Roads: Book 5-Loneliness

Jason let out a sigh of relief as he plopped himself onto the sofa. It was another long, hard day at the office, as usual. He lit himself a cigarette and took a long pull. The phone rang a few minutes later but he didn’t bother to answer. The answering machine did the job for him.

“Hello? Jason? You’re still not home yet? Come on, man, stop hiding from me. Look, I got a gorgeous gal that I’m sure you’ll be interested in. you can be friends with her, for starters. Call me.”

As soon as Jason heard his friend hang up, he deleted the message. He refused to have anything to do with him. He trusted no one. No one at all. No gorgeous chic was going to draw his attention. He had himself to himself, and that’s that.

His living room seemed pretty empty after he got rid of all his photos. The last photo he had removed was the photo of his youngest daughter graduating from college. Aside from a few paintings, his walls were bare. Even the photo of him getting married with his wife (now his ex-wife) was burnt. It was as if he had cut off all relationship with every human in the world, including his own flesh and blood.

It felt really alone in the house he lived in, but he embraced the loneliness. After another long day surrounded by people he refused to trust (except his boss, which was a forced one), he was glad to be in a place with nobody at all. Nobody to trick him, nobody to cheat him, nobody to even rob him out of his happiness. He was glad to be alone.

Well, almost.

Occasionally, even loneliness bugs him.

--:--

Jason lay still on his bed, unable to sleep. The silence was pretty deafening, as if everyone in the whole world was dead, leaving him the only human alive. It even made his dark bedroom even darker.

It’s been almost 3 years since he lived in this completely solitude life. The first time he tried it, it drove him to tears every night. Almost every bedtime for the first few months, he cried himself to sleep. Now that e had gotten used to it, he was beginning to have second thoughts about choosing this type of life in the first place. The feeling of no one there to do him harm was OK, but the feeling of no one to talk to, to pour out his true feelings was quite bad. Maybe he should…

Jason shook his head. He almost lost his guard there. He chose this life and he himself thought that this life was better than anything else in the world. No way was he going back to the way he was. If he were to choose one thing, he’d better stick to it. He turned to one side and forced himself to fall asleep.

Moments later, he heard a faraway jingling. At first he tried to ignore it, but the jingling continued without stopping. It was a pleasant sound to hear, but if it goes on and on non-stop, it could be pretty annoying. And that’s how Jason felt. He got up in a thrice, picked up his baseball bat (he had it during high school) and rushed downstairs to see who was making such a racket at this ungodly hour.

He wasn’t kept in the dark for long—there, on his front door, hung a crystal bell hanging from a silver string, jingling and jangling like mad. Weird though, because it was jingling crazily when there wasn’t a whiff of wind anywhere.

“So you’re the one keeping me awake, eh?” Jason growled as he grabbed the bell. “I’ll show you what’s it like to mess with me!”

So saying, Jason brought the bell down to the solid floor hard, smashing it into a trillion pieces. If that wasn’t enough, he even brought his bat onto the pieces and almost clubbed it into dust. He couldn’t control himself. Somehow, he had vented all his pent-up anger onto that harmless little bell. He only stopped when he heard a loud bellow from the neighbour complaining about the noise.

“What am I doing?” Jason suddenly felt foolish of himself as he slumped down to the floor, panting slightly. He stared at the crystal dust on the floor and felt even more stupid.

All of a sudden, as if there was an invisible wind blowing, the crystal dust gathered together at Jason’s feet. It stayed there for a few seconds and, to Jason’s astonishment, began to mend itself back together again. The dust collected itself, forming into solid pieces and slowly stuck itself together, fragment by fragment, until it became the original crystal bell. The silver string even threaded itself into the bell’s tiny loop, making the finishing touch.

Jason stared long and hard at what he had just witnessed. It was too unbelievable. He pinched and slapped himself, thinking that he was having a very extraordinary dream. He wasn’t, though. He touched his forehead, thinking that he had gone mad. Maybe, maybe not. He poked at the crystal bell. It was real, alright. He suddenly felt himself unable to trust even his own judgments. He had to make sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him.

He picked up the bell and smashed it again, but this time without reducing it to dust. Again, the bell mended itself, like rewinding a scene from a video tape. He tried burning the bell, but the burnt mark disappeared almost immediately before his eyes. He tried flushing it down the toilet, but it was immediately spit out and was dry as a bone instantly.

Jason was dumbstruck. He had never come across anything as bizarre as this. The belt continued to jingle and jangle in Jason’s hand, pointing towards the direction of the door. Jason couldn’t help but ask the bell directly, “What is it you want?”

The bell pointed towards the door.

“You want me to go outside?”

The bell jingled urgently.

“Why?”

The bell stopped abruptly, as if hesitant to answer.

“I’m not going out there in the middle of the night if you don’t bloody tell me what’s going on.”
Jason felt utterly stupid talking to a bell, but there’s nothing else he could do to know the bell’s intention.

“If I take out my laptop, will you talk to me? I mean, type it out?”

The bell jingled softly.

Jason rushed to his study and hunted for his laptop. He had placed it in a small briefcase on the high shelf. He used to do that so that his kids would not attempt to do it in ruins. He was surprised that he still had that habit after his whole family left him. He took down the laptop, plugged it in and turned it on. After entering the Microsoft Word, he held the bell loosely over the keyboard and said, “OK. Type away.”

The bell remained unmoving.

“Come on now. Tell me who the heck you are.”

The bell moved slowly up and down, clicking onto the keyboard. Minus the punctuation and spaces, it was pretty easy to read.

YOUCANCALLMEANYTHINGYOULIKE

“Alright then, I’ll call you ‘Brat’.”

THATSNOTVERYNICE

“Well, you said I can call you anything I like! Besides, you woke me up in the middle of the night for no reason! Doesn’t that sound like what a brat would do?”

SORRY

“What is it you want from me?”

GOOUTFULFILLYOURDESTINY

Jason wrinkled his nose. “Destiny? What destiny? What do you mean by that?”

SEEKANDYOUWILLFIND

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. This has got to be crap, right? I mean…”

The bell was moving faster now that it was being denied and ignored: SEEKANDYOUWILLFINDYOURDESTINYAWAITSYOUHAVETOTRUSTME

“Woah, woah, woah! Hold your horses! Trust you? I’m sorry but I don’t trust anybody. Not anymore!”

The bell kept still for a couple of seconds, then started typing: THENYOULLHAVETOLEARNAGAIN

“I’ve out my trust on people and they end up stabbing me in the back. How would I know you bloody won’t stab me in the back too?”

IDONTINEVERWILL

“Yeah, right!”

TRUSTMEFORNOW

Jason stared at the bell. He began to contemplate its words. Should he or should he not trust the bell? It’s just a thing, not a person that would betray him just like others did, yet it’s quite alive, to be exact, so it can be regarded as a person, not a thing. He had lost his trust in everyone around him; could he be able to put trust on a thing that has a mind of a person? Would he be able to even start trusting somebody or…anybody? Jason let out a long sigh.

“Where shall we go?”

The bell jingled before replying: IWILLLEADTHEWAY

“What am I supposed to do now? Cease to exist?”

LEAVEYOURPASTBEHINDLEAVEEVERYTHINGYOUONCEWEREBEHINDJUSTSTARTPACKINGWHATISNECESSARYANDLETDESTINYDOTHEREST

“Whatever you say. But I’m bringing this laptop, so we can talk.”

ASYOUWISH

Jason got up, went to his bedroom and rummaged through his cupboard. He took out a few pairs of boxers, some socks, some men’s underwear, a few T-shirts and jeans and a number of casual wears, some formal clothes and a few different kinds of shoes—sneakers, shoes with shoelaces, sport shoes—two or three pairs each. He threw out a suitcase and stuffed them all into it. Then he grabbed a backpack and filled it with anything edible from the kitchen: canned food, junk food, a few cans of beer and a few instant cup noodles, tea bags and instant coffee packets with a flask to go with. He even stuffed a few books between them. He had never felt so busy before in his life.

Finally, he checked his wallet. He threw away all his credit cards and business cards that were piling in it, leaving one credit card, which was his favourite. He knew he had to give it up as soon as he finds himself unable to pay the debts, but he kept it anyway. He made sure his identity card was there, of course, and his driving license. Apart from these and a few thousand bucks, the whole wallet was pretty light and empty, much to his surprise.

Roads: Book 4-Holiday Hotel

Mr. Taylor got off the car and handed the keys to the bell-boy, saying, “Park it away from the sun, please.”

The bell-boy nodded and took the wheel. He waited until every family member of the Taylors got off the car before starting the car and driving off. The Taylor kids cheered with glee.

“Yippee! Holidays at last!” Tony cheered as he flung his cap up with triumph. His brother, Clement, did the same.

“I can’t wait to try out the swimming pool!” Zoë, the eldest daughter declared. “I heard that the decors at the indoor swimming pool are simply exotic!”

“I want to try the playground! I want to try the playground!” The twins Clara and Clarice chided in, giggling like a pair of naughty hyenas.

“Now, now, children. One at a time,” Mrs. Taylor tried to quiet down her 5 bickering children. The bell-boy came back with their suitcases and placed them on the trolley. Mr. Taylor went to check in while the children feasted their eyes at the beautiful hotel.

It was a 5-star hotel, very new in the industry and pretty high-classed. It had decors and the architecture of various country cultures; from the bodacious Swedish to the suave French to the courteous Spain and even to the poetic Athens and Greek. It even has the splash of Asian, Russian and even their local English air. It was all in one, and yet they did not clash with each other. Each culture seemed to have peace with each other and blended in with their surroundings. It was so grand that even the king’s castle seemed like a squatter’s area. It opened a few months ago and Mr. Taylor thought it would be OK to spend the holidays with his family here.

“Enchanted Nite Hotel. Not a bad name for a high-classed hotel,” Mr. Taylor commented after taking the room keys, “I feel enchanted already!”

“What room are we, dear?” Mrs. Taylor enquired.

“Room 5012.”

“There are so many portraits, Dad!” Clement exclaimed, astonished. “What are they for?”

“It’s just decors, kid,” the bell-boy explained as he led the Taylor family to their room. “The manager is quite eccentric, you see. He hates leaving the walls bare. Even his own room is filled with frames of pictures.”

The five siblings watched from left to right. Every wall has at least one portrait or a beautiful exotic painting. There were even replica paintings of famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh. There’s even a replica painting of Mona Lisa on the wall next to the Taylors’ room.

“It’s kinda creepy,” Zoë shuddered as she stared at the smiling Mona Lisa. “It’s like being watched wherever you go.”

“Well, we’ll be here for a week’s stay,” Tony replied nonchalantly, “so I guess we’ll just have to get used to it.”

“Alright, kids,” Mr. Taylor voiced out, “put your suitcases into the cupboard and take out whatever you need. You can go and enjoy yourselves silly. Your mom and I will be right here if you need us.”

The 5 children cheered with glee as they grabbed their swimsuits and stuff before leaving Room 5012.

--:--

Tony and Clement couldn’t sleep. They tossed and turned and tried many sleeping positions to get comfortable but in vain. Tony was also beginning to get a headache. He cursed himself for being so nosy with the 3-in-1 instant coffee.

Zoë, Clara and Clarice had dared Tony and Clement to drink coffee. As their parents went down to the lounge to enjoy a little happy hour, the children decided to fool around with the facilities of the room. They’ve tried the bathtub, the mini-fridge, the satellite TV, everything. Once they’ve come across the 3-in-1 instant coffee packets, all hell broke loose. The children knew that their parents have strictly forbidden them to drink coffee until they’re old enough, and the ‘taboo’ seemed tempting. The sisters dared the brothers to drink the instant coffee since they’re not ready to take the risk themselves.

“Why don’t you drink it, since you’re eager enough?” Tony asked suspiciously.

“Because we are girls and you’re not!” Zoë insisted.

“So what if you’re girls? Mom drinks coffee too!” Clement complained.

“That’s because she’s a grown up, and she’s older,” Clara and Clarice said together. They always say things at the right timing. “Besides, you both are much older than us put together! So you drink it!”

And so they did. Without realizing it, the boys have gulped down 5 tall glasses of instant coffee (added sugar), and now they couldn’t sleep, with Tony having a headache due to the caffeine.

“I can’t sleep, Tony,” Clement whined, rubbing his eyes.

“Neither can I. and I’m getting a splitting headache. Blast that coffee!” Tony hissed and massaged his temples.

“Let’s take a walk. It might tire us out and wear off the coffee.”

“Alright. I need some ice for my head anyway.”

Slowly and silently, Tony and Clement climbed out of bed. Clement took the keys while Tony got a thin towel from the bathroom. They tiptoed across the room, opened the door and crept out silently. No one stirred. So far, so good.

They took the lift and went down to the 2nd floor, where the ice-vending machine was. Tony held out the towel while Clement pushed the button. A silent humming sounded and the ice-cubes clattered out into Tony’s towel. Tony gratefully wrapped the ice-cubes and held it on his throbbing head with a sigh of relief.

“You know,” Clement said, his voice echoing down the empty corridors. “Zoë’s right. It is kinda creepy with all these portraits and pictures. It’s like those portraits’ eyes are following you wherever you go.”

“Hush!” Tony hissed, rubbing the ice on his forehead. “You’re being paranoid! They’re just paintings, what more can they do to us?”

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s pretty scary, really. It kinda feels like Hauntsville, with all those paintings. I, for one wouldn’t be walking around here if you weren’t coming with me.”

“Come on! Don’t be such a scaredy-cat! It’s supposed to be weird like this. After all, it is a new hotel with its own new style!”

“Well…I suppose you’re right then. It does have its own—shh! You hear something?”

Tony tilted his head, trying to hear whatever it is Clement had heard. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“I don’t hear anything. Now stop being paranoid…”

“Shh!! Be quiet! Try to listen harder!” Clement hissed insistently, a solemn look running across his face.

Tony decided to humour Clement and pretended to pay attention. He didn’t have to pretend for long—he actually heard someone whispering to another in an urgent tone, like some sort of argument. Tony took Clement’s hand and tried to find the source of the sound, completely forgetting his throbbing headache. The voices led them to an empty lobby at the end of the guest rooms’ corridor. The lobby was really empty—no chairs and tables, no sofas, nothing. The bell-boy did tell them that the lobby was under renovation, but it looked perfectly fine. In fact, it was so fine that Tony and Clement was beginning to wonder why it needed any renovations at all.

Tony felt the walls for the source of the voices. Tony was pretty good at this—it’s as if his hands were doing the listening. It led him to a portrait of the famous writer Mary Shelley (who wrote the book ‘Frankenstein’). The portrait was beautiful—a flawless, young woman dressed in clothes of the 18th century. Tony stuck his ear onto the wall and listened, and as expected, the voices were quite clear, although still a little bit of a mumbling sort. Clement was prying the portrait with curious hands when all of a sudden, it opened, like a miniature door. Tony was quite taken aback but regained his composure quite quickly. Taking Clement’s hand, he stepped into the dark secret passageway.

The passageway was pretty cold and dim. All the walls were made of cold steel and the floor was of solid metal. At this part of the place, there were neither portraits nor paintings. Everything was bare. It was so contradicting with the way the hotel walls were decorated.

“What is this place?” Clement’s whispers echoed through the passageway.

“Shh! Don’t even whisper!” Tony hissed urgently. “Look! There’s a little bit of light! My goodness, this is a laboratory!”

So it was. In fact, it was a very, very high-tech lab—the whole place was filled with weird-looking gadgets and astonishing machinery, and there were lab instruments of all kinds everywhere. There was an incubator at the end of the lab and there were a few more phials and cone glasses filled with bubbling concoctions. Test-tubes, syringes and even complicated medical instruments like scalpels and surgery scissors were also there.

“Woah! This is way cool!” Clement started but was stopped by Tony from getting too near the lab stuff.

“Stay low to the ground, you idiot! I think I hear the voice owners now!”

Tony was right; there were people in the lab, somewhere at the far corner. Clement was lucky that they didn’t notice him when he was advancing towards the lab table. It was a couple—scientists wearing clean white robes which had a distant disinfectant smell on them. The man was clean-shaven and was quite young, and surprisingly, he turned out to the bell-boy who carried their luggage that afternoon! The woman, on the other hand, was a stranger to them. A blonde and very solemn-looking at that.

“Have the Rangers being dispatched?” the woman asked in a serious, no-nonsense tone, without even a trace of joy on her face.

“Yes, Shenna, they have. They should be back here with Project No.69 now,” the bell-boy answered, not looking at her directly in the eye.

“Now? NOW?! Yeah, right! You call 5 hours ago ‘now’? I’m beginning to doubt your Rangers. I should’ve used my Rangers instead! They’re more capable!” Shenna snorted haughtily.

“They maybe slow, but they’re the best in my team!” the bell-boy rebutted her. “Or do you want me to dispatch the Predators?”

“No, no! Absolutely not! I will not hear of it! The Predators kill without a cause and kill without mercy. They’ll ruin Project No.69!”

“What’s so important about Project No.69? We have plenty of other Projects to deal with and you only care about him!”

“You don’t understand, Roger,” Shenna replied, pretending to be interested with her laptop. “Project No.69 is very valuable.”

“Yeah, right,” Roger, the bell-boy, snorted back. “And I suppose it’s because he’s finally turned out be better than the former Projects?”

“Yes. He’s perfect in every way. Both physically and mentally.”

“No shit!”

“Yes. He’s the only Super Human ever successfully created.”

“Only that you made a simple glitch,” Roger folded his arms and stared at her mockingly.

“What glitch?” Shenna was taken aback.

“You messed up his chromosomes. You turned him into a gay.”

“It wasn’t my fault! It just happened! I can’t exactly control everything that’s growing in his body, you know!”

“Then he’s not perfect. He’s a casualty.”

“Of course he’s perfect! OK, so maybe he’s turned into a homosexual, but he’s perfect in every way! Unlike those failed mutants, he excelled! He’s everything we’ve wished to create on him! He’s the one, the Super Human we’ve been wanting for!”

Tony and Clement have heard everything. Although it was still quite vague, the boys got the basics: they created a creature, a very powerful creature, they’ve accidentally lost him, and now they want the creature back.

“It’s just like a sci-fi movie, Tony! This is so cool! We’re in the middle of a high-tech conspiracy!” Clement was so excited, he almost wanted to shout it out loud.

“This is so unreal!” Tony could hardly believe his eyes and ears. “This exotic hotel is actually a cover-up for a high-class secret government project! My goodness, it’s like we’re acting in the X-Files! I don’t believe it!”

“Believe it, Tony. That’s exactly what these scientists are saying.”

“We’ll need more blood samples,” the boys hushed when they heard Shenna talking. “Have we got anymore new guests?”

“Quite a few. I must say the Taylor family is the best candidate…”

That was the last straw. Tony and Clement have heard enough to warn their parents and sisters. They knew that they wouldn’t believe them, but one way or another, they have to take their family out of the hotel before Roger and Shenna take them as their next project. Slowly, they crept out of the lab, hurried down the cold passageway, climbed as silent as possible out from behind the portrait and dashed back to the lift, wishing with all their might that they’ll be in time before it’s too late.

--:--

Zoë noticed Tony and Clement’s absence. She didn’t drink coffee, but she was quite a light sleeper and pretty sensitive. Any silent movement would stir her up in no time.

She heard her brothers saying something about getting ice for Tony’s head and about taking a walk to wear out the coffee effect. She grinned secretly—she felt darn lucky for not touching the coffee. She peeped quietly as the boys crept out of the room before going back to sleep.

Now she was awakened by a silent jingling of bells. Slowly, she sat up and listened again. Yes, there it was, that jingling again. She got off her bed to find out where the jingling came from. The twins Clara and Clarice stirred. Either they have also heard the jingling or that Zoë’s movement woke them up, it didn’t matter to Zoë. She just wanted to find the source of the sound.

She found herself standing in front of the huge bathroom mirror. A crystal bell hanging from a silver string was stuck on the rim of the mirror. It jingled like wind chimes, constantly knocking against the mirror. Weirdly, it did not make any tapping noises when it hit the mirror. Instead, it made ripples on it, like the ripples made on water when a stone was thrown into it. Zoë was utterly fascinated.

“Wow! What is that?” Obviously the twins have also seen the same thing as Zoë did.

“I don’t know…but I got a feeling…The mirror is calling me,” Zoë gazed in wonder, advancing slowly towards the mirror. “It’s calling me…I have a mission to do…”

Almost suddenly, Tony and Clement barged into the room, panting like dogs. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor stirred a little before they turned and dozed off again. Zoë broke her eye contact from the mirror and stared at her brothers in astonishment.

“We-We have to get out of here! Wake-Mom and Dad up, we’ll explain-everything!” Tony panted, gasping for breath.

“You might not believe it at first, but it’s true!” Clement agreed. “Hurry up! Why the dilly-dally?”

The twins pointed at the rippling mirror and the bell. It took Tony and Clement 10 seconds to absorb everything that they were witnessing before their eyes. The atmosphere was pretty tense—with only the bells and no other noises about. Come to think of it, it was pretty unreal.

“What…What is going on here?” Tony broke the silence at last. “What the hell is going on here? Why is this happening to us?”

“I don’t know, Tony. But I got a feeling that it is meant for us to find out,” Zoë replied, reaching for the bell. “It’s our destiny. We are chosen to do this task.”

“What task? Why so mysterious all of a sudden?” Clement was quite surprised at how calm Zoë was about all the strange happenings.

“The task will be revealed if we search it, Clement. We have to do this. Come with me.”
Tony and Clement hesitated. Part of them felt unbelievable about all this, yet another part of them felt that they should embrace this destiny, only that the mirror wasn’t their destiny but something else. As if answering the boys’ question, Tony’s foot kicked on another crystal bell tied with a silver string. He bent down to pick it up, and immediately the bell was pointing the opposite direction, towards the main door.

“Come with me, Tony, Clement. Our destiny awaits,” Zoë was clutching her bell and moving backwards to the mirror.

Tony stared at his bell for a few moments, then said, “No. We can’t. This is our destiny, not that one. Clara, Clarice, you go with Zoë. You’re meant for that.”

The twins were only too eager to follow. They took Zoë’s hand and waved goodbye to the boys. The thought of saying farewell to their parents didn’t even cross their minds; as if the urging of the bell and the call of the mirror was more important to them. Slowly, Zoë and the twins disappeared into the mirror, making a large ripple on it. Then, silence.

Tony and Clement crept slowly towards the bed where their parents slept and gave them each a kiss. Then, Tony took Clement’s hand and followed wherever the bell was pointing. They found themselves being led to the Mary Shelley portrait again. This time, they were ready.

All was quiet after they stepped into the passageway behind the portrait.

Roads: Book 3-Alan and AJ

AJ glanced across the lecture hall at the tall, slim Alan. He couldn’t help it. He had to at least look at him once before he could concentrate in his lessons. It was like Alan was a stimulator for AJ to carry on with his daily routine for the day.

AJ did a little doodle on his textbook. He knew almost everything the teacher was teaching, and was probably way advanced than the teachers themselves. He had read almost all of the books in the library and can at least understand the basics of the subjects taught in senior classes. He even jumped a far distance during PE lessons today with no difficulty at all. The students were beginning to give him the ‘eye’ again.

He was special and he knew very well that his special talent would attract attention. Keeping a low profile wasn’t easy, but he managed it quite well. He learned not to be a show-off in class and helped his fellow classmates out in their weak subjects as well as possible. Many looked up at him as a role model and many girls adored him. Almost every year, his desk would be piled with Valentine cards and little gifts.

But there was one little secret that he kept from the world besides being special. AJ was a gay. He must admit that he noticed a lot of girls who were very beautiful, but they didn’t catch his attention. Not one bit. He couldn’t help it. He just couldn’t bring himself to like girls. When Alan transferred into his class, AJ was love-struck on that spot. By then he knew that he’s a gay and he’s in love with a man.

Alan was a friendly guy. He made friends with AJ almost immediately and they were always together ever since. The only time they’re not together was when the lecture hall was full and there were only 2 separate seats left. That was AJ’s worst nightmare.

“It’s very normal for men to fall into gayinism,” Doc said. “in fact, the reason why you became gay is due to your chromosomes.”

Doc was AJ’s personal robot physician. He looked like the short, stout robot in Star Wars but quite talkative. AJ didn’t know where he came from. All he remembered was that Doc has been with him all his life. His parents were unknown, strangers to him.

“Your parents passed away when you’re only a month old. I was entitled to be your legal guardian,” Doc said when AJ asked him about his parents a few years ago, and said nothing more. AJ never asked him again since.

“Is it wrong to be a gay?” AJ was still doubtful.

“There is no right or wrong in gayinism or lesbianism. It’s what humans think that makes it right or wrong.”

AJ nodded. He trusted Doc’s words. He’s been looking and advising him for the past 15 years, so there’s no point doubting his words now.

“When is your camp night?” Doc asked as he glided to the kitchen. “Is Alan going?”

“Tomorrow. Of course Alan’s going. I wouldn’t be going if he’s not!” AJ replied, blushing a little.

“I wonder what the two of you would do…”

There was a sly tone in Doc’s voice. AJ blushed redder and flung a cushion at Doc. Doc laughed as he glided away to prepare dinner.

--:--

“Right! Who wants drinks?”

A dozen hands or so shot up, including Alan and AJ. The teacher walked around passing the drinks to them. Alan and AJ both got chrysanthemum tea.

“Let’s go somewhere else! It’s too noisy here!” Alan shouted amidst the loud Linkin Park music. AJ nodded and took Alan’s arm, pulling him towards a creek which was somewhere near the camp inside the forest. There, the trees blocked out most of the ear-popping music.

AJ and Alan were chitchatting on the way to the creek when suddenly Alan tripped. The grass broke his fall and he wasn’t injured. But the bottom of the drink packet Alan was holding broke and split, letting the tea leak out like a runny faucet.

“Darn those tree roots! They can really get away with murder someday!” Alan complained, frustrated. He tried to finish the drink before everything leaked out of sight but in vain—the tea was escaping much faster than he could drink. As a last resort, he sucked it from the split bottom.

AJ was watching him all the while he was doing it. The hole was bigger than his puckered mouth, so the tea actually leaked out from the corner of his mouth. It trickled down to his chin, and some ran down his neck. Alan held out his hand below his chin and the tea droplets fell onto his palm. Alan was closing his eyes as he did all this—he always closed his eyes when he’s engrossed in something. AJ continued to stare as Alan resolved to lick the remaining tea away. His heart raced to an uncontrollable level.

Everything except Alan was a fuzzy blur to AJ now. Alan was somewhat moving in slow motion in his eyes: the way he sucked the last few drops of tea, the way he licked his bottom lip, the way his hand brushed his chin and neck and the way he licked his hand. Everything he did with his eyes closed was very seductive to him. AJ’s heart pumped even faster. He felt his face burning like hell, as if he was on fire. He couldn’t think straight anymore. He had lost control of his hands and feet and of his emotions. Only his intention stood tall—to claim Alan and make him his. He caught Alan unaware and placed his lips on Alan’s, kissing deeply; so deep that AJ thought he was trying to eat Alan whole…

When he opened his eyes, then he realized what he had done. Alan was staring at him in disbelief, quivering like a frightened rabbit. His eyes gave AJ a sign of utmost disbelief, shock and hurt, as if being betrayed by someone he had trusted. Instinctively, AJ let Alan go and apologized profusely.

“I’m…I’m sorry, Alan! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know what got into me, Alan. I’m so sorry. It…It won’t happen again…”

Before AJ could continue, Alan seized him by the collar. AJ shut his eyes tight, waiting for Alan’s blow. He almost shrank when he saw Alan’s eyes burned with fury, an anger only seen when a predator is eyeing its prey. Then, almost suddenly, he felt Alan’s lips on his, his tongue slid down almost near his throat. It was lucky he didn’t choke. It lasted about 30 seconds before they parted.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Alan’s eyes brimming with tears. He was still quivering, only that it wasn’t as violent as before. He was trying to stop himself from sobbing but his shaking shoulders betrayed him. He flung himself onto AJ’s chest and sobbed like a little child who lost his mother. Tentatively, AJ wrapped his arms around Alan. A few minutes later, Alan ceased sobbing and whispered, “Kiss me, AJ. Kiss me again.”

AJ smiled. He has misinterpreted Alan’s eyes all along. He held Alan’s face and kissed him as deep as before. It was obvious that Alan like it, as he wrapped his arms around AJ’s waist and returned his kiss. Things were getting quite saucy hot (they were in the verge of stripping each other naked there and then) when something fell on AJ’s head. It jingled as it fell onto the earth. AJ bent to pick it up and held it under the moonlight to see.

It was a beautiful, dainty little thing. It was a crystal bell hanging from a silver string. It jingled and jangled and sounded like wind chimes. It sparkled and glittered as it caught the moonlight.

“Oh, that’s beautiful! It’s so cute!” Alan cooed in delight as he fingered the bell.

“Since no one owns it, you might as well take it,” AJ said as he handed the bell to Alan.

“Oh, AJ. Can I really?”

“Why not? I don’t see anybody running out asking for it. Take it, Alan. As my first present for you.”

Alan smiled sheepishly as he took the bell. He wounded the string around his wrist. AJ wrapped his arms around Alan’s waist and licked his ear. Alan let out a soft moan.

“Wanna go to my house after camp?” AJ whispered to Alan’s ear.

“Is that an ‘invitation’?” Alan asked naughtily.

“What do you think?”

“Well…I have no objections to that…”

“Good,” AJ said and kissed his cheek.

--:--

AJ’s night light was on. Elsewhere in his room was pretty dark. Though AJ had the air-conditioner on, he and Alan were covered with beads of sweat. Alan laid on his stomach, clutching the bed sheet. He had his face on the pillow, letting out muffled moans and groans of pleasure with each thrust AJ gave him.

AJ was all over him. He sniffed his hair. He nibbled his ear. He let his tongue run from Alan’s neck down to the back of his sensitive spine. He stroked his thighs as he slowly inched his legs apart for more room. He thrust Alan again and again, each one harder than before, pushing into the soft opening. He heard Alan’s muffled moans and thrust harder, exhilarated.

“Ooh, AJ…” Alan moaned, his face burning, his whole body getting all spiced up.

“Does it feel good?” AJ whispered as he licked the back of his ear.

“Yes…Oh, yes…”

“Say it out loud. I wanna hear you say it.”

“It feels so good…” Alan whispered. It was obvious that he was still feeling a little sheepish.

“Louder. I can’t hear you,” AJ encouraged him.

“It feels so good…! So good…! Yes…”

“Louder,” AJ thrust in harder and deeper, over and over again.

“YES! YES! OH, OH, YES! MORE!”

Doc, who was at the living room, had to turn a deaf ear awkwardly over the ‘racket’. If robots could blush, he’d surely would. It was AJ’s private affairs and he didn’t want to interfere. He did say being gay was OK and he had no intention to bother those two lovebirds. When AJ brought Alan home, Doc was impressed at how good-looking he was. It was no wonder AJ would fall heads over heels over him.

Suddenly, Doc was attacked from behind. He was pushed to the ground and was surrounded by several boot-wearing feet. His head was not built to look up, so he couldn’t see who they were. He could hear them though.

“Where’s Project No. 69?” A gruff voice demanded. Doc recognized it.

“You…!”

“Where is he? Where is Project No. 69?”

“I don’t know,” Doc had to say something to defend AJ. He knew they had come for him.

“Don’t play games with me, QX5.5! You have abducted Project No. 69 and kept him under your custody for 15 years! Now where is he?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Doc felt his head bashed by something heavy, like a sledgehammer. He groaned and shut himself off. He wasn’t going to give anymore answers. Playing dead seemed like a good idea. Though shut off, his mind is still clear inside and he hoped that no one will find AJ.

“Check the place out! Leave no stone unturned! We have to get Project No. 69 back to the lab!”

There were a lot of shuffling and banging as the owners of the feet searched the area. At the same time, the bell wounded on Alan’s wrist began to jingle, pointing a direction towards the window.

“Oh heavens, Alan. Put that bell away,” AJ said as he kissed Alan’s neck hungrily. “Are you trying to entice me more with it?”

“No…No, I’m not. It…It jingled by itself,” Alan tried to silence the bell but in vain.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not—What is all that racket out there?”

At Alan’s words, the door suddenly burst open. Men wearing military suits surrounded the two naked teenagers. It took 2 seconds before they realized the men’s presence.

“Who the hell are you? What are you doing here in my house?” Aj demanded as he put on his clothes. Alan did the same.

“No. 69, you’re coming with us to the lab,” one of the men ordered.

“What lab? Who’s No. 69? My name’s AJ! Andrew Johnson!”

“No. 69, you are requested to come with us quietly.”

“I’m not leaving without an explanation!”

“Then we’ll have to use force.”

So saying, all the men jumped onto AJ. Alan screamed as he jumped off the bed and ran to the living room. There was a huge havoc going on in there. The men were all trying to hold him down and drag him away, but AJ was too quick and strong for them. He didn’t bother to keep a low profile anymore. He used all his strength to beat off the men, sending them flying across the room. He then ran out, grabbed both Alan and Doc and dashed out of his apartment to the parking lot. He helped them on his Suzuki motorbike, started it and raced off down the road.

“AJ, I got a feeling this bell is trying to help us get away!” Alan exclaimed when he noticed the bell pointing forward. “Look, it’s showing us a shortcut down the highway!”

So it was. AJ decided to listen to Alan (although he’s still doubtful) and drove wherever the bell was pointing. He yelled at Doc, “Doc! Doc! Turn yourself on! I need some answers!”

Doc, who was between Alan and AJ, turned himself on and said, “I’m sorry, AJ I’m sorry! I should’ve told you earlier…”

“Who were those men? What were they doing here? Why did they calling me No. 69?!”

“I’ll tell you everything! Everything! Just keep driving until we find someplace safe and I’ll spill the beans!”

AJ huffed and increased the bike to full speed, driving away into the night.

Roads: Book 2-Fellowship

Athena sat on a flat rock, meditating. The tight bonds of rope aroung her body didn’t really bother her at all. She was contented to just sit there and think of nothing but peace.

On the other hand, Gary and George were fighting over a drumstick. They were squabbling about who should deserve that drumstick better.

“I found this wild chicken!” Gary yelled.

“Well, I shot it!” George barked at him fiercely.

“If it weren’t for me, you would be eating that nasty trout again!”

“What’s the use of finding it if you can’t kill it?”

“And what’s the use of a gun if you can’t find anything to shoot?”

Henry, who was drinking his coffee, sat quietly as he watched his friends continue bickering at each other.

“Well, at least I plucked and cleaned the chicken!” Gary growled.

“Well, I cooked it!” George insisted.

“No way! I set up the fire!”

“And who brought the wood?”

“And who brought the matches?”

“Henry,” Athena opened her eyes in the midst of all the racket, “would you be so kind as to let George have your drumstick? I’m sure it’s still untouched.”

Henry nodded. He picked up the drumstick on his plate, poked George and passed the drumstick to him. George looked at it and noticed Athena smiling and nodding at him behind Henry. He let go of Gary and accepted the drumstick. Henry grinned and went back to sipping his coffee. Athena went back to her meditation.

“I wonder when we are going to get out of this bloody forest. It’s been weeks since we left home for this trip,” Gary complained as he munched triumphantly on his drumstick. His red hair shone under the light of the fire.

“That’s because you lost the map!” George said dourly. “You’re all thumbs, Gary. You can’t even hold a pencil right, let alone an important thing as a map!”

“I did not lose the map! I stuffed it into your bag as soon as I finished reading it! You lost it! And another thing,” Gary protested before George could rebut him back again, “you didn’t bring a compass along. That was your job. So there!”

“Well, I never! You suggested this trip in the first place! You bragged about knowing this place like the back of your hand! Now look what you’ve led us to!”

“Me? Me?! Why, I…”

Henry shushed them and jerked his head towards the meditating Athena. Gary and George ceased their quarrelling and turned their backs towards each other. Secretly, from the corner of their eyes, they stared at Athena sitting on the rock with her eyes closed, deep in her thoughts, clad in her usual robes. A very unlikely thing to wear during a camping trip, but neither of the men mind.

Having finished their dinner, the men took out their sleeping bags and tucked themselves in. only Athena remained at her spot. Gary did call her to go to bed, but seeing that she didn’t react, he left her alone and turned over, falling asleep instantly.

Athena continued meditating. The peace and tranquility of the forest was music to her ears. Apart from the occasional forest bugs, the men’s snoring and the crackling of fire, everything was fine. Her mother was right; if there is peace in the mind, there’s peace everywhere.

Suddenly there was a jingling of bells. Athena opened her eyes abruptly, shocked at what she heard. There wasn’t a decent sound in the forest for weeks and now there it was, right in front of her! Maybe somebody has come to help them at last. Maybe someone has heard wind of their disappearance and sent the rescue team to help them. Athena relieved herself of her sitting position and got off the rock. Henry heard her and woke up.

“Sorry to wake you up, Henry,” Athena apologized.

Henry shook his head, and then gazed at her with questioning eyes.

“I hear bells. Do you hear it?”

Henry raised his head a little. The jingling caught his ear. He nodded.

“It could be the rescue team. It could be anybody. Do wake the others up. I have a feeling we’ll be saved.”

Henry got up in a thrice and shook Gary and George awake. Athena stood a few feet away from them, waiting.

“What is it? What is it? If that’s you, Gary, I’ll…” George mumbled sleepily, annoyed at the sudden shaking.

“Wake up, George. Wake up, Gary. I hear bells. There might be help coming to us. Let’s go and see who it is,” Athena urged.

At the word ‘help’, Gary and George were wide awake almost immediately. They didn’t care if their hair were ruffled; they’re dying to see another person in the forest that might provide some sort of rescue. They ran towards the sound of the jingling which was music to their ears, leaving Athena and Henry behind.

Moments later, they found themselves standing in front of a jeep. It was a classic one, the type which was used by soldiers during the war, the one without the roof. On the rear-view mirror was a crystal bell hanging from a silver string, jingling and jangling, pointing forward.

Athena and Henry caught up. They saw the jeep and the bell, but there was no one else in sight. Gary and George called out a few times but nobody answered. Nobody appeared out of nowhere and said, “Yes, you called?” or “Hey, that’s my jeep!” There wasn’t even a sound of a footstep.

“No one’s here, only the jeep,” Gary concluded. “Guess we have to ride ourselves back to town. A car for free, imagine that! He he he!”

“No, Gary, please!” Athena begged, quite horrified. “It’s not right to steal someone else’s car. It might belong to someone!”

“Well, we’ve called several times but no one showed up. How can you be sure that person needs it? He probably didn’t give a damn about this baby and dumped it here. It’s pretty old, you know.”

“Maybe they left it there for a while and went to the men’s room or something. It’s just not right.”

“Well, right or not, Athena, this sucker left the keys in the car. How stupid can that person be if he really cared about the car?”

“I don’t know…” Athena was still worried.

“Come on, Athena. We’re just borrowing the jeep,” George, for once, defended Gary. “Once we get to town, we’ll find the owner and give it back to him, plus apology. Whaddaya say?”

“Well…”

“You want to go home to your peaceful lifestyle again, don’t you?”

“Y…Yes, I must say…”

“Then hop in!” Gary grinned. He turned the key in the ignition and it started immediately. “Let’s get out of this dump!”

Athena finally let herself into the car. Henry was the only one who had a driving license, so he sat in the driver’s seat. Athena sat beside him and the rest sat at the back. As soon as everyone got on the jeep, before Henry laid his hands on the steering wheel, the jeep suddenly swerved and went down the road, going towards the direction of where the bell was pointing.

“What’s going on?! Henry, is this what you learn in driving school?!” Gary shrieked as he held on tight to the seat. Henry put his hands up and shook his head in protest, indicating that he didn’t dupe the car or anything.

“Oh heavens! This car has a mind of its own! It’s taking us deep into the forest!” Athena screamed in panic. The men were also in panic. Henry tried to step on the brakes but it didn’t work either.

“Look! The tank is empty!” Gary exclaimed, pointing at the tank meter. “But the jeep’s still running! It really has a mind of its own!”

Athena clasped her hands and prayed. Henry held tight on the steering wheel. Gary and George grabbed on each other. None of them knew what to do.

A desperate cry for help was the last thing they could say before they were carried deeper and deeper into the thick forest.

Roads: Book 1-Fish

There were about thirty to forty people at Tamara’s Class of ’98 reunion party that night. Everyone from Class ’98 was there, including the teachers. Although the hall of Tamara, the little Miss Richie Rich of Class ’98, was big, people still had to stand very close to one another and shout to make themselves heard. If it weren’t for the large buffet table (which was taking up most of the space) and the loud Bon Jovi music, the atmosphere wouldn’t be so appalling. Many were grinning, showing capped white teeth. Most of them had a cigarette in the left hand and a drink or a plate of food in the right, and there were quite a number of children running around the place, probably belonging to a few of the married ex-students of Class ’98. It was a wonder those kids did not crash into one another or any of the adults or causing the spilling of drinks and flying of shrimp cocktails.

Suzie moved away from her crowd. She wasn’t much of a chatty person anyway. She headed for the small bar in the far corner, and when she got there, she sat down on a bar-stool and faced the hall. She ordered a Martini and watched the ex-students—her ex-classmates—of Class ’98, chitchatting away without noticing her at all while taking food from part-time waiters and waitresses from some of the most high-classed catering companies money can buy, waiting on them hand and foot just to earn a couple of bucks to pay for their tuition fees. Typical for the richest girl of Class ’98 to be hiring help for everything she did.

It’s not surprising that no one noticed her. Suzie could be considered the Ghost of Class ’98—she was tiny and timid, with long hair down to her waist. She was very fair, almost going pale, and the only thing that ever gave her face any colour was the pink blusher she wiped across her cheek. She was dressed in black, like Morticia in the Addams family, and she looked like her too, minus the make-up, that is. People barely acknowledged her unless she at least whispers a little, then they’ll raise their eyebrows and say, “Where did she come from?”

“Well, well, well, if it ain’t our old friend Suzie the Ghost! Got room for us?”

Suzie looked up and saw Tamara with a number of other girls. The Barbie Girls, they were known to everyone in Class ‘98. She nodded and they all sat beside her. Tamara put her arm over Suzie’s shoulder.

“Having a great time? You should be glad I remembered and invited you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“Thank you, Tam,” Suzie replied timidly. Oh, how she envied Tamara and the other girls. They’re all robust and lively, full of colour (not to mention Tamara being rich). How she wished she could be like them, that is if she weren’t so busy trying to avoid them and their possible ragging.

“If you are trying to dress up like Morticia, Suzie, you should’ve decorated your face like her as well,” Janet, one of the girls, remarked as she tossed her red hair and laughed. “You look like Morticia who just had a nasty cold!”

Sorry I tried, Suzie thought acidly, fighting the urge to splash her glass of Martini on her foundation-covered face.

“Hush, Janet, that’s not nice!” Another girl, Diana defended her. She’s very sweet, this Diana, despite the fact that she was one of the Barbie Girls herself. “Don’t mind her, Suzie. You look great.”

“Thanks,” Suzie replied. She hated make-up. Really, she did. It was an effort for her just to put a few lousy dabs of blusher.

“Is that all you can say, Suzie?” Tamara tried to make the conversation friendlier and clapped her back. “Dang, you haven’t changed since we last saw you—or even remembered you. How are you doing these few years? Doing college? University? Married?”

“No. I work in a nursery,” Suzie lowered her head, the cold glass of Martini numbing her fingers.

“Oh, babysitting children, eh? I bet it’s tiring, having to run around meeting all those little brats’ whim and fancy.”

“It was OK.”

“That’s a sweet job, Suzie. Gives you preparations before-hand when you heve kids of your own someday,” Diana complimented.

“Yeah,” Janet snorted, “if she ever gets married!”

“Janet, don’t!” Diana frowned at her.

“Hey, it’s a fact. She’s been in high school for years and no guys had ever set eyes on her. I wouldn’t be caught dead a spinster if I were her!” Janet’s a very outspoken girl. She couldn’t control her own mouth, let alone others.

Tamara could see that Suzie was in the verge of breaking down, so she quickly changed the subject, “So, Suzie. I heard that you’re on your own now. That is so cool. I mean, so much freedom, having everything to yourself, no worries at all. Where do you live?”

“An apartment at Loanes Street,” Suzie cheered up a little. She sometimes wished Janet would just shut up.

“Loanes Street?! Isn’t that apartment supposed to be haunted?!” Janet was at it again. “You gotta be crazy to go on living there!”

“That’s just rumours, Janet,” Tamara groaned in exasperation. “What’s really like up there, Suzie? Still rearing fishies as pets?”

Suzie almost dropped her Martini. ‘Fish’ was the lat thing she ever wanted to hear. Janet smirked when she noticed her going pale.

“See? See how jumpy Suzie is? I told you that place is haunted, especially the drain!”

“And what do you know about the Loanes Apartment, huh?” Diana challenged. She bet Janet was just all talk, but Janet proved her wrong.

“Oh, I know dozens about the apartment, I do! Particularly the drain. The drain is the spookiest of all the hauntings in the apartment. Some people say they can hear a woman screaming for help with her husband swearing in the background, some say they can see a dangling corpse hanging from a fan or something and some say they could see and hear ghosts roaming around the corridors and moaning in front of their faces, but none is compared to the drain. No, none can be compared!”

“Is that true, Suzie?” Diana asked Suzie. Suzie remained silent.

“Oh Christ, Janet! Stop the dilly-dallying and tell us about the drain, if you’re not trying to be hogwash!” Tamara barked at her outspoken friend impatiently.

“I’m not trying to be hogwash! It’s true! My brother-in-law, before he married my sister, used to live there and he had a score to tell!”

“Well, what is it?” One of the girls in the group asked, humouring Janet.

“He said that the drain in the apartment is haunted. Every night, and I mean every night, at exactly 8 o’clock, you can hear loud splashes in the drain, like a fish doing jumps over the water or something, and the splashes are very loud. Almost abnormal. And it goes on and on throughout the night. Sometimes you can still hear those splashes at the most eerie hours, but it always start at 8 o’clock at night, no matter what.

“Then came a night when he couldn’t stand it anymore. My brother-in-law, together with his roommate, went down to investigate. They went near the drain that was making all the loud splashes and guess what? The sound of the splashes was there, but there’s no water in the drain! I tell you, the drain was as dry as the desert! Sure, there should be a little water enough to wet the whole darn drain but he swore there was no water at that side of the drain! Yet the sound of splashes was so loud, and it came from there!

“Of course, my brother-in-law refused to believe it at first. He thought they were echoes from another side of the drain. So he turned around to check out the other side. Suddenly he heard a gurgling noise, like someone was drowning, and when he turned around, he saw his roommate lying on the solid ground, dead and as pale as a ghost. Forensics have checked out his roommate’s body and reported, reluctantly, that the cause of death was drowning. Drowning! Could you imagine? It was an uproar, I tell you. After that incident, with involvement from the police and all, a massive group of house-moving occurred. A lot of residents decided there and then that they’re moving. I’m sure that happened when you’re still living there, right, Suzie?”

Suzie nodded. She swallowed her Martini all in one go, which was something she had never done before.

“See? I told you it was true! I’m no hogwash!” Janet exclaimed triumphantly. She even ordered a Bloody Mary to congratulate herself with.

“Then why didn’t you move? Why didn’t you leave that place?” Diana asked, concerned.

“Because it’s my fault,” Suzie replied after a very long silence.

“Excuse me?” Tamara raised an eyebrow.

“I caused the haunting.”

Janet almost choked in her Bloody Mary. All the girls looked at her as if she had just made a bizarre announcement about the end of the world. Suzie ignored them. She ordered another Martini and sipped it.

“What do you mean you caused the haunting?” Tamara asked Suzie, trying to check if she had lost a few marbles.

“Like I said, I made the haunting happened. If it weren’t for me, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“What? What did you do?” Diana asked. She was getting worried. She had never heard Suzie spoke more than a sentence before. Janet thought she was getting drunk with all the Martini she’s been drinking.

“You mean you rigged those splashing sounds and scared my brother-in-law’s roommate to death?”

“No. It’s not that.” It was surprising that Suzie didn’t jump up at that remark.

“Then what happened?” Tamara was getting impatient.

“You know I have a letch for fish. I adore fish. If possible, I would love to collect every species there is in the whole world and keep them in exotic tanks and just sit there and watch them swim around.”

“Then that’s not a problem.”

“That’s a very big problem,” Suzie said, anxious. “I haven’t got the money and none of my fish I’ve kept survive more than a month.”

“Good Lord!” Diana exclaimed, cupping her mouth.

“I had 4 beautiful goldfish once, and each of them died, one per day. The last goldfish survived for 2 more days before dying abruptly.”

“That’s terrible,” Tamara said.

“Bummer!” Janet remarked.

“A month later, I received 2 carps from my friend, a male and a female. No sooner I got those carps than later that evening, the male died.”

“Bullshit! That can’t be true! You’re pulling our legs!” Janet snorted. Her eyes were glazed by the drink, but her mouth was as outspoken as ever.

“No. it’s true. It died right at that evening. I didn’t want to see the female suffer the same fate, so I brought the bucket down to the drain and poured her and the dead male down. I know the drain might lead somewhere down to a sewer or something, where she might survive just for a while. I just poured and left with looking, so I didn’t know whether she made it or not,” Suzie took a long pull of her Martini after she finished her story.

“Good heavens! Suzie, how could you?” Diana was almost in tears. She’s a sweet girl, and any cruelty would drive her into a bucketful of tears.

“Looks like the drain has told you whether she made it or not,” Janet grinned and ordered a vodka next.

“I had no choice,” Suzie said quietly.

“You know what I think? I think that fish is trying to draw your attention. She wants to lure you so that she can kill you, just like she did to the roommate.”

Suzie kept silent. She finished her Martini and grabbed her coat. She made up an excuse, thanked Tamara for the lovely party and left. The girls just sat there and watched her leave, completely dumbstruck.

--:--

SPLISH! SPLOSH! SPLASH!

The splashes have been going on for hours now. Suzie glanced at her clock. 2 a.m. Suzie drew her blanket nearer to her chin. The splashes were threatening her—demanding her, to be exact—to go down and check it out. It was calling her, wanting her to go down to meet the doom that she deserved. Suzie had brought herself to get used to the splashing, but after the story Janet told the other girls, she was getting goosebumps all over again.

Suddenly she heard a series of tiny jingles. Suzie opened her tightly shut eyes and saw a crystal bell hanging from a silver string on her window sill. It was jingling and swaying, as if the wind was blowing at it from inside the room. It was pointing towards the direction of the drain, jingling ever so softly, like melodic church psalms.

Suzie knew that in a way, she had killed the female carp and she deserved to be punished for that. She knew that the dead fish was seeking revenge upon her. She was scared. Throughout those nights, although she told herself to get used to it, deep down inside her, she was scared stiff. Now, after listening to those jingling of the crystal bell, she knew she couldn’t hide anymore. She knew that this day would come. She knew she was going to die in the fins of a very vengeful fish sooner or later.

Most of all, she was somehow ready to face it.

She removed the bell from the sill and let it guide her. The bell continued jingling and pointing to the front, guiding her way. Surprisingly, Suzie wasn’t scared or shocked by this mysterious bell. She wasn’t the least bit curious about the way the bell acted. She just accepted whatever was happening to her now and let the bell lead the way.

Soon, Suzie found herself standing in front of the famous haunted drain.

Roads: Introduction

This is a story about 15 people.

This is a story about 15 people undergoing a journey through 7 Roads of the Realm of Life.

This is a story about 15 people who wouldn’t stay and wait for fate to claim them. A story which shows that they have the determination to change their own fate, their own future, their own lives. A story which they have to learn to understand about life, about themselves and about their true destiny.

This is a story about 15 people who have beaten all odds received the most precious gift in their lives.

This is a story about love.

About courage.

About determination.

About sadness and joy, despair and hope.

About life.

This is their story.

Walpurgis Night-The Retribution of Red (Book 8)

STORYBOARD/PLOT DRAFT

• Found in a green house by the owner and taken in temporarily
• Passed from one Wiseman to another before settling under the care of an Immortal group to wait for the return of the Ever-Being
• Wallie discovered a picture of the Immortals with 2 of the members missing
• One of the member secretly reveals that they are the wives of the two leading Immortals of their group who went missing during the Ancient War and presumed dead, leading to the downhill of their morale
• Wallie and Serene receive recurring dreams of the missing members pleading for help
• See this as a sign and convinced the group to search for them
• Went to the place they were last seen and get pulled by a force
• Finds themselves in a hot and humid dark red world and went through many obstacles, including getting roasted by the heat, attacked by a squid-like spider monster at sea, getting lost in the forest and having more intense dreams of the two members
• Treks through a rocky road to find the first missing member who claims to be a fugitive of the Samakh followers
• They are led to the hideout and into a trap, revealing that she actually converted to a follower as she blames the group for not rescuing her and leaving her to die, and that the other missing member is held in a contraption using her powers to send dreams to Wallie and Serene to lure them there
• The first missing member killed the leader of the Samakh followers and assumed leadership, using Wallie and Serene's power to open the path to invade the entire Red continent and wage war
• The leading Immortal have no choice but to kill his wife in the process
• The other wife used all her strength combined with Wallie and Serene to close the pathway, turning her into crystallized form with slim chance of revival
• Wallie and Serene again becomes the blame for all this as they are handed to the Ever-Beings to meet the Hymanjalai
• Hymanjalai in phoenix form requests a higher price of gift for safe passage because of their knowledge of their destiny
• Wallie and Serene offered one of their eye each to be replaced with the phoenix's eyes before passing through

Walpurgis Night-The Obeisance of Orange (Book 7)

STORYBOARD/PLOT DRAFT

• Wakes up in a Royal Garden and discovered by Wiseman's 3 assistants
• Just in time for the dethroning of the old ruler and finding a new rule and, again, viewed their arrival as a good sign
• Their way of ruling is to find a pure-blooded Ima'asen amongst all the mixed blood, betrothed to a pure Onuji and rule for at least a century
• Wallie and Serene asked to help locate a new ruler with their powers
• Gets to know the people of the castle and the person going to be betrothed to the new ruler
• In this world, because women are scarce due to a plague that affects only women, some men are blessed with hermaphroditic features, which is what the betrothed's condition was
• Many mixed feelings involved, including the betrothed's dissatisfaction of the whole thing
• The hunt for new ruler took them all the way to the outbacks where Wallie and Serene's butterfly lesions reacted in burning sensation at the sight of a peasant's son
• Taken to the castle to be trained as a ruler and developed a love-hate relationship with the betrothed
• Wallie and Serene worked alongside with the Royal Advisor to help with the training while at the same time, helped resolved feelings between the peasant's son and the betrothed and the Royal Advisor and the General
• The old ruler's brother disagree with the system and wants the throne all to himself, thus declare war with the peasant's son
• The enemy joins forces with still loyal followers of Samakh to overthrow the peasant's son, while the peasant's son fought alongside the royal army and Wallie and Serene
• The inner powers that the peasant's son had never really used awakened and defeated the enemy
• Celebrates victory with a coronation and a double wedding
• The new ruler's friend, who is a Seer, and the Wiseman take Wallie and Serene to an Ever-Being to see Hymanjalai
• Hymanjalai in monkey form requests gift for safe passage
• Serene offers her last baby tooth and passes through

Walpurgis Night-The Youth of Yellow (Book 6)

STORYBOARD/PLOT DRAFT

• Wakes up in a well and rescued by a florist who owns the well
• Florist is good friends with a dancer, a scholar and a tailor because of one thing in common: they have the same first names
• An announcement made by the royal advisor that a study of genealogy revealed the four women of noble birthright and called in to become the King's lady-in-waiting to bear him children due to the Queen's ailing condition
• Wallie and Serene ordered to come along as well to be his lucky charm and mascot while he is in a civil cold war with a neighbouring kingdom in exchange for a meeting with an Ever-Being to the Hymanjalai
• Has a special seat on the floor on either side of the King's throne
• Wallie and Serene discovers a clue along with the main maids of the castle leading to a possible hidden ancient treasure within the castle
• Goes together with the florist, dancer and tailor and the maids to treasure-hunt
• Wallie also secrely discovers the scholar planning a rebellion with the people of the castle, buying their loyalty to take down the King and Queen and name herself the first Female King to end the chauvinistic reign
• The treasure-hunt reveals a Puzzle Chamber where they have to piece the puzzle together to find the location of the treasure
• The location reveals a tomb where the last living Prince of the royal family was buried alive with the treasure and his journal revealing his knowledge of infanticide within the royal family and dark Samakh magic in order to let the throne forever belong to the King and Queen
• Wallie and Serene, along with the scholar and her loyal subjects, overthrew the King and Queen and signed a peace treaty with the neighbour kingdom, naming the scholar the Female King
• Scholar fulfills the King's promise and sends the Wiseman to take them to the Ever-Being to meet Hymanjalai
• Hymanjalai in leopard form request gift for safe passage
• Serene offers her hair and they pass through

Walpurgis Night-The Glamour of Green (Book 5)

STORYBOARD/PLOT DRAFT

• Both wake up in a grand posh bed and dressed in very beautiful clothes
• Find themselves in some sort of dream world that calms the soul and both Ima'asen and Onuji (humans) live together in peace and harmony
• Meets an archer elf and Wallie immediately takes a liking to him despite knowing she is already engaged
• Led to a castle where resides the Human King and his Nymph Queen
• Allowed to make themselves at home while they request their Wiseman to contact the Ever-Being for a meeting with the Hymanjalai
• Surprised to feel a burning sensation on their backs but were assured they are alright
• While Serene makes friends with the people around, the love relationship between Wallie and the archer elf blossomed
• Elf hinted Wallie to check out the Forgotten Library after learning Wallie's love for reading
• Wallie and Serene discovers in the Ancient Section a dusty scroll that prophesied two people from another dimension entering this dimension to save it from a resurrecting evil
• As soon as they read it, the burning sensation increased, revealing a lesion on their back the shape of butterfly wings
• A half-breed lured by a Samakh follower with promises of riches kidnapped the girls with the help of some remnants
• About to be sacrificed for Samakh's resurrection when the King sent his troops and those willing to help on an all-out rescue mission
• As Wallie and Serene were nursed back to health, Wallie realized the dire situation and knows she will put everyone in danger with her presence and that her love with the elf can never be
• The elf understands her plight and gives her a parting gift
• Wiseman passes Wallie and Serene to Ever-Being to be taken to the fields
• Hymanjalai in snake form request gift for safe passage
• Wallie offers her hair and passes through

Walpurgis Night-The Ballade of Blue (Book 4)

STORYBOARD/PLOT DRAFT

• Discovers they are falling into sea
• Struggles to reach the surface but faints out of suffocation, but wakes up to meet a school of mermaids
• Able to breathe underwater because they were rescued by the mermaid princess and given magic gills to survive
• Discovers the mermaid princess is engaged secretly with a human prince under her parents' approval but the prince's father, angered by this, locks the prince in a tower, forbidding them to wed
• Wallie feels for the princess and decides to persuade the King in exchange for the princess's help to locate an Ever-Being to take them home
• Meets the King who is in the body of a little girl and finds out that it is a custom in this continent to have Wisemen combine body and soul of whichever spouse dies and the body becomes younger as they grow older
• King disagrees of relationship because he blames merpeople for his wife's death
• Will only agree if Wallie and Serene can convince his sister in the neighbour country to return him his Crystal Diamond, the source of their country's prosperity
• Wallie and Serene meets with the prince and the prince tells her to give his royal ring to the princess if all else fails
• Wallie's quest becomes a chain of favours: King's Crystal for the prince and princess's marriage; King's sister's childhood crush for the diamond; childhood crush's heart for the relationship; a dinner for a heart; stop a harassment for a dinner; a family heirloom for a halt in harassment; stop another harassment for the family heirloom; a love returned for a halt in harassment; brother made apprentice for a love returned; a lost love for apprenticeship; and a son returned for a reconciled love
• A few people tagging along in Wallie and Serene's quest
• Fulfills everyone's favours and the King reluctantly allows the wedding to proceed
• Princess lends them sea creatures to take them to an Ever-Being who leads them to the Bayou
• Hymanjalai in dolphin form request gift for safe passage
• Serene offers her ankle lace and passes through

Walpurgis Night-The Impedence of Indigo (Book 3)

STORYBOARD/PLOT DRAFT

• Wakes up in a sooty fireplace of a blacksmith and discovered by the son
• Sees it as a good sign as they are approaching the Day of Leaving
• Day of Leaving is where humans born with other worldly powers are sent to a special school to be trained as Ever-Beings
• Those chosen are the blacksmith's son, a tailor's daughter, a cattle-breeder's son, a weapons-maker's daughter and a village idiot's son (who is actually very smart in contrast of his father)
• Wallie and Serene follows them to the school and are asked to stay until the teachers can get in touch with an Ever-Being
• Serene shows signs of affection to village idiot's son even though she knows he is the tailor's daughter's boyfriend
• The novice Ever-Beings gets bored of lessons and want a quick way out
• A mystery student hints on a game called 'ChildRaiser' that grants the winner any wish they desire
• Follows instruction and plays the game, with many obstacles including the test of souls and inner demons which Wallie and Serene soon discovers
• One by one as the game progresses, the players ended up missing
• Wallie regains consciousness to find everyone entangled in a sticky web dead and mutilated while Serene stands below in a trance covered in blood
• The game's main goal is to find the person with the worst inner demons and discovers Serene's pent-up bottled frustration because of her life raised by radically religious parents
• Teachers come in the nick of time to rescue everyone before Serene can kill Wallie
• Serene has to be confined in the Cleansing Chamber to rid her of her inner demons
• Families come to collect their children's bodies and again blamed Wallie and Serene for the misfortune
• After Serene's cured, taken to an Ever-Being to meet Hymanjalai at the Isle
• Hymanjalai in half-husky-half-wolf dog form cannot allow Serene to pass because her soul is branded with spiritual chains of a murderer (the DEMONANGEL)
• Wallie begs for Serene and Hymanjalai tears off Wallie's left arm whole, claiming that this is an equivalent price to pass through
• Before passing through, Serene asks if she could call Wallie "Mother" and Wallie agrees

Walpurgis Night-The Violence of Violet (Book 2)

STORYBOARD/PLOT DRAFT

• Wakes up on the shores of a beach
• Discovered by a Wiseman and his eldest nephew (the Chief's son) who just came back from hunting
• Taken to their village and welcomed warmly at first
• Been mistaken as sacrificial lambs to alleviate them from their long-standing famine by the overzealous Chief
• Rescued by the Chief's sons and became fugitives
• Eldest son believes it is caused by remnants of Samakh that resides underground, causing the famine and hates the Chief for blindly sacrificing their eldest sister
• Youngest son claims to have recurring dreams of 7 princess fairies warning them of a coming flood and to find a legendary flower to cure the famine
• Wallie and Serene believes the youngest son and convinces the eldest son to build a raft
• The flood really comes and the team went through many obstacles before entering the realm of Ima'asen
• Meets the 7 princess fairies and were confirmed of the eldest son's suspicion of Samakh remnants causing the famine
• Eldest son falls in love with youngest princess and aims to please
• Cause of remnants running free is the disappearance of the High Being and her garden of legendary flowers
• Ventures to the realm of the remnants to rescue the High Being, who is held captive by the strongest remnant of all
• After rescue, High Being appears in Wallie and Serene's dream to thank them and allows them to take the seed of the flower to be planted across the land
• Eldest son chooses to stay in Ima'asen to be with the princess he loves
• The rest returns with the flower seeds to cure the famine
• The Wiseman offers to take Wallie and Serene to a Ever-Being to take them to meet Hymanjalai in the Ancient Vineyards
• Hymanjalai in Kangaroo form request a gift for safe passage
• Wallie gives her mother's wedding ring and passes through

Walpurgis Night-The Beginning of Black (Book 1)

STORYBOARD/PLOT DRAFT

• Lured by a talking stray dog to the Black Continent, told to bring Serene along
• Enters the Black Continent, meets with a strange team of a giant, an elf, a dwarf and a humanimal
• Ventures with them to send a mystery child named Xana back to her clan
• Going through many obstacles, including marshes, cliffs, skeleton pines and ruins
• Meets a High Being frozen in suspended animation in a huge crystal
• Talks to High Being in a dream
• In the Earth Dimension, people start to notice Wallie and Serene's disappearance
• Meanwhile Wallie & team reach the Hanging Bridge, meets a Keeper who will only let people pass if they give him an unsolvable riddle
• Wallie and Serene succeed in giving him an unsolvable riddle
• Creatures called Falah-Teks hovering around the team as they cross the bridge and snatched Wallie and Serene when they targeted Xana
• In captivity, learns about the true nature of Xana: she is born from a Death Messenger creature
• Xana is a child created as a deal to allow a young girl 10 more years for her dying father
• Abandoned because she is born out of wedlock and half Ima'asen (Other Worldly Beings)
• Team comes led by Xana's mother to return Xana to the Falah-Teks in exchange for Wallie and Serene
• Xana speaks for the first time, delivering a death message to her mother and her village
• Plague hit and killed everyone in the village
• Xana's mother, before she died, blamed Wallie & Serene for bringing this calamity to them
• After consultation, the giant and elf volunteered to take Wallie and Serene to see an Ever Being so she can send them to see the Hymanjalai on the mountaintops
• Hymanjalai in cat form request a gift for safe passage
• Wallie gives her anniversary necklace as a gift
• Passes through

Confessions of a Broken Marionette-Chapter 6

My life with the landlady and her family was short-lived, though there were ups and downs while it lasted. Some of the incidents I remember were:

• I indirectly killed their dog because I took pity on her always chained at the pole, so I let her loose to allow her to run around at the streets, thinking she would be like other dogs, returning to the master once they had their fun, but I forgot that our housing estate led to the big road outside and minutes after I let her go, she was run over and became roadkill
  
• My mom made Adeline and Alvin let go of the pup Snowy because she was getting skin problems that they couldn't afford to heal. She drove us down to some random school and we just dropped the poor pup in a nearby bush. Poor thing. She was so confused when I looked back to see her, and that was the last time I ever saw the pup. I hated my mom even more for that
  
• Soon after, the family received two puppies, a male and a female, courtesy of the father, in which we thought safer if we put it in the backyard. Alvin and I named them Simba and Nala, because we were both fans of The Lion King
  
• We actually witnessed the beginning till the end of the construction of a church nearby our housing estate, and we sometimes use the grounds to play with
  
• I learnt the danger of smoking when we found the father's cigarette lying around, which me and Alvin lit and tried it. I didn't know it was one of the strong kind, and once I sucked it in my lungs, it burnt and I swore off cigarettes since then
  

About half a year of living there, it turns out that the landlady and her family was going to move back into their old home which they rented to someone to earn their keep. The person moved away or something because they were getting a new home, so the landlady was thrilled to move back, although they left all the odds and ends of their current home behind for us to handle. Since this house has a reputation of unable to withstand floods (it was a total nightmare when it flooded twice), it was definitely not a good place to live in.

There is a gap in my memory of what happened later on (not sure why), but what I do remember was that the maid was no longer with us and I was moving in to another place when I was roughly around Primary 5 that was sort of sponsored by my mom's friend who became partners with her in starting a tuition school/nursery daycare. I sincerely don’t know why I totally do not remember the moving. I just found myself living in it, and that was it. We had a new maid, and we had a room all to ourselves upstairs while the rest of the house was hustle and bustle everyday with kids and teens coming in for tuition and toddlers to be baby-sat. I did my fair share of baby-sitting, playing with the kids and stuff, and made friends with some of the kids and teens while I join them at the table doing my homework. I even have friends who went to the same primary school as I did and did tuition at our place, one of them being an Indian-born Chinese named Kimberly. The most prominent feature I remember about her was that despite her speaking very fluent Chinese, she was very dark and looked more like an Indian with a hint of Asian blood in her features.

Ever since I came back from Taiwan, I was subjected by force by my mom to write a daily journal in Chinese for her inspection. I thought it was bloody ridiculous, really, because a journal is where you write things, private things, based on your thoughts or how your day was that sometimes is best left not known by other parties. Having someone read your journals is not exactly very private anymore, but she claims that by doing so, I will maintain my level of Chinese and not waste all the effort that I have learnt for half a year in Taiwan. I know she meant well, but writing down your private thoughts to your mother at that time was just plain stupid. To make matters worse, if I don't write it or forget to write it even for a day, she will beat me black and blue. So I had to be careful in what I write, and create fantastical stories that I made up or that I read somewhere to illustrate my day but not going to overboard to the point of illogic in a day-to-day life.

Moving into this new place was no different than my last few lifestyles because again, my mom would sometimes disappear on ends, claiming that she has gone outstation and stuff, leaving me to be raised by the maid and the "family" downstairs during tuition and daycare. My mom's partner, Mrs. Tan, was a fussy, grumpy woman when it comes to the students, but rather nice to me, in fact even invited me to her house before to make friends with her daughters who also came to tuition to do their homework. They all never knew what goes on behind the scenes when I'm privately with my mom (like I said, she sees face-value above all else) and I never really told them, not after being betrayed of trust of confidence. Only those students who were close to me, including Kimberley who knew bits and pieces of my secrets that I am willing to tell, but being the kids we were, they couldn't do anything to help me, and I couldn't ask.

The behind-the-scenes private moments with my mom were definitely not a pretty sight to see. She would scream and yell at every little mistake I made and most of the time would not hear my side of the story. Lashing out due to my not regularly writing my journal and also the black and blue I receive over the lack of the child support on behalf of my dad's incompetence was inevitable. There was one time where I clearly remember bringing home my PE uniform, but don’t know how it got lost into the laundry until it just went mysteriously missing and no matter how I look, I couldn't find it. My mom got so pissed just for the sake of one missing PE uniform that she was screaming down the house, demanding that I admit I was the one who lost it, when I insist I didn't. I swear to God I remember bringing it back home, but she just wouldn't believe me, accusing me of being a goddamn liar like my dad. She accidentally slipped off her chair and landed on her ass while scolding me, and out of frustration and embarrassment, she took it out on me, slapping me again and again, as if it was my fault she fell down. As usual, it was all because the face-value. Because I witnessed her downfall, her face-value dropped and she despised people seeing her vulnerable, and needed to take out on someone, i.e. me.

One incident later on during that time frame that really bites the dust was the time I had my BCG shot. She was scolding me about something trivial while having my breakfast and waiting for the bus, and out of anger, she totally forgot that I had my BCG shot and slapped my arm where the shot was. It was swollen and in the process of healing when she hit it, causing it to burst and bleed all over my sleeve. I took the beating quietly, but it was the blood that snapped her out of her reverie and revert her back to that "loving mother" as she tend to the wound. She told me not to tell a soul and made me promise that I would cover for her, in which I agreed reluctantly, because I know there was no one I can trust with the truth. I did tell Kimberly and my other closer friends, however, when we were riding the bus, and I was so upset that I was in tears and swore that I would not go home. They tried to calm me down and comfort me, taking in some sympathy pains, but that's about all they could give me. Of course, being that the bleeding hearts of the world united in me, I forgave my mom and covered her ass for her, telling others that I hit the wall or something and came home promptly when the bus came to pick us, like the little dog I was, although I was tempted not to go on the bus for a moment there. My mom said sorry and helped me fixed my wound again when I came home, although I'm not sure whether she was sincere or not, because a day later, she went back to her usual self and I had to nurse the BCG wound on my own.

Well, at least one good thing came out of it: I don't have a bulge like everyone else does when their BCG shots healed. It was just one flat scar.

I think probably the only thing she did as a real mother should was when she tried to explain the birds and the bees to me. Well, not in a graphic sort of manner (since I more or less read a little about it in books), but she did get me prepared for the day I will have my first period and told me stuff about being careful with men and stuff and what to avoid to protect my chastity and keep from getting knocked up. I'll give her that much.

I always look forward to her going outstation because then I can have all the freedom I want, to do whatever I want and not care of the consequences. Of course, I have to remember updating the journal, but other than that, I would be all on my own, not having to worry about being demonized everyday and suffer it without anyone to help me. She usually goes outstation for maybe two or three days, doing god knows what, but there was one incident where she actually was away for an entire month during the one-month long school holidays. She never told me why or where she had gone outstation or anything, and I never asked. Not that I was complaining, but it did strike me as odd later on as to what exactly was she doing being away for so long. Did she go off with her boyfriend? Did she make a new one? Is she really even on a business trip? Or did she go off to Taiwan on her own lonesome without bringing me along? Till now I never knew the truth of why she went off that long and left me alone with the maid.

I remember during that one-month long freedom, there were very little tuition or daycare because of the hols, and I had the whole house to myself with no one to tell me what to do and fucking monitoring me like a freaking security camera. Usually the maid is not allowed to be in the room unless to put away the laundry or clean my room, but for that whole month, she has free access to watch TV with me provided she does her chores (although I am still bloody curious till now how was she able to keep up with the food supply for a whole month). I was forbidden to tell my dad where I live at that time period (he will pick me up from tuition on Saturdays, then my mom comes to pick me on Sunday nights to bring me home), so for that whole month, I never went to visit my dad. But it was OK. I was able to entertain myself. The most memorable time I had entertaining myself was that one video tape (during the time when VHS still exists), the ONLY video tape I had, which was Disney's Beauty & the Beast, and it became a religious routine for me to play it every night before I go to bed and every morning when I wake up, and it got to the point where I decided to immerse into either the role of Belle or the Beast (for the Beast, I always draped a shower towel to use as the Beast's cape), acting out their scenes and literally memorized every single line. So for that one month, I knew every line, every expression, every body movement and language, and every word. Besides drawing, reading comics, writing the journal and chasing after TV series (X-Files every Wednesday night), Beauty and the Beast was the other thing that kept me entertained, and probably got me interested in acting.

My mom once hit me black and blue when I forgot to find out the date of my UPSR exam. I know it is one of those big exams that determines which high school you would end up in, but I was just a kid. I was 12 years old, for crying out loud. You can't expect me to remember everything! She even said that I was getting too tall for her liking and she worried if I would ever fit any clothes if I grow any taller. I'm a human being, not a dolly you can play dress up with. Although it was probably her fault that I soon stopped growing at that age and had never grown any taller since. Thanks a lot, Mom.

That year was also the year I let go of what could possibly be a turning point in my artistic career. To pay homage to the X-Files I love so much and also after being inspired when I won 2nd place in a story-writing competition, I decided to start a novel series with me as the main character and some of my close friends alongside with me as "The Investigators of the Paranormal" where the title says all. I had help with a bit of reference from Famous Five to get my language correct, and I wrote as well as a 12-year-old could. One of my friends who was featured in my book said she would like to borrow it to read, so I did, and a few weeks later, she called me at my dad's place to ask if I was willing to give her dad the rights to publish my book. I know she is born and bred from a rich family that can afford anything, and that her dad probably could afford to pay the publishing fees. It was a very tempting offer, and it would've actually boosted my writing career, if only there wasn't a catch.

Because I am underaged, I must have consent from both parents.

I know my dad would support me no matter what (if he didn't, I could always bully him to agree, LOL), so I was sure my dad's side was no problem. But the problem would be my mom. She was already quite against me doing my drawings because, according to her, "I don't draw anything worthwhile or real", forcing me to do my drawings in private. If she were to find out that I have been writing what she calls "rubbish", and during school time, no less, I will never hear the end of it, and it was a no brainer that she would NEVER agree to sign the consent. So, despite that very tempting offer that would've changed my life, I declined.

I've always had a passion for music as well aside from drawing and writing. When I listen to Vanessa Williams’ version of the Pocahontas soundtrack "Colours of the Wind" nowadays, it feels rather nostalgic and brings me back to the day that determined my singing talent. I was Primary 6 at that time and our school was having some sort of an English Week Program with tons of events lined up to promote the English language, one of them being a singing contest. I was not interested in joining after I was reminded by a setback back in first grade when I tried to join the singing contest and my mother had strongly objected against it, telling me that it's a waste of my time and I should be studying instead. At least they've already chosen a class rep for this, so I don't feel that bad for not entering.

So there I was minding my own business coming into class that morning when suddenly our class monitor jumped to me and asked me if I knew the song of Pocahontas 'Colours of the Wind'. I didn't think it mattered so I said yes, and was shocked to find out that the class monitor decided at the last minute to representing the class for the singing contest. Apparently, their rep suddenly had cold feet and did not want to join no matter how they begged, bribed and dragged her to the school hall. The contest would start any moment and they were desperate, and since they said I had an agreeable voice, they opted me to be the next best thing to a class rep for the contest.

I was both thrilled and nervous at the same time. I finally get to enter the contest but what would my mother think of it? She would never believe that I was called in the last minute. She would think I've been planning this all along and used that last minute excuse to get out of it. I would definitely get a beating. So I tried to worm my way out of it, saying that I wasn’t ready or that I was too fat to fit into the class rep’s costume, but it seemed that fate decided to give my friend the insight when I don’t need it the most and said I could just go up with my glasses off (I wore glasses back then) and draped her canvas jacket on me to cover the pinafore and the school badge.

No matter what, I couldn't worm my way out of it. Our class has always been more or less the black sheep of the school and it was the class monitor's job to remove that bad reputation. At least I was the last to perform, so I didn't have to worry about not being able to get ready. They were lucky I have the soundtrack and listen to it like almost every day and memorized the lyrics by heart or else I wouldn't have agreed at all!

Someone else sang the same song as well before me. She looked as if she was born for the stage. She was dressed for the occasion, with make-up and all, and it's no surprise she must've practiced at home a lot AND her mother was there to cheer her on. The way she sang was pretty good actually, but it seems like her style of singing was following Pocahontas style with a touch of her own. Many people clapped and cheered (including her mother) for her after she was done. I was breaking in cold sweat at the backstage wondering if I could sing as good as her.

When it's finally my turn, I decided to just sing and get it over and done with. I went up stage and somehow as I began to sing, I began to lose myself into it. I was nervous at first when I felt dozens of eyes looking up at me and the judges scrutinizing me, but as I went along, they don't really seem to matter. I realized that unlike the previous contestant who had practiced probably weeks before this contest and singing with her own flair, I sang almost 100% Vanessa Williams style, with the highs and lows and the tremble in the voice like Vanessa Williams did whenever she sang, and a little last-minute go-with-the-flow body language to match. I don’t know, I must've been dreaming when I was singing that I didn't even know myself probably.

After that, when everything is finally over, we've got the results. Shockingly, I actually won! Me against someone singing the same song who probably had more learning experience and I won! Shocking, isn't it? I went home and told the good news to my mother, who of course looked at me with skeptical eyes about me saying that I joined it at the last minute by desperate people and was about to take me away for “private time”, but when Mrs. Tan and her students heard of it and praised me and my mom, my mom, who treasure face-value above all others, decided to accept my reason of joining and gloat about my success. Typical mom, but at least I got away from a possible scolding and beating.

Anyway, when I was near to the end of Primary 6, we moved again because apparently, my mom still thought it was not enough privacy and that there was a bit of a small rift in the business relationship between her and her partner. The maid was not coming with us, possible reason was that the maid could belong to my mom's partner. So, just like that, we moved.