A newcomer in the form of a sophisticated lady with lacquered nails and a made-up face, shifted into the house a few doors away from mine, and for some time, I could see a few women in the neighbourhood mysteriously gathering in the midst of their household chores to discuss or rather gossip about her. I had a few glimpses of her when I walked past her house while I was running errands for my mum or grandma. She was hardly seen outside her house and most of the time her front door was kept half opened.
Nine out ten times that I saw her, she was still clad in her pyjamas and her hair still in curlers though the midday sun was already high above our heads. Her face always had make up on when I saw her. Her lips would be painted the brightest red, almost like scarlet, which made them looked even thicker, and that made many of the other women say unpleasant things behind her back. I would see them bending and rocking their bodies as they guffawed. What is so funny about thick red lips, I used to wonder. I could not understand what they were laughing about. Later, I realised it was not how she looked because she really looked very attractive, but it was the way she purposely did things to attract the opposite sex. A few men in the neighbourhood were so ‘mesmerised’ by her that their wives literally had to pinch their ears for ogling.
One day, I chanced to see a girl of my age coming out from the newcomer’s house. She was a pretty girl. She had long straight hair, the longest hair I had ever seen. From that day on, I vowed that I would never have my hair cut short. I wanted to have long hair like hers. She smiled at me but did not make an attempt to speak to me. Not the type to break the ice, I merely waved my little hand to her and smiled. She went in quickly when a voice summoned her, so quickly that I could not even have time to open my mouth to say anything. I was later told that she was the daughter of the much talked about lady.
A few days had passed and most of the things that happened concerning the newcomer did not slipped the attention of the other women in the neighbourhood. One late evening, a big impressive looking car was seen parked in front of her house. Its engine was running and a smart looking man came out. Not long after that, the lady came out dressed in the most stunning attire I had ever seen and I could see the eyes of the other women nearly popped out of their heads. The newcomer was going to work in a bar not far away. It was newly opened in one of the shop-houses.
Just after dinner, when everybody came out of their houses to chat and enjoy the cool night air, Sam Koo, who was the newcomer’s next door neighbour, walked all the way from her house to carry some of her tales. She had such a funny way of relating her stories that hilarious laughter could be heard from the group of ladies listening intently to her. Now and then, I could see her getting up on her feet to demonstrate some movements, which I learnt later that they were actually dance steps of the newcomer whom Sam Koo saw while she was practising them at home.
A few months after the newcomer had shifted into the neighbourhood, I became friends with Ah Eng who was her daughter. She went to the same primary school that I was attending. She was quite polite and hardworking too. I could see that she had very neat school work. As days went by, our friendship blossomed and I felt very bad when the other women gossiped behind her mother’s back. I used to purposely interrupt their conversation by giving them a false alarm. Sometimes I would just say the water had been boiling in their kitchen or someone’s child had just awakened from the hammock or something like that. Of course, as time went by, the other women also found out about Ah Eng and how well she performed at school. That shut their mouths a little.
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