Page 50 - KCMAGAZINE 20230717
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Before the girl came, he’d been content  few steps backward, but stopped there.
                                                                                                                                   and happy with himself. And the trees and  Normally wild animals ran off under
                                                                                                                                   the flowers and the birds. He danced with  the threat of rocks, but this girl seemed
                                       Tom                                                                                         the butterflies and kicked rocks across the  reluctant  to go, driven by curiosity. She
                                                                 m
                                       To
                                                                                                                                   stream. He ran across corn fields and slept  looked at him up and down, and then to
                                                                                                                                   in hollow logs. There was peace, and then  his left and right, as though searching for
                                                                                                                                   there was him. He and peace got along  someone else.

                                                                                                                                   pretty well.
                                                                                                                                                                                     "Were you talking to somebody?" She
                                                                                                                                   It was a day like any other. The day the girl  asked.
                                          Written by Lim Le Herng                                                                  came.
                                                                                                                                                                                     He frowned. "You didn't answer my
                                                                                                                                   He was talking to Mr. Moustache and his  question." She frowned back, looking
                                                                                                                                   family in his favourite spot of the woods  annoyed, which took him by surprise; he'd
                                                                                                                                   when he heard the rustling of leaves, the  thought his raspy voice would scare her
                                                                                                                                   clumsy shuffling of feet through weeds. He  away. "I'm Saida," she said. "Happy?"

                                                                                                                                   straightened up, alarmed, and picked up a
                                                                                                                                   rock the size of a palm with ragged edges.  Saida Happy. What a weird name, he
                                                                                                                                   It did not sound like anything he’d heard  thought. She seemed harmless. He slowly
                                                                                                                                   before.                                           lowered his arm and put the rock back on
                                                                                                                                                                                     the ground.
                                                                                                                                   And then he saw her. A creature that
                                                                                                                                   looked just like him, except having more  "So," the girl continued. "Who are you, and
                                                                                                                                   and blonder hair, a slightly plumper build  what are you doing here?" Before he could
                                                                                                                                   – a stark contrast to his skinny body – a  say  anything,  she  held  up  her  hands  as
                                                                                                                                   heavy-looking lump on her back and  though she knew exactly what he was going
                                                                                                                                   something… something he'd seen a long  to say. "Okay, okay, I'll go first. I came to

                                                                                                                                   time ago but had long forgotten the name  stay at my grandma's for the summer, and
                                                                                                                                   of… a cap! She had a yellow cap on her  this morning I'd decided to have a little
                                                                                                                                   head. And a backpack. The lump on her  adventure out here in the woods. Since,
                                                                                                                                   back was a backpack.                              you know, you hardly get these anymore in
                                                                                                                                                                                     the city-" she waved her hands at the trees
                                                                                                                                   Human? He thought. He was terrified.  "-so… yeah! Here I am." Then she beamed
                                                                                                                                   Humans were the destroyers of peace. Was  at  him  expectantly.  He  almost  beamed
                                                                                                                                   she here to take away his?                        back, but stopped himself short; he didn't
                                                                                                                                                                                     even know this girl. Why should he tell

                                                                                                                                   "Whoa! Calm down." The girl held up  her anything? Plus, she'd interrupted his
                                                                                                                                   her hands, which looked pale against the  little chat with the flowers! So he scowled
                                                                                                                                   backdrop of green. "Don't hit me with that  instead, and without a word, turned away
                                                                                                                                   thing!"                                           and knelt down before the bunch of yellow
                                                                                                                                                                                     tulips, hoping she would take it as a sign to
                                                                                                                                   "Wh- who're you?" He rasped. How long  leave.
                                                                                                                                   has it been since the last time he spoke?
                                                                                                                                   He  couldn't  remember.  The  girl  took  a  He had no luck; a shadow loomed over Mr.


      47    Illustration by Tan Zi Yi                                                                                                                                                                                                   48
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