His mother despised the way he had lost his hard earned money at the gambling dens. Hoping to strike it rich, instead he landed himself in an even deeper rut, never able to jump out of it. Utterly sickened by her son's insensitivity to the hardship the rest of the family was going through, she wailed as she lamented on her fate. Widowed at the age of just over forty-five, she had hoped her twenty- seven year old son would take charge of the family now, after getting him married recently to a young girl from her homeland in Guangzhou.
On seeing that there was no reply from the son except for a grunt as he laid there on the hard bed dozing off, she resorted to her 'lethal weaponry', definitely effective as assured by her closest of friends. Her new daughter-in-law was away in the kitchen to get warm water to clean her husband's feet. Quickly, she blurted out what was in her mind all that day. "Sang, if you think that taking care of this family is such a big deal, I will just have to think of another way. Uncle Kong had had on many occasions extended his help and wanted me to join his family. He needed a woman to take care of his family after Auntie Kong left this world last year. He is still waiting for my answer."
It was complete silence for a while. Even the kitchen was as quiet as a cemetery. Sang's wife must have heard all that had been transpired and must have been too shocked or stunned for she did not come out with the warm water. Then, the once motionless body stirred, tossed violently to the right and then to the left, as if showing his indignance to what his mother had just said. Suddenly, there was a loud growl which made everyone jumped. Ah Ong, Sang's youngest seven year old brother, cried as he knew something bad was going to happen. It was the first time he saw his much adored brother acting this way. "Why, why are you acting like that? Are you mad?" scolded the elderly lady as she pacified her youngest son. "Look what you have done to your little brother!"
The body on the hard wooden bed laid still again. There was no more sound. As the hour was quite late, his mother retired to her own bedroom, coaxing the younger boy to stop crying and promising him something the next day. The young wife came out after the commotion died down, pretending not to have heard anything. After wiping her husband's feet clean, she too climbed up on to the wooden bed to sleep beside him. Soon, there was almost complete silence in the hut except for the smacking sound from the geckos and the distant songs of the frogs.
On seeing that there was no reply from the son except for a grunt as he laid there on the hard bed dozing off, she resorted to her 'lethal weaponry', definitely effective as assured by her closest of friends. Her new daughter-in-law was away in the kitchen to get warm water to clean her husband's feet. Quickly, she blurted out what was in her mind all that day. "Sang, if you think that taking care of this family is such a big deal, I will just have to think of another way. Uncle Kong had had on many occasions extended his help and wanted me to join his family. He needed a woman to take care of his family after Auntie Kong left this world last year. He is still waiting for my answer."
It was complete silence for a while. Even the kitchen was as quiet as a cemetery. Sang's wife must have heard all that had been transpired and must have been too shocked or stunned for she did not come out with the warm water. Then, the once motionless body stirred, tossed violently to the right and then to the left, as if showing his indignance to what his mother had just said. Suddenly, there was a loud growl which made everyone jumped. Ah Ong, Sang's youngest seven year old brother, cried as he knew something bad was going to happen. It was the first time he saw his much adored brother acting this way. "Why, why are you acting like that? Are you mad?" scolded the elderly lady as she pacified her youngest son. "Look what you have done to your little brother!"
The body on the hard wooden bed laid still again. There was no more sound. As the hour was quite late, his mother retired to her own bedroom, coaxing the younger boy to stop crying and promising him something the next day. The young wife came out after the commotion died down, pretending not to have heard anything. After wiping her husband's feet clean, she too climbed up on to the wooden bed to sleep beside him. Soon, there was almost complete silence in the hut except for the smacking sound from the geckos and the distant songs of the frogs.
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