Page 62 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL2

RREdeviouslylaunchedintoalengthytwcouldgo ahead. I flflipped him over, gdeviouslylaunchedintoalengthyfsloreplynothingandthushadtoacceptereplynothingandthushadtoacceo .A.ctgtoconfused,halfashamedtohavemoetconfused,halfashamedtohavemum.Srm”watesadoctorateanditwasherfirstterm.ofahsreshrtrtltpheeeEeeneecccitFFeeMgwo,aaSing’smotherwasstudyingforonSing’smotherwasstudyingforofniitccnnppuhtdeiireoLLhihiit“t“wwneeehEEgFnnsaenEnEsstataCCttmaanu.UatCtCrcTTorrnng”a”addernIIgggtooshhOONllnnouiiiirrssadTdTnniialltonndbdblNShthtefeelgtgtldullytiTiTlladthe afternoon. I would go and fetch him and took care of him for the next two hours to leave his mother more time to study.ashsappear over the table and grab the item nearest at hand. If we didn’t intervene promptly enough, an entire plateful of rice ended up on the flfloor.andeourcaSOowowo,s,shhhccrtsti“i“hhewewetktktOFhhhehehhllwououFMiietiiccattootthshstSaarrobillebebdtdtktktsasaMYmahhebinrrododhhbttttYLececaagSooyetttwtwhhshheerriiLIooeevvteetuunniieieiIFlptgnnrrooeee”tnnrFEdle.Atgi.SiesotIsfEttnancfinfbofrreesobeyywntaainftomrrettlfhoieezsstungzstbrurliithilmeeceecoIfedctetiinthretfiwirngbtthelefhdohhnhaeain.betltiououeleekedimulhiubgg,anattfivraffe,Inhhhevea.AgemkidrmelidseoebIre,tAfgaspmmtbbbhattanmairittcesdfiptyyasp,ItbaftrentanchfinaaroalohecteinnheoeaertopendossshdreeescklfuurfaIsheateuthhranennea.anntaasakorlstueshaoacanedamolaatrtrannidataoe,,htstchaansttaabatbnninhssapittppvmonndndenhhodndiitotlooeeliveantwho.ooupeendrrondussodssf..WorokaeearrcuredssddntupfarpkaiisscthpbonnWacoourfdmiidittiulfomyyyahocepraduuuuiitesrur.Oapldorby,ywh,wthundvree,bb’nevadhorperbyserrtwehfsa,a’serelfmme,nnhtwo,weflrbotsora,wtaavnceeonddouhafiitaalsppvoueagghanlintwhagiaathntohthtirregettteethoehehevtteichaeotlwleetaaofoorrbwhvendcknednaaaatofedhddoddodwteftkkefuheriiwevehimmebienrhhioucckoiianvethhnncouldusly withdrew my arm, then usdlcautiopeusscautiod him with a blanket, and that disswe,ig,upino me. onwouldeath that makes birds sing and ecoavvsteerrtahenewwagerateforthetimebeiwet done. tasthhaThatdayIdrovebacktotheWhile I sat looking at him curled lThatdayIdrovebacktothesseeaaottittinhhnteerthheeccaarraannddwweennttttooppiicckkuupphhiissupWhiis sleep, all sorts of dreams ihousewithSingfeelingthoroughlym.OinhhousewithSingfeelingthoroughlymocehngccaammundervaluedsomeone,halfelatedto.FIwineIrundervaluedsomeone,halfelatedtobbaabbyy.FoorrmmyyppaarrttIweennttinttootthhedIeteamt that the world of my sons edhaveencounteredwarmthofsomedhaveencounteredwarmthofsomekkmthgonihnedinontn,ShiscinrgbuelelcycamoeSldwineegSaatthhieenrrgtgt.F.FototrroomIheyokiittoucchhInunneenngiitnttg,ii,IaatoIaorllllyyruatu,,wtessttlwhefileeuhefirrseupstnpanSt,amSi,wimnngwoeeagwollfifinawangdll..wouldwoulrbe a world of friendship and bkpeace, better than the world thatindinthiscruellycoldwassssdowttiillwnllvntveethrryypeace,ted me. I dreamt of two young tteynhenon,SingbecameSingSinheeccoonnffrroyifwyiTtdtothetwoSingaporean-Americandc.coohuuiillnnddgwgwrreenngF.soommoaannfnfgtrrooolmTmTduaastiiwwhaaatSnanainnndTdTgSiTifosoodoooodooondlnirri.AsnliiknmkemyeassyaafsooarroofamamnnamsmiasssissshsIoohIfihehedfiniidmnssmiimasshhemootanenaddthheatde,IerItrcooooeaoouuatkkollddethh’oe’suuraasmenwlove than love for the opposite lrdmenoho would know a wider and htothetwoSingaporean-American.A,trdeepecrchttssrlose friends and relatives, who leeeexoxopeMldinwourcknow how to breathe in the kheaimurkuutttnderhiirmanhhan any other animal. hsssammourebebgkhrcuncoouullddllaayyhhiostreams flflow without forgetting that s2mstream2amanhas more dignity and a higher aasseeaattoonnccaassttoorrss,,wwhhiicchhddfketssvtsIaold man who stood looking at ovaalluuIa little corner of those dreams Iethiisslleeggss,,hheewwaassaallwwaayyssiinnaanadoctorateanditwasherfirstterm.oenhadthemthose eyes were soiled with the tawawanAsanewcomerandascholarshipanthemwith rapture in his eyes, even wAsanewcomerandascholarshipbicceeoorrccrruusshheeddbbanaanthougasmuchtimeasshecouldattendingh.msasmuchtimeasshecouldattendinghemof a lifetime. oarklsecturesanddowd 3wsiththem.UsuallythetwobabysitterhdndanehwwhwooaauunllddThe three of us went to live in a large house some three miles from town and the university. Actually, I’d rather call it a residence as it was truly stupendous. Although it had a single flfloor, it was made of marble like a palace and surrounded by a vast compound. There was a swimming pool, a lawn and a grove at the back. It sat on a hill northeast of Ithaca. From the living room windows you could see the deep-blue spread of Cayuga Lake not far away.What I would normally do was ask the babysitter to prepare a nursing bottle I then slipped in a pocket of my overcoat. Then I placed Sing snugly in my backpack and plodded along window-shopping. Sometimes I roamed around one of Ithaca’s two or three shopping malls. When I grew tired, father and son sat down in some corner of a shopping arcade to rest. Passers-by would smile benignly when they saw me settling the plump baby on my lap while taking out the bottle of milk to bring to his mouth.Usually I was the one who did the dishes after dinner, and then I sat smoking a cigarette or looking at the news on television for a while. Sing’s mother left us to do her work. If the little man wasn’t sleeping by then, it was left to me to play with him or take him to bed. The nook my son preferred was the bed where he slept with his mother, which was too narrow to accommodate me also. Before he fell asleep, he would turn over ceaselessly. At times he would mumble garbled words. As soon as I saw that he was drowsy enough to sleep, I made him lean against my arm while hugging him with my other arm. When I heard him breathe deeply and regularly, I fifigured IThe house owners were Professor George Kahin and his wife. He was one of three professors who supervised my studies. They had to spend eight months in Singapore and Indonesia for research purposes and when they knew that we were coming back to resume our studies, they offered to let us stay and look after their property andtheirolddog,whotothemwaslikeWe had nowhere else to go but this sort of place. Going out for a stroll in the streets or parks would be tantamount to committing suicide. With temperatures well below60 Elite+