***
They moved to Ampang, an area that had developed beyond recognition from the days when her father, then still a coolie, bought his first house. Rohani professed that her happiest days were spent there.
Shao Peng ran a hand over the teak console, the wood smooth and warm beneath her fingers. She sighed with happiness at all that she saw around her. She loved her little house. Perhaps happiness was infectious, she thought. She was happy, so happy that she could not believe such joy was possible. Everything was perfect except ... Shao Peng sighed and turned to Aishah who was trailing behind her. “From tomorrow, I have to return to work. I shall try to come home before Master. There will be some days, however, when I will not be able to do so. So on those days I’ll have to leave you to look after him. Shall we go through the things you have to do?”
From under her eyelids, Aishah stole a quick glance at her Mistress. She averted her gaze before Shao Peng could notice and looked down again.
“Ask me if you don’t understand,” said Shao Peng kindly, thinking that the girl was not saying much because she was either shy or didn’t comprehend. They moved from room to room with Shao Peng detailing what needed to be done, finally ending in the little anteroom next to the master bedroom. It had been converted into a shower room. A bucket tied to a rope was hung high up. The rope was released to allow the bucket to descend and dip into a large tub of water that stood on the floor and was then pulled up towards the ceiling until it caught. A tiny jerk would allow the bucket to tip over and water to cascade down. The water would run off between the floorboards to the ground below.
“Make sure that the tub is full so that Master can bathe when he comes home from work. Also make sure that you mix two buckets of hot water into the tub. Otherwise the water will be too cold. This is an experiment. Master is not used to ladling water and sluicing it over himself.” Shao Peng smiled to herself. She had thought the bucket shower a strange idea when it was so much easier to just ladle water over one’s body to wash.
Aishah said little as she followed her mistress around. It bothered Shao Peng that the girl was so quiet so she took both the girl’s hands in hers. “If you need anything, if you have any problems at all, please tell me.”
“Semuanya baik, everything is fine.” Aishah replied softly. She moved her hand away. “I know what to do. I have looked after Master before.”
“Well then, I shall leave you to it.” Shao Peng was pleased to have elicited a response at last from Aishah. “I am going to read up for tomorrow,” she said and, turning to give Aishah an encouraging smile, walked away to the little study next to the sitting room.
Aishah stood still looking at Shao Peng’s departing figure. Then she went to the rear of the house and out through the back door and then down the flight of steps to the kitchen. Her room adjoined the kitchen. She slipped into her room and sat on her bed. She stared out of her window into the backyard. A tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away.
Chapter 19
THE AIR RESONATED with the buzz of insects. It was as though everything contrived to drive her mad with boredom. Venting her anger, Li Ling kicked a stone and watched it fly and fall midway into the river. Not satisfied, she kicked again, digging the toes of her sandal deep into the mud to dislodge another stone to hurl across the river. Water splashed up, its muddy brown sludge spattering onto the shirt of a young man walking by.
“Heh! You!” he shouted. Before he could say any more, Li Ling ran. She ran as fast as she could back to the school. She was supposed to be attending the vegetables in the school’s backyard. This was one of her responsibilities during weekends and she begrudged doing it. There was nothing she was happy with at the school. She was not interested in learning. She did not like the other children. She had nothing in common with them. They were much younger than her. In her eyes, they were mere infants playing childish games and talking silly things that were beneath her. She resented having to work with Lai Ma and Jing-jing. Shao Peng had promised her that she need not work. Feeling cheated, she took it out on the two women. She barely spoke to anyone. By confining herself to herself, she grew even more miserable and resentful. She had not seen Siew Loong since she left the house. Only he, she felt, was genuinely kind to her. She blamed Shao Peng for building up her hopes and dashing them as sharply as they had been raised. When she learnt of Shao Peng’s marriage, she became even more resentful.
“All those promises she made me! She forgot all of them She said I was to be her sister. Such empty words! I was not even invited to her wedding. I would have been able to see young Master if I had gone,” she grumbled.
She took up a can and began walking along the paths between the vegetable beds. Her attempts to water the plants were desultory. She could not stop thinking of that morning when she brought Siew Loong his breakfast. She replayed in her mind every gesture, every word he said to her. Her hands still tingled from his touch when he took them in his and bade her farewell. He had reserved his attention for her and her alone, she thought. She loved the young Master and the Mistress had deliberately separated her from him. Shao Peng had connived with her stepmother in this.
Lai Ma watched from the kitchen window. She shook her head with despair. Li Ling was wasting the chance to better herself with learning. The sisters complained that she took no notice of the lessons. She had changed from the frightened girl that boarded the ship to a surly young woman who thought she was better than others. Unable to stand the way Li Ling was treating the plants, she rushed out and grabbed the can of water from the girl.
“I’ll do it. Look! You have trodden on the vegetables. You should look where you are walking. Why can’t you do a simple thing like this? I just don’t understand why Miss Shao Peng thinks so highly of you. She is coming this afternoon and she has asked specifically to see you. So try to be a bit more amiable.”
“She is not Miss Shao Peng, she is Mrs Webster. I want nothing to do with her.”
***
They did not realise they were being watched.
Da Wei had hurried after the girl who ran like a deer when he shouted. He saw her push open a gate and disappear behind it. He was livid. He did not appreciate being splattered with mud, and certainly when he yelled at her, he expected at least an apology.
He circumvented the fence and found a gap between two planks that had been hastily put together. He peered through the gap. He saw her. Up until then, he had not had a proper look at the girl. He smiled. She was beautiful, he thought. He must certainly get to know her. He was about to find a way to clamber up the fence when he saw an older woman come out. There was an exchange of words and then he saw the girl slip away.
***
“Why doesn’t she want to see me? asked Shao Peng. I brought her new clothes and books. Reverend Mother told me that she is not interested in reading. So I brought her books with pictures and words hoping that they might whet her appetite for reading. I was planning to spend some time with her on these.”
Shao Peng placed the pile of books and clothes on the table. She was exhausted. She sat down and looked forlornly at the doorway, hoping that Li Ling would appear. She had made a special effort to visit. Torn between Rohani’s demands that she help out with Suet Ping, her promise to assist her brother and her work at the Convent, she had been going home later and later. Jack had lamented that he hardly saw her.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with Li Ling,” replied Lai Ma. “Give her time. She might come around. I think she wants to stay with you in the big house. In any case, she can’t do it because you are married and have your own home. She is a selfish and wilful girl.” Lai Ma hesitated. She was not sure whether she should say it but she couldn’t hold her tongue. “I think you have spoiled her too much, Miss Shao Peng.”
“I might have. I remembered how hard it was for me to leave my home in China and come here to an unknown land. I felt sorry for her. I was planning that she could come to me once I am more settled.”
Lai Ma nodde
d sympathetically. “Stay here for a moment. I’ll try to persuade her to come out of her room.”
Minutes passed. Lai Ma came back. She shook her head. “I knocked and knocked on her door. She wouldn’t answer. Leave her be. Leave her to her tantrums.”
Shao Peng got up. “Tell her these are for her, will you?” she said, handing the books and clothes to Lai Ma. “I hope she will like them. I will be coming tomorrow to help with the classes. Perhaps she will talk to me then. Now I have to go to my brother’s house. Miss Suet Ping is there and I have promised to visit.”
“Is ... is she the intended for young Master?”
Shao Peng did not reply. She realised her answer would be relayed from one to the other. She pretended not to hear. Li Ling, however, heard. She had had her ears plastered to the adjoining wall and had strained to listen to the conversation between the two women. Hearing the name of Suet Ping reaffirmed her belief. Her heart hardened further against Shao Peng.
Chapter 20
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Da Wei went to the riverbank to wait for Li Ling. He did not know if she would be there; he went anyway. He had spoken to people and made many enquiries. They were too happy to tell him. Not everyone was pleased about the school. For some it was another foreign idea that would lead to false aspirations. From the local grapevine, he was able to piece together a picture of Li Ling. He knew she was unhappy in the Convent. That would be his leverage. He learnt too that she often played truant, escaping from the confines of the classroom or the kitchen garden to come to the river. He was told she was often found just before dusk, sitting on a boulder by the twist of the riverbank.
He sauntered up and down the path. He was by nature impatient. Yet on this occasion, sensing success, he was patience itself. He looked around the neighbourhood, casting his eyes on the dwellings nearby. He marked out the various paths around the school building and took note of the front and back gates to the building. After a while, he hid himself amongst the long grasses by the wayside. A breeze picked up pace and the grass rustled, swaying and bending with the wind. He took no notice of them; his eyes were fixed ahead. Then a small smile appeared on his face. She had come.
Li Ling had hurried out of the house as soon as dinner was over. She could not stand a moment more of Lai Ma’s nagging and advice. Throughout the washing up in the kitchen, Lai Ma told her that she was lucky and that she should be grateful. Who is Lai Ma to tell me what to do, Li Ling thought; her eyes were fierce and her mouth petulant as she recalled the exchange with Lai Ma in the kitchen. She sat down on the boulder and took off her shoes. She dipped her feet into the river. The sun was sinking low into the horizon. She had about half an hour before she had to return to the Convent. She told Jing-jing she needed to finish some weeding in the kitchen garden. She knew no one would look for her if she stayed away for just that time. Resting both elbows on her knees she leaned forward and cupped her face with the upturned palms of her hands. She tried to catch an image of herself in the water. She did not hear Da Wei until he was standing behind her. Startled she turned and let out a gasp.
“I am sorry. Did I frighten you? I worry that you might fall into the river. You were leaning far too forward.”
She got up. “I have to go. Let me pass.”
“Of course.” He stepped aside to leave a passageway for her. “You might wish to put on your shoes first.” He pointed to her feet.
She looked down and saw her bare feet, blue with cold and still dripping from water because she had withdrawn them quickly. She blushed.
He bent down and retrieved the pair of shoes she had earlier carelessly cast aside. “Here,” he said, giving them to her.
She took it. Nonplussed, she stood unsure of what to do next. It seemed ungrateful to brush pass him as she had earlier intended. Yet, she was reluctant to thank him because after all he was intruding into what she considered her space.
“I often come here myself,” Da Wei volunteered, hoping to draw her into a conversation. “I live about a mile away. I come here to stroll and think after a day at work at my father’s store. We sell general merchandise. I manage it.”
Pretending nonchalance, she swept her eyes over Da Wei. He seemed harmless enough now that she had a closer look at his face. She thought him quite pleasant looking, and certainly not someone she needed to fear. He was clean-shaven and wore a smart blue jacket and matching loose trousers. Moreover, he said he was a manager. She relaxed.
Da Wei noticed the change in demeanour. He lowered himself on another outcrop of rock. He was careful not to get too close and alarm her. Without a word, he handed her his handkerchief and pointed to her wet feet.
“You can keep it. There are plenty where it came from. We sell all sorts of things. Clothes, handkerchiefs, food, toiletries...”
Li Ling’s curiosity was aroused. She took the handkerchief. She made no move to leave.
Da Wei searched into his pocket and fished out a mouth organ. He brought the instrument to his lips and he began to play. Li Ling was captivated by the way his lips moved, pursing and blowing into it. She recognised the tune. It was a love song that young women sang in China. She had heard it sung many times during harvests.
“Do you like music?” he asked pausing for a moment, his eyes flicking quickly over her.
She nodded.
“My name is Da Wei. What is yours?” He pretended he did not know.
“Li Ling,” she answered.
He picked up his mouth organ and played another tune. “This is for you. A pretty tune for a pretty girl. A merry tune to wipe the sadness from your face.”
When the tune finished, Li Ling got up. “I have to go. I will be missed.”
“I shall be here tomorrow,” he said. He took a fan and with a flick of his wrist he opened it. “Take it. Remember, I’ll be here.”
Hesitantly, she took it. It smelt sweet, of sandalwood. She smiled and their eyes met. No one had ever given her such a precious gift.
Li Ling hummed a tune all the way home. It was the tune played by Da Wei. She was flattered to be called pretty. She sniffed at the fan; its sweet scent gave her a sense of well-being. He was not handsome like her young master, she thought. Yet she was thrilled by the idea that he wanted to see her again.
***
Li Ling met up with Da Wei every evening. He showered her with gifts. It could be a pretty pair of hair slides, satin slippers, sugared plums or even sesame biscuits when he learnt that she liked them. She began to look forward to their rendezvous. She enjoyed the secrecy; she enjoyed the flattery; she felt special.
One evening when they were sitting together on a boulder, he slipped his arm around her waist. She froze. He felt her body become rigid and released his hold. He pretended that he had mistakenly touched her and that he was reaching for something behind them. He made no other move. Slowly she relaxed. They chatted. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, he moved closer, still talking and laughing. Suddenly without warning, he pushed her down and held her there. She opened her mouth to scream. He clamped her mouth shut with one hand, his body pinning her down on the ground. “You have teased me long enough,” he whispered. He brought his face down on hers. He kissed her, bruising her lips. He tried to prise her mouth open with his tongue. She twisted away. He hit her. She felt her face burn; her head fell back with a loud crack on the rock. He ripped her trousers. Then with one knee drawn up, he pushed her legs apart.
“Please, please, “ she begged. “Stop!”
He ignored her pleas. He pulled out a knife. “One cry from you and I shall kill you.” With the other hand, he pulled her up and dragged her into a bush. He pushed her down on the ground and fell on her. He tore open her blouse and grabbed her breasts. She struggled; he hit her again. Blood spurted out from her nose.
“You will learn to enjoy this and you will come again and again for more.” His face was flushed with excitement and his eyes were crazed like a drunk. He loosened his trouser drawstring; he let his trousers fall; then he paused, hovering abov
e her. “Look at me,” he said. “Look at me,” he repeated slapping her hard.
***
Later, much later, Li Ling sat up and gathered the remnant of the clothes that lay around her to cover herself. She got up slowly. Her legs were wobbly. Every bit of her body ached. She made her way to the river bank and washed. She scrubbed between her legs. Over and over again she scrubbed until her skin tingled. Then she put on her torn and tattered clothes and made her way back to the convent.
She stood outside for a while. The house was in darkness. She pushed open the back gate. Lai Ma and Jing-jing were not in. They had been recruited by Shao Peng to help out in the big house. Mistress Rohani was throwing an engagement party for the young master and his fiancée, Suet Ping.
At this time of the evening, she knew that the sisters would be praying in the small chapel towards the front of the building. Someone had left the kitchen door slightly ajar. She slid behind it and walked into the kitchen with bare feet. She tiptoed in the dark to her room. Once inside the room, she shed off her torn clothes and quickly changed. She bundled the garments and took them out to the garden shed. She hid them. She would dispose of them the next morning. Then she crept back into her room and crawled into the bed. She pulled the bedclothes over her face. Then she sobbed. She sobbed until she was hoarse.
“You come again here tomorrow. Tell anyone, and I’ll cut up your face.” His words rang over and over in her mind.
***
Da Wei went home in high spirits. He had succeeded as he had planned all along. He grinned. He was sure that Li Ling would do as he asked her. He had invested a lot of his time cultivating her trust. He should reward himself more than once, at least until he tired of her. Of that he was sure. They were all the same. They play hard to get initially. Once deflowered, they cling on like leeches.
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