Kim
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Kim
By Jacky
Chapter One
Saturday nights were always boring for Kim. He had lived a life of misery, and the life that he had been through so far, had carved him out to be an independent individual. In fact, too independent. His family bounded his freedom when he was just an adolescent, the age when all his other friends are having the happiest moment of their life. He was forbid to go out at night, he was forbid to chat on the phone for more than 5 minutes, regardless if he is talking to a boy or girl, he is forbid to have a thinking of his own. For he only does what his parent wanted him to do.
Finally, on his 15th birthday, he made a secret promise to himself. He would fight for his own freedom, to break free from the chain that had entangled him for so long. He had longed for a free life, no one to bother him, as he could not bother with others too. Therefore, he went about doing it his ways. He stays out late, with friends, chatting. He skips classes, just to go window-shopping, alone. He ignores all the warnings and threats his parents throw at him, he does not care a damn about them. The resentment in him builds up when his parents tried to tie him down. However, it does not take long before his parents finally realize that there is no point in grounding him anymore, as he had turned already 16.
One outing with his friends, Kim get to know a girl, named Yvonne. They held on fast, and chat on the phone every night, before they went to bed. This is the first time that someone ever says that he is not bad looking. For Kim, it is far more than a compliment.
Yvonne is the girl-next-door type who will make heads turn. She is not pretty, but she has in her a kind of feminine touch that would make any guy wanting to protect her. And Kim fell for this enchantment too. Two weeks after they knew each other, Kim gather the courage to pop out this question he had contained in his heart to Yvonne.
“ I guess…erm…I kinda like ya…”
The phone at the other side was dead quiet. Songs from the radio can be heard humming in the background.
“ I’m, err…, wondering if …well…u can accept me more than just a friend.” Kim continues.
Yvonne pauses for a moment, let out a sign, and replies “ But I’m really busy, I guess I don’t really have the time to commit in a relationship…really…”
The truth is that she is frightened of being involved in a relationship again. Her previous boyfriend went steady with her just to win a bet with his friends, and this had hurt her too much.
Kim, on hearing such reply, does not know what to say anymore…. it is his first time after all. “ Oh well, I understand. I guess I’m tired…good night.”
That particular ‘good night’ lasted for six whole months. He kept himself busy working, day and night, just to push the thoughts of Yvonne out of his mind. But the more he told himself to forget her, the more he missed the time they had together, although he had knew her for just two weeks. One afternoon, while he was working, the loneliness in him erupts, and he could not contain feelings any longer.
He browses through his cell phone, as he is having his lunch and come across YvonneÂ’s number. Never before had he felt this kind of urge during the past few time he saw her number. Never before had his heart feels that aching painÂ…gasping for breathe. Kim, than know, deep down in his heart, that perhaps he should call her, just to see how she gets on with her life.
Dropping a ten-cent coin into the public phone, he dials the numbers, which after six months, still so fresh in his memory. It ring, and ringÂ…no one pick up. Disappointed, he hangs the phone. Dozen of excuses spring to his mind: maybe I dial the wrong numberÂ…maybe she had change her numberÂ…maybeÂ… He dial a second timeÂ…this time hoping and praying that someone, anyone will pick up the phone. Seems like God has hear his desperate pledÂ…and it was a female voice over the other end.
“ Who’s that? Yvonne here.”
“ Erm, hi, Kim here, do you remember me still?”
“ Oh Kim, yeah…yeah I do remember you. Of course I do. So how are you doing now?”
“ Well, I’m working right now…can I talk to you tonight?”
It is a feeling that is almost indescribable by words. Yet, there are so much to say, after six months of non-contact between Kim and Yvonne. He found out that Yvonne is still single, despite the number of suitors she had. On the other hand, Yvonne came to know that Kim flung his ‘O’ level, and is now waiting to get a place in an ITE, hopefully. They talk and talk, until daybreak when the first peep of the sun shines through the grayish cloud. They had arranged to meet up on Saturday, and Kim is looking very much forward to it. So does Yvonne.
Saturday came, finally. Two daysÂ’ wait was like 2 lifetimes for Kim. He could not help but wonders if it Yvonne feels the same way as he did. He was pacing back and forth at the City Hall MRTÂ’s control station. He was nervous and, but the same time, smiling to himself.
It was at this moment when he notices a girl walking gracefully towards him. She worn a short sleeve shirt and a black skirt, tightly wrap around her hips and thighs. She had her shoulder long hair clipped back, and had applied light make-up. Somehow, she looks womanly, also desirably.
“ Hi Kim,” Yvonne greets him with a smile, so sweet that it nearly make his heart melt. “ You looked so…stunted…haha…so unlike you.”
“ Erm…you look great today, and if I am a girl, I would have gone unnoticed easily walking beside you.”
“ Thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment than.”
“ Well, THAT is a complement. Haha…”
They have their lunch at Broadway, a buffet style restaurant, tucked neatly at a corner of the shopping arcade, known only to the regulars. As they eat, they mentioned about the past, on how they knew each other and most importantly, the reason behind KimÂ’s disappearance for six whole months. The day slipped by in a glance and than it was 6pm.
“ Guess its time to have dinner ya?” Kim enquired jokily
“ But we just finish our lunch, haha... Only you can make me laugh.”
These words catch Kim off guarded and his face blushes. “ Erm, well, how about a movie than? My treat, for your compliment.”
The show was not really an exciting one. It was about how a women who had lost 2 of her dearest men in life during war, learning to pick up the pieces again. It was somewhat sad. And it had managed to let tears welled up in YvonneÂ’s eyes, making them glistering in the cinemaÂ’s dim lightings. It was this time when Kim realizes how fragile she is, and had the sudden urge of wanting to hug her, to protect her. Slowly, he place his arm just above YvonneÂ’s seat, to stimulate the arm over her shoulder. It was somewhat stupid but it was a courageous move for him. At this moment, when an explosion of a bomb goes off in the movie, Yvonne jerked towards KimÂ’s direction and she was unknowingly in his arm. Her face was apple red, but she felt that this little gesture had made her complete, for that moment. She realizes what she had miss in her life, all this while.
The crowds disperse as the credits of the movie starts to creep onto the screen. They sit there, enjoying each moment. Kim could smell the faint shampoo fragrance emitting from her hair, and his JPG perfume flood YvonneÂ’s nostrils. None of them dares to make the first move to end this moment, none of them wants to end this moment too.
“ Allow me to accompany u home, it’s late.” Kim suggests.
“ Oh, okay, anyway I’m only a few block away from you huh. Hehe.” She let out a girlish giggle.
“ And I’ll call you when I’m home too.”
The journey on the bus is dead quiet, both of them are too shy to talk anymore. Yvonne merely just stare out of the window, thinking about how it would be wonderful if Kim would put his arm around her now, again. It never happens.
Kim had made the effort to walk her to her doorstep. Both were panting slightly, after all the walking. Yvonne hands a piece of tissue over to Kim, as beads of sweats can be seen on his forehead. The air-con inside her house rushes out to greet them as the door pushes inwards.
“ Wanna come in?” Yvonne invited.
“ Erm, I don’t think its appropriate, your family should be asleep by now and…”
“ And they are not in Singapore.” She interrupts, as if really hoping that he can at least stay for a cup of coffee. “ They went on a holiday at Thailand. And yes, they should be asleep by now, in Thailand.” She grins.
“ Well, I guess not. Its late, and I don’t really intend to take reach home late. Gotto work tomorrow. I’ll call u when I reach home, k?”
“ The choice is yours than. Be careful, and bye.” Yvonne sounds disappointed with his final decision.
Kim was walking alone, enjoying the breeze and the moonlight that shone upon the trees. The shadows of the branches and leaves dance on the ground. He had enjoyed every moment he had with Yvonne, from the time he met her until now.
Finally, he reaches home. The clock struck 12 as he walks into his room. His room was small, but neat, good enough for a guy. It is completed with a desk, fully occupied with his hi-fi set, table fan, rows of books and a photograph. It is a photograph of Yvonne, which she had given him six months ago. He let himself down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Somehow, a thought came into his mind. How perfect it would be if she were here to share this room, and this bed, with him right now. And on the thought of it, he gather enough guts to ask that question, the same question that he had ask six months ago.
The phone ring and Yvonne picks it up hurriedly, knowing that it is Kim. She has started to get worried as she has waited slightly more than an hour. There is no reason that Kim took so long to get home, not knowing that he walked home.
“ Yvonne, do you still remembers the thing I asked you six months ago.”
“ Would you mind to refresh my memory a little bit?” She knows what he means, just that she wanted to tease him.
“ Erm…oh well, I guess I still have feelings for you, after so many months. I hope you will give me a chance, to take care of you.”
These are what Yvonne had wanted to hear all these while, after she had rejected Kim months ago. Since than, she had regretted much. “ I don’t really have much time for my boyfriend if I happen to have one…”
“ I’m not the possessive type. We both love freedom, don’t we.”
“ And I always put my friends before my boyfriend, you know that?”
“ I guess its okay with me. Shouldn’t be a problem here.”
“ Than, I’ll guess this relationship would worth a try.” She finally agreed.
This ‘yes’ from her made his heartbeats thump faster and faster inside him. The feeling was like jumping off a building and survives. It is a prayer answered, and deep in his heart, he promise himself that he would love and treasure her, from tonight onwards.
For the next few days, he shown enormous care and concern towards Yvonne, and he felt that there is no one in the world that is worth him doing all these. He listens to her grumbles about studies, and rejoices when she happens to break a good new to him occasionally. He had become part of her life, and hers becomes part of his too. They had planned for a getaway, to a resort unreachable by the busy lifestyle of Singapore this weekend. Destination Bali.
There, at Bali, the sun was always hiding behind the cloud. It rains in the night and has created within the island a very natural air-conditional effect. They had rented this little shag, constructed tastefully from logs of timbers, on a cleared land halfway to the summit of a hill. It comes with a fireplace, a few couches, and a very romantic ambience. This was the time that Kim felt so alone with the other sex, and this was the time that Yvonne felt so loved all these years. Every night, they, cuddle each other to sleep. At times, Kim would whisper sweet nothings into her ears. At times, they would tickle each other to the floor and end up kissing. However, they never went beyond the line of taking off their clothes. Yvonne does not allow him to either. The weekend flies by so fast that it is time for them to face the harsh reality back in Singapore again.
On the flight back, Yvonne asked Kim. “ Do you think I’m worth it, all your concern, your time, your patience and your love?”
“ Of course you are worth it. No one else does. And no one else won’t either.”
“ I really had a great time this weekend. Thanks.”
“ Well, we can always plan another getaway next week.” Kim replied with a smile.
The following Thursday, Kim had planned for a fishing trip. However, the plan was disrupted by a sudden long distance call from Thailand. YvonneÂ’s parents were involved in an accident, so serious that they might just die any minute. Yvonne was dumbfounded when she heard the news. She was in a frisky, not knowing what to do. Kim came into his mind in her first thought. Over the phone, she was crying hard, she was crying her heart out. She knew she had lost both her parents, in a foreign land. And there was nothing much she could do here, except to wait for the body to be cremated when its flown over to Singapore.
It is dead quiet at the wake. Yvonne had cried until she can shed no more tears. KimÂ’s heart breaks into a thousand pieces every time he sees her in this state. He wants to comfort her, but he does not know how to go about it. He just cries with her, trying to share the pain with her. Friends and relatives stopped by and sent their condolences, but none can soothe the overwhelming pain inside her. The pain has engulfed her will for staying alive. She has no one else now, except Kim. Apart from the pain she is going through, there is also much uncertainly about her future. She fears for the future. She only has with her a decent sum of money that was the only thing left behind by her parents. Surviving is going to be hard.
Yvonne had allowed time to heal her wound gently for the pass few months. And she could not have done it without KimÂ’s support for her. He was always there for her. Kim had already forsaken his studies in ITE to work, to support Yvonne, financially. He had moved over to YvonneÂ’s place since last month, and had fallen out with his own family. But Kim couldnÂ’t care less.
One evening as they were having dinner, Yvonne said something that is very disturbing. “ Guess like I’ll be forever indebted to you.”
“ Why did u say that? I just merely did what I should do, as a boyfriend.”
“ You are too good for a boyfriend. I felt that I am somewhat like a burden. You gave up your studies for me, and even your family too. Sometimes I wonder, am I worth it all.”
“ Of course you are worth it, silly. What make you ask these questions?” Kim went up to hug her around her shoulder from behind. He inhales the fragrance of her hair deeply and smiles. He felt that he is the luckiest guy on Earth to be able to have her.
“ What if…. what if I left you one day…” and she left it hanging in the air.
Upon hearing this, the smile on KimÂ’s face fades. He releases those arms and takes his own plates to the kitchen. Deep down, he knew that their passions have somewhat lessen. It has become a habit to provide for Yvonne. The relationship is just like a habit, a routine that needs to be done everyday. However, that does not means that love has subsided between them. But if it continues this way, love still might be replace by the guiltiness of Yvonne. The guilt that Kim keeps providing while she is always at the receiving end.
She can do nothing. She is still studying, and all the burdens of the two of them is shouldered by Kim alone. And Yvonne knows that she own him a lot. So much that she understand that there is no way to repay him, and she had choose to run away from it all. She feels so useless, and wants to run away from everything, and yet she cannot do without Kim.
She still loves him, as much as she needs him.
That particular night, while they were getting ready to sleep, Kim decided to pursue the issue that Yvonne had started. “ Why did u said such things just now? It kinda hurts.”
“ I understand…but…it’s not what you really think it is…I wanted to study oversea after I’ve completed mine here. I hope that you can support me. I had done some read-up, and Australia is a good place.”
“ Than what about me? I’ll be alone here, without you by my side, my life would be like a puppet’s. Meaningless!!”
“ I know you can not take it, but I just can’t put my future on the line just because of our relationship, can I? Please understand Kim, for the better of our relationship. And its only 2 years, I’ll drop by during holidays, and you can come visit me too.”
“ I’m worried….” Kim frowns. He does not like this idea, but he has no right to stop her from getting a better life, to upgrade herself. He wishes that he can agree to this idea without much thought, but he just cannot do it. However, one thing is very clear to him. Yvonne and him both loves freedom, ties anyone of them down, that’s game over. “ When have u decided to go?”
“ Coming July.” She is almost whispering, as if a sense of guilt strike her.
“ Fine than. If that is your final decision, than so be it. I just wanna let you know that I agree to let you go to Australia, all because I still love you.”
“ Thanks Kim!” Yvonne rolls over and kisses him gently on his lips. “ Good night than.”
“ Good night dear.” He really hopes he can sleep that night. Somehow, he stays awake. He keeps thinking about the whole bunch of ‘if’ and ‘what if’ and these are enough to keep him sober until the next morning. He sleeps only after Yvonne left for school and he did not go for work that day.
Months flies by, and it was almost July. The conversation that night had buried itself deep in his brain. He could remember it word by word. ‘Coming July’, ‘Coming July’, these words kept repeating themselves everyday, until this day. All the while, he had longs for Yvonne to tell him that she had forsake her plan to go oversea, but it is just fat hope. She has grown somewhat very determined since her parents death one year ago. Now, she is going to Australia for a period of 2 long years, after 2 days.
“ There are five grands in your account. I’ve deposited them this afternoon. It is not much but I guess it’ll get you settle down over there” Despite Kim’s reluctance to let her go, he still provide for her this much.
“ Thanks dear. I own you again.” She replies, knowing that she cannot give him anything back in return.
“ Please don’t say that you own me. Cause I don’t expect you to return me the favors, any favors, after all. Just know that I did them all out of love for you.”
“ I love you too.”
Perhaps the only thing that Yvonne had given him is her virginity. And that night, they made sweet tender love. Kim has never felt that it can be so good to make love with his beloved before her departure. She was satisfying his every need, and he is not getting enough of it. And they slept in each others embraces.
The next day, Yvonne was busy packing her clothes. She never realized that she had so many clothes. And more than half of them are brought with KimÂ’s money. She had busied herself with all the packing and stuffing, and when she is done, she is dead tired. Kim came home from work in the evening, with dinner. It was something that Yvonne had always loved to eat, roasted chicken with sesame seeds, fried baby calamari, sushi and a bottle of red wine.
“ So the plane flies for Australia at 3am huh.” Kim says, his eyes contain the helplessness that he does not have the ability to prevent her from leaving him.
“ Yes, and I expected you to see me off.”
“ Of course, I’ve taken a day off tomorrow. And after tomorrow, it would not be the same anymore.” A tear wells up in his eye as he imagines himself and her house, alone, flashes across his mind.
Yvonne proceeds to run her fingers through his hair. “ Come on dear. There is web cam, telephone, and online chat too. We can always do that, can’t we.”
“ Yes, we can always do that…”
It is as quiet as a graveyard at the airport. The air-con is spooky cold. Only the breathing and footsteps of Kim and Yvonne can be heard echoing through the place. A few homeless old men sleep on the chairs with newspaper, some using slippers, as their pillows. The airport in the night is so much different from it is in the day.
“ Time for me to go in.” Yvonne finally says something to break the silence when she hears the announcement.
“ You take care there. Call me when you touch down. Miss you.” These words are followed by a hug and a combo of kisses on Yvonne’s cheeks, forehead and lips. “ I love you too much to strained by my side. I hate to see you go too.”
Yvonne is sobbing. She is touched by his gestures and words. He is always so good to her. It made her so special. “ Sorry Kim, I’ll call u often. Take care of yourself when I’m not around, will you.” She tiptoed and kissed Kim on his lips. “ I hate to say this, but, bye.”
Kim did not say anything further. All that was needed were said. He watches through his tears filled eyes, as she walks away further and further, until she went into the gate, and he could see her no more. The trip home was very lonely. The radio in the cab plays only songs of departures and sadness. His heart was heavy, as though a million pound had tied it down, grasping for air.
The following day, he had a day off, so he did not go for work, but neither did he take a wink. Kim feels as if he has lost his reason to live. In the past, he likes to come home, to see Yvonne doing her homework, or housework. Now, the house is just a memory of them. And the more he remains in it. The more forlorn he feels.
“ How are you dear? I’m so happy here; you can quit worrying about me. I have friends to take care of me here and I am not spending much. I’ve found a part-time job as a waitress here, 5 minutes from my school and hostel.” Yvonne sounds cheerful enough on the other end.
“Oh great. So I can send you less allowances huh.” Kim jokes.
“ I wouldn’t mind that. Save it more for yourself. Take care.” The phone went dead. -
Chapter Two
She is obviously enjoying every moment at Australia. While he still struggles with the mixed feelings, he has in him since she went away. For a year, he only saw her through the web-cam. She is always smiling away. Kim had suggested to drop by Australia this Christmas, but was rejected by Yvonne. She told him that she would not be free as her exam is just around the corner. Him being there would prove to be too much of a distraction. He buys that.
He keeps himself busy with his work and had accumulates a decent sum of money, which he wanted to use for their marriage. The sole reason that keeps his hope high and his spirit up. He longs for her return, to be with him again. He longs for the fragrance of her hair, the touch of her silky skin, and her gentle kiss. He longs for the year to pass by.
Within the 2 years without YvonneÂ’s, Kim had transformed her house into a little heaven, so warm and cozy. The walls in the living room are painted in orange to go with the matching orange sofa. Their bedroom is a light blue, with a brand new queen size bed. The tiles of the floor have been changed to dark marble. It feels so cooling, walking bare footed. All the things are in place, except for YvonneÂ’s present.
“ She will make this home complete.” Kim agrees with himself.
Finally, comes the day when she return from her studies from Australia. He is to meet her at the airport at 6pm in the evening. And he had planned to take her out for a late dinner and a stroll along the beach. For the first time, he shaves, seriously. He put on hairspray and perfume and he really look neat.
“ Finally, she is back.” Kim takes a deep breath and departs for the airport.
Upon reaching, he checks to see if is any delay of the flight she is supposed to take.
“SQ 015 had arrived.” The loudspeaker wails.
Kim has in his hands a bouquet of white lilies, the flower she likes most. He worn a black shirt, pressed neatly, and a black pant. He always likes black. It is at this moment when he notices a girl, in a blue blouse with flowery pattern, pushing the heavy cart with tons of stuffs on it, walking gracefully towards the entrance. It was like the first time Kim saw Yvonne, and now he is seeing it again.
“ Over here, Yvonne, here.” Kim waves fanatically, with the lilies in the air.
“ Oh there you are alright.” Yvonne says upon spotting him.
Kim helps her with all the stuff she was carrying with her, onto the taxi, which was waiting outside the lobby. Together, they left for home.
“ Well dear, do you miss me?” Yvonne knows he had “ Been two whole years since you saw me face to face ya? Haha.”
“ And I hope the wait was worthwhile. Wait till you see your house, our house.”
“ What have you done to it? It’s so beautiful!” Exclaims Yvonne, as she steps into the living room painted in orange. She was whirling in circle as she looks around the house, her blouse floating along. “ Woah woah woah! Look at that!” She points to the rows of cute stuff toys.
“ All for you. Twenty-four of them in total. Signifies the numbers of months I’ve waited for you patiently, as though sitting there with them.”
This time round, Yvonne was more touched more by his actions than the last time, when they parted at the airport. She had never felt so welcome in her own house. She hugs Kim with all her might, clinging on him tightly, as tears of happiness rolls down her cheeks.
That night, they had a romantic dinner at the FishermanÂ’s Village. It was a moonless night, with only the stars to light up the entire sky. There are so many of them, each trying its best to outshine the others. The sound of waves breaking against the rocks and creeping up the beaches is as soothing as the breeze itself. The candle flame flickers on their table, dancing as if it is the central of attraction.
Dinner was BBQ stingray in samba sauce, top shells, crabs, fruits salads and hooch. The clock struck twelve and the DJ peppered the atmosphere with some really romantic songs. Kim had dedicated the song ‘ Just another day’ by Jon Secada earlier on and it almost makes Yvonne cry again.
“ No you don’t, or the make up would be ruined.” Kim says as he notices tears building up in her eyes.
She just smiles, not knowing what to say. Than comes the next song, ‘Damn I wish I was your lover’ by Sophie B. Hawkins. Kim takes out a small metal container shaped like a shell, and opens it. Inside, is a diamond ring, small but carefully designed and crafted. Yvonne grasps the moment she sees it, which glitter as the candle flame shines on it.
“ For me?” She asks.
“ Not without a price.” Kim smiles. His eyes lock with hers.
“ And what’s the price to pay huh?” Yvonne jokes.
“ Your marriage, in return for this ring.”
“ So I’m worth only this ring huh.”
“It’s kinda small, but it’s my best offer.”
“ Well, so be it than.” Yvonne takes the ring from Kim and tries to put it on. “ Deal.”
That night, Kim made love to Yvonne, once again, after two long years. Its seems that the passion that have builds up for the past two years have finally come for a release. He was thrusting himself away as Yvonne dug her fingernails into his back. When its over, Kim asks, “ How was it?”
“ How was what? Do you mean the marriage or the ring or the session huh?” She replies seductively. “ Well, the ring fix nicely, the session was great – I never knew you to be so rough. Marriage had to wait.”
“ Wait? But why? I have the money to marry you now, you know.” He is disappointed, upon hearing her remarks.
“ I know you have enough of it, but what will happen when we used it all up on marriage? We gotto plan further right dear? I’ll get a job first, k. It’s not like I will run away…haha.”
“ Oh well, what can I say.” Kim shrugs.
For the following weeks, Yvonne was looking hard for a decent job. Kim might think that she is too demanding and her expectation is too high, but Yvonne feels that given her qualifications, she can get a better offer. Weeks turn into months and Yvonne is still unemployed. She has gone for dozen interviews and has sent in more dozens of applications, but none proves to be successfully.
Many companies are in fact waiting for her to agree, but “ the pay was peanut,” she said. She never realizes that the ‘peanut’ pay she refers to is what Kim is almost earning now. And it is this kind of ‘peanut’ pay that is supplying for both of them all this while.
It was three months later when she finally finds a job of her choice. It was a HR managing post in a five stars hotel, locates in the city area. She is generously offered three times the sum of what Kim is bringing home every month. Of course, Kim is happy for her. Kim will always be happy if she is happy.
She starts work on a Monday and there is no blues for her. Yvonne was all excited about her newfound job. The office is not very big, about the size of a basketball court. She reaches half an hour earlier than the expected time and her colleague shows her around and her working place. It is stationed at a corner, and not very spotting. The stationeries are placed neatly at the corner of the table, along with a LCD-screen PC and a personal phone. Keys were insert in their respective keyholes, on all the drawers and selves.
“ Thanks, I like it very much.” Yvonne was obviously grinning. She will not like the idea of being situated in the middle of the whole office.
“ Welcome, I’m Summer, if you need anything just ask me. The coffee machine is over there” Pointing to a gray box at the other corner of the room, “ and this is the key to the toilet. Staff toilet.”
Summer is a petit girl around 25. She has glossy black hair and tan brown skin color. Her face resemble that of an angel so is her voice. “ She must be the apple of the men’s eyes here.” Yvonne thought. Well, she is. In fact, Summer have at least 2 suitors from the Finances department.
It is almost 9am, when the rest of the staff flocks in. There is Moon, the computer expert, an athletic-looking lady in her early 30s, whose features does not show her age at all. And than, there was Joey, the secretary of the ‘head’ in this HR department. She is obvious from far because of her dyed-golden hair. She looks proud, and very confident of herself. Of course she is, given her position here.
Than there is the boss, Smith, a British, very friendly, especially towards the girls. Yvonne could not help but wonder if he and Joey have some kind of relationship. Lastly, there is Cliff, a handsome man with great body. He stands at least one head above Yvonne, nearly 1.8m in height. His features are sharp, and his voice was deep and hollow
All of them have been very friendly towards Yvonne, teaching her the ropes, cracking jokes to make her feel at home and allows her to participate in their gossips. However, Cliff appears to be the least talkative in the group, perhaps he is the only guy around, excluding Smith, as he is seldom around. He blushes each time he overheard the girls talking about sensitive topics, and the girls just like to tease him. And every time they do, he just smiled and walks away, with his face almost red. Yvonne will like to know more about him as a friend as she finds him quiet an interesting guy.
“ Wanna lunch together, guys?” Summer trying to get everyone heard.
“ Well, count me out. I’m having Jap.” Joey mumbles from her desk. It can almost be expected that she may be little anti social.
“ Wait up for me awhile would you. Finishing this soon.” Moon cries at the top of her voice. She has the most files on her desk, compare to none on Yvonne’s.
Cliff is smiling as he turn off his computer, “ I’m done, what’s for lunch? I’m staving!”
“ Sure you are,” remarks Yvonne, “ you eat the most here, if I’m not wrong.”
For a moment, the small office was echoed with giggles from the girls.
Lunch is relaxing at the hotel build-in café. It is affordable and away from the food courts elsewhere in the city. Yvonne has for herself a pan-fried fish in sweet and sour sauce. Summer just order a veggie salad and Moon can be seen cutting away the chicken chop on her plate, overflowing with French fries. Cliff really eats a lot. He has a beefsteak, a thick one, and a very big portion of whipped potato.
“ Guess it’s always the few of us having lunch huh? Seems like Joey don’t join us frequent.” Yvonne interrupts all the munching sound that comes out from Cliff.
“ Right, you are very observance hoh. She is quite a nice conversationist but not so of a socialist. Kinda irony izzit.” Moon says as she tucks into her chicken again.
“ She only talk to Cliff here wooh. I think she is a bimbo. A nice one at least.” That is so unlike for Summer to say something like this.
“ What me huh.” Cliff jumps in self-defended. “ So what if she is good looking. Don’t put me with her okay. Why not put me and Yvonne together for a change..haha.”
Yvonne was speechless this time. She regretted starting this topic, as it was backfiring at her. “ The food is really nice here…” Yvonne tries to make it sound as natural as she can.
It is late evening by the time Yvonne reaches home. Kim is sitting in front of the TV, asleep. Yvonne guesses that he must be really tired that he did not even bother to turn it off. Kim looks like a baby, with his head tilt to one side, resting on his right shoulder. Yvonne cannot help but proceed forward and land a kiss him gently on his left cheek. This startles him, and he wakes up. He has always been a light sleeper. He smiles as he looks at her. On second thought, Yvonne realizes that Kim is not actually tired. He is just bored to sleep. This makes her feeling very bad about herself. She knows that she was not able to accompany him during her time in Australia, and now, even when she is back, she did not spend much time with him as well. As if Kim can read her mind, he holds her hands in his palms and strokes them. This is somehow, comforting.
“ I can read you like an open book.” Kim says.
After a few days in the office, Yvonne has started to feels at home. There was not much things to learn and Summer is always there to help. As usual, Moon is the busiest among all. Sometimes it seems like the boss, Smith, is giving her these tasks personally. Cliff will always find chances to chat with Yvonne. Once while she was alone at the coffee corner, Cliff stopped by and talked to her. He even invited her to dinner, which she gracefully rejected. Cliff had no idea that she is attached, nor did he knew that she and her boyfriend are staying together.
Than comes Friday, when Summer needed to attend a meeting, and will not be in the office for the whole day. Moon is on MC that day, perhaps the result of too much pressure from Smith. The office is emptied except for Yvonne and Cliff, both of them, for lunch only. They eat at a fast food outlet and order some burgers, CliffÂ’s treat.
“ What’s that for?” Yvonne refers to the free lunch. “ Ain’t my birthday today you know?”
“ Well, it’s to celebrate the first time we are having lunch together.”
“ Whatever…I’m going to get something after this. A gift.”
“ For me? Sure.” Cliff replies without the need to think.
Yvonne let that pass.
They walk along the crowded shopping mall, packed with people from all the nearby offices. It is so crowded that Yvonne has to walk shoulder to shoulder with Cliff. He happens to brush against her hand a few times and fantasize about holding them in his own.
They stop by City Chain, and Yvonne walks in to look around. Yvonne spots a black metallic watch with a plain face. The edges of the face were lined with silver stripes. It was a killer. She knows that Kim will definitely love it too, as he had always like black and gray. The price was steep and Cliff offers to subsidized a bit by chipping in 50% of the money.
“ It’s not necessary Cliff, it’s for my boyfriend. Our 4th anniversary.” These words fall like a hammer striking upon an anvil, repeatedly, into his heart, making it contracts with spasms of pain. He has no idea that she had a boyfriend, 4 years plus.
“ Erm, so you are attached huh. I didn’t notice that.”
“ Is there a need to know? Haha, I bet he will love this watch.” Yvonne proceeds to pay for her gift for Kim.
Kim had agreed to meet up with Yvonne in an Italian restaurant, couple of minutes walk her workplace, for the anniversary dinner. As Kim will be coming straight from his job, he will be all sweaty and dirty. He suggests to Yvonne before that he really need to wash up but she said it is all right. If it is all right for Yvonne, it is all right for Kim too. He have somewhat manages to clean himself up a bit, and changes into a clean sky blue shirt, which he has, cleverly, bring along with him. He also drops by the nearby florist to get some fresh lilies, combinations of yellow and white.
The door swings open as he stops near the entrance of the restaurant. The smell of breads, spaghettis and pizzas greets him as he paces in. It is not crowded, and the place was spacious. The whole room carefully arranged with tables and chairs, and waiters can be seen stationed at each occupied table. The place was embrace in the music, creating in it a relaxing ambiance.
“ Table for 2 please.” Kim informs the waiter who is standing at the ‘Please wait to be seated’ sign.
“ Please follow me sir.” He replies politely. From the back, the waiter looks like a penguin with his coat split at the end at the bottom. The thought bring a smile onto his face.
It will be another ten minutes before Yvonne will arrive. He takes out a parcel from a paper bag. It is nicely wrap in tones of pink and red. Inside contains a sexy lingerie, red in color with black laces at the sides. It is translucent. Kim loves to see Yvonne in it. He has taken all the trouble to buy this special gift himself, not to mention the prying eyes of the customers and salesgirls. One of them even teases him by asking if it is for himself.
It is only after fifteen minutes when Kim notices Yvonne entering the restaurant. She is dressed in a dark brown dress and a white shirt.
“ I’m looking for someone. He should have a table already.” She says to another penguin-like-coat waiter. “ There he is, thanks.” She dodges the waiter as Kim let out a ‘pisss’ from the far corner of the restaurant.
“ Woh you are late.” Exclaims Kim.
“ Sorry dear, I was helping another colleague with some stuffs.” She explains, as she tidies her hair.
“ Well, you own me a kiss than.”
“ Guess that’s fair enough, but not now.” She leans forward towards Kim and whisper. “ Tonight.”
They order bacon and cheese pizza, with extra cheese, and some spicy chicken wings and a plate of cabonara topped with fresh mushrooms. Yvonne asks for an ice blended limejuice while Kim have a nice cup of steaming café mocha. They talk about their work and Yvonne keep emphasizing that she is happy with her current workplace.
After the dinner, Kim hands her the gift and flowers. She smiles as she near her nose at the lilies. As far as Kim can remember, lilies do not produces any fragrance. He does not understand that one thing about women. Yvonne shakes the parcel up and down as if by doing so, she can figure out what it is containing.
“ Can I open it now? Can I, can I?” She behaves like a child.
Kim nod his head and help her with the parcel.
“ Woah! It’s so …” she is obviously speechless, as she hold the lingerie up high.
“ Erm, would you mind,” pointing at that sexy piece of clothe, “ not so showing.”
At this moment, someone taps Yvonne on her shoulder. It was Cliff. He smiles at Kim, assuming that he would be YvonneÂ’s boyfriend, and introduce himself. Kim stands up and exchange handshakes with Cliff, while Yvonne was trying to overcome the sudden shock of seeing Cliff here, so suddenly.
“ Mind if I join you guys. Am I interrupting something here?” Cliff enquires.
“ Actually, erm Cliff, we just had our dinner and will be going home in a minute.” She is tucking away the lingerie back into the parcel with some difficulties.
“ Not even for a chat?” He looks at Kim, as if studying him. “ I’m sure your boyfriend would not mind.”
“ Well, I guess its okay, so long Yvonne get to catch the soap opera at 8pm.” Kim replies.
Therefore, the three of them sat there. Conversations were mostly between Cliff and Kim, and Yvonne just popped a few ‘yah’ and ‘u-huh’ in between. When Cliff knew that Kim was working in a shipping company, as a mechanic, he was disguised and put off. The thought of Kim working with a rowdy bunch of people, sweating in the greenhouse like environment, made him wonder why Yvonne would choose to stick with him. Yes, Cliff had taken a fancy on Yvonne, at least on her body, and hated the thought of her wearing that lingerie in front of Kim.
“ We really need to go now.” Yvonne pierces through the conversation that is still going on between Cliff and Kim. She notices that look on Cliff’s face and was somewhat ashamed by the thoughts of other people getting to know about Kim’s occupation.
“ See you on Monday, Yvonne.” Cliff waves goodbye without looking back, as he walks off.
“ He is quite a nice guy.” Kim looks on at Cliff as he crosses the road to the opposite side of the restaurant. Perhaps Kim is too insensitive, therefore he did not feel that Cliff was looking down on him.
At night, Yvonne dolled herself in that special gift that Kim had given her. The cloth cringes onto her body like silk. She is not wearing anything underneath, as it is not necessary also. Her breasts are ripe and firm, with her nipples protruding out slightly, visible from that lingerie. Curls of hair can be seen between her thighs, and this sight makes Kim breathless. Maybe it is the lighting, which is dimmed and dulled, or maybe it is the music in the background, creating an atmosphere so romantic.
They have made love before, but none was like this time round. Yvonne is like a desert, hunger for him. She lowers herself down towards Kim, who is lying still, naked, on the bed. She has never done this before to him and wonders if he will like it. Her mouth cups the tip of his shaft and starts to suck him hard. It only takes a few second for Kim to be fully erected. He was trembling, as she tongues his most sensitive part. At last, when he can no withheld the pleasure, he pulls Yvonne on top of him and penetrates her, long and hard. He starts slow and gets slower. Yvonne is moaning and crawling, as the both of them moves to the rhythm of the music in the background. It was the beginning of a long and enjoyable night.
The next morning, Yvonne gets up early to prepare breakfast for the both of them. The sound of eggs frying on the pan wakes Kim up too. He greets her with a tight hug and a bite on her lips. The morning sunshine clothe he kitchen in warm yellow. A gentle breeze comes in from the gaps of the windows, making YvonneÂ’s hair dances in the sunlight. Breakfast will be toasted breads and fried eggs with onions chips. Fresh brewed coffeeÂ’s smell engulfs the entire kitchen.
“ I gotto work tonight, overnight, Yvonne.” Kim says as he munches on the bread. “ They need an extra hand.”
“ Oh well, I’ll be at home anyway. Just be careful thou’” Yvonne has already get use to him having the need to work during weekends or night shift . “ I’ll try to stay up. Call me, will you.”
“ How can I survive without your voice? It was the only thing that gives me hope during your stay in Australia, remember.” Kim strokes her face as he said these words.
“ And your hand is full of butter…you dirtied my face!”
Yvonne spends her day with Kim, working out in the gym together. Kim teases her if last night was not enough of a workout for her. After that, they had an early dinner before Kim leaves for his job. Yvonne gets home early that evening. She has armed herself with potato chips and chocolates to keep her through the night. As the sun sets, she finally understands how Kim must have feels during the period she was aboard. Loneliness is a tough enemy to fight against, especially at night. The clock strikes 9pm when the phone rang. Yvonne knows that it will be Kim.
“Hello dear, how are you there?” She begins to speak as she picks up the phone.
“ Erm, its Cliff here. So sorry about that, I didn’t know you were expecting a call from your boyfriend.” He figures that Kim may be working late tonight, by the greeting Yvonne says a moment ago.
“ Oh hi, Cliff. What’s up?” Yvonne asks him.
Cliff was calculating that since Kim was not around, and Yvonne was alone, he might be permitted to go up to her house, for a chat, or more. Just as Cliff thought, Yvonne invited him over when he asked if she needed any company. One hour later, Cliff arrives with some beers. He is wearing a sleeveless tee and bermuda. His arms are toned to the finest details and had gone unnoticed during the days she sees him in the office, as he always wears a shirt. They are watching the Friday night movie and drowning themselves in potato chips and beers. Yvonne is never a heavy drinker, but she sure knows when to stop. She is rather afraid if Cliff got drunk and need to sleep over her place for the night. During the commercial break, Cliff pops a question.
“ You stayed with him all these while?” He is almost drunk.
“ Yup, this is my house, in fact, it should be ‘ he stayed with me’.” Yvonne corrects him.
“ Whatever. You really intend to marry him? He doesn’t even earn enough to support your lifestyles. Look around you…and you’ll see others who are better than him.” His sentences are puncture with hiccups. “ And I think I had all that he can give you, and more than that too.”
“ I really think you are drunk. Let me get you some tea to sober you abit there.” She gets up from the couch, wanting to go into the kitchen to pour Cliff a cup of tea, when he suddenly catches hold of her hand. It is the first time he holds her hand.
“ I think I like you, Yvonne. Be mine, tonight.” Cliff whispers into her ears as he pulls her nearer to himself, with a heavy jerk.
Yvonne tries to break loose but Cliff proves just too strong for her. It is almost midnight, and raining heavily outside, any shout for help will have gone unheard. Cliff lay her down on the couch and got on top of her. His hands are locking hers. She is scare. His eyes are a burning red from all the drinking, and seem determine to have her tonight. He forces her head to the side and mouths her lips. His tongue working its way into her mouth but, only to be block by her teeth, which are tightly cinched together. Yvonne wriggles under his body and the movements make Cliff more arouse. She can feel the mound through his bermuda, rubbing against her belly.
Cliff, half drunken, continues to conquer and savage Yvonne. He lift up her t-shirt, exposing her black, strapless bra. Yvonne is now pleading for him to stop. She tries to cover her exposed body with the cushions on the sofa but the effort was futile. In less than a minute, she is topless, strained below him. Cliff suck at her breasts and nibbling them at the same time, leaving a few faint teeth markings all over her top. Yvonne mourns from the waves of pain when Cliff sinks his teeth into her soft blossom. She is sweating and tired from all the struggling, and starts to cry softly. Cliff does not care less about her suffering and continued to endeavor her. Her hands try to push Cliff away when she felt that he starts pulling down her shorts. She regains her energy and manages to use her knees to block him back, resulting in her falling to the ground with a thud. She grabs her clothes as fast as she could and darts into the bedroom, slams the door shut and locks it.
“ Yvonne. YVONNE!” Cliff was shouting as he realizes what he just did. “ Why…why am I doing this.”
It sounds like he is sober enough and was regretting. “ Go away! Get out of my house you…you beast!” She shouts behind the closed door.
“ I’m so sorry Yvonne…I must have hurt you…Oh God! What have I done…?”
“ Go away! Get out now or I’ll call the police.” Even though she does not have a phone in her bedroom, but it seems to work. She can hear the main door open and than close. She waits, just to be sure, for the sound of the gate. Cliff has left her apartment.
She then begins to clear up the mess that Cliff has created in the living room a few minutes ago, sobbing softly. Beer had spilled, potato chips were everywhere, and her breast was sore. That night, Kim did not call. Either he was busy or he was sleeping on his job. Yvonne believes that it will be the former. She bath after tiding the place and coax herself to sleep. What had happened a moment ago was like a nightmare.
How she hopes it was all a nightmare, the moment when she knew that she would still need to face Cliff on Monday.
Kim comes home in the wee hours in the morning, falls onto the bed beside Yvonne, dead tired. He has absolute no idea of what had just happen a few hours ago. Yvonne did not wake him up too, since she didnÂ’t really lose anything.
Weekend is over and Monday follows. She decides to try to act as natural as possible with Cliff around in the office. When she walks closer to her desk, head looking down as if afraid to see Cliff, there was a bunch of bright red roses, and a card on it. It read:
Dear Yvonne,
I do not know what to say. I was drunk that night.
Forgive me. IÂ’m really sorry.
Cliff
She read the words on the card repeatedly. It sounds sincere to her, and concludes that if he was really drunk, than he would not remember much about that night. She decides to let what had past, pass. Cliff becomes very quiet the whole day, and rejects Moon invitation for lunch. Summer feels that it was weird for him to act like this. Yvonne starts to get a little worry that the rest of her colleagues may smell something fishy about them, since Cliff keeps avoiding her. Therefore, she decides to call CliffÂ’s phone with hers, in the office.
“ Good afternoon, this is Cliff speaking, may I know who’s that on the line?”
“ Yvonne here.” She pauses for a while before she continues. “ I hope that we can forget about that night in which you violated me. I do not wish to let Summer or Moon find out about us. We women are very sharp to this kind of stuff. You don’t wanna join us for lunch today, it was fishy enough. Moreover, you didn’t even talk to me today. Please…pretend nothing had happen and just act as per normal. That’s all I wanna say.” She hung the phone without even waiting for his reply. -
Chapter Three
Month later, Yvonne was doing quite well in the department and her effort was greatly appreciated. Smith had been very impressed by most of the tasks that she did. She was efficient and had a great sense of responsible. Cliff had been placed with her for a couple of projects within these few months, and this projects had helped to heal the wound that Cliff had inflicted upon their friendship. Cliff had recited his fondness a couple of times, but Yvonne turned him away. She is very good at rejecting people, at least verbally, if not physically. Somehow, Cliff is still jealous of the fact that Kim, who is not as outstanding in any way as he is, can have Yvonne all for himself.
It is bedtime on one Saturday night, when Kim proposes to Yvonne, again. “ Let’s get married, what do you say, huh?” He is cuddling Yvonne, making her sleepy and dreamy.
“ I’d don’t like the idea of being tied down.”
“ Are there any differences now? We are already staying together, for so long. I just wanna give you a status.”
“ Since there are no differences, why not keep it this way. It’s late, sleep. I’m tired.”
She flipped over to face the other side, away from KimÂ’s disappointed look. She did not sleep and neither did Kim. He does not understand why Yvonne does not like the idea of getting married. It is almost every girls dream to start a family of their own, and both of them have in fact started a family. They have a shelter, stable incomes and a baby if Yvonne does not mind. What is stopping her? Kim is confused by these thoughts.
On the other side, Yvonne is also trying to understand why the thought of marriage turns her off. She tries to analysis and think logically. She has someone who truly loves her. She has embarks on a career to her liking. Her salary is slightly more than what the outside market is offering now. So, what is holding her back? Finally, it becomes clear when she ask herself a question. She had never answer this question to herself. Did she really love Kim? Is it because he loves her in the first place? The answer lies between the gray area between ‘yes’ and ‘no’. She does not wish to probe into this gray area anymore.
She has been so much loved by Kim, and all this while, this love continues to bind them together. However, it cannot be put in the way that Yvonne does not have any feeling for him at all. It is just that she is used to receive than to give. All these times, something that Cliff had said on that faithful night haunted her repeatedly.
“You really intended to marry him? He doesn’t even earn enough to support your lifestyles. Look around you…and you’ll see others who are better than him.” These words sounded like a death knell. She felt that she deserved a better man, and a better life.
In the next few weeks that follow, Kim and Yvonne are always squabbling. Kim notices that Yvonne is somehow, always looking for the chance to find fault with him. However, he did not know why. She nag at him every moment she reached home after work, whenever she sees him taking a nap, pointing out that she is always the one who does the most housework. Kim tries to compromise as much as he could. He tries very hard to please Yvonne in every little ways. Even though sometimes he do get very frustrated over her sudden change of temper, he will give himself an excuse, any excuse, to forget about it. She might be stress out at work, or she could be really tired today; these are little things that Kim assures himself that eventually, everything will turn out fine. However, things just did not get better.
One Friday night, Kim waits for Yvonne to reach home. He intends to get things straight with her. From afar, he can hear the footsteps echoing through the corridor, the sound of YvonneÂ’s heels landing on the concrete ground, nearing. For the first time in his stay with Yvonne, he feels nervous, on the thought of having to see her face. He can almost imagine her unsmiling expression as she opens the door. He figures that she will be looking for small details to quarrel with him again.
The door creeps open as he is still engross in his own thoughts. She frowns, as she quickly kicks off her heels. Her eyes scanning the living room as if to look for any loopholes that she can use as a weapon against Kim, but to no avail. Kim has made the effort to do some cleaning up an hour before she returns.
“ Had your dinner dear?” Kim go up to her and helps with her handbag. “ Wooh, it was heavy, what you had inside.” He jokes.
“ Nothing much. Ain’t u tired today? I didn’t see you sleeping.” There is a slight sarcastic edge in her speech.
“ Can’t. Too occupied with my mind. I guess it was a long time since we last had a proper talk, right.” Kim leads her to the sofa. The same sofa that Cliff almost had Yvonne lay. Now both of them sit side by side, Yvonne in his arm. “ I just wanna know what is wrong with you recently. You are not so, erm…, yourself.”
“ Huh? I’m very ‘myself’. What make you say that?” Yvonne plays with her fingers as guiltiness strikes her once again. She stares at the floor, with her eyes fixes on the gaps in between the tiles.
“ I know you don’t like the idea of getting married. It’s okay with me. It’s not like I’m forcing you or something like that. You know I’ll never force you to do anything against your will, do ya? So what’s wrong huh?”
“ Would you pleaaaase give me a break? I’m tired.” That does it. She walks away into the bedroom and slams the door shut. Kim remains at the sofa, dumbfounded.
During the entire weekends, Yvonne was out with Summer and Moon, not forgetting Cliff. They were chatting away happily at some Starbucks outlet. Cliff had allowed that encounter with Yvonne to fade by itself. But, sometimes in the night, when he was feeling lonely, he would recall the night and imagine how it would be like if Yvonne had not broke loose of his grip, as he satisfy himself. Every time when the images of YvonneÂ’s topless body flash across his mind, his heartbeat will increase and the urge of owning Yvonne will rush back to him again. Summer had noticed that Cliff looks interested in Yvonne and feels that they really make a good couple.
During the same weekends, Yvonne sorted out her thoughts. She intends to lead a better life, without Kim. She owns him too much, and it is easier to let go and take for granted what Kim had provided for her all these years than to stay with him, tormented by guilt rather than being in love. The problem that lies ahead would be how to go about breaking up with him.
Another week went by and she did not have a chance to talk to Kim. He has chosen to work night shift, as he wants to avoid quarreling with Yvonne, and at the same time, gives her time to cool down. For this whole while, Yvonne lives in a dilemma, she is so used to have someone cuddle her to sleep but she did not want the person be to Kim anymore. Her thinking is messing with her mind. That night, Cliff phones Yvonne, looking for a chat. Yvonne has in fact been chatting up with Cliff when Kim is not around for some times. He is the other option for her to pour out her loneliness that have bottled inside her.
“ Still awake huh?” Cliff has expected her to be. “ How’s your boyfriend? How’s Kim?” He has no idea that their relationship has been strain on rocky ground for the pass few weeks.
“ Working, as usual. No time for me.”
“ Well, I’m working in the day with you, and I’ve time for you in the night too. Haha, and I’m not even your boyfriend.” He says proudly.
“ Would you like to be?” She teases him. Their topics have got very bold lately. She had told him how she would like a man to satisfy her needs as well as her ambitions. Despites all that she has says, she tactically omit out the name ‘Kim’.
“ If you allow, even for just one night.” It is so typical of Cliff to say such things and Yvonne already is used to it. Somehow, tonight, she is feeling extremely lonely.
“ Alright, just for tonight.” This serves as an invitation for Cliff to come over to her place. Cliff, of course, is very glad.
“ You joking? Don’t kid me like this. I’m old and could not take it.” He wants to be sure of her intention.
“ Well, you can come now if you want, before I changed my mind.” Cliff’s jaw drops and he cannot believe what he had just heard.
He speeds on the deserted road like nobodyÂ’s business. He still cannot believe that Yvonne still dares to invite him again after the last encounter. He starts to get afraid, fearing that he cannot control himself when the time arises. In less than twenty minutes, he is standing outside YvonneÂ’s house, knocking softly, as if afraid anyone who see him. Well, he ought to be careful. Yvonne, as if already waiting behind that door, opens it almost immediately. She is dressed in a translucent white blouse, sleeveless. Her red undergarments are visible under the faint lightings on the room.
“ Come on in Cliff, you don’t want to stand there all there, don’t you?” She points to the position where he was standing now. “ And don’t forget your shoes.”
“ How about my clothes?” Cliff tests her reaction.
“ Don’t be stupid.” She says abruptly. “ What do you think I’ve invited you here for.”
Her tone was one so inviting, so does her lips, and her body too. Cliff knows that this is too good to be true. She is offering herself to him almost unconditionally now. He steps inside, kicks off his black leather shoes and proceeds to give Yvonne a hug. She did not resist this time round. Nor did she encourage. They stand in the middle of the living room. His lips found hers and they had a passionate kiss. Yvonne was leading Cliff this time. She guides her tongue into her mouth, as it explored hungrily.
“ You had made me wait too long, too long baby.” He is morning these wording as he cup her butts. They were firm and silky through her clothes.
Yvonne was moving herself and Cliff slowly, towards the direction of the bedroom, where Kim and her used to sleep together. Her hands feel for the contours of his muscular torso and her legs rubbing against his. This small act of temptation really turns Cliff on. He proceeds on to take off everything as fast as he could. Yvonne was looking at him, biting her lips and crossing her legs, sitting at the edge of the bed.
He is on top of her now. She is not struggling like she had the last time, but was moving sensationally under him. He cups her breast with her bra still intact. He remembers the last time he sucks on those nipples and could not wait to do it again. He lifts her blouse over her head and takes off her bra with his skillful touch at the hooks behind. Cliff than mouth at the exposed and tempting curves hungrily, leaving a trail of silvery line behind every part that his tongue had passed by. Cliff went in between her legs this time, parting them bit-by-bit as he work his tongue on her clit. Yvonne never felt this way before, as Kim never did this to her. It brings her into another dimension where she had never been before. She pulls down her last piece of clothes and let Cliff tease her some more. He tongue go far inside her, making her making little jerks and moaning sounds of pleasures.
“ You should go now.” Yvonne says through the bathroom door, as she clean herself up. “ Before Kim comes back.”
“ Its only 4 am my baby, let me bath with you a little.” Cliff suggests. He wants more of Yvonne, he just could not get enough of her.
“ No, you should go now. I have what I wanted. I guess you too, so just go, and forget about the whole thing.” Her voice was unfeeling.
Cliff is hurt upon hearing this. He harbors the hope that Yvonne may leave Kim and be with him as they were having sex just now. She was so absorbed in it, crawling and digging into him, as he plunged deeper and harder into her. He is wrong. She had just used him to satisfy her own lust when Kim is not around. He is just a substitute.
“ Okay. See you at work than.”
Yvonne is sleeping soundly when Kim comes back. She is naked underneath the blanket. She looks so peaceful, and so precious to him. Kim, unable to control himself, goes over to her and kiss her on her cheek lightly, and wonder why this has did not wake her up. Usually, she will open her eyes and smile at him. That is all in the past now. Kim did not notice anything different about their bedroom, where Cliff had spent the night with Yvonne a few hours ago. He washes up and tries to sleep, beside her, his hands over her body, stroking gently. He knows that the moment when she wakes up, she will fuss about him again, so he tries to be careful so as not to wake her, and to make this moment last.
He looks into her face, which is half buried into the pillow, so innocent. Her curves are clearly shaped out under the blanket so fine. For a moment, he was thinking about the time he had slept with her. They were chatting the night away, just kissing and cuddling, nothing else. He wishes that he could turn back the clock, to the time when their flames of their passion are still burning so bright. The passion and flame between them had almost extinguished nowadays.
Yvonne frowns and opens her eyes as the sunray shines upon the bed, clothing the sheets with a yellowish glare. She rubs those lazy eyes and sees Kim, sleeping beside her, soundly. His hands are scarred. Never did she notice those scars before. Some of them are still raw, yet to be healed. He must be working very hard out there, and there she was complaining about this and that. She even denies him of some decent sleep sometimes. Now he is able to rest without any disturbances. His chest heaves as he breathes, and somehow, the sight of Kim makes her heart contracted hard. Every time he exhales, her heart aches. She cries.
The next few days at work, Cliff was unusually quiet. Yvonne knows why. Moon, a couple of times, had asked him about what happen but he just said that he was used by a friend, and felt betrayed. Moon let out a laughter, discrediting the whole thing by saying that it happens everyday. Summer joins in to tease Cliff at how he can get so depress over such a small thing. Cliff walks away, without saying anything further. He glances at Yvonne, who is occupied with her work and thoughts; how could she treat as though nothing had happen. He just cannot understand.
Months went by. The relationship between Kim and Yvonne has improved slightly. Kim has a wonderful feeling that everything is coming back to normal again. They talks more often, and Kim tries to spend more time with her as much as he could. She has also put in the effort to heal the wound that she had inflicted upon their relationship. Cliff, on the other hand, never contacted Yvonne again after that night. He had asked for a request to be transferred to the Finances department, reason being that since there are no guys here, his stay is making him feeling uneasy. The real reason was that the sight of Yvonne had disgusted him.
How could she treat me like a sex toy; this thought made him felt silly about himself that night, which he satisfied her as if she had loved him with all her heart and body. Yvonne also could not care less. Smith had increased her salary by 20%, thanks to her constant performance, of course, which will not be possible without SummerÂ’s and MoonÂ’s guidance. Yvonne had invited them to come over to her place for dinner, as a little celebration. It was the first event in the office that Joey agreed to join in. Smith had something on and could not make it that night. Cliff, more or less expected, was not on the list.
“ Just keep up the good work, and I’ll be more than glad.” Smith excuses himself from the party gracefully.
Yvonne meet up for shopping with Kim, buying the stuffs needed at the party that evening. A honey roasted chicken, a loath of ham, red wine to go along with the meats and some fruit salads. On top of that, she orders a pizza for Kim, Hawaiian style.
Summer arrives first, saying that she is very hungry, and is waiting eagerly for the dinner to start. Yvonne introduces her to Kim, and she compliments that Kim was a fine gentlemen. Indeed, he was. Moon and Joey reaches shortly. They have with them some deserts, mainly jellies and yogurts. Moon had only seen KimÂ’s photograph on the desk at her work place, which Yvonne had placed at the side recently, and concluded that both of them are a matching pair. Yvonne wonders if she likes to make this comment, remembering the last time that she said the same thing about Cliff and her. JoeyÂ’s look is full of surprises. Kim finds that she is very familiar the moment she stepped into the room. Before he can recall where he may have seen her, she walks up to him and smiles.
“ Don’t you remember me? I’m Joey, what a small world it is.” She sounds excited.
“ Erm, sorry, I…” Kim is now thinking very hard, massacring his brain cells
“ Let me help u a little, I was with you in your ITE, thought yours is only a short stay. I dropped out soon after you and was recommended into the company by my uncle. He’s the GM of the hotel.”
“ Oh, now that you said, I do remember…haha.” Kim replies.
“ Okay, so you both know each other huh, save me the ice-breaking games at least.” Yvonne put her hand around Kim at his waist and smiles at Joey.
JoeyÂ’s stay with the company is only a short 9 months. Little did Yvonne expect that she have such connections with the GM of the hotel. The thought of it alone is enough to make anyone in the hotel shiver, because her words can be powerful enough to get anyone out of job. At least she will be safe, since Joey knows Kim from last time. However, this did not comfort her, not even a bit, in fact, she is disturbed.
For the first time, she feels jealous that a girl has so much to talk to her boyfriend, and it surprises her. She knows that Kim love her a lot, but could he resist the irresistible temptations of Joey, who is skillful at flirting. She had seen her flirting with Cliff a couple of times in the pass, and she would not be surprised if Cliff had a sexual relationship with her as well.
They all starts to tease Kim, asking about how he and Yvonne got together, and what is he working as. They do not look down on him like Cliff does, in-fact, they find him very hardworking and loyal, to his shipping company and towards Yvonne. The hours flies by and Summer suggests that they should stay overnight as it was half past midnight. Yvonne welcomes this idea, she enjoys their companies, as much as Kim does. Moon, however, wants to go home, saying that she was not in her most comfortable clothes, but Joey somehow, manages to make her stay. They seem to be good friends outside work.
With the extra helps available, the mess created during dinner was cleared in less than a moment. The girls have agreed on the idea of not sleeping for the entire night. Kim was excused, as he is required to report for work in the early afternoon tomorrow.
Yvonne and Summer went to buy more beers at the nearby 7-11 store. Since Kim knows at least Joey there, he will not be left out at home, at least for a while. Summer is all praising Kim from the time they left until they reaches the store and Yvonne was smiling cheek to cheek. She had found out long time ago that Kim is a good man. Back at home, Joey is teasing Kim, telling all about him in the ITE last time to Moon.
“ You know, he used to be very quiet. I thought he was shy, so does the other girls in the class. The guys, on the other hand, felt that he was just putting on a ‘cool’ front…haha.” Joey is laughing away as Kim blushes. “ And, when one of the girl wanted to tell him how she had liked him since his first day in class, he dropped out. I felt so pity for that girl…” There is a sense of sadness in her voice.
“ That girl must be you right, Joey, I just knew it.” Moon teases Joey this time round. The target has shifted from Kim to Joey real fast.
“ No, no. How can it be me…I didn’t even talked to him for the first 2 months there.” Joey denies.
“ Well than, I’ll let it pass for now.” Moon notices that both Joey’s and Kim’s faces redden a bit on the cheeks. “ I need to go the ladies.”
“ Well, I only have a toilet here, unisex. Turn right at the kitchen, second door.” Kim directs her.
Now, the living room is left with Joey and Kim only. There is a sudden quietness in the air. Both did not know what to say to each other. Indeed, The girl that Joey mentioned is none other than herself. She studies Kim, and he seems to be in deep thought. Joey knows that he is a grown man by now. The scars on his hand appear to create a sense of manliness in him. She could not help but think about how it would be if she had confront her love, or rather desire, for him, 5 years ago. Kim has noticed that Joey has kept her sight on him, fixed, as if wanting to see through him. This sure makes him feeling uneasy. This would make anyone else feeling uneasy anyway. Joey wants to see how Kim and Yvonne were getting along, and hopes to find out some loopholes in their relationship, just to satisfy herself, to prove that if she were to be with Kim, they will be a perfect match.
“ Five years, you had been with her, am I right? I figured that you dropped out because of her…what a fool. Forsake you future for uncertainty.” Joey’s words drills deep into Kim’s mind.
“ Well, that was my business anyway. My families don’t even care, so I don’t see who else should.” He replies spitefully.
“ Fine than. Since fate had brought us together again, I wished that we could keep in contact, as friends. What do you say huh?”
“ Friends, at a distance, fine with me.”
Moon, after relieving herself, comes back to join them. Strangely, she feels that her reappearance has somehow disturbs Kim and Joey, by spotting the looks on their faces. Joey seems to be conceding her smile, and Kim is looking very stiff. Not long after, Yvonne and Summer come home with cans of beers, packed in 6, in plastic bags. Summer had suggested playing some card games and the forfeit would be the beers. All agreed.
By 3am, most of them are almost drunk, as for the past two hours or so, they have been drown themselves in beers and potato chips. Summer been to the loo a couple of times, and each time, she has to use the wall to support her body in order to get there without falling. Moon is unable to sit probably, shifting to the left and right like a pendulum. Joey and Yvonne, being the better drinkers in the room, are feeling just a little high. Kim has already gone to sleep when the beers took effect on him. He is worried on how he can wake up tomorrow for work.
“ I guess some of you girls had to spend the night in the living room.” Yvonne points out.
“ If that’s the case, I’ll rather sleep at home. But I stayed so far…midnight charge’s going to burn a hole in my pocket. So on second thought, I’ll stay.” Joey says. She wants to stay anyway.
Moon and Summer, after having some tea serves by Yvonne, are more sober now. They stay up to chat, watching old films that are being telecasted on the TV. Yvonne, after passing them the hot tea, went into the room. She saw Kim on the floor, snoring away softly. He is always so thoughtful. He must have considered the possibility that some of the girls might need the bed, and it would be improper if there were a guy on it. Yvonne went over and covers a blanket over him, and proceeds off to sleep. Joey came into the bedroom shortly and Yvonne shifts in KimÂ’s direction to allow some space for her. For the first time, Yvonne shares her bed with another person of the same sex. She feels funny, and uneasy. She got up after awhile, hearing that Summer and Moon were still chatting away, joins them in the living room.
Joey feels the movement of the bed as Yvonne got up and went outside, and woke up, in a dazed. She seems to like the idea of having the bed all for herself. After all, she was so uses to having her own bed back home, a queen size one. The clock strikes 5am, and all is quiet in the house. Moon, Summer and Yvonne had fallen asleep in the living room. Joey is awake by gushes of cold wind that flows down from the air-con. She outstretches her hands, hoping to grab the blanket but cannot find it anywhere. On thinking that it might have been kicked to the ground, she pushes herself up and looks around the bed.
It surprises her when she saw Kim on the ground, beside the bed. Previously, she has no idea that he was there, all along. Joey knew that it is only Kim and she in the room now, and this thought had somehow stirred her desires she has for him.
She moves over to the side of the bed near Kim and pretends to sleep. Her hand was hanging over the edge and brushing against his face. It was somewhat irritating and it makes Kim wakes up as well. With his eyes closed, Kim pulled her down, thinking that it was Yvonne. She lands right on top of him, shocked. Kim is hugging her tightly. Joey was speechless and at the same time delighted, and they sleep in that position for another hour.
The alarm went off and Kim hit it almost immediately, and it goes quiet. This moment, he realizes that it was Joey, not Yvonne, who has been in his arms all these whiles, and is disorientated. Nervously, he pushes her away, trying to get up. Somehow, she still cringes onto him, with her breasts press firmly against his chest. He never has another woman so close to him, except for Yvonne, and this is tempting him a great deal. Finally, he manages to get himself up, after much effort. He stares down, on the sleeping Joey. Her curves were crying out for him. He concludes that Joey really had a great body, and smiles. He proceeds to change into his working uniform in the toilet, since he cannot do so in his room, and off he go. In some ways or another, JoeyÂ’s devilish body curves keeps appearing in his mind. He could not help but fantasize about it.
Back at home, the group of girls is awake by 1pm. All of them went their separate ways home, and Yvonne went back to sleep in her room, after tidying up the place a little. She has no idea what had happened between Joey and Kim last night. She is too tired to think about anything else.
Kim slogged at work hard for the next few weeks. His company has not been doing very well recently, as the economy is quite weak at that time. The shipping company had previously axed some 200 employees within the last few days. Kim manages to keep his rice bowl when he agreed to have decrease his salary by 15%. It is tough, having to survive with that already low pay, and now, it is going to be worse. He works over-time and tries to make up for the pay-cut. Yvonne becomes the sole breadwinner back at home now. Smith has given her extra allowances for transport, as she is now required in dealing with some clients. She has managed to save some money from that allowance and it has tune out to be quite a significant sum. Kim is belittled by the fact that he works so hard and earns so little, whereas Yvonne was earning at least 3 times his salary now, by just talking to clients. LifeÂ’s jokes can be cruel sometimes, and it seldom makes people laugh. -
Chapter Four
Finally, in early November, the shipping company gone bankrupted. It owns a lot of debt and is force to make such a dread decision by the creditors. Law is just, and can be unfeeling in some cases. Some on the employees who stayed until the end was unable to get their salaries, even up to three months. Kim considered himself lucky as he just got his salary for October. Nevertheless, like the rest of the employees, he is out of job.
Back home, he was looking through newspaper and Internet for jobs. He never feels so desperate in his life. The saving in his bank is drying day by day, and he did not wish to touch the joint account, opened by Yvonne and him, a year ago, planned for their wedding.
Couple of interviews failed as the companies concludes that he did not have the basic requirements. All Kim has is just an ‘O’ level certificate, with only 4 credits. There is no way he can get a decent job, anywhere, in the kind of society compares to five years ago. Dishearten, he seek comfort by confining in Joey about his circumstances. Joey, of course, has learned from Yvonne at her workplace the situation that Kim is in now. She pity Kim, not because he is unable to get a job, but the fact that he starts to live off Yvonne now. Joey has a sudden urge to help him, but she did now know how to go about it. She decides to seek help from her uncle, who is in charge around the hotel more than anyone else.
On a Monday night, Joey stops by her uncleÂ’s private house, located somewhere deep in the heart of the rural area. From far, the lighting shines through the windows, like a lighthouse amidst the oceans, reflecting off the surrounding trees, and the tilted road onto the magnificent building. The leaves rustles as the automatic gate parts, revealing the winding path, with Japanese-styled lampposts standing proudly by the sides, as if guarding the garden with their faint illumination. A small fountain makes up of piled rocks leave an antique touch to the place, as water gushed out and back to the fountain itself. To the right, is a garage, which gates are let up, as if to display the cars, three of them, lined beside one after another.
The doorbell sound twice and a maid appear. She opens the door and greets Joey as she takes off her jacket. The inside of the house is more like a palace. With ceiling reaching for the sky, and two spiral of stairways, carpeted, winding up to the forth floor. The living room was furnished with some of the finest furniture, mainly imported from Europe, and a small portion of art-pieces from South-East Asia. Rows of vases, expensive looking, lined along the shelf above the 42-inch plasma TV. JoeyÂ’s uncle was sitting on the huge sofa, a shade of brown and black, smoking his cigar away. She notices that her aunty is not around, and concludes that she must be having a mahjong session with her friends. There is something very sad about this old couple, they are filthy rich, but without any heir to carry on the wealth. That is also the reason why they dotes on Joey so much, treating her as if she is their first-borne.
“ Oh Joey, hey, so glad to see you. Were you mistreated there?” Her uncle raises an eyebrow, and looks at her.
“ What do you think huh. Of course not. Uncle Larry, I’ve a favor to ask of you. I hope that you can consider it, as it is of grave matter, at least to me.” Joey has been so straightforward, and it did not startle her uncle in any ways as he is already used to it.
“ Speak your mind than, if it’s within my ability, and can make you happy, I don’t see why not.”
She pauses for a moment as a maid refills her cup of tea. Uncle Larry dismisses the maid with a wave of his hand. “ Its like this, Uncle Larry, I have a friend, not very highly educated, and not as lucky as me, having you, had lost his job recently. I was thinking if you might create a vacant for him to work in our hotel. He is hardworking and is willing to do anything.” Her sweet-talking almost went unnoticed, blending skillfully into the sentences.
“ Oh, is he your boyfriend?” Joey shakes her head. “ Nope? Than why?” Her uncle enquires.
“ He’s my ex classmate in my ITE. That’s all.”
“ Fine than. I’ll see what I can do.” Uncle Larry says, as Joey let out a sign of relief under her breath. “ Now join me for a game of chess, won’t you? You won the last time by a stroke of luck, remember?”
Joey’s uncle, having agreed to her request, had opened a vacancy especially for Kim, to work in the main lobby, attending to the customers’ needs. Joey calls Kim on his cell phone during lunchtime and breaks the news to him. Kim is rotting away at home, too depress to even browse through the newspaper. Joey has expected a straight ‘yes’ as an answer but it was not as what she had thought it would be. Kim replies that he was grateful for her help but at the same time, is feeling a slight anger as she never consult this with him before, when it concern himself. A sudden sense of uselessness hit him hard and he rejects her offer plainly.
Joey, on the other hand, was shocked at how one can turn such a good chance to work in the hotel, when so many people are losing their job. She did not want to see her effort go to waste and decided to go over his place. Smith was not around, as usual, therefore she could have all the freedom she wanted. But it would not make any difference even if Smith was around, giving her status in the company. And as for Yvonne, she was out having lunch with an important client.
The door knocks and Kim almost fall off his stood, as he is busy arranging the magazines on the tabletop. He does not expect that anyone will come by in a weekday afternoon. Thinking that Yvonne might be sick and had come home early for a rest, he opens the door. Standing outside, however, was Joey, dressed in a pink shirt and tight dark blue pant. She has her hair dyed a reddish brown recently and had a little wavy touch on them.
“ Common in, I didn’t expect it could be you. I thought it was Yvonne.” Kim invites her into the house.
It is a hot afternoon, the sunlight pounding on the streets mercilessly, and Joey is sweating on her forehead and her back. Kim can clearly see her bra as he closes the door and walks behind her. She goes up to the fan, stands there, and makes her hair.
“ Oh its hot. See, I brave the sun to come and see you!” Joey exaggerates.
“ Haha, not funny at all. Nice try thou’. So don’t you need to work?”
“ I skipped work, and offer the job to you personally, what do you say huh?”
“ You are crazy…” Kim is touched by how someone could care so much about him, apart from Yvonne. He passes her a cup of fresh orange juice and sits down on the sofa.
“ Can we talk in your room, it’s the only place that is air-coned, right?” It is just an innocent suggestion.
“ You are a spoilt brat.”
The bedroom is indeed more cooling than outside, and not as glaring. Kim sits by the dressing table, while Joey settles for the bed. She seems to like that bed, as she is bouncing on it playfully. She unbuttons the first two clips of her shirt and Kim could not help but noticed a bead of sweat, rolling down into her cleavage. He avoids staring at it for too long. Kim has reconsidered JoeyÂ’s offer when he hang the phone just now. It is abuse but only one so dumb will reject it. Apparently, itÂ’s a decent job, and the pay is definitely higher than his previous one. Joey bends forward and look at him, close-up, as if knowing that he is considering about the offer. There is something else more distracting, in between the cleavage.
“ So how? Sure you must take the job okay. I been through hell to get it for you.” That makes the second exaggerating remark. “ If not, I’ll would have to force you to accept than…haha”
“ Forced? How? Not going to kill me do you.”
“ No, I’m going to tickle you hard!” Before she completes what she was saying, her hands were already poking at his ribs. It feels ticklish and he tries to get away from her, as far as he could, into the other corner of the room.
Joey, run after him and carries on the torment. The sight is like two small kids playing, and laughing away. Suddenly, JoeyÂ’s knee hit the edge of the bed and lost her balance, and fall onto the bed, grabbing KimÂ’s tee in the process. He fall on top on her, and she gasps as his body weight crushes her underneath. Kim remembers the time when he misunderstood her for Yvonne and he is losing control now.
Up-close, Joey truly is a remarkable beauty. The smell of her hair and sweat arouses Kim more than other things, messing his mind, making him losing control of himself. Her breasts are against his chest, just like that night, and she is looking straight into his eye. Slowly, Joey hold his head towards her and kissed his lips.
Kim, almost automatically, starts to respond to her kiss. One thing leads to another and they ended up in each other embraces, naked. Kim had noticed that her figure was much better than what Yvonne had. His palm could not hold her assents completely.
Joey, was also losing herself, and could not care if Kim was someone else boyfriend. As Joey bites into his neck, he pushes her aside.
“ No.” He jerks backward, with a hard-on.
“ Yes.” She pulls him back. She had wanted him so badly, since the time in ITE.
Kim falls for her temptations, the kind of temptation that no other guys can resists. They made love. Joey was a tigress on bed. She moaned and crawled on the bed sheet as Kim entered her from behind. He came shortly after that, exhausted. So was Joey.
Kim started work almost immediately. He had told Yvonne that he could not have got this job if without JoeyÂ’s help, of course, omitted away some of the details. He was very guilty about what he had done with Joey while Yvonne was in the dark all along. However, he decided that some things are better to be left unsaid. Kim has observed Joey the next few days carefully and did not feel that anything was wrong. Hence, he concluded that she just might just want to have a fling with him that day. However, there is something that was bothering him much, that is, Joey had called him more frequently, even when Yvonne was around. Although Yvonne guesses that since she had found the job for him, they ought to be really close in the past, but she still felt jealous. Even though the topics between Joey and Kim is not those juicy types, Kim still feels that she should restrict herself, just in case she spills the beans.
One night, Kim was asks to stay for overtime, as a bunch of Korean would book into the hotel in the middle of the night. He agrees without hesitation, as he already had use to working night shift in the past. Moreover, the environment here is much better, at least he will not get to sweat, and stinks. He informs Yvonne about it and she gone home straight after work, saying that she will wait for him to be back. It has past 1.45am when KimÂ’s job with the Koreans is finally done. He is about to change into his normal attire when his cell phone ring. The number was unfamiliar. Upon answering, he knows that it was Joey on the other side. She asks him to come up to her workplace and gives him the direction.
Minutes later, he is outside the office where Yvonne and the rest of the girls works in. It is pitch black inside except for the lights from the opposite building. He walks in, assuming that the door is not locked and saw a shadow that almost make him jump in fright. Joey sits at the armchair, her usual place, in white. She signals him to come closer, and somehow, he hairs stood on ends. Never did he know that the hotel can be such a scary place at night.
“ Why off the lights?” Kim whispers.
“ Cause we are not supposes to be seen, right?”
“ Right, so what izzit that you ask me here for?” He has too much questions for Joey, as she is behaving very strangely.
“ Do you like me? Tell me the truth.” Her voice begins to tremble, as if she is going to break down any moment.
“ What? I only love Yvonne. If you are talking about that night, I thought we were only having a fling, right?” Kim was thinking that if she had really liked him, than he had done something very wrong that night. Joey can jolly well use that as a weapon to destroy his relationship with Yvonne.
“ Fling? Hahaha…” Her laughter pierces through the silent office. She waits untill her laughter dies down and continues. “ I’m dead serious about you. And you should know. In what ways am I no better than Yvonne is huh? Can’t I hold a candle to her? Or was she so great in bed, outshine me? Haha..”
“ Shut up.” Kim gets angry, and the anger is the results of Joey, who had used her body to try and caged him. “ You do not understand. Please, forget about that night.” He begs, knowing that there are no other options now.
“ Well, on a condition.” She stretches her arms upwards, and the shape of her breasts was protruding out through her shirt. She wares a tube-top inside that lime green shirt on the outside. “ I want you to do something for me. The details, I will tell you in a few days time.”
Kim gone home after that, puzzled over what Joey had said. He felt that she did not really matters about that night, but was using it to blackmail him. The thought of it freaked him out. He reached home, saw Yvonne watching some Vcds, and pretends that nothing has happen. They proceed to sleep shortly.
Two days later, Joey called Kim to stay over at the hotel at night again. It seems like she has the authorities to do a lot of stuff around here. He obeys. Inside the same office, she tells him a secret, something that no one else knew.
Many years back, Joey’s uncle, Larry, went to China on a business trip. He fell in love with a girl, who was working at a food stall that he frequented. This girl, who was only 21 years of age, was very naïve, given that she was not educated. They had an affair there and the girl gave birth to a child. The child was Joey herself.
Uncle Larry, who was already legally married to another woman back in Singapore, JoeyÂ’s aunty, could not give him a child, regardless of it being a boy or girl. Therefore, he suggested that he would adopt a girl found on the street during his stay in China, and his wife fell for his lies. This is how Joey came from China to Singapore. Kim, upon hearing this, was shocked, but at the same time, thinking that why did she tell her about it. It had nothing to do with him.
Joey continued with her story, about what happen to her real mother. Back in China, she fell sick, when uncle Larry took Joey away from her by force. Her bedridden mother could not do anything about it, and Joey was still too young to understand. In a result of the sickness, the lack of medicines and the heartache of losing her only child, she died not long after. Joey was sobbing as she was describing it all. At first, Kim had wondered if Joey was kidding him, but now, he was convinced. After all that Joey had to say, she asked him to go home. He was puzzled, even more than the last time.
The sky was gloomy for the next few days. It seemed to make everyone moody as well. The sun was always hiding behind the clouds, and the slightest sunlight could not penetrate through them. Looked as if it was going to rain, but it didnÂ’t. Kim was watching the clouds floating by with Yvonne at the seaside. It had been a long, long time since they had such a romantic outing together.
“ Haven seen Joey for almost a week.” Yvonne says, as if speaking to the vast ocean ahead of her. It appears to be just a passing remark.
“ Do you know why?” Kim asks her in return. He is feeling funny these few days, especially when Joey pours out everything about herself to him, and him only. “Did she say anything?”
“ I’ll know if she ever did.”
Another day had past and Kim was getting worried about Joey, bothered by what Yvonne had said. ‘Why should I bother anyway, the better of she does not bother me’ He thought. However, he just could not stop worrying.
One afternoon, he receives a phone call while he is working. It is a male speaker whose voice he is unable to recognize. He mentions that he was JoeyÂ’s uncle, and needs him and Yvonne to go up to his office regarding some matters. For a moment, Kim fears that Joey may have tell her uncle about his fling with her. However, it seems like he have no choice but to find him, together with Yvonne, after all, this job if given to Kim by him. His office sits on the highest floor, with a birdÂ’s eye view around the whole district. Yvonne is all excited but Kim is nervous.
The office is not really big, but looks comfortable enough. A huge table made of wood, highly polished, sits in the middle of the room. There is a man, almost bald, sitting on a gigantic armchair, smoking away. The wave of cigar smell fills the room. Yvonne hates that kind of smell and tries to hold her breathe. He begins to speak as he brushes aside the files on the table and signal them to have a sit at the two chairs opposite of him.
“ I’m sure that both of you know Joey, quiet well” His voice is thick. “ She had a letter for this young gentleman.” Pointing at Kim with his index finger, as he speaks.
Kim takes the letter from his hands and places it on his lap. JoeyÂ’s uncle turns to Yvonne now.
“ She had spoken well of you. I understand that you had a very good qualification, or else you would not be here, unless, you got a very good connection, like Joey does.” The old man seems to know everything about them.
“ Erm, Sir, what was the matter you mentioned just now over the phone, and had you personally called my cell phone, instead of asking other staff to get us.” Kim enquires. It is a very bold move for him to throw a question so directly at the GM.
“ Hmm…well than, I shall not beat around the bush anymore. Miss Yvonne, you will now take over Joey’s place in the office. Her job is simple, I’m sure you can do it. It’s less challenging but the pay will be slightly more than what you are getting now.” His unsmiling face remains bleak, and appears to be sad. “ And you, I do not know you name.” Referring to Kim now, “ as she did not tell me, and I do not wish to find out, read the letter and you will know what you need to do. I do not know what is written in it and neither am I interested to know. It seems to be a set of instructions enclosed, follow them well. That’s all I want to say. You may go now.”
Yvonne walked out of his office, with Kim following behind, closing the door after him once he is outside, softly. Yvonne is very happy, as she got just has an easier post with a higher pay. However, Kim wonders what is inside the letter. He would not want to risk sharing what is inside with Yvonne.
It was a gloomy night, no stars, no moon, no cool breeze, nothing. Kim and Yvonne have alighted one stop before their designated bus stop. It has been a long time since the both of them have a stroll together. Yvonne talks about how far she can go in the company but KimÂ’s mind is on other things. His is eager to know what is in the letter. He knows that there is a key inside, as he can feel it through the envelope, and a list of instructions, like what Joey had said before.
“ I’ll bath first. Wanna join me?” Yvonne teases Kim, as she pushes open the main door to their house.
“ No thanks. I prefer the bathroom to myself.” Kim replies flatly.
“ Your loss than…” She seems disappointed.
It is the best moment so far that he can have since he left Uncle LarryÂ’s office. Previously, Yvonne is always around. Now, at least he can open the envelope and sees what is inside. The envelope looks like a thousand years old. Slowly, he rips open the brown and dirty envelope, with some sort of stain at the side of it. He pulls out a yellowish piece of paper, a key and a card from inside. The paper looks yellowish, as if left for decades, but the card is new. It is just a birthday card.
Dear Kim,
Happy birthday.
ItÂ’s your birthday again. This time, I finally get to send you this greeting card.
IÂ’ll always remember your birthday. .
Love from,
Joey.
He reads twice, and finds that it sounds funny. Firstly, his birthday is two months later. Secondary, the words make no sense, in face, strange. The rest of what is written is blurred. It seems like Joey had tried to erase the ink by difference means. Kim holds the key against the light of the living room. It appears to be just a normal key, gray in color. It could be some doorÂ’s key, and Kim knows that the answer will be found in the letter. He unfolds the yellowish paper and starts to read.
Dear Kim,
I am Joey. I am fromÂ…
Before he can even finish the first sentence, he hear Yvonne coming out from the bathroom, and he quickly stuffs everything back inside the envelope.
“ Your turn to bath Kimmy.” Yvonne says as she uses a towel to dry her hair. “ Join me in bed later, would you? I’m in a good mood today, It would be better if we could have some ‘fun’” She winks.
Kim nod and smiles. He is not in the mood for sex, at least not until he had read what is the letter about.
That night, he could not perform. The session was over in less than 30 minutes and they went to sleep. It was 2 hours later when he woke up, not knowing why. Maybe the curiosity of what the letter contained sub-consciously woke him. He went into the living room and took out the envelope, which he skillfully hid behind the rows of soft toys. Slowly, and rubbing his eyes, he went into the kitchen and on the light, the dimmest one, and sat on a chair by the dinning table. He read.
The next day, he asked for an urgent leave from the company. Yvonne did not know about the leave that the company had approved Kim, and thought that he went for work, as usual.
Kim was following the first instruction that Joey had instructed him. He was to locate a house somewhere on the outskirt of the city, and used the key to unlock the door. He looked at the directions given on the letter, and looked around him. To his left, he saw the street name, as mentioned in the letter and walked in that direction. He was in deep thought, as he proceeded towards the unknown. Why did he even bother to follow JoeyÂ’s instructions? He could ignore it and let his life be normal. There were a few reasons to this question. He was worried about what had happened to Joey, and intended to find out. He also felt that since he had agreed Joey in the first place, about doing what she would tell him. There was something written in the letter that made him continued what he is doing now too. Hands tucked in his pockets, he walked, looking on the ground, thinking about the possibilities he might encounter. The street was deserted.
Half an hour later, he stops in front of an apartment. The bricks were decaying on the outside. Fungus had planted themselves against the wall, creating trails of greens amidst the red bricks. A wind picked up and rustled the leaves on the nearby trees. Dead leaves dropped onto the floor, and for a moment, his heart was heavy.
The windows of the house he is looking at are nailed with planks of woods, as if to block out what was inside from prying eyes. Could Joey be inside? He asks himself about the unknown as he inserts the key into the keyhole. He turns, once, twice, to the left, and the door unlocks. Kim pushes the door opened and peeps inside. The interior of the house is the complete opposite of what Kim had seen from the outside. The living room was tastefully furnished with a TV, enclosed in a glass panel, a sofa, few desks and some standing lamps. He proceeds inside and on the switches at the side of the door but no light comes up. The electrical power has not been switched on.
He raises his head and narrows his eyes, as he tries to look for the circuit breaker in the almost dark room. It is located at a corner left of where stands. Tiptoe, he reaches for the rows of switches and clicks on them one by one. Tack, tack, tack, the sound went echoing through the whole place, and it gives him the creeps.
“ Let there be light.” He mumbles as he reaches for the switches near the door. The lightings flickers for a while and the room is now illumined. He can clearly see that the sofa and tables are all clothed in white, to prevent dust from settling on them. He also notices that the room smell of staled air. He went for the stairs on his right and looks up. It is exceptionally dark up there, as the light is not able to reach it. He gulps, and proceeds on. His footsteps echoing hollowly as he walks up the stairs, one step at a time, carefully. He takes out the letter and browses through quickly, hoping to find what he is needed to do here, but find none. He guesses that Joey might want him to just look at this house. There are three rooms next to one another on the second floor. He went into the second one.
Rays of light are filtered into the room through the curtains. As expected, the desks were all clothed in white. Everything is still as he looks around. There is a full-length mirror at a corner of the room. He sees himself in it and tidies his hair. He likes his hair more than anywhere else on his body. Than, inside the mirror, an image of a book, half opened, captured his attention. He turns and grabs it. There was a photo, clipped onto the pages. It displays a girl, about five, on a swing, smiling happily. Kim takes the dully-colored photograph and stuff it into his pocket, as he continues to flip through the book. It suggested a diary, but the room is too dark for him to see what was written inside clearly. He pushes open the curtains, to allow more light to penetrate the room. It is dusty and this must have made him sneeze a couple of times. Looking out the window, he notices a swing, like the one in the picture, on a small grass patch, which seems to be the backyard of the house.
“ So this little girl lived here huh. Joey? Hmm…” Kim says to himself, as he flips through the diary.
The first few pages described how the girl was so happy, staying in the big house. Towards the middle of the diary, the handwriting was very hard to read, as if the writer was not in the mood to write. The last 10 odd pages were written with the same word, ‘Sadness’.
Inside the third room, there was nothing. It was vacant and somehow lonely. There were pieces of papers pasted on the walls. They were all single words. ‘Loneliness’, ‘Sadness’, ‘Hate’, ‘ Death’. There words were making Kim feeling cold on his skin, despite the sunlight. Puzzled, he went into the first room, which he left out. It was a bedroom. The bed was a small one, good enough for a kid. As usual, all the tables and chairs are clothed in white. On the side of one of the desk, a vase stood there. Dried flowers, appeared to be roses, were in it. There was nothing else. Just as he was about to walked out of the room, he noticed something behind the door. It was a school bag, very dusty and but generally clean, had a name pasted on the side of it. ‘Joey’ it read.
Now it is all clear to him. This is indeed JoeyÂ’s house, at least it was while she was still a child. He looks at his watch and is surprised that it is already late afternoon. He had spent three hours inside this house.
Kim locks the front door as he steps out of it. The words that he had read inside this building disturb him a great deal. Joey was happy when she first moved into this house. As she lived here, she was very lonely and sad. However, whom did she hate and what is the ‘Death’ she wrote on the paper that was pasted onto the wall, and why did she do that. Confusion engulfs Kim. He went home straight after.
“ So early? I’ve called you but your phone was off. Busy huh?’” Yvonne enquires as she walks into the room. Kim had been sitting on the sofa since he came home.
“ Yup.”
“ Yup? Yup what?”
“ Nothing. I’m tired, that’s all. Don’t feel like talking.” He pushes himself up, takes his stuffs, and walks out.
The second thing he was asked to do in the letter was to give the key to a person. Joey must have borrowed the key from that person. Kim feels that he might find out something about Joey from that person, and he decides to look for him or her now.
It was late evening when he reached the place. The whole area were crowded with blocks of flats, very old looking. It was a district for the old and poor families, where no one took care of them. All the flats in it are one-roomed and poorly conditioned. Kim wondered what the person he was about to meet would be like.
An old lady greets him, as he knocks on the door, somewhere along a smelly corridor filled with urinal stench. He shows her the key, and she invites him into the room. Her house is indeed small, but clean and tidy overall. An old kettle stands on a stove. There is no TV, no radio and no other means of entertainment. A small cupboard was leaning against the wall, and a mattress was mapped out on the floor. Her house reflects her life. Poverty.
She introduces herself as Granny Ling, surprisingly, in English. She signals Kim to take a sit on the floor as she passes him a cup of tea. Than, she positions herself beside Kim and starts to talk.
“ The house was where Joey used to stay.” She begins. “ She borrowed the key from me a few weeks ago and said that she would return it. I thought that she had forgotten, instead, she asked someone else to do it for her.” She paused and slipped a mouthful of tea and let out a sign of relief.
“ Who are you to her?” Kim asks. It was an important question, as it will tell how much she knows about Joey.
“ I’m her nanny when she was small, very cute she was.” She replies. “ Her hair was silky and I used to tie them for her. She is such a good girl, and…”
“ And where is she now?” Kim interrupts. A look of dismay is immediately displayed on Granny Ling’s winkled face.
“ I don’t know.” She frowns. “ She asked me to give something to her when she returned with the key. Guess you have to pass it to her for me.” She got up, as carefully as she had sat down, and walks up to the small cupboard and takes out a pocket phonebook and hands it to Kim. “ You may go now. I’m sleeping soon.”
Kim stands outside her house as she slams the door on him. He looks at the phonebook. There are only three names on it. Michelle, Liz and Cliff. He went home short after.
“ Very good. The time is now closing 11pm and you just reached home.” Yvonne’s sarcastic remark greets him as he opens the door.
“ Nothing.” Kim replies plainly.
“ You should have….” She notices the disturbed look displayed on his face and her anger subsides, replaces by worries. “ You don’t look okay to me. Wanna tell me about it?” She is coaxing him now.
“ No. Some other time, maybe, after I figure things out.” -
Chapter Five
Although Yvonne was worried about what had happened to Kim or what he had been through, she did not pursue the matter further. Kim had the habit of keeping the all the problems to himself. He has always been the independent kind of man that bottled all the feelings, at least the bad ones, to himself. He would not want other people to be unhappy just because he is unhappy, and this often backfires on him, as the other party would worry even more. In this case, Yvonne had already got use to it, and therefore did not find anything strange about his behavior.
That night, Kim could not sleep again. He was somehow worried about JoeyÂ’s safety. Although she did not really have a relationship with him, apart from the one nightstand, he felt an overwhelming concern about her well-being. He frowned as he sat himself down at the chair in the kitchen, leaning against the wall on his back. His thoughts were killing him softly, as he was surrounded by too many unknowns. After a short while, he got up and checked on Yvonne. She was sleeping soundly, after a dayÂ’s work.
He went up to the rows of soft toys where he cleverly hid the letter. JoeyÂ’s letter, and takes it into the kitchen, where he starts to read it again.
Dear Kim,
I am Joey. I am from your class. You may not notice me but I had already notices your existence the moment you enter the class, at the beginning of the year. In this letter, I would like to confine in you how much I liked you, and how I wished I could be with you.
For a long time, I have been looking for a man, to protect me, to cherish me and to love me, after my relationship with my previous boyfriend, which lasted for three years, did not work out. I am so used to having someone by my side that I cannot be alone again. The night, every night, is a torment for me. I am awoken by nightmares, things beyond our imaginations, every time I felt a sense of loneliness in me. Will you hold my hand and pull me out of this abyss?
Maybe you do not know why I had liked you, well, I do not know too. I guess it is just a kind of feeling that I could not describe. I can only say that I feel more alive whenever I saw you in school. When I reached home, my life is meaningless again. Maybe again, you would say that itÂ’s a crush only. But deep inside me, I know its not. Only you can release me from the cage that bounded me. I need more space, and I feel that itÂ’s so hard to breathe in the imaginary cage that I am trapped in.
Below is my address, find me and we shall talk more. If you donÂ’t mind.
xxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxx
xxxx xx xxxxxx
Joey
Did you still remember the things you promised me that you would do? Well, finally, IÂ’ve thought of what I need you to do. You can choose to follow the instructions below carefully, or ignore the whole thing like a abandoned baby. Whichever case you choose, I will not blame you.
1. Used the enclosed key to access the above address.
2. Return the key to xxx xxxxxx xx x xxxx xxxx
3. Find me or forget me.
For instruction 3, itÂ’s not really an instruction. ItÂ’s just a option, for you to choose.
This concludes the letter. Kim folds it and returns it back to its secretive place. ‘To find or to forget Joey’, it bothers him. Why would anyone asked him to forget a person when there is no misunderstanding or whatever between them? Why would anyone ask him to find her, as if playing a game of hide and seek? He ponders, as the night turns into day.
Kim, the following day, went back to his office and applied for a weekÂ’s leave. It was granted to him almost unconditionally, as if JoeyÂ’s uncle had a hand in it. Than he went to YvonneÂ’s office and looked for her but she was not around. Hence, Kim called her on her cell.
“ Hey Yvonne, do you trust me?” Kim talks as if he was in a hurry.
“ What happen dear? Why did you ask such thing so suddenly?”
“ If you do, allow me to disappear for a week. I have some things I need to figure out.” Kim explains, but not any further than this.
“ Some things? Like what huh? What’s wrong?” She has too many questions popped into her mind. It’s not that she did not trust Kim but one week is too abusive. What is he going to do with that, she thought.
“ Whatever your answer, I’m going. I’ll call.” The phone went dead. Yvonne called back a couple of times but seemed like Kim off his cell phone.
Kim went home to get a couple of stuff and moved to a hotel. He intended to stay in that hotel until he sort things out. Upon reaching, he went to sleep almost immediately. He was tired, after more than 36 hours awake.
That night, he phoned Yvonne at her house. He said that he was sorry for his sudden need to disappear and hope that she would understand. She said she would, but deep in her heart, she did not understand why. That was the last call she received from Kim for the week.
Early morning the next day, he went to the place where Joey stayed, that old creepy building. He climbs through the fences at the backyard and used a rock to smashes a window on the ground floor. From that window, he went inside the building. The same smell greets him, and he recalls the time he came here. He hopes to discover new clues about her disappearance. Somehow, Kim feels that Joey is not so simple as she looks.
He looks around him and found that he is inside the kitchen, one of the places he did not explore the last time. The kitchen had a decent dinning table, well enough for four people, but only three chairs. Did her family have only three people in it? He think backs on the night when Joey ask him to stay behind and went up to her office. There, she told him about how she came to Singapore from China. If she had lived here, than it would only be her, her uncle and her aunty. It is a hastily guess, but it seems logical. There is something strange about the kitchen though. The dinning table and chairs, unlike other furniture, were not clothed in white sheets. It looked like someone is still using them even thought the person had stopped using the rest of the rooms.
He exits the kitchen and only a short corridor can be seen. The dark passageway leads to the living room. No wonder he have not notices the kitchen during his last visit. He would not be able to see it from the living room. His hands touch the walls of the short corridor to guide him forward. Suddenly, he feels something on the left side of the wall. It seems like a knob. He gives it a little twist and it opens a new passageway to a small room. It appears to be a storeroom.
The small room is packed with stuffs in bags, reaching for the ceiling. A shelf tucked to the side is also squeezed with ornaments and books. Kim grabs one of the books nearer to him and wipes the dust collected over the years with his hand. It appears to be a drawing book, possibility done by Joey. He brings it outside and into the light, where he can see more clearly.
The turned yellow pages had only a few drawings in it. There was an attempted drawing of this house, with three figures in it. A man, a women and a child. Kim smiles as he had guessed the three people that stayed in this house correctly. He flipped to the next drawing, it shows a woman on a bed, and the child was standing next to her. This puzzled Kim for a moment. Did her aunty, or rather her stepmother, died? The child in the drawing looks sad.
The third drawing was simple. It was painted all red using only watercolor. The next one was located at the last page of the sketchbook. It shows the building, this house, at night, with a full moon and nothing else. Somehow, it triggers KimÂ’s imagination on how this building could be at night. Must be quite scary.
It was early afternoon by the time he completed analysis the book. There was no sunshine outside. The whole sky had turned gray and droplets of rain had fallen. He went back into the kitchen and looked out of the broken window, the one which he came in from, and breathed deeply the smell of the rain. It was pleasant. A wind picked up and blew in his direction. His eyes closed sharply when a strain of hair went into it. Rubbing them for a while, he reopened his eyes, and to his surprise, he saw something in the backyard.
The whole backyard was covered with grass and wild flower except for the area under the swing. Kim concluded that if Joey had used the swing only when she was little, and this house had been isolated for years, grass should have grown on them on that area also. The rain was getting heavier and this stopped his intention of looking at that soiled patch more carefully. He went back into the living room and sat on the sofa clothed in white. Listening to the beat of the rain on the roof and ground, he fell asleep.
It was late evening when he woke up. The living room was unusually dark. Kim could not even see his finger when he placed them in front of his eyes. He used his hands to searched the sofa, and found the torchlight he brought along. He smiled gladly. Remembering the undone business, he proceeded into the backyard. The grass was all wet from the rain a few hours ago. Sounds made by insects can be heard everywhere. There was not a single star, nor did he saw the moon. The only light was that emitting from his torch.
He touches the soiled patch under the swing the ground was soft. It could only be due to the fact that someone had dug a hole once on this spot and covered it back. He begins to use his hands and dig at the bald patch. Five minutes later, he hands feel something cold below. Shining his torch at the shallow hole, he can see a bronze box, rectangle in shape, buried in it. With some effort, he pulls the box out. Upon opening it, he spots an ugly looking doll and a photograph, faced down. The picture was taken quite recently, of a place quite familiar to him. It displays a building across a street, the opposite of it make out to be a cemetery. He knows where is the place. He examines the doll and found something written on its palm. The number 213 was scribbled on it.
He went back to the hotel shortly after. Back there, he thinks about the drawings and what they really mean. The one in red, he could not understand, and neither did he know how it was related to the last drawing. How a family of three was left with a lonely building. He takes out the phonebook that that old lady asked him to pass to Joey. The name Cliff stands for from the rest, Kim just cannot remember where he comes across that name, no matter how hard he tries. He dozes off on the bed when day was breaking. He wakes up only late afternoon, the next day.
For the last few days, Yvonne was bored. She was either working or at home doing nothing. Her house, without Kim, is empty. Summer and Moon had dropped by some times after work but the silence is always there when both of them went home. The silence haunted her, making her think about the unhappy things in the past. However, what worried her most is uncertainty of the future, between Kim and her.
For the first time, she felt that she really needed Kim to be by her side. She wanted to walk the remaining journey with Kim. As she thought of this, she picked up the phone and tried to contact Kim, to tell him how mush she missed him. However, the voicemail of his cell phone greeted her. Disappointed, she hung the phone, and went to bed.
“ Hello, is that Cliff?”
“ Yes, speaking, may I know who is on the line?”
“ Kim.” He replies, wondering if Cliff has any idea who he is. “ Need to talk.”
They met up at a pub that night. It was stationed in a dark alley, smelly and dirty. Surprisingly, inside was a different sight, with all the hippy people dancing away to the trance music, which was blasting loudly at the background. They sat by a table just before the bartender. A waitress came by and clear the mess on the table created by the previous person that sat there. Kim smiled at her politely.
Kim does not know how to go about asking Cliff regarding the whereabouts of Joey. Kim feels that if Cliff might have a hand in her disappearance, and this serves as a reminder to himself that he must be tactful in asking his questions.
“ I presume you know Joey, more than who she was in the office you used to work right.”
“ Well, is this an interview? Okay, I did fling with her, a couple of times, and I’m sure she did with you right. Haha…”
It seems like Joey had told Cliff about him and herself. “ None of your concern. She is in grave danger, I need to find her fast.” Kim hopes to create a sense of urgency in Cliff.
“ Danger? Why am I not informed? You make me laugh.” Cliff, of course, does not believe him. There is no reason for him to do anything even if Joey was in grave danger. Cliff does not love her at all.
“ Whatever the case, I need to find her.” Kim walks away. “ With or without any extra help.”
His next stop was the cemetery that was featured in that photograph found in the box. It totally darkness out there and he flashed his torchlight across the tombstones. His hands trembled with fear, more than the cold that is biting into his skin. He was looking for the grave numbered 213.
“ 209, 210…. “ Kim can not believe that he is doing this. He is looking at each grave, close up for the number. Each time the flashlight shines on the picture of the owner of that tombstone, it makes him more frighten. At this moment, to his right, he notices a figure, clothed in black, almost blending with the surrounding.
Could it be a ghost?
He shifts his torchlight towards that direction and it shows a girl, with hair blocking away her face. At least, it is a human.
He walks up to her and starts to talk to her, asking her why she is here, alone, at this wee hour. She points to the grave she that she is standing in front of, and says that she comes to visit a friend. As the torchlight flashes on the tome, the number 213 is reflected. He squats and examine at the photograph more closely. It looks like Joey, he almost falls back on the grass, shocked.
“ How did she die? When?” He is still shocked from the photograph on the tombstone. Now he is trying to brace himself.
“ Last week, she killed herself. Reason is unknown. The police were still investigating it.” The girl in black turns her head, facing him, as she speaks. She is quite a beauty, with a proud nose and a valentine cheekbone. “ I’m one of her close friends, name’s Liz.”
Kim took a few steps backward and ran off. Back in his hotel, he was thinking again. He had not stopped thinking since the day he moved into the hotel. Joey knew that she was going to die, therefore, she left him with all these things. She even told him about her past and declared her love she had for him. Kim, finally found her. He could not wait for the police to determine her death and motive, and decided to figure it out himself.
The next day, Kim checked out of the hotel and headed home. He had too much on his mind. He was somehow, sad about JoeyÂ’s death, and more puzzled. That night, Kim broke the news about JoeyÂ’s death to Yvonne. She was dumbfounded, and cried. Kim held her closer to him and cuddled her to sleep. Yvonne had a very bad nightmare that particular night.
The next morning, Kim prepares breakfast for Yvonne before they both goes for work. While they are eating, still thinking about the fact that Joey had passed away, someone knocks on the door. Kim opens it, thinking that it was the laundry woman sending the clothes. To his surprise, it was Uncle Larry.
“ Am I welcome to come in for a while?” He sounds quite friendly this time, so much different from the last time they talked with him at his office.
“ Of course, come in than.” Kim wonders what brings him here.
“ I’m not here for house warming, so I’ll take my leave I finish what I’ve have to say.”
He takes down his spectacle and pauses for a moment before he continues. “ It concerns Joey.”
“ She’s dead.” Yvonne mumbled. Uncle Larry heard her somehow.
“ Yes, and before she choose to die, she begs me to pass a message to you,” Pointing to Kim, “ Kim.”
“ She said that although that she could not have you like Yvonne did, she will be happy that you will be well taken care of. Before she departs, she said she was sorry for all the troubles or unhappiness that she had caused upon the both of you.” Uncle Larry than went on to tells them about how Joey died and why did she choose to die.
Joey had gone for a holiday with her stepmother to China a few weeks ago. That was some times before Yvonne was asked to take over her place in the office. Joey suggested visiting her motherÂ’s grave over there but her stepmother was unwilling. Joey than started telling her stepmother about how Uncle Larry started to know her mother and had her. On top of that, she also told her about how she came to Singapore, something that her stepmother had no idea of.
It angers her, at the fact that her husband lied to her about JoeyÂ’s background, and deep in her heart, hatred accumulated. One night in the hotel they stayed, she tried to kill Joey, thinking that she was the child borne of her husband and a china girl. Joey was acting in self-defense when she pushed her stepmother back with all her might and she knock onto the wooden edge of the table, bleeding to death.
Joey was afraid, and not knowing what to do. She was held up by the police there for a few days before they sent her back to Singapore. Uncle Larry was saddened when Joey told him about what had happened during their stay in China. He did not blame Joey, nor did he blame her wife.
“ I’ve loved the both of them for so long, and now they are both gone for good.” Uncle Larry is sobbing hard. His face is twisting with expressions showing enormous agony and pain in his heart. “ Joey’s last will, is to ask the both of you not to forget her. She had always been a lonely child since she came to here.”
Yvonne starts to cry as she begins to understand why she is so outcast in her office, to think that she even made fun of her because of that.
“ Her mind was not very stable, after I snatched her away from her mother, promising a better life. Yes, indeed, life was better, but her needs I could not give her. Money was all that I can provides for her.” He continues.
“ I could not help her in relationship, as I’ve failed in that aspect myself, and she did not know how to make new friends as the place we used to stay was lonely and quiet.” Kim realizes that he is speaking about the house that he had explored. Indeed, it was lonely and very quiet.
“ So, we moved, as she got older. Somehow, it was already too late, as the loneliness had contained themselves deep inside her. Often, she would cry herself to sleep at night. An inner voice inside her wanted to scream aloud but she didn’t know how.
She was tormented by her mind.” Uncle Larry takes a deep breathe and carries on his unfinished message. “ And, she was feeling very guilty about the accidental killing of my wife. I tried to talk her round, saying that nothing much can be done to change that fact, but it was to no avail. She killed herself short after, back in the old house we stayed while she was young.”
Finally, Kim understands Joey more clearly. She had no close friends and her family back here is not really her true family. Her only companions were only sadness, anger, fear and loneliness.
Two years later, Kim was standing with Yvonne in front of JoeyÂ’s grave. They spoke of how the world have changed and big events in their lives. Yvonne shared her laughter and sadness with Joey, and Kim described his success at work with pride. For the past few months, they had been visiting her grave very often, as her uncle had died of heart attack earlier. Kim assumed that it could be due to the sadness and loneliness that once engulfed Joey that killed him.
For years, Joey never had friends close enough for her to confine her feelings and thoughts with. At least, she is now satisfy that she could have friends who are willing to share their feelings with her, although she could no longer hear them. Kim and Yvonne, having witnessed how sadness and loneliness could be so devastating, now treasure all the times they had.
Leaves start to fall as they depart for home. Kim bends forward to look at Joey one last time. The photograph on her grave seems to be smiling. It will be another few months before they will visit her again.