Sitting inconspicuously at the corner of the village meeting hall, in a black baju kurong with green stripes, sat a tiny figure, nervously fingering the intricate hand-sewn yellow flowers. She had risked everything to be here, for this is not the place for single women, especially not now, when the room is primarily filled with men.
Furiously battling back the tears and struggling to hold his head up high, he resisted the urge to glance behind. ‘What had he done? How did it come to this? Why didn’t he listen?’ Roysten pondered on the predicament he had landed himself in. It seemed so long ago, a lifetime of memories, but it was just one day, only yesterday.
‘Hi. I am Roysten and I am from Singapore. These are my friends. Thank you for hosting us.’
‘My name is Siti Amira. I’m only one at home that can speak English. These are my parents. Let me show you to your rooms.’
Time stopped. Those jet black eyes, delicate pink lips, exquisite rosy cheeks and the meticulously braided hair; it was the most beautiful face he had ever seen. It seemed like God had sent him an angel to lead him to eternal bliss.
Then it all happened. The accidental glancing of shoulders as they walked past each other. The jolt of electricity as the tips of their fingers brushed when she handed him a cup. Those stories they shared at the balcony admiring the sunset. Touching her face. The unintended kiss. An awkward moment.
She is a Malay girl from the village in Malaysia and he is a Chinese boy from the city in Singapore. They knew it wouldn’t last. They shouldn’t even have allowed it to start. Uttering a quick sorry and goodnight, he went to bed.
The next morning, without saying a word, he discreetly handed her his shark tooth pendant before he left. He never did look back.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
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