James Bond and Pontianak at Tea...

...In other words, a chapter from my second manuscript, Blind, Deaf.  I'm going to change the game a bit.  Instead of showcasing consecutive chapters after chapter 4 , I'll be posting a random chapter.  The one I just picked happens to be a favorite of mine.  Why?  Three reasons: it gives an angle why Amelia is a feisty girl.  Second, the setting for this chapter is modeled after my late grandma's house.  The structure still stands on Jalan Tengku Puteri, Straits View, Johor Bahru.  It holds many happy memories for me and I hope the kids who attend the Montessori School there are fond of the place.  Third, weird as it may seem but I have James Bond and Pontianak thrown in for tea. (Read on, OK?)

Chapter 15 is long and I've broken it into three segments.  I'll be updating my blog in the next few days with parts two and three.  In the meantime, here's the first part - the world according to the young Amelia...

Ylang ylang flowers.  My grandma, Tok Wan Tik, used to have such plant at her house.  She used the flowers to perfume her sanggul(Malay version of a chignon).

Chapter 15

Tok Min’s Favorite Grandchild

I wasn’t expecting company when we returned to Tok Min’s house one afternoon.  At the entrance, beside Dijah’s creaky bike – a hand-me-down from our aunt – I spotted some clues: a pair of size 6 cream colored court shoes and two pairs of sandals of different sizes.  I wondered who their owners were.  Dijah and I slipped off our flipflops at the stoop.  One must remove shoes prior to entering any Malay home.  It’s a standing culture preventing kids from soiling the floor with the muck they picked up outside.  Dijah and I let ourselves into our grandma's place.  The front door was always left unlocked for our return.  Entering straight into the carpeted living area, we found nobody there. Yet, strains of an unfamiliar voice floated from the dining room.

‘Visitor!’  Dijah stated excitedly.  I knew what that meant.  One, Dijah didn't see those shoes.  Two, good stuff for tea!

Full of curiosity, I turned to my cousin.  ‘Are we expecting company, Sis Dijah?’ 

She shrugged.  ‘Let’s head to the dining room and say hello to the visitor.’

‘I wonder who they are.'  Dijah appeared confused and I told her about the shoes.  'I guess there’s one woman and perhaps two other persons,’ I added.

‘Tok Min’s friends, perhaps?’  Dijah suggested. 

‘Maybe.’

Dijah enthusiastically grabbed my left hand.  ‘Come on slow poke, let’s go now before we miss all the good food.’

‘You go right ahead.  I need to freshen up and I’ll meet you there.’

Dijah puckered in dismay.  ‘But you have to come with me.  Uncle Abas specifically made me promise not to let you out of my sight.’

‘Only when we’re taking a walk, Sis Dijah.  We’re at grandma’s now, so babysitting me here doesn’t count, Miss Kaypoh.’

Dijah released my hand.  She flung me a glare.  Kaypoh – busybody – wasn't her favorite nickname.  The diva, unhappy of a missed opportunity to manage me, stomped her way to the dining room. I went the opposite direction, to Tok Min’s room, and entered her bathroom.  The afternoon walk around Straits View with my cousin had made me sweat a bit.  I splashed some water on my face.  A thin layer of dust on my skin was washed away.  I dabbed my wet face dry with a towel.  Next, I padded to my grandma’s vanity table to check out my reflection in the mirror.  My hair was untidy.  I picked up Tok Min’s hair brush and began dealing with my long tresses.  Tok Min sometimes would brush my hair if it was out of place.  She always advised me, in English, contrary to what people her age would prefer to converse in, to look presentable.  She reminded her favorite grandchild a lady shouldn't have her hair flying around.  Tok Min didn't want me to look like a Pontianak – the local female vampire who, besides sucking her victim’s blood, is infamous for her long and very messy hair. 

‘But I’m not a lady yet, Tok Min,’ came my standard refrain to Tok Min’s opinion.

‘One day you’ll be.  When the time comes, you’ll be thankful you look well brought up for your Prince Charming.’  Tok Min let out a small chortle.  ‘You were always wishing for your own Prince Charming from the moment you first read your fairy tale.’

‘It’ll come true, right Tok Min?  Someday, right?’

‘Child, if you believe hard enough, it’ll come true.   In the meantime Amelia, you have no excuse to appear like a Pontianak,’ responded Tok Min as she straightened my unruly hair.

Remembering the usual exchange between me and my grandma always made me content.  Once satisfied with my reflection, I set the brush back in place.  About to leave the room, I caught the porcelain bowl on her vanity table. I picked the bowl up.  Ylang ylang flowers – some yellow, some wilted to a dark brown – and small bits of bark from a cinnamon tree resided in it.  The mixture was steeped in coconut oil.  I closed my eyes prior to inhaling the scent. A smile appeared on my lips before I opened my eyes.  I thought how amazing it was to have a grandma who loved to make her own perfume. She would dab a bit of the oil on her skin every morning.  I could picture her as she did it.  Dabs behind her ears.  A touch on the back of each wrist.  A light caress on every ankle.  A wonderful trail of sweetness followed her everywhere. 

After placing the bowl where it belonged, I headed to the dining area.  When I entered the room, there were already nine people there. Tok Min occupied the seat at the head of the teak, dining table.  How strange, I thought.  She had changed into a kebaya.  When my family arrived at her house hours ago, she was in a plain long tunic and batik sarong.  Uncle Halim – Dijah’s father, my father, my mother, Auntie Mas – Dijah’s mother and Dijah were seated facing me.  The remainders were three visitors whose backs were toward me.  Tok Min was the first to spot my arrival.  To my wonderment, she proudly announced in English to everyone: ‘She is here.’  Tok Min beckoned me to her side.  As I ambled to the table, I thought the boys – one tall and thin, the other short and stumpy – beside the lady visitor seemed familiar.

Once close enough to Tok Min’s side, one of the visitors’ faces came into my view.  Next to my grandma sat a cheongsam-clad woman.  Her hair was done up in a bun.  Her facial features were elegant.  She carried herself well.   She wasn’t too fat nor too thin, too short nor too tall.  She was just right, like the porridge Goldilocks took from the bears.  She gave me a kindly smile.  I thought she wouldn’t simply be called attractive.  In my fairy tale, she was a queen – beautiful, gentle but marred by a scar.  The flaw, from the corner of her left eye to the edge of her left cheek, was carefully hidden by a hint of makeup.  On first sight, I knew the source of Ruo Li’s good looks.  And his large eyes were unmistakably from his mother. The way the woman carried herself – noble and full of good breeding – reminded me of the lovely, poised Chinese models in their tailored cheongsams and beautiful parasols in the vintage Chinese calendars.

Tok Min called me.  ‘Say hello to Auntie Wong.’  

I dutifully obeyed Tok Min.  How odd, I mused, that my grandma talked in English in front of a large group.  I studied how remarkable the smiling lady visitor was.   I couldn’t glimpse the boys’ faces as the boys were hidden by her right side.

Auntie Wong gushed, ‘So this is Amelia.’  She turned to my parents. ‘What a pretty girl you have here!’  My parents expressed their appreciation for her remark.  Ibu, my mother, responded in kind, complimenting Auntie Wong her sons were very well behaved.  Auntie Wong seemed a bit embarrassed and daintily laughed.  ‘Only when they are visitors or when we have visitors at home,’ she said.  The Chinese lady focused her attention to me.  ‘You surely know my two boys…Ruo Li.’  The lady nudged her son and briefly made hand signs to her son.  As she explained to all Ruo Li was the elder of her sons, he poked his head out from the lady’s right side and smiled his hello to me.  I returned the same token to him.  Auntie Wong soon mentioned Ah Fei’s name.  Still, the other boy didn’t show himself to me.  He was hiding behind Ruo Li.  When the tall boy leaned in closer to the table to allow his brother to come into my view, the rascal leaned in, too.  He was acting as if he were Ruo Li’s shadow.  Perhaps he was pretending to play hide and seek with me.

‘Jian Fei… Jian Fei, say hello to Amelia...Jian Fei!’ 

The last call – a scolding – stopped his tomfoolery.  He leaned in and exposed his pearly whites to me in a quick grin.  ‘Woi!’ he blurted.  My jaw dropped on taking in his new orthodontic work.  Remembering my manners, I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.  I couldn’t help giggling; Ah Fei and his braces reminded me of the villain with steel teeth in one of James Bond’s movies.  Catching my reaction, he skulked back into his seat. 

Tok Min asked me to occupy the empty spot beside my annoyed friend.  I assumed the seat.   Auntie Mas from across the table motioned for my empty teacup.  I slid it and its saucer to her.  My aunt poured tea into the cup and handed everything back to me.  Dijah caught my attention with her fake coughs.  The moment we locked gazes, Dijah slyly grinned then pouted toward the boys while still eyeing her cousin.  How irritating she could be!