I was as usual sulking and up to much naught to attract my mother's and granny's attention. I had messed up some of the empty tins that my mother and granny had collected for making the "sticky gooey glutinous cake' for Chinese New Year. I took them and made do as cooking utensils in my game of "House" with my imaginary friend. I put sand and leaves into them and pretended to cook in them.
As I was being reprimanded, I saw Ah Peng across my house. She had walked all the way from her new house with her younger sister. I could hear her granny yelling at her, scolding her for making the trip there. I ran out to greet her. Both of us chatted incessantly and at the end of the conversation, it was finalised that I would follow her home later. My mother permitted me because she did not know when she could have time to bring me there. She made me promise that I was not to go anywhere except her house.
I was truly happy that day. As the three of us headed towards Ah Peng's house, we talked , teased and played with each other. There was not much traffic those days and it was very safe for us to walk on the roads. It was a long walk and I half wished that I had not wanted to come. I kept on asking Ah Peng and her sister whether their house was near yet and they kept pulling my legs. I was very angry at one point when they played a trick on me. At a junction, there was a small convenience store at which Ah Peng pulled a trick on me. She made me believe that it was her father's store and the extended back portion was her home. She made me run towards it and because I was so tired , I wanted to quickly find a place to sit down. When I reached the shop, I saw an unfamiliar scowling face. The man at the store asked if I wanted to buy something and he looked so fierce that I was too scared to speak. I could hear the two girls laughing behind me.
If you make fun of me, I am going to walk home now, by myself. I don't want ever to come to your house again. Seeing that I was hurt, the two girls quickly apologised and suggested to race to their house which was within sight. I was very happy to see it. Finally we were in the house, panting breathlessly after running up the slope. Don't bother to take off your slippers, Ah Peng said as I was about to remove my slippers. At that point I realised that the floor was the same as the ground outside except that it was drier, more compact and smoother. I felt odd because I would definitely be scolded by Ah Peng's granny if she ever spotted my dirty feet when I was in her house . Ah Peng announced that she was going to cook dinner. Very cleverly, she measured the amount of rice she needed to cook and she poured into the big pot the measured amount, washed and then put the pot over the fire which she had very quickly made in the very primitive looking stove. I observed how she had made the fire. I was full of admiration for her. It was no wonder my mother used to sing praises of her. My mum used to say that I could not measure up to her. She was seven and could do many household chores. When the pot of rice was boiling, she took out some of the burning wood and put into another hole of the concrete fire place(stove) and over this fire, she placed a wok. After that she closed with a lid the pot of rice, which had stopped boiling but instead it was just simmering, and told me that in a while, the rice would be ready. How clever! I tagged along with her as I observed her ' performing her feats'. The wok was getting hot and Ah Peng summoned me to get seven eggs from the basket nearby. Quick, quick, she said and I darted to the basket to get the eggs, hoping to be as useful as I could be. Ah Peng started to fry all seven of the eggs and after they were done, she poured some soy sauce on them.
The girls announced that they were going to take their baths. Do I want to follow them? Where? I asked. They brought me to the front of their house and pointed to somewhere below their house. I saw a pond and a well nearby. How? I asked again. They explained and as they did so, they tried to control their giggles. What? You mean, I had to bathe there semi-naked. Out there in the open, where there may be someone passing by any time. No, I said as I surveyed the place and I could see there was always someone walking past the place. Don't you have a bathroom? Where do your mummy and daddy bathe? Oh yes, of course we have one but it is so troublesome to carry water in the pail and climb up here. Sorry, I am not going to bathe there. It is okay, I will bathe when I get home. Just as I said that, Ah Peng's mother came in and she was happy to see me. Oh , no, how can you go to bed without taking a bath? Ah Peng, go and carry a pail of water for your friend and put it in the bathroom.
Ah Peng obeyed her mother. She took a big pail and went down to the well. I saw her taking water from the well and filling up the big pail with water. She was a genius, and what really moved me that day was Ah Peng carried that heavy pail of water from all the way down there to the bathroom. At some points she almost slipped and fell but tough as she was, she just laughed it off. I felt so uneasy to see her struggle with that pail of water. As I washed myself with the water Ah Peng had carried for me, I felt so sorry for Ah Peng. I never had to do such difficult tasks and even though the water was very cold, I did not dare breathe a word about it.
While I was having my bath in the makeshift bathroom which had a lot of gaps and holes, I could hear the two girls squealing and laughing from the well. They seemed to be having a lot of fun. When I was dressed into one of Ah Peng's pyjamas, there was laughter again and the other siblings who were back from work or neighbours' houses were already busy preparing themselves for dinner. Ah Peng's brother was getting the kerosene lamp ready and her mother was busy cooking some more dishes. She was happy that Ah Peng had got the rice cooked and the eggs fried. I saw on the table that Ah Peng had prepared my bowl of rice and her mother told us to start eating. Though the dishes were simple, consisting of fried eggs, fried long beans and fried 'choy sam', it was the most delicious meal I ever had. After dinner, we sat on the mats laid on the floor. Now and then, I could see a gecko or two running across the floor but I tried not to show my fear of the animals. There was also the croaking of frogs in full gusto from the pond down the slope and the sound was so loud that night that Ah Peng's mother was very sure that it was going to rain. True enough, it rained cats and dogs that night. Ah Peng and her siblings ran to the kitchen all together as if cast by a spell. I was baffled but soon realised that they were running to get some pots and pans to collect water that was dripping from certain parts of the roof. Soon, there was an orchestra producing the strangest piece of music I had ever heard. Very tactfully, I sat down without making a fuss, hoping they had not noticed my very surprised look.
We proceeded to play a game of 'Shadows'. We used our fingers and hands to form shapes of animals-the usual dog, rabbit, bird or snake shapes, laughing hysterically as we played. Ah Peng's mother had to tell us to lower our voices . All of us had to almost shout when we talked to each other because of the loud noise the zinc roofs made as the rain beat down on them. I noticed Ah Peng's father and two elder brothers were not back yet. Ah Peng told me that they had to work outstation and would be back only at the end of the week. We were told not to drink too much water before we went to sleep. Nobody liked getting up in the middle of the dark night to go to the toilet. It was pitch black outside. Everybody had to go to bed early. We continued to talk as we laid on the bed and before long, one after another fell asleep in the quietness and darkness.
As I was being reprimanded, I saw Ah Peng across my house. She had walked all the way from her new house with her younger sister. I could hear her granny yelling at her, scolding her for making the trip there. I ran out to greet her. Both of us chatted incessantly and at the end of the conversation, it was finalised that I would follow her home later. My mother permitted me because she did not know when she could have time to bring me there. She made me promise that I was not to go anywhere except her house.
I was truly happy that day. As the three of us headed towards Ah Peng's house, we talked , teased and played with each other. There was not much traffic those days and it was very safe for us to walk on the roads. It was a long walk and I half wished that I had not wanted to come. I kept on asking Ah Peng and her sister whether their house was near yet and they kept pulling my legs. I was very angry at one point when they played a trick on me. At a junction, there was a small convenience store at which Ah Peng pulled a trick on me. She made me believe that it was her father's store and the extended back portion was her home. She made me run towards it and because I was so tired , I wanted to quickly find a place to sit down. When I reached the shop, I saw an unfamiliar scowling face. The man at the store asked if I wanted to buy something and he looked so fierce that I was too scared to speak. I could hear the two girls laughing behind me.
If you make fun of me, I am going to walk home now, by myself. I don't want ever to come to your house again. Seeing that I was hurt, the two girls quickly apologised and suggested to race to their house which was within sight. I was very happy to see it. Finally we were in the house, panting breathlessly after running up the slope. Don't bother to take off your slippers, Ah Peng said as I was about to remove my slippers. At that point I realised that the floor was the same as the ground outside except that it was drier, more compact and smoother. I felt odd because I would definitely be scolded by Ah Peng's granny if she ever spotted my dirty feet when I was in her house . Ah Peng announced that she was going to cook dinner. Very cleverly, she measured the amount of rice she needed to cook and she poured into the big pot the measured amount, washed and then put the pot over the fire which she had very quickly made in the very primitive looking stove. I observed how she had made the fire. I was full of admiration for her. It was no wonder my mother used to sing praises of her. My mum used to say that I could not measure up to her. She was seven and could do many household chores. When the pot of rice was boiling, she took out some of the burning wood and put into another hole of the concrete fire place(stove) and over this fire, she placed a wok. After that she closed with a lid the pot of rice, which had stopped boiling but instead it was just simmering, and told me that in a while, the rice would be ready. How clever! I tagged along with her as I observed her ' performing her feats'. The wok was getting hot and Ah Peng summoned me to get seven eggs from the basket nearby. Quick, quick, she said and I darted to the basket to get the eggs, hoping to be as useful as I could be. Ah Peng started to fry all seven of the eggs and after they were done, she poured some soy sauce on them.
The girls announced that they were going to take their baths. Do I want to follow them? Where? I asked. They brought me to the front of their house and pointed to somewhere below their house. I saw a pond and a well nearby. How? I asked again. They explained and as they did so, they tried to control their giggles. What? You mean, I had to bathe there semi-naked. Out there in the open, where there may be someone passing by any time. No, I said as I surveyed the place and I could see there was always someone walking past the place. Don't you have a bathroom? Where do your mummy and daddy bathe? Oh yes, of course we have one but it is so troublesome to carry water in the pail and climb up here. Sorry, I am not going to bathe there. It is okay, I will bathe when I get home. Just as I said that, Ah Peng's mother came in and she was happy to see me. Oh , no, how can you go to bed without taking a bath? Ah Peng, go and carry a pail of water for your friend and put it in the bathroom.
Ah Peng obeyed her mother. She took a big pail and went down to the well. I saw her taking water from the well and filling up the big pail with water. She was a genius, and what really moved me that day was Ah Peng carried that heavy pail of water from all the way down there to the bathroom. At some points she almost slipped and fell but tough as she was, she just laughed it off. I felt so uneasy to see her struggle with that pail of water. As I washed myself with the water Ah Peng had carried for me, I felt so sorry for Ah Peng. I never had to do such difficult tasks and even though the water was very cold, I did not dare breathe a word about it.
While I was having my bath in the makeshift bathroom which had a lot of gaps and holes, I could hear the two girls squealing and laughing from the well. They seemed to be having a lot of fun. When I was dressed into one of Ah Peng's pyjamas, there was laughter again and the other siblings who were back from work or neighbours' houses were already busy preparing themselves for dinner. Ah Peng's brother was getting the kerosene lamp ready and her mother was busy cooking some more dishes. She was happy that Ah Peng had got the rice cooked and the eggs fried. I saw on the table that Ah Peng had prepared my bowl of rice and her mother told us to start eating. Though the dishes were simple, consisting of fried eggs, fried long beans and fried 'choy sam', it was the most delicious meal I ever had. After dinner, we sat on the mats laid on the floor. Now and then, I could see a gecko or two running across the floor but I tried not to show my fear of the animals. There was also the croaking of frogs in full gusto from the pond down the slope and the sound was so loud that night that Ah Peng's mother was very sure that it was going to rain. True enough, it rained cats and dogs that night. Ah Peng and her siblings ran to the kitchen all together as if cast by a spell. I was baffled but soon realised that they were running to get some pots and pans to collect water that was dripping from certain parts of the roof. Soon, there was an orchestra producing the strangest piece of music I had ever heard. Very tactfully, I sat down without making a fuss, hoping they had not noticed my very surprised look.
We proceeded to play a game of 'Shadows'. We used our fingers and hands to form shapes of animals-the usual dog, rabbit, bird or snake shapes, laughing hysterically as we played. Ah Peng's mother had to tell us to lower our voices . All of us had to almost shout when we talked to each other because of the loud noise the zinc roofs made as the rain beat down on them. I noticed Ah Peng's father and two elder brothers were not back yet. Ah Peng told me that they had to work outstation and would be back only at the end of the week. We were told not to drink too much water before we went to sleep. Nobody liked getting up in the middle of the dark night to go to the toilet. It was pitch black outside. Everybody had to go to bed early. We continued to talk as we laid on the bed and before long, one after another fell asleep in the quietness and darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment