Page 51 - 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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