What are you doing here? I finally asked, to break the
suspense.
For peace and quiet, she replied simply, and asked me the same
question.
I was thinking about a girl I once knew, who used to live here, I
replied.
She was agog with girlish curiosity. Who was she? What was she
like? Was she pretty? Did you come back to look for her?
Her name was
Rina. No, she was not pretty really, but
Ill tell
you about her. Thus then, I told her all the time in my youth when
I had known Rina, and loved her.
The first time I saw her, I was returning home from church with my
family. We passed the `Miniature Victoria Memorial Hall`, called so
because of its grand size and impressive exterior. It had been a
Japanese torture chamber during the Japanese Occupation and had the
cheerful reputation of being haunted by the restless spirits of the
victims. As long as we could remember, it had remained unoccupied.
We had heard some time ago that a buyer had been found for
it.
That day, we espied a family with five children, the eldest, a girl
of sixteen or seventeen, and the youngest, a boy of about five,
moving in.
Dr. de Costa and his family, commented Father, moving down from
Georgetown. Dr. de Costa is a GP in Middle Road hospital --- one of
the best, but inclined to shoot his mouth off too much.
Whatever possessed them to buy that house? Mother wondered.
Hetty de Costa is a real party animal and a marvellous hostess.
She is sure to hold a party soon --- youll see.
I looked that the family with interest. The eldest girl, who was
swinging to and fro the gate, caught my attention by dint of the
gently curious, apprising gaze she was levelling at me. She was, I
thought, not as pretty as many other girls in the neighbourhood,
but her face had a certain piquant charm, the slant of her eyes was
distinctly Chinese, but they held a searching, asking expression
that was unusual and that, fascinated me. Her complexion was
duskier, her lips fuller and her dark tresses held more hints of
curls than the average Chinese damsel. She promptly looked down
with confusion the moment she caught my eyes, and I noticed her
eyelashes were long and upturned, making fan-like shadows on her
rounded cheeks.
We passed the house and I thought no more of the girl. The
invitation to Hetty de Costas party came soon enough and I too was
pulled along by mother who had decided that it was time I moved
into society. Halfway through, I managed to slip out through the
back door. A path gave way to a flight of stone steps, which led
down to the stone.
I sat on a low rock. Behind me, the Rhu trees hummed eerie melodies
of things shadowy and long past. The sea breeze wafted in, carrying
in the scent of brine and whispering half- formed fancies to a
young boy. Footsteps behind me told my solitude was interrupted.
They belonged to the girl I had seen a few days ago. Drawing on my
limited experiences with the female sex? I decided my silence would
soon be broken, and was not loath to show my displeasure on my
expression.
