Back in 6B, poor Kai Ming became the laughing stock of his class because somehow the whole class had got wind of what had happened at 1B. Alicia and Joon Lee, the two girls sitting in front of him were in stitches. Kai Ming felt down in the dumps. Joon Lee was his secret love and it pained him greatly to see her laughing at him. Joon Lee had been a great influence on Kai Ming. It was she who first introduced him to reading story books. He only started the reading habit to get into her good books and inadvertently got hooked into the habit. Because of this, his English Language skills had improved dramatically over the last two years. It was also she who put some lift into his otherwise dull daily routine. He would wait for her outside her flat at Blk 95 dutifully every school day and both of them would walk to school together. This in spite of the fact they were not exactly neighbours; he was staying two roads away from her. They would perch themselves on their bags on the staircase landing beside the school's foyer, taking turns to read aloud Enid Blyton books to each other.

  Kai Ming was not aware the other girl in front of him, Alicia, had a crush on him. Both Alicia and Joon Lee were very bright girls, having dominated the first three positions in class the last two years. Kai Ming could not have a better selection than either of these two. In fact, in Alicia's entry in Kai Ming's autograph book, she had penned the words:

  "Sail to the east,

  "Sail to the west.

  "Sail to the girlfriend you like best."

  Either Kai Ming had not noticed the hint behind the words or he pretended to be ignorant.

  Kai Ming did not reciprocate Alicia's feelings. Perhaps, he was blinded by his love for Joon Lee. But then, he was too young for such mushy things, for the three of them were only twelve years old.

  After school that afternoon, Kai Ming and Joon Lee walked back to Joon Lee's block at Commonwealth Close. She lived on the ground floor in a two-room flat with her father and mother and an elder brother.

  "See you tomorrow."

  "Bye-bye. See you tomorrow," was the rejoinder from Joon Lee.

  Kai Ming walked down Commonwealth Drive, crossed over to the Queenstown Lutheran Church and entered the front gate. He always cut across the church, to the hawker centre and thence to his block.

  But this time, he was down in his luck. While treading across the basketball court, he was hit in his right leg by a flying stone thrown by a secondary school boy in a moment of mischief. The skin below his knee opened up like a submarine hatch. But there was no blood. Kai Ming stood speechless. He was too dazed for words or pain. He could only stare at the hole, the size of a five-cent coin. Kai Ming summoned enough courage to look into the deep hole, expecting to see a bone or two but in vain.  The boy who was responsible for his predicament ran up to him and apologised profusely. This boy asked Kai Ming where he lived and helped him back to his flat. Luckily, Kai Ming's mother was not home or she would have given Kai Ming plenty to think about. The boy dressed Kai Ming's wound and left the flat. Kai Ming did not have the presence of mind to ask the boy's name.

  Anyway, the wound healed in time for the new year celebrations.

Chinese New Year's eve came too quickly. School that day lasted only two hours in the morning. Kai Ming's mother was busy preparing the altar for the prayers when Kai Ming entered the flat. There were chicken, pork, fish, duck and a host of other goodies laid out on the table in front of the altar. Kai Ming had not seen such a spread in the past twelve months.

  "Keep your fingers off the chicken."

  "Help me to put the bowls of rice on the table."

  "Now, go wash your hands and change."

  In the evening, Mother and son sat at the dinner table. Big Sister could not be back for the reunion dinner. She had to work till past three o'clock again. Reunion dinner was actually a time for the whole family to gather together. But for Kai Ming's family, it was quite different. Kai Ming could remember only one occasion in the past when his father had been home to celebrate the new year. That was five years back. The ship his father was working on happened to be in port then, en-route to Amsterdam and his father had three days off. Since then, he had seen his father less than four times.

  In fact, Kai Ming's father had become a stranger to him. Kai Ming soon realised that he only longed for his father because his father would buy him his favourite Enid Blyton books when he was in town. It was sad actually, for the pair had drifted apart over the years and their relationship was never to improve in the coming years.

  This year, reunion dinner was a quiet occasion again, not unlike the previous year. The soup was piping hot, the way Kai Ming liked it. He had no complaints that evening. His mother had made delicious and delectable food. But he was lonely.

  After dinner, Kai Ming helped his mother to put money into "Ang Pow" packets. Each packet contained one dollar and ten cents. Quite a lot considering some other mothers only put in fifty cents in each packet at the time.

  Though it was night outside, the sky was exploding in waves and waves of bright yellows and reds every few seconds, accompanied by thunderous clapping which deafened everyone's ears. It was time for the yearly ritual of letting off fire-crackers from the corridor. There was to be no let-up in the deafening noise or the streams of red smoke blanketing the whole area till the wee hours of the morning as every Chinese household in Singapore, rich or poor, let off firecrackers.

  Kai Ming helped his mother to take down a bundle from the top of the cupboard in the bedroom. She unrolled the wrapping paper to reveal layers and layers of red firecrackers neatly branched together to form a long roll some ten metres in length. When unfolded, the firecrackers spiralled into a hexagonal mounting. She tied the mounting to one end of a long bamboo pole and carried the pole to the corridor with Kai Ming holding on to the trailing red firecrackers. She then tied the other end of the pole to a pillar in the corridor and took in her left hand the end of the trailing firecracker with the fuse. The rest of the firecrackers was slung on the parapet.

  "Go ahead. Light the fuse," she shouted.

  It was very noisy and she wanted to be heard.

  Using a burning joss-stick, Kai Ming ignited the fuse. His mother quickly threw the trailing end over the parapet downwards. Then, she pushed the rest of the firecrackers over the parapet. The end with the burning fuse almost reached the ground floor.

  The firecrackers, having been lit, came alive and danced in the air. Kai Ming did not dare to look down. He only covered his ears to block out the deafening noise. He was soon to sorely miss this noise, for in the following year, the government would ban firecrackers in Singapore and he would never get to light firecrackers again for the rest of his life.

  Both Mother and son slipped back into the flat for their neighbours upstairs had already lit their firecrackers and the corridor was covered in smoke and red paper. It was dangerous to be out in the corridor.

  Kai Ming's mother took two "Ang Pow" packets out of her cupboard and presented them to him.

  "Kai Ming. This "Ang Pow" is from your father. And this one is from me."

  "May you have a good year ahead and pass the PSLE with flying colours."

  "Kong Hee Huat Chye, Mother."

  That night, Kai Ming went to bed with the red packets under his pillow.

  "Wonder how much is inside this time," he murmured to himself.

  Last Chinese New Year, his mother had given him six dollars in each red packet. That was quite a large sum to him. Soon, he was lost in dreamland. The thunderous clapping outside was far from his mind.

  It was seven o' clock when Kai Ming opened his eyes. The bedroom light was still switched on although sunlight was glaring through the open window. It was the family tradition to switch on all the lights in the flat on new year's eve and leave them on overnight. His mother had said this was to welcome the new year. His mother's bed was empty and Big Sister was slumped in her bed. Kai Ming got out of bed and headed for the toilet.

  "Kong Hee Huat Chye, Mother"

  "Oh, You are up already. Go take a bath and change into your new clothes. Breakfast is ready."

  "Remember, don't disturb your sister."

  After his bath, Kai Ming slipped into his new clothes and greased his hair with Brylcreem, taking great pains to ensure his "curry puff" hairstyle was just right. Then, he had his breakfast- fried rice and chicken.

  After breakfast, he went into the living room and started his wait for visitors. It was to be a long wait in vain. No one would step into the flat that first day of the Chinese New Year. He didn't realise it at first. As the wait dragged on, his mind would recall the past few new years and he would be reminded of the stark truth.

  There he was, all decked out in his new year clothes but there was no one to show them to. There was also no "Ang Pow" to be collected.

  Kai Ming was too young to know that as his family was poor, his relatives would give his flat a miss in their traditional new year visits. They would keep away all new year and the rest of the year too. His relatives were mostly rich people who could not get themselves to rub shoulders with the poor. They were afraid Kai Ming's mother would borrow money from them. Strangely, when people had money, they started to harbour all sorts of illusions in their minds. Only his father's third cousin, Uncle Chiam, who worked as a civil servant, could find time to visit his family from time to time.

  He paced up and down the flat, taking turns to sit in the cane chair, his bed, and the stool in the balcony while drinking his favourite F&N orange crush. His mother noticed his impatience.

  "After lunch, I will take you to Auntie Seok's place," she promised.

  Auntie Seok was not even a relative. She was the daughter of his mother's friend. They lived in Tiong Bahru. His mother had a lot of friends everywhere- not those fair weather ones but real ones who would share all the joys and worries. These people more than made up for the lack of friendship from her relatives.

  Big Sister was finally awake. She was brushing her teeth when Kai Ming came up from behind her.

  "Kong Hee Huat Chye, Big Sister," he said.

  "Mmmmmmm. Aaaaaaaah," was the reply.

  The toothbrush was still in her mouth and her words were unintelligible. Big Sister had quite a load on her shoulders. It was she who had to quit school when she was in secondary two to help the family to make ends meet. Their father's salary was barely enough to keep the family going. It was an enormous sacrifice for his sister. Girls her age were still enjoying themselves in school and here she was, slapped with such a burden. Still, she had taken it all in her stride and accepted it as her fate. Kai Ming was careful never to provoke his sister. She had done so much for the family and he felt he owed her a great deal. Without her, he would not have had the chance to complete his primary school studies. Without her, he might not be able to go on to secondary school. This picture, thus painted, was by no means uncommon in newly industrialising Singapore. This was a common story among HDB folk. It was what bound the residents together- a common need for a better life. In the years to come, this common need would fade away as children grew up, parents became grandparents and the country prospered. Such common poverty was to become a thing of the past as Singaporeans benefited from its new stable and enlightened government.

  "Mother, I have found a new job," Big Sister surprised both of them.

  "I am to be a cashier at the Hyatt."

  "Oh Good. Then, you won't have to slog through the night again."

  "All this night life is not doing your body any good."

  "When do you start, Big Sister?"

  "Next week. On the 1^st February.”

  The family of three finally left the flat at about two o’clock. They were careful to avoid being surprised by dancing firecrackers let off by residents upstairs in the block. The surrounding open space was a sea of red. Even the drains were clogged with red paper, remnants of firecrackers set off the previous night. Even now and then exploding firecrackers made themselves heard in the neighbourhood. Occasionally, a live firecracker would dart about just next to where they were walking. There simply was no escape from these red things.

  A public bus took them to a bus-stop along Tiong Bahru Road. They alighted and walked down a small road into the new HDB estate. Tiong Bahru at the start of the seventies was a mixture of recently built high-rise HDB flats and a scattering of  low-rise apartments built in the fifties. Auntie Seok lived on the eighth storey in a two-room flat in Lengkok Bahru together with her mother. She was still a spinster although there were quite a few suitors. Perhaps, she wanted to choose a husband carefully, one who would look after her mother and take her as his own. Auntie Seok worked as a telephone operator in a big Chinese firm in North Bridge Road. There was no doubt in Kai Ming’s mind she could easily get married. She was tall, slender and quite beautiful. She was Kai Ming’s favourite auntie, not only because she gave four dollars in her “Ang Pow” to him, but also because she was always around to help his mother in her hour of need.

  Soon, the three of them reached her block. At both ends of the block stood two make-shift gaming stalls. Some people, still in their new year attire, were busy placing their bets. A man standing behind each stall was shuffling a deck of cards and at the same time exhorting passers-by to join the game. The lift, located up a flight of stairs in the middle of the block took the threesome up to the landing between the eight and ninth storeys. They walked down some steps, made a right  turn and reached Auntie Seok’s flat.

  “Ah! Good. She’s in,” His mother said.

  In those days, a telephone was a luxury. Out of ten blocks, perhaps you could find two flats with a telephone. Auntie Seok too didn’t have a telephone so there was no way to inform her in advance of their visit. Kai Ming’s mother  at times  would hazard a visit to her only to find the place in darkness and no one in.

  An elderly woman opened the door and let them into the flat. There wasn’t any grille   gate at the front door.

  “Kong Hee Huat Chye,” wished the two children.

  “Ah. You are all here. Ah Seok! Ah Seok! Look who’s here,” called Auntie Seok’s mother.

  “Kong Hee Huat Chye, Ah Mai,” wished the two again.

  “Ah Mai” in Hainanese meant auntie.

  Auntie Seok was very polite. She was also conversant in English and spoke to Kai Ming and his sister in English. Of course, at the time, Mandarin was hardly in use and dialect was dominant in conversations. But this time round the three chatted in English. Kai Ming’s mother and Auntie Seok’s mother were firing off Hainanese in rapid succession. Kai Ming didn’t know what they were talking about most of the time. He seldom spoke Hainanese at home. He spoke English to his sister. He never spoke Hainanese elsewhere. In fact, he was a strange sort of Singaporean for he was beginning to think and even dream in English. Perhaps, it was the influence of those Enid Blyton books. Maybe it was because he seldom spoke to others, even his own mother and so developed this deficiency.

  Auntie Seok put  an “Ang pow” packet in his shirt pocket while he was busy with his F&N orange crush.

  “May you grow up to be an outstanding young man.”

  “Thank you, Ah Mai.”

  Back home that evening, Kai Ming took out his three red packets and counted the money.

  “Wow! Sixteen dollars.” It was a princely sum to a young child at that time.

  Auntie Seok had given him four dollars. That’s worth the money in four red packets.

  It was time to play with firecrackers again. Kai Ming brought out some ten-centimetre tall rockets and leaned them against the parapet in the corridor. Next, he positioned one through an opening in the parapet, took aim and ignited the fuse with a burning joss-stick. The rocket shot off in a trajectory with a loud whizzing sound. It soon found its mark in the front door of a flat in the opposite block.

  “Bam!”

  Kai Ming hid his face behind the parapet. An occupant of the targeted flat came out for a look. He went back in and closed the door behind him. Kai Ming launched the remaining five rockets into the sky. Then, he went in search of his two pals. He had no luck on the ninth storey. Choon Huat was still out visiting. Juk, who lived on the fifth storey, came out to join him. Both boys went to the Indian stall in the hawker centre to purchase fireworks. They soon found a spot on the kerb at the corner of their block and spent the rest of the evening letting off different types of fireworks; there were fireworks shaped like motorcycles, tanks, cars and lorries. When ignited some would move off in a straight line; others would go round in circles and release a trail of colourful bright sparks.

  How the two boys enjoyed that evening! Their children would never get to see such dazzling toys, let alone fire them. It was a treat that would remain etched in the boys’ minds for a long time to come.

  With the passing of the lunar new year, the rest of the year took a more serious note. The PSLE examination seemed to loom closer and closer. Finally, before Kai Ming knew it, he had sat for all the PSLE papers. It was already the middle of October. The year of the dog only had three months left in its run. Unknown to Kai Ming, his future wife would be born on the first day of the new lunar new year, the year of the Pig.

  Having to say goodbye to all his schoolmates, teachers and the school was painful. Kai Ming had been posted to Victoria School in Jalan Besar while most of his classmates would start secondary school in the adjoining New Town Secondary School. He had made sure everyone he knew had contributed some words in his autograph book. He would soon be moving to the new Toa Payoh Estate far away and  there would be little opportunity to see his pals again.

  The changes were taking Kai Ming by storm and displacing his mind. It was the last day of school and Kai Ming could not keep still. He would miss Choon Huat, Juk, Joon Lee, Alicia, Mr Ong and the only school he had known in his life.

  Sitting on the kerb by the side of the school building, Kai Ming opened his autograph book to the page where Mr Ong had scribbled some words:

  "No man is an island by himself,

   either in life or after death. "

  It was an apt reminder to Kai Ming not to daydream too much, not to keep to himself all the time, but to learn to accept those around him and live with them.

  Alas! Kai Ming was too young to understand the meaning behind the words.

  At last, he closed his autograph book and with that closed a chapter in his life.

THE END