[ilikeoldchangke]

Shaking my head with my right hand dangling out of the window, I wanted to point a middle finger to whoever is up there fucking with me.


I pulled up to the address the kid wanted to go. He apologised, paid me $10 more on top of the fare saying that was all he had and that he was sorry.


Kid : Sorry brother… sorry….Merry Christmas….

I looked at the mess behind, the floor mat was totally flooded with his vomit.




Some birthday this is turning out to be.

Who the fuck gets drunk at 3pm on Christmas eve?



I pulled into a car wash bay at the carpark and opened up all the doors.

As I waited for the water to fill from the wash bay tap, something caught my attention.



It was a convoy of cars.

No, not a wedding convoy.


2 black SUVS in front, followed by a Mercedes , sweet looking S class and another black SUV at the back.

They came into the estate and slowed down as they made a left turn into the carpark where I was at.


The cars passed me one after another inside the carpark.


Their windows are tinted, I’m pretty sure it’s more than what the authorities allow.

The first 3 vehicle went pass and up the ramp to find a parking lot.

The last one however slowed down when it passed by my cab.

It slowed to a crawl as I stared at the vehicle.

Then it stopped about 7 meters away.


I was the reverse light come on and my heart skipped a beat.


Looking around, I’m the only one in the carpark, why are they reversing?


There’s an empty washing bay beside my cab, perhaps this driver wanted to wash his car as well ?



It continued moving back more and more until it stopped directly in front of my cab.


The water stopped flowing the same time the driver door opened.


I dropped the sponge I was holding on as my eyes met those of a familiar figure standing right in front of me.

I could not believe it.



Without wasting a second, I ran forward and embraced the man in front of me.

Rizwan was my Sispec ( School of infantry specialist ) buddy back in the army.


Jim : What the fuck man Rizwan !!! haha… how are you !!


Rizwan : JIM!... !! haha…

I’ve lost touched with a lot of army mates after losing my phone, and I’m not a social media guy so I don’t have any means of getting in touch via those platform as well.


Jim ; How are you man ??

Rizwan : I’m ok… I’m ok…. Where have you been Jim…. We’ve been looking for you….


Before I could answer him, another figure got out of the car.

Eric : JIM !!! KNN !!!


Jim : what the fuck….Eric !! ?? Kan cheong spider ??


Eric : Fuck you la…. I’m not kan cheong spider anymore ok… hahah…

We hugged and shook hands.


The euphoria of running into 2 long lost friends barely settled in when Rizwan pulled out a walkie talkie from the back of his belt.

Speaking into the talkie, Rizwan was smiling and grinning.

Rizwan : Boss…. you won’t believe who is here ? We found that fucker finally… hahah…

Jim : Who is that ?? who are you talking to ??



That was a pause from the walkie talkie before I heard the familiar grunt of a warrant officer that left a particular strong impression in me.

Warrant officer Soh.

This must be a dream.

What is happening ?



Jim : What is going on ? What is happening ? How did you guys get together ???

Eric : hahaha… Jim… we have a lot to catch up and talk about….



Another 10 minutes passed within me even realising and I heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching from a distance away.


The hair at the back of my neck stood on it’s end as I broke out into laughter.

I don’t fucking believe this.

With his large bear like body, Warrant Soh strutted towards me with his signature swagger.

Right behind him, Tommy, Mohan, Derrick, Nelson.


This is my entire Sispec section right there.


In front of my fucking eyes.

These are men that I would not think twice about going to war with.

It was a emotional moment for me as my hand went to my mouth and I choked back a tear.


Soh : JIM!!!....what the fuck …. You hiding from loan shark ah !!... hahah…


Jim : Sir… how are you….

Soh : I’m retired….. call me Soh…. Hahah…



I shook hands with the guys, hugs were embraced as memories of the times we were together when we were barely twenty years old came flooding back into my head.

Warrant Soh back then was our Platoon commander and he took a particular interest in the group of us. He loved us as if we were his kids.


Soh : We need to catch up….all of us…. What happened to you Jim ??

Everyone’s eyes darted to my cab before looking back at me.


There was a moment of silence before I broke it.

Jim : Well… a combination of bad luck and bad decision…. And… this is where I am…. How about you guys ?? … you all working together now ???

Everyone nodded and Mohan said they all work for Warrant Soh now.



Jim : Wow !....

Soh came over and took my shoulder.

Soh : Join us Jim….. join us…..

Jim : Of course !!!.. of course…. Hahaha… but… but what is it you guys do again ??


Everyone laughed.



Rizwan : We are about to open your eyes to a whole new world Jim…. A whole new world….


Everyone laughed and Soh demanded that we have a meal together followed by drinks that day.


Soh : Your birthday right JIM!!!... I remember… I gave you extra duties on your birthday.. hahaha
Jim : yes… hahah… for losing the blank attachment… haha…

Soh : Fuck man… that was so long ago….



I could see the genuine happiness in Soh’s eyes as he stepped back and look at the lot of us.

He said we were his best trainees. The best batch he ever had.


Soh : Finally…. I have all my boys back together again… hahaha….

Eric : That sounds fucking gay boss…hahah…



Soh : Fuck you la…

Everyone laughed as I took in how much Warrant Soh has aged. He has to be in his mid fifties at least.


Soh was about to get everyone to load up into the vehicles and head out for a meal when he saw the pail of water and the sponge.


His eyes drew the attention of the rest of the group and they all looked at the cab.



Rizwan was the first to see the vomit and he smiled before unbuttoning his cuffs. The others followed suit and started to roll up their sleeves.



Jim : hey hey hey… stop stop… don’t need… you all go on ahead…. I’ll meet you all at the eating place after cleaning up…. Hey stop… don’t need !....

Eric gave me a nudge on my arm with a ‘Tsk’

Eric : What are brothers for ? haha…

I sighed in resignation as Soh lit up a cigarette and barked at the group of almost middle age men crowding around the dirty cab.



Soh : KIN LA !! ( hurry up ) …. Waiting for Christmas is it !!! ….. haha…


Everyone laughed as they started to help me clean up the cab.

Looking back up into the skies once more, I shook my head and smiled.


Seems like someone heard my birthday wish after all.



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