Shost Story “ I could use: another piece, Ma'am,’ ‘What a lovely. pie, mimicked Ching Ling. ‘And her eyes bulging out of their sockets like light bulbs,’ said ‘Trinity. “Maybe her. mother doesn't want to feed her.” “At the school picnic at the Reservoir, she finished 56 ‘marshmallows, though she didn’t bring anything.” ~ “And remember Mingyoke’s party? Where she kept five sticks of sate babi under her blouse and they fell-when she was pinning the tail on the donkey?” Trinity and Ching Ling screamed with laughter. “She must be full of tapeworms!” Wendy Evans walked down the road, the bow of her polka dot dress trailing in the dust, ‘Twelve silver braclets jingled on her loft: wrist. She walked with her eyes cast down, hoping she'd find a Penny or a safety pin or something. At the intersection, Mustafa, the grocer’s boy, pedalled furiously by, an-orange-billed mynsh cawing on his’ shoulder. Sometimes it flew above his head, following the trishaw, then © alighted again on his shoulder. Wendy vigorously waved 2 braceleted hand. “Give me a dol” : “ “Get out of the way,” screamed Mustafa, “You'll get cauight in the wheels.” “Give me a sweet then,” said Wendy, laughing and running zigzag in front of Mustafa’s trishaw. The grocer’s boy reached into F) the dolivery basket and threw a piece of candy into’a tuft of grass Hunger Gilda Cordero-Fernando “WHO shall we be today, Trinity?” “ar. and Mrs, Zeppelin, up the Bil?” “No, we've been them 0 many tne before, Miss Bartlett, the flute teacher then?” - “Mis Balt a be my famly fora canes said 10. sve never played & Filipine family yat. And pleare fick the dal un Mrs de Santos and woke Daving met for cer Ching Li nese food, . . we'll.have “ that’s Chinese sxe ee sah and tamarinds bute litle sand and! sin sinigang — “4 bsef RB) __ Wendy dived’ into the grass and found it; It was an after. flower seeds will do.’ +t rocking in the sun porch in her silk y, dinner mint. She sat down under the shade of a rubber tree and Ching-Ling’s ne sipping tea from a jade green cup. ‘unwrapped it. Once upon a time this rubber tree and many other samfu, smoking 8 cigwretie #4 8 rubber trees made up a jungle and the Sultan of Johore hunted areas eee | tigers in it. When Papa brought her once to the Sultan’s summer anil ; ‘the bamboo fence heavy with tiger snide, the English Mrs, Evans walked down the road in her damp orchids, thing : he c footprints long and thin on the concrete. Cee toe Bingapore Beach Club stamped on it. Her = Place in Penang, she saw all the tiger heads in it, Wendy lay down. on her tummy and pretended to be the Sultan of Johore stalking a tiger. When the candy had melted in her mouth, Wendy looked for Outside the window, past carried a faded re ote by two Japanese bracelets. the wrapper and licked it In the distance, past the fringed freckied amos were caught a the Wry eg Ling. trees and the peaked thatch-roof houses of the Malave ae eal tye gos Wend ot ed soon nous tet Chinas cometary were ba thee stan eet ‘Mark my word, Mendy wt gantos, “When Mss. Evans swimming. Mr. Zeppelin was always meeting her there to teach her TEE ee esaat? how to drive. Wendy's father could teach Mama how to drive but goes gut, Wendy goes nt he was always so busy at the Consulate and besides their Mercedes Benz was too new to lear on. They always quarreled about it. “But greedy. Always asking for things to eat in other ‘But she’s so al "5 people's houses. My mother says it's strange because her family not poor at all.”| | | Pram 224 the bow of her polka dot dress dragging after her in the dust. The houses along Wallace Way were drowsing in the sunlight ~ vine. covered fairytale cottages with industrious people puttering in their gardens and in their kitchens, making taffy and brewing tea. But some were very old, with witches in it. A rotary sprinkler ‘was whirling on Mrs, de Lange’s lawn and her ground lilies had Burst into bloom — spidershaped, with flecks of purple. Wendy broke one off and smelled it, It tickled her nose, She wondered if she could give it to Trinity de Santos’ mother in exchange for apiece of cake ‘Trinity's mother baked such mouth-watering cakes. She used to mun a cooking school in Manila until Mr. de Santos decided that saxophonists stood a better chance in Singapore, so now they lived here, Ehem-ing, Wendy wiped her shoes politely at the de Santos door. She saw Mrs. de Santos slipping a sponge cake into the oven and tiptoeing around the kitchen so it wouldn’t fall. It wouldn't do to have a sponge cake with fallen arches. The baby in Mrs. Ge Santos’ tummy had grown larger than last time, almost like a ratermelon against the edge of the sink where she had tiptoed to vvash some lentils for dinner. Wendy sat quietly down on a kitchen ool and sniffed ecstatically. She liked the smell of Mrs. de Tange't Kitchen which Was winey and lemony y like the Tiffin Room of Raffles Hotel, and the smell of Mrs. Ching’s which was spicy and meaty like the Chicken Inn, and Mrs, Sharma's which ras stained with yellow curzy like the food stalls of the Esplanade; Dut best of all she liked Mrs. de Santos’ kitchen which smelled ‘of baking all the time, The old oven was all wor from turning ‘out goodies and the tablecloth had a patch on one corner becatse people were always eating on it, and some of the willowware Jaucers were chipped. In Wendy’s house, the kitchen was spotless ‘and cold like a big igloo — there was a double door refrigerator in je and a tea service cart, and little silver spoons that were used only by company. And the gleaming white range was new but Mrs Evans never boiled anything on it but water, and if you looked down the sink, it was choked with tea bags. ‘Hello, Wendy,” said Mrs. de Santos without looking over her shoulder. “How did you know it was me?” “pve got something for you.” “That's very sweet,” said spider lily absently and finally tucking it in back to the oven and peeped in. ‘fs that a sponge cake you're baking?” asked Wendy, trying asked Wendy Gelightedly. ‘Trinity’s mother, fingering the her apron. She went Shoct Story 225 “Yes, it is,” said ity’s mother. “ and play at Ching Ling’s, Wendy? aaees ee i yg could down the kitchen T bet ee a Sea ema: just love chocolate, don’t you? I bet I could eat a sero te by mart slo whe eS s2 Sal pate nd gr of poe apn way a cto 2 helping of sinigang,” asked Tiny. ine Be oy te ee ee ssid Ching Ling; her voice ike Mist Adey's the ballet teacher, fou lo the first position. “When you food, you mustn’t stare with Ss st aes Sarees Pore ae en ea ey you're asked ‘Do you want any,’ you say no first,” ee a oetiae ee ok re aCe low about some gumdrops?” asked Trinity. ; i) thank you,” said Wendy. en 1g Ling and Trinity, popping all the gumdrops the porch, Sh could he Teinty and Ching Ling cling er bck but she pretended to have suddenly been strick stone deaf, Neat the drainipe, she found Otto Sandrock’s ture taking a drink of‘Shor Story 227 © to remind you, ..” i “Look, tweetheart, there rigbt now. ,«Jmportant peopl.” just wanted to: know, | “Yes, Wendy?” ee ease a «we're going to Happy World to see the midgets and the a tecterotter and a straw cap i Sandrock was always loving bis children. s mene gee you got.a new snake, Otto,” said Wendy, pressing her forehead against the cool grills of the fence, ee “So what's it to you?" Otto finished his soda pop and threw the bottle over the fence. Otto stood on his head against the wall. oof the house. He tumed eight handsprings. Gully-gully- slid the Giher snake off his neck and put-it in a rattan basket. Gully-gully Started to walk on his hands, You could see that the seat of his. ‘pants was teribly dirty. Wendy decided to go to the Chinese cemetery to remind her mother that it was lugchtiine. ‘The sun was directly over het head, ‘dlanting on the gnudy-colored, tallow-encrusted gravestones of the ‘dest cemetery in Malaya, They said there were so many corpses {nif that they had.to be buried standing up. = * 90 ‘In front of the moon gate, the strap of Wendy’s shoe broke: Wendy set down on the grass and tried to fix it. She saw: nother backing Mr. Zeppelin’s zine gray. Zephyr in and out bet- ‘ween two rows of pebbles, learning how to park. Wendy's mother shad thrown, a yellow beach towel over her bathing: sult. Mr. Zappelin sat next to her: in his Hawaiian shirt, looking ‘advertisement in Punch. They lurched around the gravestones, ‘railing clouds of dust. ASE “At the third tum, they'saw Wendy by the moon gate, fixing ‘the strap of her shoe. “Don’t be following me,” said Mir. Evans, owing down. ate ‘T's lunchtime, Mama," said Wendy. eae4 “You ‘better go home then,” said Mrs. Evans, “Ayah will take care of you. There's lots of food in the icebox.” S Wendy Knew there was no food in the icebox but she went ‘on home just the same, She ran down the thick carpet of the igloo, past the piano and the potted palms, her footsteps echoing like Thuffled heartbeats. In her mother's bedroom, she plopped herself Gown on the quilted seat of the dresser, reached for the telephone jj mong the bottles of perfume and face tissues and dialed a number, holding the receiver close to her ear. “Hello, Papa?” “Wendy? What's my little girl been doing with herself all tay?” “Nothing, Papa.” She wiggled on the ruffled stool. “Tealled up as T was telling you, I'm terribly tied tip today... ‘ambassedors, you know. ... what about tomorrow, or the day ‘after. . “yes, 1 know I promised. . . let's talk about it as soon as Iget home, shall we?” “Al ight, Pape” 2 : “Don't cry, Wendy.” 2 ve ‘The line went dead, Wendy put the receiver back on its cradie, Vaguely, she hunted on the miagazine rack for a paper doll “at all-to cut, or hold or fondle. Her tummy began-fo hurt. She ran to the window and pressed it hard on the sil, That way it didn’t ‘hurt too. much, In, the yard, Ayah was hanging up the wash, her * girly, mouth full:of clothespins. She looked like somebody’s step- mother. Wendy jumped down to the floor and ran t9 the kitchen. ‘she. jerked upen the'refrigerator door. There wae a bottle of sun tan Jotion and an orchid in it.The belly of the ice compart- ment. was fat; with ice. Wendy took a knife from the, kitchen ‘drawer and: seraped some of the “mow” into her tongue. She [pretended {6 be ons, the Eskimo girl from Alaska, getting a “mouthful of snow. : : ‘Then Wendy walked out into the yard banging the Kitchen door. She stood for a moment looking down at the broken strap © of her shoe, wondering where to go. She took the diagonal short ‘eat to ‘Trinity's house to see about the sponge cake but the door ‘was locked. All ‘ver the row of houses on Wallace Way,.families |wete having lunch, the sound of their forks and knives and dinner conversation floating down from the curtained windows. Tn the cool interior of the de Santos gatage, she found the ‘Mortis Minor parked. It had three holes in its shiny dome because the day it was bought was the first day of the student riot. Sitting on the fender, Ahmad, the Malayan driver of the de Santos's, was hhaving his dinner of bread and salted eggs from a split paper bag. He was a Moslem and he never ate pork, refused to eat from the plates Mrs. de Santos brought out to him because they had touched pork, refused to eat in the kitchen which was sinful with the aroma of pork fat, Ahmad ate the last of the red eggs and or a bit of rag to cut, but there wasn't anything, Wasn't anything .228 ~~ z ‘wrapped ip the broken shells. Wendy sighed. «: "A Beggar’ caine down’ the intersection, wasted sboethet gt eB a queer sight in his ragged battle pants hol % hand out for alms. Under his ragged straw hat, the beggar scanned ‘the road’for policemen; many times he had. been’ ‘collared for. loitering around the markets of Bukit Timah ‘and Paso Panjang. ‘The beggar walked past the papaya trees'and stopped in front ‘of the kitchen; Wendy saw Mr. de Santos, shut the door in the beggar’s face. She could hear him quarreling with Mis. de Santos inside. . “You didn’t have to be Hiaish,” Mrs, de Santos was saying “He was just asking for some alms.” . ze [Us our civic duty to discourage’parasitism of any kind,” said Mr.-de Santos, turning on the faucet and washing his hands off the affair. “That's all Very fine in theory,” said Mrs. de Santos que- Francisco Areellana * I HAVE received a singular warning, I have felt-the wind of the wing of madiness pass over me, ‘rulously. “But when people don’t have enough money; or food, ot a Gaia Tove, they have to beg.” : REESE a 'Wendy-followed the retreating beggar. She began to mimic : wig = otal Inte hhim, pushing her loge inwatd tll the kneeg knocked together, and ieaiateky : her empty stomach filled with the gas of her laughter. Stepping Cabs laborious, the stetced er Ywiehing pal out nthe age-old gesture of supplication. ao : ©. Pepe has « hew place; but. it wasn’t hard to find. It is only @ "block away from Taft. Avenue and about a hundred yards off Sari ‘Andres comer. The street is not a first class street, itis practically ‘dirt road, but it is very quiet, You wouldn’t believe itis within a stone's throw of the city’s great south national highway. The place is impressive. It is an. apartment building that doesn't 100k like one at all. It looks more like a mansion. That is probably what it was, a rich man’s home, before it was converted into ahostelry. no _._ A wall almost a man’s height surrounds it. The gate, two anels of very heavy wood with inlaid beaten brass filigree work, this aftemoon was ajar — open only wide enough to admit one person at time, Tn the courtyard was a eucalyptus with lana vines, a fountain, a lot of fers and flowering plants in huge pots, and a ‘square lawn of thick Bermuda grass that has begun to bulge in places. A concrete driveway leads beneath a porte-cochere, up beside the building, and disappears into the back. I saw two entrances, a wider side entrance and a front one, I Used the front