A Flash of Water

by Chan Ling Yap

  “I know. Words cannot convey how sorry I am.”

  “Huh!” Her lips curled. “Let us get this over.” She was abrupt. Since the event, Ah Chu’s feelings towards Ah Sook had changed. She felt she had been exploited. She had not expected things to be as bad as they turned out to be. She thought that it would be a few slaps and pushes before Da Wei was intercepted. Her heart was heavy with guilt. She had sacrificed Huan for her own daughter.

  “I am afraid I have two small additional requests, not one.”

  “No!” She jumped up, wagging her finger. “You promised just one last request.”

  “Listen, it is not a big request. We’ll compensate you. I would like to bring a young girl here to lodge with you temporarily until we can find her a passage back to China. She is Li Ling, Da Wei’s wife. She too has suffered immeasurably under him. She is pregnant. It will have to be kept secret. Her in-laws do not wish to give up the child. She is with them right now.”

  “So how are you going to bring her here?”

  “I’ll take care of that.”

  Ah Chu thought for a while. “I make no promises. I shall have to think about it before I agree. What is your third request?”

  “I would like you to give me the address of a brothel in Singapore.”

  Ah Chu smiled, a contemptuous smile that made him cringe with embarrassment.

  “Any preferences?” She leered, sweeping her eyes over him from head to foot. “Have you been to the city? There are over two hundred public brothels in the city, somewhat less than the three-hundred-and-fifty odd some five years ago, though still a not inconsiderable number especially if you were to include the non-registered ones. Every street has them. There are well over three hundred illegal ones; some say four hundred even. I wouldn’t recommend those,” she smirked. “Too dangerous, not only because of diseases but also because of samsengs, gangsters that have no qualms if you cross them.”

  He shook his head sheepishly. “Legal ones,” he said lamely.

  Ah Chu sniffed again, pleased by his discomfort. She knew him as a family man. A family man indeed! She became openly contemptuous.

  “You have to be more specific if I am to help you. Brothels are ranked; pau chai for fire cracker activities, in and out and takes no more time for a firecracker to go, or do you prefer leisurely overnight stays? There are also those falling in between. So what do you want? As for the type of Ah Ku, they are those that are owned by the kwai poh and they are generally called daughters, or those called pong nin, young ones indentured to kwai poh, to pay off parents debts or tap tang, voluntary prostitutes, who work on their own but make use of the premise of a brothel. They might well differ in the services they provide.” She winked, her lips drawn back to reveal her teeth.

  He stared at her mouth. He counted taking note a missing tooth. He couldn’t speak.

  “You are presumably talking about Chinese brothels,” she said.

  She took measure of him. His face was craggy and thin, his hair grey and his moustache was just a shadow of what it had been when they first met. Yet there was vigour in his movement and his eyes were sharp. The old dog might still have some life in him, she thought in amusement. Suddenly another thought struck her. She wondered if he actually intended that Li Ling be sent to one and he was vetting them for that purpose. She did not believe his story about sending her back to China.

  He shook himself. “No! Uh ...Uh...”

  “You just have to be clearer.” She was enjoying his discomfort.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Ah Sook was getting more and more embarrassed. He realised that she was playing with him. In exasperation, he said: “Just give me a list of ten non-Chinese brothels.”

  Ah Chu eyes widened in surprise. Non-Chinese! She’d heard rumours. She kept them to herself. “What do I get in return?” she asked.

  ***

  “Go on then, beat me. See if I care.” Head jutted forward, teeth bared and with eyes sparking fire, Aishah spun round to face her mistress.

  They were in Aishah’s own room, situated beyond the kitchen and adjacent to that shared by Ah Sum and Ah Looi. Aishah had been confined there since the day Ah Tai and Ah Sook manhandled her away from Master Siew Loong. Worried as to what she might do, they had watched her like hawks.

  “And why would I do that?” Rohani tried to be reasonable. She softened her voice. “Haven’t we, I in particular, treated you well? I rescued you from your guardian. I could have sent you back to him; I didn’t because I care for your well being.”

  “Yes!” Aishah whirled and flung her arm out. “And subjected me to this imprisonment. I hate and despise you. Hypocrite! It is I who tried to help you. I do not know what I have done wrong. Wasn’t it you who wanted me to help your son’s marriage?”

  Rohani took a step back, shocked at the girl’s venom. “But not to seduce him! And certainly not to seduce my daughter-in-law!”

  Aishah’s laughter pealed across the room, like a slap on Rohani’s face. “Hypocrite!” she screamed. “Why are you shocked at something that is so natural? As for your pasty-faced daughter- in-law, no wonder Master does not want her. He wants me! If you had not barged in, he would have...”

  Rohani’s hand shot up. She slapped Aishah. In the next moment, she was contrite, sorry for her actions. She had not wished to do that. She had liked the girl, was fond of her, mistaking her for what she was not.

  Suddenly Aishah grabbed a stool and crashed it to the floor. She held its broken leg and thrust it towards Rohani. Rohani jumped back.

  “Mistress, mistress! Are you all right?” shouted the servants waiting outside the door. “Shall we come in?”

  “I am fine. Wait outside,” replied Rohani edging towards the door.

  “I am sorry,” she said to Aishah. She took a deep breath. She was sorry that it came to this, sorry that she lost her temper. She thought that she could talk sense into Aishah, make her change her mind, and see her errors. She was willing to give her another chance. But the girl was unstable. It was no use.

  Ah Sook had briefed her on his conversation with Aishah. She could not believe what he said. He told her that Aishah wanted to go to Singapore. She wanted to set herself up like her mother. That was the life she knew. That was the life she claimed would give her the freedom she wanted, to enjoy what she liked most, an occupation that would lead her to a man who would appreciate her and keep her like her mother had been kept. He had brought Rohani a list of brothels that catered to foreigners, Arab traders and Europeans. She fished it out of her pocket.

  “Ah Sook gave me this list. It is a list of brothels.”

  Aishah’s eyes lit up. She grabbed the piece of paper and then she returned it to Rohani. “I can’t read,” she said.

  “I’ll let Ah Sook speak to you. I came mainly to talk you out of pursuing this route. Here,” she said digging deep into her pocket again. She took a small pouch. “This is for you to set up on your own.” With that Rohani left the room, barely able to conceal her sadness. What had she done? she asked herself. All she had succeeded in doing was to alienate her son and made an enemy of one whom she had become fond of.

  Ah Sook came into the room immediately after his Mistress left. He held the piece of paper that Rohani had returned to him. Unlike his Mistress, he had no compunction about getting rid of Aishah and sending her away as far as possible. He did not bother with any preliminaries.

  “There are some sixteen brothels located in Kampong Glam, Jalan Sultan, Arab Street and Sheikh Madersah Lane in Singapore,” he said. “The ten in the list have been shortlisted. They take girls of other nationalities. They do not cater to the Chinese. I don’t have all their addresses. But there is one in Malay Street owned by someone called Miriam. She might be the most suitable. It is adjacent to North Bridge Road. It is registered. The other European houses in Victoria Street might not accept you, a local girl.”

  He eyed Aishah coldly.

  She smiled.

  Chapter 37

  “YOU LOOK
RESTED,” remarked Jack when he came through the open doorway. Behind him the sun sank low until it almost disappeared leaving just streaks of light peeking through the tree tops and spilling on to the garden. He closed the door, his hat in his hand. Smiling fondly at his wife, he made his way round to the back of her chair. He lowered his face until it was next to hers’. He could smell her scent, a warm sweet smell mingled with something unidentifiable which he associated with the baby.

  Shao Peng leaned into him and sank further into the cushions propped around her. She placed her hands round her belly and gave a satisfied sigh. “I am happy. I just got news that Li Ling is now safely settled with a lovely family who will care for her until the baby arrives. Ah Sook said that it would be dangerous for me to see her. It would arouse too much attention from her in-laws who do not know her whereabouts. He won’t let me have any details on how he arranged her escape. He won’t even tell me where she is now. I trust him though. He will do anything for our family and will do the best he can. Da Wei apparently is in prison. On top of it all, my stepmother sent me a message saying that my brother has finally come together with his wife Suet Ping. So at last, everything seems to be falling into place.”

  “Good! At last you can take a little rest and give the baby and yourself some time. I have been worried about you. We don’t have long to go before the baby arrives.”

  He had passed Ah Sook on the way home. Da Wei, he was told, had been badly beaten up. His arm was broken and his kneecap smashed. It was unlikely that he would receive treatment for his injuries. He wondered where he would be held. There were no proper facilities in the city for holding prisoners. A site for the construction of a prison had only been identified a week ago. He had gone to see it with the Kapitan. It was a former Chinese burial ground set in a dense jungle area where tigers still prowled. The building of the prison would be slow. Large tracts of the surrounding jungle had still to be cleared. Until then, prison camps would be makeshift. Prisons were not generally used. Instead, capital punishment was meted out. It was more economical and was felt to be a better deterrent to crime. He didn’t think that Da Wei would be imprisoned. It was more likely that he would be given the death penalty. He was not going to say anything to Shao Peng.

  He patted her shoulders and straightened up. He could feel her bones; they were delicate like a sparrow’s. He ran his finger along the deep depression behind her collar bones. She was always up and about caring for one cause or another. As Ah Sook said, it was best to keep everything from her so that she could rest and look after herself.

  “Come! We should eat. Ah Kew has rung her dinner bell and a wonderful aroma is coming from the kitchen. We have to do her justice and I would like you to eat properly instead of picking at your food.”

  Shao Peng got up, one hand instinctively around her belly. “Ah Sook mentioned that Aishah had left. That is a surprise. Do you know where she is?”

  Jack did not answer immediately. He grasped her arm gently and ushered her to the table. He pulled a chair out for her. “I heard she has left to set up a business. Your stepmother has helped her with some capital.”

  He walked over to his own seat. “Don’t worry about Aishah. Don’t beat yourself up over her anymore. Let it all go. Everything has turned out for the best.”

  Chapter 38

  JAMES POKED HIS HEAD out of the window and shouted. “They are here!” He jumped down from the window sill where he was seated and ran straight out of the room and down the stairs. He did not wait for his mother’s reply. He ran past Ah Kew and skidded to a stop at the front door. “I have it,” he shouted over his shoulder to Ah Kew. He wrenched open the door and stood there with a lop-sided grin on his face and his knee length socks squashed down to his ankles.

  The two girls, one ten and the other eight, looked at each other and then turned to smile at him. Their eyes, the colour of melted liquorice, twinkled in amusement at the sight of the chestnut haired boy with freckles that spanned both cheeks. “Hello,” they said shyly. They held on to each other’s hands.

  “Invite your cousins in,” reprimanded Ah Kew coming from behind. “Where are your manners?”

  “Mother will be here shortly,” said the elder girl. “She has just stopped outside with grandma to look at the tree in your garden. She is talking to the gardener.”

  “Aiyah! It is far too hot for them to stay out in the garden. Let me get them an umbrella.” Ah Kew grabbed an umbrella, a sea-green lacquered affair with bright yellow chrysanthemums, and hurried out leaving the three children alone.

  James stepped aside to let his cousins in. Suddenly he felt shy. “Would you like some lime juice?” he asked awkwardly, remembering that this was what his parents would ask him on a hot day.

  “No, thank you,” replied Mei Fern, the elder. “No, thank you,” said Mei Kwei, the younger of the two.

  His cousins were extremely polite, he thought. James was at a lost as to what to do next. He had been looking forward to their visit ever since he was told that they were coming. Now that they were here, he did not know what to do. He was a lone child and did not have many friends.

  Fern and Rose, so nicknamed because Fern was part of her name and Mei Kwei, in Chinese, meant Rose, saw their cousin’s discomfort. They felt sorry for him. Instinctively, they tightened their hold of each other’s hand. They had each other; James, however, had no siblings at all. They could not imagine being without each other. He had told them that he had longed for a brother or a sister. Ah Kew had chastised him when he pestered his parents about it. “Don’t worry your mother,” she had scolded. “You would just upset her.” In a kinder tone she explained that his mother would not be able to have another child. “Too dangerous, too dangerous,” she said. They remembered how upset he had been that day.

  “Nothing to drink at all?” he asked again still wondering what to do next.

  They shook their heads solemnly. “But we would like to see your train set. Grandma said that your dad bought you one.”

  His face brightened immediately. “Then come with me.” He beckoned Fern and Rose into a room across the hallway. They followed him. James could hear the women coming in from the garden. Ah Kew was singing his cousins’ praise to their grandmother. He left the door ajar.

  “Such good girls. You taught them well. They don’t speak until they are spoken to and never argue,” she said enthusiastically. James knew that Ah Kew was thinking of him when she said the latter.

  ***

  It was a beautiful light and airy room. Sunlight streamed through the tall sash windows, turning the dark teak floor into a mellow gold. On either side of the windows long pearly- white muslin curtains wafted and billowed with the breeze. The sweet smell of roses drifted in filling the warm moist air with their scent.

  Shao Peng stood until her stepmother had taken a seat before settling down onto a chair beside her. Suet Ping followed suit, taking an armchair at the far end. Ah Kew came in with a tray laid with tea and biscuits. No one spoke. Ah Kew’s voice filled the room. The ladies nodded and smiled at her chatter. She was old and had been such a loyal servant that they felt they owed it to her to listen. Ah Kew talked and commented on all and sundry. They waited patiently until Ah Kew left.

  “How bad is it?” asked Shao Peng, the first to break the silence.

  “Bad,” was Rohani’s solitary answer. She glanced across the room at Suet Ping. She was sitting in a corner with both arms cradled around her chest as though she needed to hug herself to find solace.

  “Are you okay?” Shao Peng asked her sister-in-law.

  Suet Ping’s eyes, swollen and red-rimmed, met Shao Peng’s for a second before they look away.

  The hopelessness in Suet Ping’s face tugged at Shao Peng’s heart. Where was the beautiful bright young girl with sparkling eyes?

  Rohani bent closer to Shao Peng. Shao Peng could feel her breath hot and urgent in her ear. “Siew Loong is spending nights away from the house even when he is in town. In recent months, these occa
sional nights have turned to weeks.”

  “Do you know where he spends them? Whom he spends it with?”

  “I have my suspicions. Would you speak to him?”

  “Me?!”

  “No one else can. Certainly not Suet Ping. I can’t either. I tried and I failed. I blame myself. I shouldn’t have forced this marriage on them. The marriage is such an utter failure, not only in terms of the unhappiness it has caused but also...” Rohani sighed. “It has not even resulted in a male issue. It is eight years since Rose was born and still no sign of a baby, let alone a son.”

  “Suet Ping cannot have a baby on her own! How could she if he neglects her!” Shao Peng’s voice was sharp. Rohani recoiled as though she had been slapped. Her eyes misted. Shao Peng took her stepmother’s hand and squeezed it to reassure her. “I am sorry. I understand. You only wished them well.”

  “It is my fault. If I was able to have another son, then perhaps all the burden would not have been on Siew Loong” said Rohani. “But not to have a male issue! What will become of the business?”

  They looked across at Suet Ping. She did not look back at them. She had the heel of her palm pressed against her forehead and her eyes were closed.

  Suet Ping was hurt by the whispering and exchange between her mother and sister-in-law. She could guess what they were talking about. They blame me for Siew Loong’s infidelity; they blame me for not producing a son, she thought.

  ***

  From where Siew Loong stood, the rows upon rows of rubber trees were like never-ending regular criss-crosses. Whichever way he turned, the trees were there; neat, precise and upright, seven metres between rows and three metres between trees. The trees, now in their seventh year, were starting to produce. He heaved a sigh of relief. The milky white sap that could make or break his business empire. His white gold! He had invested heavily in rubber and establishing the estate had proved to be a long difficult haul, far longer than the seven years needed for it to mature and far more difficult than he had expected.