CHEE…eeee……B…….
Angel gave me that astonished look and I nodded.
Me: Very familiar voice right? That’s him!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
asdfghjkl
full of win!
Definitely not without you coming by to support. Thank you sis!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
uzumakiidii
nice chapter again. looking more forward to angel one week stay left in singapore.
Indeed, many things can happen in a week.
Continuing….
Angel, too, was used to Ah Phui’s language back when we were all neighbours. Perhaps her long absence from hearing such language made her a little uncomfortable but she adapted fast. With a broad smile, she was telling me that Ah Phui hadn’t changed after all those years. Side-by-side, we walked to the coffee shop and about 10 meters ahead, a fat guy was pointing his middle finger at me. Following that gesture came his loud voice.
Phui (Hokkein): Going to snow liao! Got someone bring girlfriend here!
Before I could respond to Ah Phui, Angel dashed to his front and shouted out his name right in the face. Though a few meters behind, I saw Ah Phui rather shocked and I couldn’t help laughing as I walked up to them.
Phui (Hokkein): NB! Who is this crazy woman?
Angel: 你不认识我了吗?
Phui (Hokkein): Ah…Ah… Ah…
Me: Ah… Ah… Ah… pu neh neh lah! She is Angel.
Phui (Hokkein): What Angel?
Me: Christian name lah.
Phui (Hokkein): Where you dig her out from?
Me (Hokkein): Drop from the sky one.
Phui (Hokkein): So easy drop, my testicles also drop from the sky one.
Phui (Hokkein): Sit down, sit down. Hot or cold?
Me (Hokkein): Cold.
Surprised Ah Phui was to realize who stood before him and I was glad that I wasn’t the only one with the same reaction when I saw Angel. We took a seat and Ah Phui went off to get us some cold drinks. As he walked away, he was singing out loud “天使来了, 天使来了, 天使来到咖啡店了”. The little commotion a minute ago had people turning their heads looking at us and even more had their eyes set upon the fat singer. Was Ah Phui born with immunity to mass attention? I couldn’t tell but I admired the way he was, doing whatever he wanted and never would be bothered by the people around.
Ah Phui came back to us with 3 bottles of Tiger beer, mugs and ice. Frowning at him, I protested that it was too early to drink, especially with an empty stomach. Ticking me off with his swearing, he told me “won’t die one”. Angel took sides with him, saying she didn’t mind having some beer as the weather was hot. Two against one and after filling up the mugs, we drink a toast to Angel.
Phui (Hokkein): Order zi-char for dinner liao.
Angel: 谢谢你 Ah Phui. 你怎么知道我想吃Hor-Fun?
Phui: 你是天使, 我是神嘛!
Me: 哇… 神经病就有!
Phui (Hokkein): You father I step on that stick of yours, is it?
Angel: Ah Phui, 今天不要讲粗话可以吗?
Phui: Ok, give you face. Today I speak Ang Mo.
Dinner was served, a huge platter of Hor-Fun, chili crab, fried baby squid and a few other dishes mainly to complement the beer. I didn’t know what Ah Phui told his boss but he sat with us throughout dinner. The amazing thing was when he spoke in English, not a single vulgar word did he utter and he spoke well. Like a small gathering for the 3 of us, we ate, we joked and laughed like we did years ago.
Beer was running out and Ah Phui stepped away to get replenishment. On his return was another half a dozen of beer and two ladies wearing mini-skirts. Though not their names, one glance and you could tell one was Ah Lian and the other was Ah Huay. They all sat down and Ah Phui started to get everyone to drink. In the best of his mood as the group grew in size , he suggested that we go to the disco after that round of beer, but he needed to get a shower and a change of clothes first.
Everyone was wearing a smile on the face except me. Of the two ladies who joined us, one was…
Welcome back Bro OO, you are always a classic story teller to me, also enjoy reading ur previous story.
Bro, can trouble you to translate d chinese writing to english for the benefit of your non-chinese reading fans. terima kasih banyak banyak.