Skills future

[SplendidW380]

Excellent story TS, support!

[Happyinsg]

Great story. Kudos to the author.

[18002255582]

Camping for more updates to this wonderful story.

[ilikeoldchangke]

We are all animals at the end of the day. We are all controlled by our emotions.
You would need to be a block of wood if you cannot feel the hostile atmosphere in the men’s bathroom. A drunk, an angry cleaner, a giant of a man happily peeing at the urinal and someone who is biting off more than he could chew. Things are going to get ugly fast.

Sam is a nice guy when he is nice. Turning around after to pee to see someone eyeballing you to pick a fight is a signal for you to switch off the ‘nice’ mode. Guys are vulnerable when peeing and picking on someone in the bathroom when he is not ready is just plain dirty. If that doesn’t rile you up, I don’t know what will.

4 grown adults in a bathroom with a fight about to break out, you would think at least one of them have the brain to stop it.
You are right.
I’m that adult.

I want the 1st strike advantage.
It’s simple. Divert all attention to myself.
If I make myself the focus of everyone in the toilet, they will not be able to focus on each other.

Therefore, I need to present myself in a manner that demands immediate attention. Talking nicely and calmly, trying to separate the fight is not going to work after it starts.

This is something you need to nip at the bud.
I need something drastic, to hit at this with shock and awe.

“arGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I shouted at the top of my voice, clutching my heart and my stomach as I knelt down in the middle of the toilet. “arGHHHHHH!”

I could feel my kneecaps protest as I went down too hard, sending a thud vibrating across the tiled floor.

My agonising scream echoed throughout the bathroom as I ignored how disgusting the floor is, choosing to fall flat on my face with my head hitting the ground.
The sudden outburst caught everyone off guard. Chua jumped, he did not even realised there is someone behind him.

Tan froze too by the door as he looked at me whining in pain.

“kerzzz,…kerzzz….ffffffzzzzz….” I gagged and rolled around like I’m a zombie about to turn.

I tightened my facial muscles and made gasping noises that sounded like I was about to choke to death or something. I grabbed my throat, then my stomach like I was possessed. I held my breath, if I hold my breath, it would show on my face how horrible I was feeling.

Sam immediately ran over to me.

“Jerry, Jerry !, hey, hey, don’t scare me..ah… hey… Jerry are you ok ? “ Sam said while trying to support my head as I collapsed onto the floor while feigning spasms throughout my whole body.

He did not even wash his hands after peeing.
“call the ambulance. Call the ambulance !” Sam shouted at Chua whose face suddenly looked drained of colour.

He fumbled for his phone only to realise it’s not with him. Sam alternated between keeping me awake and trying to fumble for his phone only to find it out of power.

“i… I left it downstairs at the restaurant!” Chua looked at Tan who is staring at everyone by the door. “do you have a phone ? do you have a phone ? “

It took Tan a second to react and he pulled out his phone to dial for help.

“what’s wrong with you Jerry?” Sam asked.

“he’s choking, he’s choking.!” Chua said, throwing wild guesses out as he too knelt down to try and support my weight.

I never expected Sam to believe him.

“Choking ? what should we do ? “

“Bent him over, bent him over, we squeeze it out.” Chua said.

I continued my act of spasm while holding my breath and was horrified when Sam and Chua grabbed me off the ground. Chua went behind me, clasping his fist around my stomach.
Before I could react, Sam held my cheek with the same hands he used while peeing and tried to get me to open my mouth.

“Open Jerry, Open, spit it out. ! Open your mouth!”

No. No way.
I just had a fucking filling dinner of BBQ meat and shitloads of kimchi. Not to forget the glass of coke I drained. I could feel my dinner swimming in my stomach as Chua shouted for Sam to stand back.

Sam grabbed onto my jaw like he was about to uproot a tree sapling and I could taste blood in my mouth. He can’t control his strength properly in that situation.
All I could think of was if he splashed any of his pee on his hands while peeing.

“OK, Ok, pushing!” Chua said by my ears.
Chua’s clenched fist thrust into my abdomen and I thought I saw white light flashed across my eyes.

The thrust was immediately followed by my retching reaction. A truly natural reflex considering how full I was. It was not an act as I almost vomited, tasting the acidity of my stomach bile in my throat.

I groaned and I could feel my saliva pooling by the insides of my mouth. That was fucking uncomfortable.
I waved my hands in the air, intending to get them to stop.

“again, again, he almost vomit out already !” Sam shouted at Chua who himself was gasping for air trying to hold my bodyweight up.

I shook my head at Sam only to hear him reassure me it’s ok.

“Jerry spit it out, spit it out quick ! it’s ok !”

I felt the forceful thrust of Chua’s fist against my tummy again. This time, the puke came right up to my mouth but I gagged and swallowed it, feeling the burn down my throat.
I gasped and my eyes starts to tear. Sam could probably see bits of vomit by the side of my lips.

“one more time, harder, harder, you need to do it harder !” Sam urged Chua who, half drunk was struggling to save my life.

Chua grunted and shout as he depressed my tummy again.
“arghhh!”

Then I felt it.
I can see the merlion standing at the mouth of Singapore River in my head as I regurgitated my dinner back into my mouth. I press my lips shut because I was still trying to fight it, but there is no fighting a force like this.

I felt the dribble of my dinner spilling out of my lips before the dam broke.

Everything came out.
Sam gave my back a good smack and that was it.
My dinner came right out. A delicious meal of BBQ meat and banchan is now a colourful waterfall of colours splattering all over the ground.

Chua asked for help supporting a bent over merlion and Sam immediately shouldered half the weight.

The kimchi, the beef, the chewed up vegetables right up to the amazing pickled side dishes I had for dinner.
It all came out. My vomit splattered onto the pants of the men holding onto me but they were more concerned about me breathing.

Chua kept tapping me on my back as Sam supported me.

“it’s ok liao, it’s ok liao, come out already, come out already.!” Chua said “ spit everything out !”

My gagging reflex continued for a while longer. I’m sure you know once you get into that retching state, it just keeps happening until you are empty and drooling like a stoned baby.

I was lowered to the ground and tears rolled down my cheeks. I’m not crying, it’s the gag reflex that made me tear. I have never felt so uncomfortable like this before.

“shhhh, shhhh, shhhh, it’s ok, it’s ok. Don’t cry.. it’s ok… shit happens… shit happens.” Sam said, not a bit worried about my puke on his clothes. “ don’t need to cry over something like that la!”

I was sitting in a pool of my vomit and my tummy is churning.
Tan took a large roll of paper from the storage in the toilet and handed it to me. He also pulled a mop to try and contain the vomit from flowing everywhere as I groaned, sitting dazed on the ground.
“there’s, there’s no reception in here. I can’t call.” He said.” I’ll go out and make the call.”

I immediately shook my head, telling Tan there was no need to call for an ambulance.

“I feel much better now thank you.” I wasn’t planning to puke all over the place but if this is what it takes to stop someone from dying, I think it’s a fair trade.

The smell is horrible within the confined space and Chua, having drank so much at the restaurant, pushed his way into a cubicle and started vomiting too, affected by the smell of my puke.

He hugged onto the toilet bowl and I could see Tan looking at his back view. He was contemplating something.

I immediately tried to distract Tan by asking him a question.
“is there a hose I can wash myself with ? “

Tan showed me to the last cubicle where the squatting pan is.
Sam called out to Chua who was literally hugging the toilet bowl.

“oei, you ok bo ? “ He asked outside the cubicle.

Chua gave an ‘ok sign’ with his fingers without turning back as he let loose another round of puke into the toilet.

[ilikeoldchangke]

Tan went over to Chua’s cubicle and when he spoke, I finally knew his relationship with the girl in the restaurant.

“hey you… that girl you are picking on in the restaurant just now… she is my granddaughter.”

Chua’s puking stopped as I finished rinsing my mouth and face quickly so I can get back out there.

Tan was waiting for Chua to answer him and I immediately went over to put myself in between the two of them.

“hey…. I think we…”

Before I could finish, Chua interrupted my sentence.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry..” Chua said. His tone a stark difference from before.

I turned and looked at Chua who is tearing up. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, sniffing and breaking down. Ok he’s drunk, intoxicated. I’ve heard about people crying when they are drunk before but this is the first time I’m seeing it.

“I’m…. I’m sorry….i’ll apologise to her later if I’m still alive… ok?” Chua said in between hiccups, burps and tears.

“wait, wait… what did you just say ? “I asked.

Chua looked at me, then to Sam and back to Tan.

He looked at us before smiling, then he laughed, after that he started to cry.

“I’m going to die today..” He said before breaking down, crying and laughing beside the toilet bowl.

“He’s drunk la, just leave him be.” Sam said.

“I’m not drunk !. I’m high…. High but not drunk !” Chua insisted with snot coming out of his nose. “ I’m going to die today…..i’m going to die today…. that’s what the fortune teller says.”

“wah lan eh ( wtf ), this one gone case already…” Sam shook his head. “we better go down and tell his friends..”

Chua chuckled, laughing in a manner as if he knew something we don’t.

“the fortune teller is never wrong… my entire life has been predicted…. Everything came true…. the ups, the downs… right up to this day….today is the day…” Chua rattled on like a mad man.
Someone tried to enter the bathroom, a teenager and he was immediately put off by the stench.

“toilet closed, toilet closed…. Use the level 1 one.” Tan said before turning to look at Chua mumbling away.

“do you know what is it like…..knowing exactly the day you will die…?” Chua said in between tears.
All of us said nothing and allowed him to go on his rant as he started hammering himself on his head.

“it’s a death sentence… everyday I wake up, I knew it was one less day for me to live… do you have any idea what is that like ? “ Chua asked while looking at the three of us.

“how long have you knew ? “ I asked.

“Oh come on Jerry, you can’t be serious.” Sam said in an exasperated voice.

“How long ? “I repeated my question.

“5 years…5 whole years I’m waiting for this day.” Chua said. “I’ve come to accept it… there is no escape… I just want it to be over..”

Looking at Sam, Chua said that he was quite sure Sam will be the one to kill him when he saw him in the restaurant that evening. His bulk and size, and his menacing look brought him to the top of the list.

“I know it will be you… I want it to be over…don’t wait anymore…” Chua said with his eyes wide opened. “kill me now… please… I can’t take this anymore.”

“you’re crazy…you’re fucking drunk..” Sam said while looking at me and Tan.

Now it all made sense. No wonder Chua is trying to provoke everyone the whole evening. He’s being an ass on purpose. He came to the toilet when he saw Sam, thinking he will be the one to end him when it should have been Tan if not for me.

Turning to Tan, Chua offered him the chance.
“I bullied your granddaughter….i humiliated her…. I’ll give you a chance how about that ? huh ? kill me ? just end it for me..” Chua begged. “I won’t blame you…use your phone, take a video…. I’ll record it… I’ll put it on tape to say I want you to help me end my life…. Please..”

Seeing that crazed look on Chua’s face probably snapped Tan out of his own daze. Chua alternated between begging Sam and Tan, asking them to end his life.

“you’re mad… get out of the toilet… I need to clean up.!” Tan said.

“I’m not.. I’m not mad… I’m going to die today….i am….mark my words… I am going to die today !” Chua started shouting.

“Hey hey hey…the fortune teller… tell me about him ? “ I lowered my body and asked Chua.

“Her…. Not him….The fortune teller ? …. Hahah…she knows… she always sees the end.….”

“where is she… ? “

Chua started laughing as if I asked something crazy.

“Hospital…. She’s at a hospice….surrounded by mental patients… hahah.” Chua laughed himself to tears before crying again.

“which hospital ? which one ? “ I pressed on and Chua just mumbled to himself.

“See, he’s siao(crazy) already.” Sam nudged me towards the exit, asking me to leave Chua alone. “go get some new clothes Jerry.”

“I’m calling the security…” Tan said and walked out of the toilet.

“Jerry let’s go let’s go… you need to get a new set of clothes… “ Sam opened the door and nudged me out.

I bought myself a new set of clothes form a boutique beside the toilet, chugging my soiled clothes into the plastic bag and soon, I saw the mall security guards coming up. Tan did not look like he is going to do anything to Chua now.
It’s over I think. The danger phase is over.

Chua’s friends soon turned up on level 3, they tried to clear out the misunderstanding with the guards before Chua was handed back to their care.
Sam and I went back to the restaurant to finish up the rest of the meal and drinks. I barely had an appetite left.

Chua and friends remained at the restaurant but he’s no longer awake. He laid slumped on the table with his friends who continued talking and drinking.
Tan came down to the Korean restaurant to look for his granddaughter.
I overheard their conversation. Worried about his girl, Tan told her that he cancelled his supper appointment with his friends. He will wait for her to knock off before they walk back home together.

It’s over I think. I stopped it.
After dinner, Sam offered to give me a lift but I turned him down. He thanked me and promised to buy the next round of meal when we meet up.
Looking at the time, I made my way over to the block where the lingerie theft will be taking place in a couple of hours time.
Last one for the day.
I finish this, I will have saved 4 lives.

59 year old Choo. Alvin Choo, he has the same name as my boss.
The article mentions he completed his shift at 11.30pm.

It’s coming to 11pm and I’m seated by the bench with a view of every vehicle heading to the carpark. I just need to keep a lookout for him coming into the estate.

At about 11.20pm, I saw a Taxi turning into the estate. It’s too dark to see who the river is but I have a good feeling it’s Choo. I walked over to the carpark and under the bright light, I recognised Choo. It’s him.

I immediately turned back and made my way to the block of flat he is staying in. I went straight to the bubble wrapped bicycle, that will be the spot where I stop the lingerie thief.

It’s quiet along the corridors and most of the houses have shut their main door. I checked the bubble wrap and I could tell someone had tried to peel it off and burst a few of the bubble but it’s still good.

11.30pm
My heart started beating faster. I suddenly realise I’m standing in the middle of a staircase landing with a plastic bag of soiled clothes in hand. I came wearing pants and polo t-shirt, but since I just grabbed whatever is on discount from the boutique, I’m now wearing a pair of berms that is too long and a t-shirt that is a bit oversized.
Pair that with my loafers and the messed up hairdo on my head, I think I might just get mistaken as the lingerie thief instead.

After another bout of waiting, suddenly, I heard some commotion from a few levels up. Someone was shouting. This was followed by the rapid footsteps of someone descending the staircase towards me.

This is it.
I have to catch Choo here to stop his fall.

With the chase coming down towards me, I relaxed my muscles and got ready. There was a loud stomp, and I saw the thief. Dressed in long sleeve black top, he was wearing a mask and a cap pulled down low. He must have jumped a good half flight of stairs to save time but Choo is close behind.

I ran up the stairs towards the escaping thief and I heard Choo asking me to stop him as he grabbed onto the man’s shirt.

“stop him!” Choo shouted as I started running up the staircase.

The thief elbowed Choo on his eye and punched him on his face to break free, he then pushed Choo down the stairs towards me when I’m barely 3 steps away.
Everything happened so fast.

As Choo fell towards me, I reached out to grab him and this allowed the thief to run pass us as he continued to skip steps, jumping down flights of stairs to get away.

[ilikeoldchangke]

I caught onto Choo but he fell top heavy onto my arms. i lost my footing and fell along together with him. I tightened my body and I felt the slam of the concrete steps on my back and head as Choo broke his fall on my body.

My hands were grabbing onto his shirt so tightly that I almost ripped out his buttons. Looking at Choo, I realised his hands were raised and his head was trembling like Tom Cruise in mission impossible. Tilting my head back, I saw that the broken pedal of the bicycle is barely an inch away from his eye.
There’s the bubble wrap around it but a blunt impact onto that is still going to cause quite a bit of damage.

I could barely breathe when I heard Choo push against the bubble wrapped bicycle as he got off me. The splattering pops of the bubble wrap reach my ears as Choo tried to help me up.

“Thank you young man… thank you… oh my god… who go and bubble wrap this bicycle ? “

I touched the back of my head, there’s a bit of blood from the fall. I must have scraped the skin against the floor.

“are you ok ? “ Choo asked.

“I’m fine… I’m fine…” I climbed onto my feet and I told Choo I will go after the thief, leaving my soiled clothes behind.

Struggling to go down the stairs, I wanted to catch that guy in case he comes around and this happens again. He’s probably had a full minute to get away before I started chasing him.
I staggered down a few steps before gaining momentum and I started jumping down the last few steps to save time.

When I got to the ground floor, I looked around the vicinity and I saw something that chilled me to the done.
Standing a distance away from me is someone I knew, or rather someone I met just a few days ago.

He has ditched his mask and cap but he is still wearing the same black top.
Spencer. He’s the one.
He’s the lingerie thief. I could feel a chill running down my spine realising that if I only saved Spencer, he would have been the cause of Choo’s death.

Spencer pretended to walk away calmly and I ran towards him.

My footsteps caught his attention and he turned. Our eyes met and he started to run towards the road. I caught up with Spencer but I never expected him to punch me on my face. My nose took the brunt of the hit and I could immediately feel blood coming down to my lips and mouth.

That was the first time in my life I was hit that way. It disorientated me for a few seconds.

“stop !” I shouted and Spencer threw his drawstring bag of stuff he stole at me.
“stop him !, he’s stealing stuff ” I shouted at the top of my voice to catch the attention of the people in the vicinity.

A couple who happened to be coming back from their jog and a food delivery man saw me chasing Spencer and they too joined in the chase.
Spencer took off at such speed towards the main road that I was left at least 20 metres behind.

He did not hesitate when he came to the edge of the road, he dashed across it and I heard the angry blare of a horn from an approaching car from the right.

He made it through to the centre divider as the lot of us in pursuit came to the edge of the road.
Eager to get away, Spencer scaled the divider and started running across the other lane as well with traffic coming from his left.

Instead of the angry blare of a horn, I heard a desperate screech of car tyres against tarred road. The screech drew a column of smoke up into the air and I heard a sickening bang.
My heart skipped a beat and I felt my legs go weak.

I watched that BWM go out of control after hitting Spencer, spinning and screeching before it rammed up the divider and embedded itself into the metal railings.

All traffic came to a stop on both sides of the road as vapour and mist start to come out from the car engine.

There was a 10 metre streak of blood along the road and I could see Spencer lying lifeless in at the end of it. I froze.

“oh fuck…. Oh fuck….” I muttered under my breath

Several motorists came down to help the crashed BMW and I groaned openly by the side of the road when I saw the driver emerged. That was Chua’s friend from the Korean restaurant. That financial planner Francis.
I walked over for a closer look to see a cracked windscreen with the head of a man half buried in it.

Some people started taking photos and videos and I turned the corner and saw the man who is no longer moving.

He was not wearing a safety belt.

It’s Chua.
I looked at my watch and the time was 11.55pm.
Chua’s fortune teller is right.

I backed away from the accident, breathing with my mouth as I struggled to come to terms with what just happened. The couple who was chasing along with me immediately whipped out their phone to call an ambulance.

The food delivery guy cursed, unable to believe what just happened.
I staggered back to the estate. Picking up the drawstring bag, I made my way back to the block where Choo is staying.

My hands are all bloodied from my bleeding nose. Taking the lift back up, I realised I was dripping blood all over the lift floor, being a considerate citizen, I tilt my head upwards to slow the drip and reached into the drawstring bag to see if I could find something to wipe my bleeding nose with.

My hands grabbed something soft and silky, I didn’t think twice and pulled it up, pressing it against my nose. I breathed with my mouth, gasping and trying to deal with the pain when the lift door opened and I came face to face with another person I least expect to see.

“you….!”

Without warning, Sulyani, dressed in her home clothes, charged into the lift and I found myself being tackled and pressed to the floor as I groaned in pain.
Choo came running to see me being pinned down and quickly cleared up the misunderstanding.

“girl ah, not him !” Choo exclaimed. “it’s not him!”

“Then why is he sniffing my underwear!” Sulyani screamed as she pulled more of her clothes out from the drawstring bag while keeping my wrist twisted at an awkward angle.

“arghhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

My face was being pressed onto the lift floor and the pain of getting kneed on my tummy by Sulyani is beginning to register in my head.

Sulyani let me go when Choo explained I was the one who saved him. I don’t know whether to cry or laugh as i was helped outside the lift by Choo and Sulyani.
Choo, is her father.

They sat me down by the corridor and I spent a moment explaining what happened including the accident along the main road. They were shocked of course and Choo said he will go get the first aid box.
The underwear I used to stop my bleed is a pair of pink boyshort undies with white trimmings around the waistband. Holding it up, I handed it back to Sulyani, apologising for it’s condition.

“I’m sorry…here…you can have it back…”

Looking at her soiled underwear, Sulyani sighed and replied.

“It’s ok… keep it..”

We looked at each other without a word for a few seconds and it was her who broke the silence first.

“I’m beginning to see a pattern here….Jerry…” she said.

“what pattern ? “ I asked.

“you’re never far away from trouble.”

I laughed.

Sulyani’s gaze temporarily removed the pain from my nose and I knew if I don’t make my move, I will surely regret it. She is just so beautiful and mesmerizing.

“Since you’ve given me your underwear, I don’t supposed you can give me your phone number too ? “I asked.

Sulyani was shocked at my request and she burst out laughing a couple of seconds later. She stopped after a few seconds and took her time to look at me.

“well, I’ve never given my number to anyone I don’t know before, but hell, I’ve also never given my underwear to anyone before too…” She said before turning her palm over and gestured for my phone.

………………

[ilikeoldchangke]

Thank you for the comments and encouragements
Please accept my apologies for being unable to reply to each comment.

It's going to be a wild ride. Fun part coming soon.

[kamayo]

Originally Posted by ilikeoldchangke

Thank you for the comments and encouragements
Please accept my apologies for being unable to reply to each comment.

It's going to be a wild ride. Fun part coming soon.

Very nice updates bro, thanks!

[FlatTop]

Originally Posted by ilikeoldchangke

Thank you for the comments and encouragements
Please accept my apologies for being unable to reply to each comment.

It's going to be a wild ride. Fun part coming soon.

Very nice updates bro.
Can’t wait for the Fun part…

[5ja5ja5ja]

Camping for fun updates

[driedlemon3]

Originally Posted by ilikeoldchangke

Thank you for the comments and encouragements
Please accept my apologies for being unable to reply to each comment.

It's going to be a wild ride. Fun part coming soon.

Reading your story is like reading a Singapore real life thriller. Something we cannot even buy from bookstore. I really love what I am reading, thanks for writing. I can't wait to read on!

[AhLeeBraBra]

Originally Posted by driedlemon3

Reading your story is like reading a Singapore real life thriller. Something we cannot even buy from bookstore. I really love what I am reading, thanks for writing. I can't wait to read on!

Agree bro. TS writing style is so different from others

[keano]

Is Sulyani a Malay or?

[FlatTop]

Originally Posted by keano

Is Sulyani a Malay or?

Originally Posted by ilikeoldchangke

The article spoke of Sulyani’s career and the family she left behind. Sulyani is only 29 years old. The only child of a mix marriage, Sulyani was described as extremely filial.

Her dad is a cab driver while her mum is a home baker.

This was mentioned in the earlier part of this story.

[ilikeoldchangke]

“Thank you for saving my life that day.”

“Oh..err… don’t mention it..”

“My colleague Chan has been wanting to thank you in person.”
Sulyani entered her phone number into my phone before asking why trouble always seem to follow me around.

“First there was that accident with the truck… then now this incident with the thief…”

“I’m just err.. unlucky I guess.” I smiled awkwardly as I watched Sulyani hit the dial button on my phone, giving her mobile a miss call.
My heart was racing, I’ve never asked someone for a number so abruptly before.

Choo came out with the first aid box but there’s nothing much they could do. The bleeding will stop on it’s own after a while. The thin roll of bandage could not do much and honestly, Sulyani’s underwear, having a wider surface area is more effective.

“It’s ok, it’s ok, I’m fine, the bleeding will stop after a while.” I said with my head tilted upwards.

I stood up and started to make my way to the lift.

“are you sure you’ll be ok?” Sulyani asked. “do you need me to call you an ambulance? “

“yeah, yeap, I’m good. I’m good.” I gave the father and daughter a thumbs up as the lift door closes.
Through the vision panel, I gestured to Sulyani that I’ll call her as the lift car started to descend.
I could hear Sulyani turning to her father asking if he’s ok before the descending lift cut off the conversation.

Getting down to the ground floor, I could see the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles along the main road. Despite the time of the night, a crowd has gathered to watch the firemen extract the body and car from the railings.

I stood on an elevated patch of grass knoll to look at the sight in front of me.
My eyes caught sight of a pair of familiar figures a distance away. Tan and his granddaughter. They carried bags of shopping as they walked slowly back to their place, uninterested in the accident. They walked under the sheltered void deck of a block of flats parallel to the road where the accident occurred, oblivious to their close brush with death that evening.

Tan reached into a shopping bag and I watched him pull out a bag of cookies and tried to open it, he laughed as his granddaughter Brenda made him put it back and tried to offer him something else from her bags instead.

Both of them looked exhausted after a long day of work but you could see they are happy. Happy and contented with each other’s company. How different their lives would be that night if Tan had killed Chua.

I’m not sure why I remained at the scene. I just stayed there for a while looking at the emergency services do their work.
I scanned the people watching the firefighters extract Chua’s body from the wreckage and I saw someone smoking across the road.
He saw me.
He definitely did.
It’s the newspaper seller.

He blew a cloud of smoke into the air before turning and walking away into the crowd with his signature grin on his face.
That same taunting gaze in his eyes.

I was too tired to go after him, partly because I knew there is no need to.
He will come for me.

A blue tent has gone up to cover Spencer’s body and I saw Chua’s friend, Francis crying and grabbing his head by the side of the road while surrounded by police officers.

I walked a couple of streets down to avoid the congestion caused by accident and took a taxi back home.
Heading into the shower, my body trembled under the cold water. I cleaned myself up and drank up the last of the milk from the carton in the fridge.
The bed never felt more welcoming to me and I knocked out immediately when my head touched the pillow.


27th December 2018
Thursday

First thing I did, I went to the papers. Sipping my coffee, I saw that the headlines have changed. I thought by doing something, I can save everyone but it became clear to me some people cannot be saved.

Chua still died, instead of being stabbed, he died in his friend’s car in the accident.
Spencer, instead of jumping off after a sex for credit scam, he was knocked down by a car while trying to escape.

The headlines on the papers is now about Spencer. People like to read news like this especially if it involves a university student and lingerie.

“Serial lingerie thief killed in road accident.
22 Year old Spencer was killed in a traffic accident. A large haul of women’s lingerie, clothes and footwear has been found in Spencer’s room when authorities went up to his place. His parents are in shock and they could not believe their son is responsible for the series of missing items in the neighbourhood. Police have retrieved a total of 47 bras, 31 underwears, more than a dozen dresses, 3 leggings with 4 pairs of socks from Spencer’s stash in his room. Under his bed, there are close to 20 pairs of heels and footwear of various designs. Spencer was wearing a female panty with sanitary pad when he was killed last night, both of which has been found to belong to a classmate of his. A large collection of upskirt videos including some taken from his school hostel has been found on his phone. Spencer’s laptops and hard drives have been seized for investigations.”

On a smaller column beside the headline, it featured a drunk financial consultant who killed his friend in the same accident. Chua, who is the owner of one of the brothels in Geylang was not wearing his safety belt when the car he was travelling on hit Spencer and lost control.

The car ram into the dividers, killing Chua on the spot.
There is no news on the papers about Alvin and Tan. I think they got away from this. The drawings, the lines and blue tacks I stuck on the papers now don’t make sense anymore since the articles on them have changed. The positions of the columns and pictures too, are now different.

I made myself a coffee and stared at the wall full of newspaper and little post it notes.
Closing my eyes, I lined up the series of events that would have happened if I did nothing.

Spencer will be the 1st to die. If he dies, Sulyani’s father Choo, will be safe because there will not be a lingerie theft for Choo to discover, thereby causing the accident.

Since I choose to save Spencer, I indirectly put Choo at risk. If I had saved Spencer and did nothing for Choo, I would be responsible for Choo’s eventual demise.
The cleaner Tan, he was meant to kill Chua. Report the body and go on to supper with his friends. If he did, he would have in turn, been killed by the BMW driver who is Chua’s friend.
Since I stopped him from killing Chua, I sort of rewrote the path for Tan. No supper, no dead body, no accident at the eatery.

Now this brings me back to what Chua said in the bathroom.
The fortune teller.

Chua was sure that he would die on the 26th. The fortune teller told him so. If that is the case, I wonder if that fortune teller foresaw my appearance that will affect what happens, and even then, knew Chua is not going to live past the 26th with or without me appearing.

Chua and Spencer’s death seemed to be set in stone.

Taken in whole, out of the 4 man, 2 are meant to die. There is nothing I could have done to save all 4. If I don’t chase Spencer, would he have died ? I don’t know.
Thinking along another perspective, perhaps I am meant to chase him, this way, my actions closed the loop on his circle.

And Sulyani being Choo’s daughter. What are the odds of something like this happening ? If I didn’t save Sulyani, would these series of events still happen ?

I gathered up all the papers and notes I made and crumpled them. I am now convinced there is a greater power at work here that I don’t understand. The one man that can answer my questions will be the newspaper seller. The next time I see him, I’m going to stop him from leaving until I have all my questions answered.
I’m beginning to see how this works.
Some things, I can change, somethings I can’t change no matter what I do.

With all the notes and newspaper gathered, I went to a corner of my estate where there are several incense burner set up for the residences. I found a old on that the cleaner use to burn dead leaves and twigs. I threw all the newspaper and notes inside, setting everything on fire.
I stood with my hands in my pocket, looking at the black smoke as it rose up into the midday morning, leaving only when it has all turned to ashes.

Since I’m on leave, I decided to pay my parents a visit and take them out.
Old people all like to go Chinatown for some reason and I brought them there for lunch and a bit of shopping. As I walked along old tea shops and makeshift tables selling everyday Knick knacks, I saw a fortune teller.
Opening some cards and speaking in dialect with a young couple, he started to foretell their future together.

It immediately brought me back to what Chua had said to me in the bathroom. The fortune teller. One that was staying in a mental hospital. A few months ago, I would have brushed this off as the ramblings of a mad man but now, having experienced things I could not explain, I find myself starting to believe in shit like these.

As I thought about Chua, I wondered if he had told his friends the same thing he revealed in the toilet. This leads me to believe that Francis, being the last person to see him alive, might have heard something.

It’s a long shot but it’s worth a try.
I sat down with my parents in a restaurant for dinner and my mother was going on about how her friends’ kids are all married, some of them are parents already.

“When are you going to get a girlfriend ? Or if you don’t want girlfriend, you wany boyfriend, must also tell mummy ok ? We can talk things through one.” She said as I continued googling on my phone. “are you listening to me or not Jerry.”

“Yes. Yes, I will try and find a girlfriend.”

I let her continue talking as I tried to find Francis online. Since he’s a financial planner, his profile must be available somewhere on the company site. After a bit of searching, I found it. Along with his email, there is also a number. I quickly screen shot the image before returning to the conversation with my parents in a half-hearted manner.