The illuminating eye rested between two islands. It was draining its energy bit by bit as it sank down beneath the horizon. Nothing got better than chilling at Tanjung Aru beach on a Sunday evening.
“Daddy, can I have some more of the coconut water please?” I asked.
Peter grinned and handed his six-years-old daughter a big, green coconut with a straw inserted through a rough sliced opening. I sat the delicious fruit on my lap and took a long gradual sip of the sweet, refreshing fluid from its inner shell. My taste buds leaped to paradise as the honey-like flavour, colourless water traveled from the tip of the straw to my mouth.
“It’s a beautiful view from here, isn’t it?” my mother, Helen smiled.
She gazed at the calm ocean in front of us. After the sip, I breathed in the rich salty air and wiggled the soft brown sand off my toes. The sun was a pale lemon with amber shades painted the sky; the waves were a glossy reflection of the sunset’s hues. This was where I wanted to be, lying on the wooden beach chairs with my beloved parents while indulging in the Malaysian awarding scenery…
BANG! The sound of a gun wakes me up from my dream. Reality immediately hit against me like a tidal wave. Instead of looking at the evening beauty from the same spot, I turn my back to where the resort is located. Another gunshot echoes from the first floor of the hotel.What’s happening? That doesn’t sound like fireworks! A warm breeze suddenly whooshes against me that carry my high ponytail to float in midair. It is fast and rough like a charging stallion; it sends my back tingling like an electric shock.
I immediately sprint to the hotel and up a spiral staircase. As I reach to the second floor which is the lobby, I feel like the building is going to collapse into a cluster of debris. A woman in a purple T-shirt and a white maxi skirt lies motionless on the marble floor. The shirt is stained by a heavy crimson colour; it travels down onto her skirt before ending into a pool on the floor. I recognize the length of the woman’s hair from the back. Spikes of a hedgehog begin to crawl on my back as I get closer to the victim. Once I walk to the front, I can’t believe my own eyes. Helen Lin, my dear mother, has lost her next second of life.
From my back, I hear a sinister laugh. Mason, my stepfather is leaning against the concierge desk with a black gun in his right hand. His eyes are a demon black.
“I thought you’re in jail!” I exclaim in disbelief.
The psycho twirls his gun playfully before tucking it into the pocket of his brown trousers.
“That’s partially correct,” he replies, “but I didn’t end up in those shitty police cars.”
“What are you talking about?” I gasp, “I saw you got arrested with those men behind my school yesterday.”
“You were there, weren’t you?” he frowns, “I didn’t expect you to ruin my match.”
“Listen, Mason! I don’t know what you’re up to but you’ve done a whole lot of crap. You use animals as violent entertainment and you quit your job just to go to clubs every night.” I spill out, “I even see you slapping my mother and asking her to give you her allowance just to buy beer.”
“So what? I don’t even give a damn about everything.” He fishes into his other pocket and takes out a thin bundle of purple 100 Malaysian dollars, “Thanks to your soft-hearted mother, these babies belong to me now.”
He waves the pile of cash in the air as if he has won the lottery. He stops in his sixth wave and spots a note sticking in the pile. I watches him taking it out and reading it with a numb expression.
“I knew it! It’s just a piece of junk!” he says and tosses the paper towards me. Without hesitation, I pick it up and read,
My dear Pheline,
You’ve grown into an amazing young woman. Now it’s the time for you to find your own journey. No matter what happens, Peter and I will always be by your side and we will be cheering for you as you strive to conquer the mountains and the oceans. I’m glad to say that I’ve finally can save this amount for your new school. Take care and good luck!
Mom
My sight melts into a cloudy view as I struggle to hold back my tears. I wish that this won’t happen so that I can thank her and hug her and remind her that I love her very much…I don’t blame her for marrying Mason in the first place, I am just grateful to see her all smiling and spreading her love constantly to me and my dad. If only she can be resurrected…if only I can see her precious, reassuring smile again…
Blood race madly in my veins as I stare at Mason, feeling like a grenade prepared to blast his hideous, horrible smirk. He pulls out his gun again and points at me. He is about to shoot when I suddenly dodge away and grab hold of his hand. With a quick move illustrated automatically in my head, I kick him in the stomach and punch him in the face. Behind me, a semicircle of bewildered foreigners are staring and gasping like spectators in a circus.
“I bet you don’t know that I have a black belt in karate, asshole!”
As I am about to reach for the gun he has dropped, he grits his teeth and snatches it from his side. He aims his weapon at me, ready to fire.
“Hold it right there!” a policeman approaches from nowhere.
A few more policemen run up from a flight of stairs with guns rested on the top of their shoulder.
“You’re under arrest,” the policeman says, “Drop your weapon please!”
Mason raises his hands up for half a second. He suddenly makes a dash away from the concierge table and down to the spiral stairs to the bottom floor. The lead policeman gets his weapon ready and successfully shoots right at Mason’s back. Seeing the enemy got defeated has caused the cloak of shame and misery to be taken away from my body.
“Pheline! Are you okay?” another voice startles me.
As I try to lift myself up, my peripheral vision catches a girl with familiar dark brown eyes and silky black hair that reaches to her waist. My best friend, Solange runs towards me when she sees me grasping the table for support.
“Solange! What are you doing here?” I exclaim.
“I was tagging along my uncle Benjamin while suddenly he got an urgent message from his walkie talkie! I’m glad that we arrive on time!” she replies with a relieved smile. I then remember that her uncle is the chief policeman of the Tanjung Aru police headquarters.
Solange helps me to get up. She notices my mother lying in the middle of the lobby and shares the same sorrowful face as I have.
I don’t know whether it’s just me but I can feel Mom’s embrace surrounding me. The world looks better than the episode last night; the sun releases fantastic ribbons of light that automatically heals the small crack in my heart.
Solange shortly walked towards me to give me a comforting hug. It reminds me of how blessed I am to have her who loves me. Her hilarious make-up stories from Big Bang Theory will be my ideal remedy, and I can’t beg for anything better than going away from home with her. Dad is the one who told me first that no matter what situation I am in, there are always people who care for me. After he passed away due to stroke when I was nine, I would always visualize his face to draw his presence in my soul. And now that mom’s gone too, I know that she’s joyfully reunited with dad in the spiritual realm and she’s watching over me to see me hunting for a milestone.
“Ready to go? You wouldn’t want to miss your flight!” she said.
I return her gaze with a smile, “This is it! My own story is about to be written!”
“You already are writing it! You just haven’t got to your real adventure yet!”
She’s right, my story has started but the part where I paint myself with new colours hasn’t arrived.
The sound of an airplane roars behind us. We switch our view from the islands to a Malaysian Airlines mechanical bird which glides above the resort, heading to east. The international airport which is in this direction and fifteen minutes away from the resort signals me to get ready for my trip.
Before we head to the parking lot, I am stopped by a sudden gust of air. This time, the breeze that blows against my face is cool and generous. I look at the nostalgic live postcard, realizing that my parents are saying “good luck” through this natural messenger. Maybe the warm breeze I felt yesterday was Dad’s warning…
As we walk away from the beach, I swear that I hear sweet laughter chimed from Dad, Mom, and the six-year-old me.
No comments:
Post a Comment