by Monica Lim
“I thought we only had floods now! You mean they existed in the past too?” asked Danny as he tried to press himself further against the wall. “So you say we’re in 1947? That’s after World War II, right? Phew, we escaped the war!”
“Yes, this is after the war,” said Melody. “But don’t be too happy. Life is still tough and there’s not a lot of food.”
“Food!” Danny suddenly remembered that he had been on his way to Grandma’s house. “You got me out of lunch at Grandma’s! Thank you! What’s there to eat here?”
“I just told you there’s not a lot of food here!” said Melody impatiently. “And 1947 money is very rare so I couldn’t get any. We’re not going to be able to buy any food.”
“Whaaatt?” asked Danny in alarm. “But I’m hungr—CHICKEN!”
For a moment, Melody thought Danny had spotted a chicken rice stall but he was pointing to a passing pick-up truck with cages of live chickens stacked at the back. The chickens were getting soaked in the rain and were flapping their wings agitatedly. A man at the back of the truck was attempting to unfold a large canvas sheet to cover the cages. As he struggled to get the canvas sheet open, the truck drove over a pothole in the road and a jet of water shot upwards from the wheels.
Everything that happened next seemed to come from a scene in a movie. The man lost his balance and grabbed the side of the truck to steady himself. His other hand shielded his face from the spray of water and he lost his grip on the canvas sheet. It flew up in the air like a parachute before flopping down right onto a motorcyclist behind the truck, completely covering his eyes. The startled motorcyclist swerved to the right before his bike toppled and he fell onto the ground, half submerged by the water.
The driver of the truck hit the brakes and the truck came to a sudden halt. A few cages toppled out of the back of the truck and the cage doors flew open.
Embracing their newfound freedom, chickens tumbled out onto the flooded road. Squawking and flapping their wings, they floundered in the water. Feathers flew everywhere.
Some people from a nearby coffee shop dashed out into the rain to help the fallen motorcyclist. The man from the truck ran around trying to gather his sodden chickens.
“Melody, Melody, Melody!” spluttered Danny urgently. “Girl! Girl! Girl!”
“Yes, yes, I know there are girls,” said Melody, looking at the three school girls who had gathered by the edge of the walkway to watch the commotion. “One would think you’ve never seen a girl before.”
“NO!” cried Danny, tugging at Melody’s sleeve. “GIRL!”
Melody turned to her left, where Danny was pointing frantically. There was a large open drain by the side of the shophouses. It was overflowing and water was spewing from its banks. A strong current swept away leaves and debris.
Then Melody saw her. A young girl was in the rushing water, clutching the edge of the storm drain desperately.
Melody was dumbstruck, but only for a second. “Help! Help!” shouted Melody. “Drowning girl!” Unfortunately, a crowd had gathered around the fallen motorcyclist and no one paid any attention to her.
Danny grabbed Melody’s arm impatiently. “Come on, we’ve got to help her!” They dashed over to the edge of the drain. The girl was clawing at the earth and clenching the grass tufts. A sudden rush of water hit her and twisted her body around to the side. Danny dived to the ground and caught her arm just as her hand slipped off the edge. Danny lurched forward as the current threatened to pull him under. Melody instinctively held on to Danny’s shirt.
“Hold on to her! I’ll use my grappling hook watch and see if I can reel her in!” ordered Melody as she hastily got to her feet.
“No-no-no-no! NO! DON’T LET GO!” yelled Danny, but it was too late.
The girl went under and nearly dragged Danny into the water. Just before he fell over the edge, he lost his grip on the girl’s hand. The little girl screamed and was swept away. She thrashed around wildly, trying to keep her head above water. “Quick, Melody! Quick!” yelped Danny.
Melody pressed a purple button on her black wristwatch, aiming at the girl. A silver grappling hook shot out of the watch…and fastened onto a floating branch on the far left of the girl. “Noooooo!” groaned Melody as she pressed the purple button again to retract the line.
“You MISSED! How could you miss?” cried Danny accusingly. “You really need to play more computer games!” Without thinking, he attached the hook to a belt loop on his cargo pants and threw his sling bag onto the ground. “Don’t you DARE let go!” ordered Danny.
“Wait! What are you doing? Danny? Danny? Wait, WAIT!!” hollered Melody.
Danger Dan needs to save the innocent girl who is being sucked into a whirlpool! He runs along the river bank to catch up with her. Taking a deep breath, he dives headfirst into the river.
The cold water hits him like a punch in the gut. His breath almost gets knocked out of him and he is temporarily blinded. The ferocious river yanks him towards the spiralling column of water. Murky waters swirl around him as leaves, dirt and branches sail past him. Danger Dan swims with all his might, cutting through the powerful current.
Danger Dan’s heart beats wildly against his chest and his lungs cry out for air. His outstretched fingers brush against the girl’s arm and he grabs hold of her. With one last thrust of his mighty legs, Danger Dan pulls the girl up towards the water’s surface. They emerge choking and gasping for air as Gadget Girl hauls them both out of the river.
All in a day’s work for Danger Dan and Gadget Girl!
The three children lay in a drenched and dishevelled heap on the wet grass. Danny sprawled on his back, the rain pelting down on his face. “Thanks, Melody,” gasped Danny, trying to catch his breath. Melody turned to him. “You’re welcome. Did you know that the grappling hook line was never meant to hold a human’s weight? You’re lucky it didn’t snap.”
Danny stared at her. “Great! Now you tell me.” Still lying down, he turned towards the girl. She looked about eight or nine years old. “Hi, I’m Danny,” said Danny flatly. “What’s your name?” The girl sat up. She was a little shaken but relieved. “I’m Rohana,” said the girl shyly. “Thank you for saving me.”
“Introductions later,” said Melody. “We really should get out of the rain.” The three children heaved themselves up. Danny retrieved his sling bag and they walked towards the shophouses. There was no point running. It wasn’t possible to get any wetter than they already were.
“I live upstairs, above a coffeeshop along this row,” said Rohana, leading the way. “Come with me.” Danny and Melody followed her.
Danny’s sneakers were uncomfortably soggy and his clothes clung to his body, dripping endlessly. He then noticed that Melody’s clothes seemed to have completely dried out. Even her boots were not leaving wet prints. Only her hair was still dripping. “How come you’re squelch not wet?” asked Danny curiously.
“Oh, my Forever Kool air-con jacket has an auto-drying function,” explained Melody. “So do my skirt and boots.” Not for the first time, Danny was totally envious of Melody. “That’s so squelch cool! I wish I squelch had squelch clothes from the future!”
Rohana brought them to an old shophouse. Its walls were a light green while brown paint lined the windows. The paint was peeling and the faded shutters on the second floor were shut tight. The rain beat incessantly onto the reddish-brown tiles on the roof. Danny and Melody followed Rohana up a steep, dark staircase leading to the second floor.
“Our family stays in this room,” said Rohana, opening a wooden door. Her whole family stayed in one room? Danny was astonished. Back at home, he had a room all to himself! He tried to imagine his parents and three sisters sharing his room. It was not a pretty picture. He shivered. Lucky for him, he didn’t live in 1947.
Danny looked around. The small room contained a double bed, a dining table and a large wardrobe. A few wooden crates lined with brown paper formed a makeshift bookshelf. An old metal fan whirred serenely. The r
oom was cordoned off by a tall wooden partition with a trellis at the top.
A slim woman sat sewing by the bed. She looked up in concern when she saw that Rohana was soaked. “Rohana! What happened to you? Did you get caught in the rain?”
“I fell into a drain, Mama,” said Rohana. Her teeth were chattering from the cold. “Luckily my friends pulled me out.” The woman rushed over to Rohana anxiously. “Are you okay, sayang, my dear girl? Don’t catch a cold. Better change out of your wet clothes.” Rohana obediently opened the creaky wardrobe to get her clothes while her mother handed two thin towels to Melody and Danny. “Please, please do dry yourselves!” said Rohana’s mother, her voice warm with gratitude. “Thank you for saving my Rohana! If not for you, she could have drowned.”
“That’s quite alright, Auntie,” replied Melody awkwardly. She was not used to being treated like a hero.
“Come, come, sit down!” Rohana’s mother pulled out two wooden chairs by the dining table. “Let me make you two a hot drink. Would you like kopi or milk?”
Danny’s eyes lit up. His mother forbade him to drink coffee and he was dying to try it. “Kopi, please!” He sat down and wrapped the towel around himself.
“Milk would be nice,” said Melody. “Thank you, Auntie.” Rohana’s mother poured thick black kopi from a large jug into a ceramic mug. A strong fragrance filled the room. She then poured hot water into another mug and stirred in two teaspoonfuls of condensed milk. Smiling, she served the drinks to Danny and Melody.
Melody took a small sip of her sweetened drink and looked puzzled. “This is milk?” she whispered to Danny.
Danny was too busy trying to figure out how he felt about his first experience with coffee. The hot liquid almost scalded his tongue and the dense, bitter sensation overwhelmed his tastebuds. “This is coffee?” he whispered back. “It tastes like medicine!”
“Don’t be rude,” hissed Melody. “Finish it!” Danny waited until Rohana’s mother’s back was turned before hastily scooping five heaped teaspoons of condensed milk into his kopi. “Don’t you think it’ll be too sweet?” asked Melody doubtfully. Danny tasted his new beverage. “Ah, better!” he grinned.
The two children were halfway through their drinks when a middle-aged Malay man entered the room. “Zubir!” Rohana’s mother was clearly glad to see him. “Come meet Rohana’s friends. They saved her from drowning.”
Zubir? Could this actually be the man they were looking for?
Melody could scarcely believe her luck. She nudged Danny, who had not noticed anything and was still savouring his extra-sweet kopi.
Rohana’s father looked startled. Rohana, who had changed out of her wet clothes, told him the whole story. He turned to Melody and Danny, beaming. “How can I ever thank you?”
“Do you have any foo—” began Danny but he was cut short by Melody who had clapped her hand over his mouth. “It’s okay, Uncle,” she replied. She looked closely at Rohana’s father. “Would you happen to be Mr Zubir Said, the musician?”
The man looked surprised and laughed. “Why, yes!” The realisation suddenly dawned on Danny and his mouth fell open. However, the man continued, “But I’m no longer a musician. I just signed up as a bus driver today.”
“Oh!” Danny blurted out excitedly. “I would LOVE to be a bus driver! You get to drive every-whe—OW!” Melody had stepped on Danny’s foot.
“Yes, you’re right!” agreed Zubir Said. “That’s what I think too—driving a bus can be very fun! You get to go to different places and meet many people. It’s quite fortunate I met this guy Johnny today. He introduced me to the bus company and told me all about the work and the pay. So I signed up.”
“But surely being a musician is more interesting than being a bus driver!” urged Melody, glaring at Danny who realised that he had said the wrong thing.
“Yes, yes! I mean, no!” babbled Danny, trying to make up for his earlier mistake. “You can’t be a bus driver! I mean, you shouldn’t! I’m sure all your bones are very musical!”
“These are tough times,” sighed Zubir Said. “Nobody is interested in music after the war. Who would hire a musician? We have to eat. Rohana has to go to school. I even had to sell my books to pay for a tutor to teach her English. Being a bus driver doesn’t make me a lot of money but at least I’ll have work.”
“But…but…” stammered Danny. “Uncle Zebr—OW!” This time, he was elbowed by Melody to stop him from uttering the wrong name.
“Enough talk about me,” laughed Zubir Said. “What about you? Where are you from? I’ve not seen you around here before.”
“Oh, er…” Melody racked her brains. “We’re visiting an aunt for a few days. She’s sick so we’re here to see her. We’re from er… Malacca.”
“Oh I see.” Zubir Said nodded. “Well, if you’re not doing anything tomorrow evening, perhaps I could take both of you to Happy World? To thank you for rescuing Rohana.”
“That would be great!” Melody could see that she was not going to be able to convince Zubir Said at that moment and was grateful for another opportunity to talk to him. She and Danny would have to come up with a plan. “We’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Melody and Danny left the room and headed downstairs. The rain had stopped and it was starting to get dark. They walked down the row of shophouses aimlessly.
“It’s going to be night soon. Where are we going to sleep?” There was a hint of panic in Danny’s voice. “How are we going to wait till tomorrow? What will we do for food? Melody?”
“Qwigglepuff! Be quiet, I’m trying to think!” said Melody crossly. She was equally short on ideas but was reluctant to admit that she didn’t have a plan.
Danny rummaged in his sling bag, hoping to find some forgotten snack but all he had was a couple of empty candy bar wrappers. His stomach emitted an insistent growl. “Melody, I’m hungry,” he said dolefully, clutching his tummy. “Hungry. Hungry. HUNGRY.” Even Melody had to admit that Danny was a piteous sight. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair stuck out in all directions and he had the most pathetic puppy dog expression on his face.
“Hungry. Sooooo hungr—FOOD!” Danny suddenly caught sight of a wooden pushcart by an alleyway. He ran towards it and Melody followed. A middle-aged woman was hunched over the pushcart, cooking up a storm. She had a stern look on her wrinkled face and her hair was tied up in a bun. Her small frame was engulfed in the steam rising from the pot of laksa gravy. The air around the cart smelt of fragrant chillies and spices.
“Want some laksa?” The two children swung around. They came face to face with a thin, teenage girl with scraggly hair around her face. She was serving laksa to the customers.
“We don’t have any money,” admitted Melody.
“But it smells sooooooo goooood!” moaned Danny. “I’m starving!”
“Where are you from?” asked the girl. “I’ve never seen you here before.”
“We’re from nowhere!” wailed Danny. “We have no home! We have nothing to eat! I’m going to die of hunger! Why is this happening to me? WHY??”
The girl looked startled and Melody hastily tried to cook up an explanation. “Oh, we are er… from Malacca visiting our sick aunt but she’s er…infectious! So we can’t stay with her. And we can’t go home until a few days later.”
“Oh dear!” said the girl sympathetically. “Where are your parents?”
Danny was inspired by Melody’s story. “They’re sick too!” cried Danny dramatically. “They all have chicken pox! And fever! And we have no money for medicine! We even had to sell our furniture! And…”
Melody saw that Danny was getting caught up in his little make-believe drama and cut in. “I’m sorry. We’re just tired and hungry.”
“I’ll ask my mother if she can help.” The girl exchanged a few words with the woman manning the pushcart before returning to Melody and Danny. “She says you can stay with us for a few days. We’ll give you dinner too but you’ll have to help us with the stall first. I’m Kwan, by the way.�
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“Qwintastic! Thank you very much!” said Melody, relieved. “I’m Melody and this is my brother, Danny. We’d be happy to help with the stall.”
Danny’s mouth watered as he watched Kwan’s mother expertly prepare the laksa. She filled a large ceramic bowl with freshly cooked white rice noodles, added a few slivers of fish cake and sprinkled on a generous helping of bean sprouts. She gave the pot a stir, ensuring that the delicious concoction of chilli paste, coconut milk, and special spices and herbs was well mixed. Using a large ladle, she scooped up the rich, tasty gravy and drowned the noodles in it.
A long line had formed in front of the cart where the customers gave their orders to Kwan’s mother. Kwan collected the piping hot bowls of laksa and passed them to Melody and Danny. “Two bowls to that couple over there!” she barked. “This bowl with extra chilli to that man!” The customers sat on wooden stools or simply squatted by the alley.
Danger Dan is Colonel Kwan’s best lieutenant! He has to feed the starving soldiers who have just returned from the war. Luckily, the soup Colonel Kwan is dishing out has special healing and energising effects. The soldiers will be back on their feet in no time!
“Danger Dan! Bring these bowls to that group of soldiers,” orders Colonel Kwan. “And be careful not to spill the soup!” Danger Dan has super balancing powers. He holds two bowls of hot soup in his hands and balances one on his head. He carries the bowls over to the soldiers with ease. The fragrance of the savoury soup fills the whole camp. All around him, the soldiers slurp up the soup ravenously.
Danger Dan tries hard to fight off his pangs of hunger. He must not eat or rest until all these soldiers are fed! But…the soup really does smell wonderful…