Jade Pearl Story by Isabelle Lim by Young Author Scheme

* Yo u n g A u t h o r ’s C l u b * Yo u n g A u t h o r ’s C l u b *

Jade Pearl’s Story

Isabelle Lim

Jade Pearlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Story

Written and illustrated by Isabelle Lim

I dedicate this book to my family who gave me endless support and encouragement.

Chapter 1

The cool night wind blew into the rickety little shack and swept up the dead leaves on the dank wooden floor. But they were not the only dead things. A body, a woman’s body, was lying on the floor. Her hair, damp with humidity, fell over her stark white face. A scent hung in the air, the scent of death. Her eyes were wide open, as if calling for help, but apparently, no help had come. The village was in an uproar. Everyone came to see the body. Some were mourning and weeping, others were searching. Their eyes were combing the place for any four numbers they could use to get a shot at winning the lottery. But amongst all these people, someone was missing. My eyes went wild searching for him, but he was not there. Many other people were missing too. Wang-ma, Old-Chu and his entire family, who were well known for poking their noses into other people’s business, were missing too. No one had come to investigate. To see whether there was an unnatural cause of death, or worse, murder. Hour’s passed, but still the missing people had not come. Then, I saw him. My father. “Jade Pearl,” he said to me. “We will sleep at Wang-ma’s house tonight.” I did not understand what he meant by that then. But I do now. I lost my mother that night, on February 2, 1948. I was only eleven, and my sister, thirteen. We were all living in a small village in Singapore. We had my mother’s funeral a few days later. It was a simple ceremony, with only my sister, my father, I, and a few close neighbours. Lying in a poorly crafted, cheap coffin, my mother still had the beauty to melt men’s hearts. The funeral went on for three days, and by then, my father had already exhausted what little savings we had on the funeral expenses. The Taoist priest that had come on the second day had left, leaving burnt incense paper and a rather big hole in father’s pocket.

During the funeral, it was like all the tears that had been bottled up inside of me had suddenly been released. It reminded me of a great dam crumbling and letting the river it had been holding back to flow again. My mother was buried in a graveyard near our rickety little shack. The food we ate after the three-day funeral was mainly leftovers or watery gruel made from cheap broken grains. We spent about two months eating leftovers and gruel. Each day, the food grew less and less. Our family grew so painfully thin that the neighbours started leaving tins of food on our doorstep. My father, who was a proud man, could not accept this at first, but warmed to the idea as his stomach ruled over his head. The months passed, and our neighbours patience grew thin. Soon, they stopped supplying us with food. With our main source of food cut, father had to work doubly hard. He worked three jobs a day and was still thinking of other ways to earn some more money. It was no use, we were still poor, had no savings and worse still, the people around us considered us as pests. I cannot say I blame them though. We were always asking for free food from the provision shop, and I knew the owner only said yes because he wanted us to get out of his shop. My father, however, was not a pest, he was working very hard to earn money. He just did not have enough opportunities. Actually, compared with other fathers, he was really great. Other fathers did not like girls, they tortured them and some even pretended they did not exist. My father was different, he loved my sister and me no matter what. He was one of the fairest people you would ever meet in your life. However, that did not stop my sister from hating him ever since the night he came home with the bad news. One night, when my father had finally came home from work, he said to me, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jade Pearl, ask Jade Flower to come out of the room.â&#x20AC;? I was puzzled by his instructions but did as I was told. When I had passed on the message, my sister gave me a questioning

look, but I just shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. Upon seeing me, my father ordered me to go inside the room while he talked to my sister. I went inside the room but opened the door a crack to eavesdrop on the conversation. I still remember it vividly. My father began talking about how poor we were. Then, he slowly dropped the bomb on my sister. “……..therefore, both your sister and you will be sold to the Chu family. You as a child-bride, and your sister as a maid.” “Ho!” I gasped, clamping my hand to my mouth immediately after. Thoughts raced through my head and I felt like asking my father so many questions. My sister, however, asked all the questions for me. “But father, how can you do this to us? Don’t you love us anymore?” My sister’s lips were trembling when she said this and she looked like she was on the verge of crying. “I do lo..o..ov..ve you and your sister, you know I do. It’s just that I think you all will be better off with the Chu family. You will have nice clothes to wear and good food to eat…..” my father stammered to reply. He had trouble saying “love.” It was not appropriate for a father to openly express his feelings for his daughter then. “Father, this isn’t fair to us!” “I’m sorry, Jade Flower, but I have made up my mind,” my father said firmly. “But…but…” “That’s enough! My word is final, and you will respect it!” my father shouted. His face was red and I could tell that deep down inside, he was really hurting. “Go back inside the room now.” His head was slumped forward as he said this and there was a hint of danger in his voice. My sister was smart enough and bolted for the room. Once safely inside, she collapsed on the floor, hugging me so tightly that I could not breathe and crying like the world was coming to an end.

She ended the crying session by flinging herself on the thin rattan mat we slept on and started beating the floor. Deciding that being around my sister when she was in such a mood was dangerous and potentially life-threatening, I made a hasty retreat and found myself on the front porch. My head was racing with questions. Why did father sell us to the Chu family? Why was Jade Flower a child-bride whereas I was a maid? Was it because I was so ugly? And most importantly, why am I asking myself so many questions that I know the answers to? Being born in the year of the monkey, I was exceptionally smart. I knew a lot more than a normal eleven-year-old would. I also certainly knew the answers to my questions. Father sold us off because he did not want us to suffer with him. Jade Flower was a child-bride because she was prettier than I was, not because I was ugly. I was hurt. I felt so hurt that father would go behind our backs and do something like that, it was really low of him. I went back into the house. It was quiet and pitch-black. I could not see a thing. I picked my way across the house and felt my way into the room. My sister had finally fallen asleep after the crying fit. But where was father? I looked around, but all I could see was black. Then I saw a figure illuminated by the moonlight. It was father, and he was smoking again. From my point of view, I started to really see him. I noticed that he had lost so much weight that his arms and legs were like twigs, his wrinkles had at least doubled, and he was going bald. I also realized that right at that moment, that vile, poisonous gas was going through his body, but he did not realize how bad it was and kept right on smoking. I rolled out my rattan mat and lay down. I kept imagining what would happen if I really lost my father. Would I be so sad that I would kill myself? How would he die? Would I be there with him when he died? I cried myself to sleep that night.

Chapter 2

A few weeks later, a servant from the Chu family arrived at our doorstep. Although my sister was to be a bride of the Chu family, he did not come bearing gifts of any sort at all. I guess he thought that my sister and I were already lucky enough to be taken in by them. The servant was proud, and I could tell that he put himself above us. Even though he was a servant, he wore fine clothes that my father never could have afforded to buy. “This house is filthy! But no matter, this isn’t what I came here to talk about. As you know, your children will be sold to the Chu family. The rickshaw that will take them to the mansion is waiting outside now,” the servant said. My father simply nodded and asked us to pack whatever we had into a brown paper bag. I had never noticed before, but I actually did not have much to pack. I only had an extra shirt and pants, all poorly put together with cheap cloth and filthy with patch holes everywhere. We were all packed and ready to go in a few minutes. We were poked and probed along by the servants and outside, we saw a grand rickshaw with an embroidered roof and seats with cushions. I let out a gasp. I had dreamt of this all my life. To be whisked out of poverty and flung into a world of luxury and wealth. Just as I was about to hoist myself up onto the rickshaw, the servant used his walking stick and whacked me in the legs. I shouted out in surprise and fell back from the rickshaw. “You and your sister will sit in that one!” the servant shouted. His walking stick was pointed to another rickshaw behind the first one. It was made of rusting metal and it looked like it was going to fall apart. There was no roof; there was only a thin piece of plastic, draped across the top, with many holes in it. Just like that, I had been flung back into the world of poverty again. My sister and I got in without a word and settled down uncomfortably on the metal seat. The journey to the Chu family

mansion took forever. We were travelling on what seemed like miles and miles of dusty road before arriving in a place where the houses seemed huge and the cars unbelievably expensive. We stopped in front of a sprawling mansion with gardens bigger than our entire house. My eyes were opened so wide that they were nearly twice the normal size. “Get down now!” the servant ordered us. As I stood to stand up, I suddenly felt a hot searing pain shoot up my leg. The edges of the rickshaw seat had cut my leg so deep that it was bleeding profusely. My sister hurriedly took out her only extra shirt and bandaged my leg with it. The whole shirt was stained red, and I could tell that the colour would never fade no matter how many times you washed it. My sister had sacrificed her only other shirt for me! Me! How was she going to survive with only one shirt? As if reading my thoughts, my sister said, “Don’t worry, Jade Pearl. I’m the bride; they’ll buy new clothes for me.” I felt a little relieved and limped out of the rickshaw. With my sister helping me, I made it quickly to the front door. “You two go and wash up! After that, First and Second mother will see you. Quickly!” the servant said. One maid brought us a basin of water and a cloth. We cleaned our faces and wiped our bodies, finally combing our hair with our fingers just to be neater. “First and Second Mother will see you now!” a maid called out.

****** We were ushered into a big spacious room where there were two women sitting on wooden chairs and several maids standing around. The first woman was very old and had snow-white hair which was tied into a neat bun at the back of her head. She had wrinkles on her wrinkles and her cheeks and eyes were sunken in

her face. She never smiled or laughed and always had a serious look on her face The second woman had grey, oily hair, but it was, nonetheless, tied into a bun at the back of her head as well. The woman was chewing on betel nut and her teeth were stained an unsightly colour of red. She had a cunning look to her face and reminded me of a fox. Her face was so shiny with oil that you could see your reflection if you stared hard enough. “Which one is the bride?” the first woman asked. “The prettier one on the left, First Mother.” The servant hurriedly replied. I was on the right. My sister was the bride, I was the maid. Looks could take a person far; that is what I had learnt. My sister was always more popular than me. She always had all the perks, and now she was the bride. “She is indeed pretty, but can she be a fitting wife for my son, Zhi Hao?” the second woman said. “She can indeed, Second Mother. She will be a most fitting wife,” the servant said. The discussion over whether my sister was a fitting wife went on for a long time. It only ended when my sister promised Second Mother that she would give birth to many children. After the excitement about my sister, the spotlight finally shone on me. Or at least, I thought so. “Take her to the maid’s quarters,” that was all First Mother said to me. My sister and I were led by a maid down a narrow hallway. It opened up into a huge stone courtyard with several potted plants by the side. Just as I was taking all of this in, I saw my sister being led away by another maid, into a splendid, white building on my left. Oh no! They were splitting us up! What was I going to do? My first reaction was to run towards my sister, but just as I was about to, the maid grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards my right. 10

We walked through a mini-garden, past a wooden walkway and finally down yet another hallway. There, I saw a wooden cottage. It was small in size and a deep chocolate brown. It was not as grand as the white building my sister was led into, but it was still much bigger than our old little shack. As I walked into the house, I saw that it was quite empty. It had two rooms. One was a bedroom with a closet and a single bed. The other was a living room. The living room had no furniture at all; there were only a few thin mattresses on the floor. As I walked around the little cottage, I found out that it had a little cooking stove at the back, and a small outhouse at a corner of the garden. “Listen here, girl!” the maid barked. “You will be Second Mother’s maid. You will boil and serve her Ginseng tea, massage her feet at the end of the day, and clean up her room every two days. Other than that, you also have to sweep the courtyard and serve First Mother lunch and dinner. Got it?” the maid asked. My head was spinning with all the chores I had to do. Is this the life I had come here for? I thought that being a maid was a lot better than living in poverty. Turns out I was wrong. My first day there, a maid had to show me the exact way to boil Second Mother’s Ginseng tea. Apparently, Second Mother could fly into a rage if her Ginseng tea was not boiled to her taste. After that, I had to sweep the courtyard and serve First Mother her lunch.

Chapter 3

I was scurrying towards the kitchen when I accidentally slipped and fell on the wet slippery pavement of the main garden. Some gravel got caught in my cut, making me blink away a few tears. It was so painful! Just then, I heard a tinkling of a bell. Oh no! First Mother only rings that bell when she is impatient and cannot wait for her food any longer. A maid working for First Mother told me that there was once a maid who made First Mother wait for her food. First Mother was very angry and smacked her with a wooden plank until she could not walk properly! I was so scared that it would happen to me that I picked myself up and hurried to the kitchen without even checking on my cut. I entered the kitchen and began searching for a tray that was supposed to contain First Mother’s lunch. I finally spied it out of the corner of my eye. The tray was lying in a corner on the floor. I thought this to be strange, but could not care less. All I wanted to do was get the tray to First Mother on time. I picked it up hastily and sprinted through the garden to First Mother’s room. “You’re late.” I was greeted by the chilly voice of First Mother upon entering her room. “I’m sorry, First Mother; it won’t happen again.” “Hrrmp!” she replied in a not-so-courteous way. Setting out the dishes on the marble table, I looked at First Mother from the corner of my eye. She was not bad looking; she just did not smile enough. In fact, she could look very pretty, in a grandmotherly way of course, if she just smiled. Her cheeks drooped when she frowned and her wrinkles seemed deeper than they actually were. When I was done serving the dishes, I hurried out of the room, almost crashing into another maid as I passed. Once safely out of the room, I heaved a sigh of relief. Being with First Mother was so scary; she was colder than an iceberg. 12

“Hey-you there!” It was the maid that had assigned my duties. “What are you standing here for? Don’t you have duties?” she asked. I quickly explained that I only had two duties left, which was to serve First Mother her dinner and massage Second Mother’s feet at the end of the day. They were both to be done only later in the evening, so I had the rest of the afternoon for myself. I thought she would leave me alone after I explained to her my situation, but instead she said, “Since you’re so free, go and scrub the kitchen floor! You cannot leave until the cook dismisses you!” With that, she turned her back and left. I was at a loss for words. I just could not believe it. My first day here and I had already been assigned the worst job in the whole mansion? It had been my first day there and a kind maid had pulled me aside and told me everything I would need to know to avoid treading on a few toes. It just so happened that she told me that scrubbing the kitchen floors was the worst job in the entire mansion. The kitchen floors were always covered with a lot of ash, as the big stove that runs on firewood is nearby. Besides that, the cook also makes the job extremely difficult as he spits on the floor! When you scrub the floors clean, it only takes a few minutes for it to get dirty again. So you see, it is a never-ending task. It was just my luck to have been assigned the task. I sighed to myself, and started walking towards the kitchen. I walked through the wooden doorway that led to he kitchen and stared at the soot-black floor. How was I going to scrub that mess? The kitchen floors had been black for such a long time that nobody could remember their original �� colour�� . I dragged my feet towards the water pump outside and started pumping water into a bucket. Once it was full, I found a brush, dropped to my knees and started scrubbing the floor. Two hours and four pails of water later, the kitchen floor was 13

looking a pretty clean colour�� of grayish white. Finally satisfied with my work, the cook dismissed me, but not before handing me a tray containing First Mother’s dinner. I stumbled out of the kitchen, exhausted and overworked. I made my way to First Mother’s room, remembering to knock when I reached the door. Upon getting no response, I let myself in. When I went in, I saw chaos everywhere. Maids were scuttling around in frenzy, people shouting, and then suddenly, I saw First Mother. She was lying on her bed grasping her stomach like it hurt so much. I stared, and stared, and stared. She must have caught me staring at her, as she made eye contact and pointed towards me. Then, out of the blue, she shouted, “She’s the one that caused this!”

****** More than ten pairs of angry eyes stared at me. I swallowed my saliva, closed my eyes, and waited for something to hit me. After a long, awkward silence, I opened my eyes again. Nobody had stepped forward, they were all staring at me, their eyes boring holes in me. First Mother’s face was getting redder by the second, until it looked like it was about to explode. “You….you….”First Mother stammered. She was trembling. A maid quickly pushed me out of the room. “Why was First Mother so angry?” I asked the maid. “You’re still asking me? First Mother had a serious stomach ache after eating the lunch you served!” she shouted in my face. “But….but…I took the tray from the corner of the kitchen, it was the only tray there!” I replied. “Oh my goodness…….the tray you took was the one the cook uses to put all the expired foods! Stupid girl!” she shouted, then slapped me on the face. Hot tears welled up in my eyes and ran down my face. How was I to know that the food was expired? It was just not fair! And 14

it was only my first day! “Second Mother knows about this too! Do you know how much trouble you’re in? Right now Second Mother is waiting for you in her room! You had better go quickly or you’ll get double the beating!” the maid shouted in my face, her hot breath stinging my eyes and making me cry even more. No, I cannot let her see my tears, or she will look down on me even more! With that in mind, I spun around and hurried towards Second Mother’s room. My cheek still stung from the slap, but my pride stung even more. I had always had a strong character, even my father did not dare to scold or hit me! Yet, now I was being looked down on by a maid! The somewhat thoughtful walk ended abruptly when I was faced with the big, elaborately carved wooden door that led into Second Mother’s room. I took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy doors.

Chapter 4

A rush of cold air greeted my face and I saw the stony face of Second Mother sneering down at me as if I was the most repulsive creature on Earth. My heart was pounding like it was going to jump out of my chest at any moment. I took my first step forward: so far so good. I took my second step, then third, then fourth, all the way until I was standing in front of Second Mother. I suddenly felt a burst of bravery in me and I tilted my head up and looked her in the eye. “You incompetent brat! Your first day here and you serve poison to us! Kneel down! Don’t you dare look me in the eye you…you…useless girl!” Second Mother shouted at me. Her hand was quivering and I could see the flames rising in her eyes. A maid walked over to me with a wooden plank and hit me in the legs with it so that I fell on my knees. The feeling was as if a person had used a knife and slashed my legs. I expected someone to at least come forward and help me or stop the injustice, but no one did anything. I looked up to them and saw cold unfeeling faces. They were all cowards, not daring to stand up to Second Mother and help me. I felt like rushing up to her and slapping her right in the face. I imagined her face; it would be red and swollen, with my handprint there, I would have left my mark on her face. I started chuckling out loud to myself, oblivious to all the stares and questioning looks that were shot in my direction. “Enough! You were foolish, careless, bungling, and for that you will be punished. Hit her with the wooden plank until she admits it’s her mistake and apologises�� !” Second Mother ordered. What was I going to do? Were the maids really going to beat me? My mind was in disarray. The maid holding the wooden plank walked towards me, her face had an evil smirk. Four other maids ran forward to pin my arms and legs down. I struggled with all my might, “Let me go!” I shouted. The maid with the wooden 16

plank had not struck yet; she was looking down at me with a look of amusement on her face, as if I was a fat, squirming little cockroach. The struggling quickly tired me out and only then did it dawn on me what their plan was. They were waiting for me to tire, so their job would be easier. In my mind I knew it, but what could I do? I lay on the floor, panting, with beads of sweat dripping off my nose. I closed my eyes and waited for the first strike. “Ooff!” The first strike had come down fast, knocking the wind out of me. My buttocks stung so badly, it was like a colony of bees had just stung then. The beating went on and on. It hurt so badly! Tears were coming out of my eyes, mucus out of my nostrils and saliva out of my mouth, my face was a mess! But still, I refused to �� apologise�� . They think they can make me �� apologise�� by beating me? Well, they had better think again! I will not succumb to this beating! I clenched my teeth and bore the pain, but I did not apologise. �� Suddenly out of nowhere, someone shouted, “Leave her alone!” I lifted my head and saw my sister. She was pushing her way through the horde of maids and she was crying, for me. She finally broke through and fell on the floor hugging me.�� “Second Mother please stop this!” my sister was pleading with Second Mother. “What is the meaning of this? You are a bride of the Chu family; you can’t go around hugging maids!” Second Mother shouted in a menacing tone. “Please, just stop beating my sister! I am a bride of this family, doesn’t my say count at all?” my sister said. “You’re just a bride!” “But a bride, nonetheless.” my sister said with firm authority. Second Mother looked quite taken aback by my sister’s words but soon recovered. “Maids, stop the beating.” Second Mother ordered. Yes! My 17

sister had defeated her! However, my moment of joy was short-lived. Second Mother again insulted me on my stupidity and carelessness in bringing the wrong tray. After that she proceeded to tell me that because I had been so careless, some other jobs had been added to my list of chores. I gave a huge sigh, and nodded my head.

****** “Stupid….pick on me…..how dare she…give her a piece of my mind….” I was muttering to myself while sweeping the courtyard full of leaves. My cheek had bloated up the day after the beating. No surprise there; I had to use a big dogskin plaster to cover up the whole area! Since then, I had really hated Second Mother and ranting about her while doing my chores had become a habit to let off my steam. The woman was just pure evil! Just because I delivered the wrong food, she added so many chores to my list of things to do! Now, I am doing almost double what the other maids do! Just as I was in my moment of anger and resentment, I heard someone calling me. I turned around to see who it was. The smirking mouth, the hard cold eyes, the witch-like hands, it was all too familiar. It was Si Ting, the maid who assigned my chores, the maid who gave me the beating! My teeth were clenched, fists were clenched, I was ready to lash out at any moment. “Don’t you know it’s time to prepare Second Mother’s ginseng tea? Oh I forgot, the beating must have conked your brain out!” Her voice dripping with sarcasm, she pranced off with a smirk on her face. My mind whirled with angry thoughts, I was just about to snap back at her when I realised. Oh yeah, I was supposed to prepare the ginseng tea! Then, an idea struck me. Why not use this chance to get back at Second Mother? I could, I should! I immediately put down the broomstick and rushed to the kitchen. Okay, light the fire, I had done this so many times already! 18

The original recipe for the ginseng tea was that the tea had to be boiled for ten minutes-no more, no less-exactly three teaspoons full of brown sugar should be melted and later added into the tea. I stood in front of the stove and stared at the ingredients before me. Ah, I know! I’ll add salt in the tea! That will teach her never to beat me again! Hmm, let’s make it interesting! I ground some pepper and poured it inside the tea. I spotted some curry powder inside a drawer and took it out. Perfect! This will burn her mouth so she can never talk again! I added the extra ingredients into the tea and laughed wickedly to myself. Boiling the tea a little more to let the ingredients really enhance their flavour, I fanned the fire underneath it till it roared up and almost burnt my face. The flames burnt deep amber and were so beautiful, like rubies shining in the sun. I found myself looking at them and thinking of my mother, I made a mental note to ask my sister to accompany me to our mother’s grave. “Ouch!” The flames had somehow come up and licked my face, stinging it. Yet, I felt a strange feeling of warmth and comfort through the stinging sensation. I checked on the tea; good, its colour is quite close to the original version. Now for the taste, will it be gruesome enough for Second Mother? I took a spoon and tasted a bit of the tea. Big mistake! The tea was definitely gruesome enough for Second Mother! No doubt about it! I hurriedly spit out the tea and drank a gallon of water just to wash the horrid taste out of my mouth! I grabbed a tray on the table and carefully placed the gruesome cup of tea on it. I balanced it on one arm and used the other to push open the door. I walked briskly down the hall, surprised at how fast my feet were going. I knew I was going to get a punishment for this, but just watching the expression on Second Mother’s face when she drinks the tea would make the punishment bearable. Pushing open the heavy wooden doors that led to Second Mother’s room, I felt a sense of excitement inside of me swell up 19

and almost bursting. I managed to serve the tea without laughing, but I did have to choke back a giggle or two. I bowed after serving the tea and retreated, walking backwards. I waited anxiously to see her sputter and cough and wheeze; I could hardly contain myself. Second Mother lifted the cup to her lips and took a big gulp of her tea. As she did so, her eyes widened and the cup fell to the floor, shattering into a million pieces as it did so. I was pleased. Second Mother stumbled around the room, hands grasping her throat, tongue sticking out of her mouth, gasping and wheezing for air all the time. There I stood with a triumphant smile on my face. I savoured the moment, relishing the expression on Second Mother’s face as part of my sweet, sweet revenge. By now, maids were rushing forward to help Second Mother, easing her, offering her water to wash out the taste. I found it hilarious. Second Mother finally took a seat and drank a cup of water. Looking up, she once again pointed at me, beckoning with her finger. I walked towards her, smiled widely and said, “Yes?” Oh boy." She is going to explode!" I thought. Instead, she just sat there, looking at me through her evil eye. I felt thoroughly disgusted, but did not say anything. “ You think you’re really smar t, don’t you? You think you’re really clever, right?” Second Mother asked me in obvious sarcasm. “Well, for that, you’ll be beaten, and even your sister can’t save you now!” Second Mother shouted. Just as I was about to answer back, I suddenly felt woozy. Rainbows of colours were swirling in my head and suddenly, I fainted.

Chapter 5

“Quick! She’s opened her eyes!” I woke to the sound of shouting of orders. I opened my eyes. I saw the brown-yellow of the maid’s quarters ceilings. I felt the scratchy sheets beneath me, the hard-as-a-rock pillow under my head. I smelt chicken herbal soup brewing. The only time I had tasted chicken herbal soup was when it was Chinese New Year and our neighbours had given my family some of it. I only had a spoonful of it though, but its aroma and taste I would never forget. Who could be brewing this early in the morning? I sat upright and straightened my back; a deep cracking noise could be heard. I winced. I looked around and realised it was not morning! I looked through the window, which was just a hole cut in the wall, and I saw a spectacular view! Pinks and oranges of every shade painted the sky, making it a work of art that would make everyone gasp at its splendour. Nothing could have compared to it. I closed my eyes and felt the colours of the sky swirling around me, feeling its embrace. It picked me up and held me close, making me feel safe and warm. I snuggled down against it and suddenly, I forgot all of my worries. I opened my eyes. Illusion. It was all an illusion. I sighed. As if the colours of the sky would really come down and hug me tightly. Ha! I pulled myself away from the spectacular sunset and settled down again. I caught a glimpse of a dark figure lurking in the doorway."Maybe it’s a robber!" I thought, scaring myself half to death. "No, no. stay calm Jade Pearl. It could not be a robber because….well….oh great." The figure walked forward a little and I realised that it was walking with small little steps, as if it was walking on tiptoes. I looked closer and saw that it was small and hunched. Wait a second. Small, hunched, little steps, I put the puzzle pieces together. Could it be? No, no, it could not. What would she be doing here anyway? But maybe, just maybe, it could be…….. 21

“Wang-ma!” I shouted out in delight. My eyes were sparkling, tears were dropping down my face but I did not care. I just counted myself lucky to have met someone I loved and trust in my hour of need. Wang-ma was the shop owner of the job my father formerly had. After my father quit, however, she still kept in touch with us. She occasionally came to visit us, bringing sweet treats with her every time. She helped my father look for jobs, and was also the one that helped deliver my sister and me. In all, she was almost like a second mother to us. “Ah yo! Jade Pearl, how come you become so skinny? Never mind, now Wang-ma is here. I will take care of you!” the charismatic Wang-ma never failed to brighten up my day. Although Wang-ma was closing in on 63-years-old, she still had the liveliness of a 7-yearold child. I closed my eyes and hugged her tightly. This is definitely better than hugging the sky, I thought. Huh? What is that smell? I sniffed and whiffed. It was as if something was burning. “Wang-ma can you smell…..?” I said. “Oh!” she suddenly cried out. “The chicken herbal soup!” And she flew to save it. I chuckled to myself. Having Wang-ma here was the best thing that has ever happened to me in the Chu mansion. A few minutes later, Wang-ma appeared in the doorway again, this time with a bowl of chicken herbal soup in her hands. She was smiling. “I managed to save a bit of it!” she squealed in delight. Settling herself down on the mattress, she proceeded to ladle soup into my mouth with the spoon. The soup was perfect. The herbs and spices blended together perfectly, it was like an explosion of spices on my taste buds! I slurped the soup down in one big gulp and wiped my mouth on the back of my sleeve. Wang-ma was smiling again. She really brightened my day. Out of curiosity, I asked Wang-ma, “How did you come into the Chu mansion?” “Ahh……well, First Mother hired me. Though it's only temporary, mind you. The previous housekeeper was sick, so they 22

hired me.” “But why do they need a housekeeper? First and Second Mother are always at home!” I asked. “Why…you don’t expect First and Second Mother to do such jobs, do you? These jobs are left for people like me to do.” Wangma explained. “Ohh…” I murmured, nodding my head. I was thinking. Very hard. Why did I faint? Could it be…. I reached out to touch my leg. “Don’t worry, I covered the cut with a dogskin plaster already.” Wang-ma said. Indeed, I felt a piece of smooth dogskin plaster where the cut was supposed to be. It must have been an infection. To think that I passed out…... “Oh yes, you luckily don’t have any extra chores. Your sister and I managed to talk Second Mother out of it. Second Mother gave you only two days to recuperate. Evil woman… How can you work in this state?” she muttered under her breath. I felt comforted to know that there was still someone who loved me. I sank down onto the mattress again and surrendered to the warmth of the scratchy sheets. Wang-ma stroked my forehead and I soon fell into a deep sleep again. Pure bliss.

****** Two days later, I was up and running about. The wound on my leg had not completely healed, but I could still manage walking and surprisingly, running. Serving tea to Second Mother had now become very pleasant. Every time I served the tea, I was reminded of the hilarious scene of Second Mother sputtering and stumbling around the room. Happy thoughts filedl my head and I soon forgot my troubles. Things between Second Mother and I soon simmered down 23

and the Chu house became at peace again. One day, while I was sweeping the courtyard, I saw a boy, on the verge of manhood probably, around seventeen years old, walking along the corridor. He looked so mysterious, like he was not from the Chu family. Just then, I heard a loud piercing voice yell out, “Zhi Hao! Come here at once!” Oh my gosh! It was Second Mother! That meant that…..that he was Zhi Hao! My sister’s husband! I watched on in absolute shock as Zhi Hao walked into Second Mother’s bedroom. He certainly did not look like a Chu. I later found out, after a chat with a maid that worked for my sister, that the wedding was to be held on the eighth day of the eighth month that year. The specific date was supposed to bring the married couple, my sister and Zhi Hao, good fortune. Although I was envious of my sister, I secretly anticipated her marriage. If it was going to be a Chu family wedding, it was going to be held in style. They would probably invite the whole village! But as I kept thinking, I no longer envied my sister. Being married when she is so young is scary. If I were in her shoes, I would be really scared. Being thrown into adulthood when you are merely a child is terrible. My old neighbour was a pretty young girl of 16. Her father married her off when she was merely 17. Now, whenever I see her, I actually wince. Her once beautiful face has lost all its joy and youthfulness. She has wrinkles on her forehead and she is never seen without a baby attached to her hip, dangling from a “sarong”. I pictured my sister in that state and gulped down a lot of air. To think that my sister was going to be married off so soon. I slowly crept from where I was to the doors of Second Mother’s room. I strained my ears and tried to pick up the conversation. The wooden doors were too thick to hear the whole conversation, but I managed to catch four words. They were “she” and the phrase “not good enough”. So they thought that my sister was not good enough. A sudden sound jolted me from my thoughts. They were coming out of the room! 24

I quickly scampered away from the door and began furiously sweeping the floor. When I looked up, I saw Second Mother and Zhi Hao walking away from the room. I heaved a sigh of relief at my close call. Just then, I heard someone calling my name. I spun around and saw Wang-ma running towards me with open arms. Upon reaching me, she immediately hugged me like she had never seen me in years. Her face shone with joy and delight, and her dimples were showing. She said breathlessly, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Second Mother offered to let me stay permanently as the housekeeper!â&#x20AC;? My heart skipped a beat. I was literally jumping for joy. I just could not believe that Wang-ma was here to stay! This could be the start of a happier chapter working at the Chu mansion! The next few months were boring and crawled along at a snail-like pace. However, having Wang-ma there with me seemed to make the time a lot more enjoyable.

Chapter 6

It was just like any other morning; I was just about to prepare Second Mother’s Ginseng tea when a maid called me away. She looked very worried and had a look of desperation on her face. “First Mother asked me to go shopping for the upcoming marriage, but I still have so many chores to do…and…..Second Mother will surely beat me if she finds out that I did not do my chores….and…oh….would you go shopping with First Mother in my place? Please? It would mean so much to me.” She pleaded and begged me; I could already see tears forming in her eyes. Not wanting to see her cry, I reluctantly agreed. I gave her instructions on boiling the Ginseng tea and instructed her to deliver it straight to Second Mother’s room. I walked out of the kitchen doubtfully, not sure whether to trust her with the oh-so-important chore of preparing the tea. With one last look back at the kitchen, I was off. I scurried out of there and started wiping my dirty and smelly hands on my pants. “Maid! Come here!” ordered a voice. I turned in an instant and saw First Mother sitting on a chair in the courtyard accompanied by two other maids. I immediately bowed down and said, “Yes First Mother.” After being reprimanded for being late, though it was not really my job, First Mother, the two other maids and I piled into two rickshaws. The first one was elaborate and luxurious while the second one was rusted, dangerous and very, very old. You could only guess which rickshaw I sat in. The road to town was bumpy and uncomfortable on account of being squeezed into a tiny rickshaw with two other maids. Along the way to the road, I noticed that one of the maids had a big, black mole on her upper-lip. Apart from that, however, she was beautiful. She had big brown eyes, thick lashes and full, red lips. The other maid was about my age, with brown eyes, a flat nose and thin lips; she was not what you would call pretty, but I 26

took a liking to her immediately. The mole-faced maid was sitting in the middle between the other maid and me. Our eyes met once and I smiled to her. She had the same mischievous twinkle in her eyes like me. The road to town was along the coast and so, to make up for the discomfort, there was always the beautiful scenic view of the sea if you glanced to the left. The sea was a deep blue-green and it sparkled in the sunshine. It looked like a sea of diamonds! After travelling for about twenty minutes on the same road, we came to a halt. We had reached the town. I stopped for a while to take in the sights and sounds. There was really nothing that could compare to the hustle and bustle of the town. I had never seen so many people in one place before! The place reminded me of an ants nest I had seen when I was young. The town had shops at every corner! There were street hawkers selling food, wine shops, people selling toys, cloth, vegetables and stickers, almost everything you could think of! Even though the town was so amazing, I quickly snapped out of my trance-like state and started to get off the rickshaw. The two maids went to assist First Mother at once. They were practically waiting on her hand and foot. I rolled my eyes but did not dare say anything. We walked on the street for a while, until something caught First Mother’s eye. They were big red stickers that were cut in the shape of the Chinese character “happiness”. They were supposed to be stuck all around the house for my sister’s wedding. After buying about five dozen of those stickers, we walked on again. We stopped walking every five minutes to buy the things needed for the wedding. Cakes, sweets, stickers, pillow sheets, lanterns- we almost bought everything on the street! After the shopping spree, we maids lugged everything back to the rickshaws and packed them in. Then, we embarked on the road home again. I was so tired after the trip that I slept through 27

the whole journey. Later, when we reached home, some other maids helped us with the things and I could finally get some proper rest. I was just about to go to the maid’s quarters to wash up myself when I heard a shrill voice calling my name. Oh great, I was in trouble……..again.

****** I immediately reported to Second Mother’s room and bowed to greet her. She did not look happy at all and she was wearing a type of frown that just tells you that she hates you like dirt on her clothes. Her eyes were glinting dangerously and she said slowly, “There was no tea.” Just four words. I understood them perfectly. Jin Rou, the maid that I had instructed to take the tea to Second Mother had obviously forgotten. I was just about to say this when Second Mother said icily, “Jin Rou kindly offered to brew some Ginseng tea once over for me. Obviously you were………busy?” she cocked one eyebrow up in sarcasm. I was stunned. I looked over in Jin Rou's direction and I saw that she was smirking. I realized that it was a trap. She had asked me to go shopping with First Mother, then played the role of the kind maid and offered to make the tea “once over” when I had “forgotten” to brew it. She was so evil and yet so convincing with her innocent act when she wanted to be. I wanted to scream! I could not say a word to Second Mother. Besides, who would believe me? I bowed my head down. I could tell that Second Mother was secretly smiling; she had been waiting for this chance to punish me ever since the disgusting tea incident. She then shouted, “Since you didn’t say anything, you must be guilty right? Oh…or are you accused? Framed?” she asked in a mocking tone. I clenched my fists and dug my nails into my skin. “Control yourself. Control yourself. Control yourself,” I told myself. I looked up and glared at Second Mother. I did not know what was 28

coming next, but it was not going to be good. Then, Second Mother actually ordered the maids to beat me 20 times! But before they could carry out their order, a voice came in from the corridor. It said, “Stop!” Everyone’s eyes went in that direction and in walked none other than First Mother! I, for the first time, actually felt terrified. Second Mother I could handle, but Second and First Mother? I was going down. But to my greatest surprise, First Mother actually said, “Jade Pearl was with me the whole afternoon. I called her away from making your tea. But surely she is not that important to you, is she?” First Mother asked in a tone that was as deadly as the venom coming from a snake. She would bite if she had to. “I….I….” stammered Second Mother. First Mother gave her one more of her deadly stares and she said, “You may go, Jade Pearl….” I, of course, gratefully ran out of the room, just happy to be out of there alive. I burst out of the room, and then collapsed into a pile by the wall. “Oh my goodness! I cannot believe that First Mother just did that!” I thought to myself. And I cannot believe that Jin Rou would do that to me! Infuriated, tired and dirty, I decided to retire to the maid’s quarters. After I had washed up and cooled myself down, I lay down on the cold, hard floor and stared up at the ceiling. I was so deep in my thoughts that I did not seem to realise the soreness of my back or my shivering. Why did First Mother do what she did? She doesn’t even really like me that much! And then as I lay there, the long soothing arms of sleep started coiling around me and before I knew it, I was taken away by them.

Chapter 7

“Ooo……..” I moaned. Why did I sleep on the cold hard floor? I could have at least gotten a mat! I started getting up and stretching myself, my bones creaking and cracking as I did so. I was positively black and blue all over! I suddenly remembered that I had not done any of my chores the day before. It was probably because of the whole complicated “episode” yesterday. I immediately went to the water pump at the back of the building and started to wash my face with the water. The water felt cool and refreshing and my skin tingled. I was finally awake! I started out from the building and walked towards the courtyard. I might as well get started on my chores. I was supposed to clean Second Mother’s room today. Well, I walked to Second Mother’s room but before I got there, a maid informed me that due to the “incidents” that I had caused, all my chores of doing things for Second Mother had been changed; I was now First Mother’s maid. I guessed Second Mother just could not handle me anymore. I laughed wickedly to myself. With that, I ran off to First Mother’s room with joy in my heart and happiness in my soul. Pushing open the wooden doors to the room, I skipped in happily and started to arrange the tablecloth on the big marble table when First Mother walked in. I was a little surprised to see her as I had seen her in the garden about five minutes ago. She came in tottering on her walking stick and I, of course, rushed up to help. She let me help her towards the marble table, then she said, “Help me put up the ‘happiness’ stickers.” She pointed to a pile of them in a corner of the room and looked up at me. Finally realizing what I had to do, I picked up the stickers at once and started pasting them on doors, windows, walls, everywhere! I was finally done about two hours later, mainly because the 30

Chu family mansion was so big! I reported back to First Mother’s room and was just about to start cleaning her room when a maid said that Second Mother was looking for me. I set off immediately, not wanting to anger Second Mother. It turned out that I had already angered Second Mother and the worst part was, I did not even know it! When I got into her room, I saw her tapping her feet impatiently. She was like a ticking bomb ready to just blow me away. Her face was red and I could practically see smoke rising from her ears and nostrils. I was wondering what I did wrong when I saw Jin Rou smirking again. Oh man! Not again! I just could not believe that I fell into Jin Rou’s trap again! She had cleverly used a different maid to pass me the false message so that I would not suspect a thing! “Maid! You were supposed to clean my room today! Where were you? Do you think that just because your sister is a bride and you have First Mother’s backing, you are so great? Do you think that you can skip your chores? Well, I’ll tell you the answer. No! So you had better pack up your things and leave, and crawl back to your smelly, small, little……” “Hrump!” Second Mother never got the chance to finish her sentence because in walked none other than First Mother herself. She had saved me once and she was going to do it again? Unbelievable! On account on all the havoc I had caused, she was being pretty nice to me. Everyone turned towards First Mother with surprised faces. Second Mother just frowned, as if disapproving of First Mother barging in on her…..again. Nonetheless, First Mother said, “I believe that this whole incident is purely a mistake and should be brushed away like a speck of dust. Don’t you think so, Second Mother?” First Mother was challenging Second Mother and I could see that it was a futile attempt from Second Mother to try to fight back. 31

First Mother’s question was in fact an order rather than a question. And only then did I see the power in First Mother. She was one of the top dogs in the whole household and no one could top her, except for Old Chu, who was the head of the family. Second Mother was at a loss for words and could not answer. First Mother took Second Mother’s silence for consent and led me towards her room.

****** Sitting down on the marble chair, First Mother looked mean, hard and cold. A bit like the marble actually. She grunted once more as if asking me to sit down and I sat. “Jade Pearl, this world is full of bad people. This household is full of bad people! You cannot afford to be gullible here. From now on, do not listen to any maids, always find out by yourself.” I was dumbfounded for a second than said, “Why are you telling me this, First Mother?” And the reply I got was…well….a story. First Mother said, “There was once this servant girl who was not pretty, but very smart. She was hardworking, honest and kind and so many people took advantage of it. Then one day, she met a kind old lady who showed her the ropes, led her to a better life. And in the end, she married the son of a rich man and she lived a life of luxury ever since. Well…that girl…in the story…is me. You remind me of myself when I was your age.” After that, she stared out of the window and seemed to have just….drifted away. So, First Mother was not really protecting me, but more like revisiting a memory of hers. I had reminded her of herself and she recognized the same headstrong temper, guts and quick-wittedness that she had. So First Mother was not that bad after all. In fact, she was great! However, First Mother sternly warned me not to get into any more trouble or I would surely be kicked out of the mansion. 32

From then on, I became First Mother’s maid. I did all the chores for her and stayed far away from trouble. Trouble was a word which was not in my dictionary anymore. I had been transformed from a bad maid into an obedient girl. Three months later, I was getting up from bed when I realised what day it was. I was so excited! The day had finally come! I woke almost immediately and changed without even washing my face. I ran all the way to the front gate of the mansion and saw many cars pulling up and rich men in Western suits and their wives in expensive qipaos and exquisite pearls getting out of the cars. Being too curious for my own good, I rushed up to one of the cars and started to touch the bumper of it. The metal was…. well…..it felt so……expensive. Then again, almost everything felt expensive to me as I was poor beyond poor. Well, just then, a driver came and shooed me away. Hearing his shouts, I ran for my life and ended up in the mansion again. It did not matter that I did not get to see the inside of the car, at least I touched it! Besides, I had to go and help the bride, my sister, prepare. I was so excited, I could not believe that it was actually my sister’s wedding day today! I quickly ran to the room which my sister was in. The room was decorated lavishly and there was expensive wine on the table and pure silken pillows and blankets on the bed. And as I looked, I saw the most beautiful girl sitting by the dressing table, my sister. She was like a goddess. She was wearing a red silk dress and the headdress was by the table. She had powder white skin and red painted lips. But, she was……crying. Her tears were ruining her make-up. I immediately rushed up to her and asked her what was wrong. To my surprise, she replied, “I’m….just…just…..not ready. Getting married when you’re……..when you’re fourteen is just….too….” she trailed off. I knew I would not be able to understand how she 33

felt because I was not marrying anyone, but the least I could do was to lend her a shoulder to cry on. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps outside the door. The other maids were coming already, I had better get my sister ready for the ceremony. I dried my sister’s tears with the sleeves of my blouse and helped her put her headdress on. Then, I covered her head with a red cloth. “Come on. You’ve got to face this sooner or later.” I said to her. She did not reply. I quietly led her out of the room and into the main hallway. There, I saw hundreds of people just crowding around. Some were congratulating Old Chu and some were just standing around hoping to catch a glimpse of the bride. As we walked towards Zhi Hao, my sister’s husband, I thought I heard people saying things like “village girl” and “not good enough”. I felt a strange kind of emotion in me that I could not explain. I felt angry, angry at the discrimination against us. So what if we came from the village? That did not make us any less human than they were. I led my sister to Zhi Hao’s side and with a beat of a drum, the ceremony had begun.

Chapter 8

“Bow to heaven……bow to your parents……and bow to each other….” My sister did as she was told. The red cloth was hiding her face, but I knew it could not hide her feelings. I knew she was reluctant about this marriage. I knew that she felt that she had been married off so fast, she had no control whatsoever of her future. I knew that she was feeling scared, angry and, most of all, hatred. Hatred, to all those who had tried to take and successfully took her future away from her: Father, Second Mother, Zhi Hao, Old Chu. After the bowing, Zhi Hao used a scepter-like stick to raise the red cloth from my sister’s face and kiss her. And then, I could see my sister crying, from the inside. Her future had been taken away from her and she had not fought back at all. She never had. After the unveiling, the tea ceremony took place and because there were so many relatives to offer tea to, the ceremony took an unbelievably long time. The whole day was revolved around the marriage and the wedding ceremonies. It was all pretty boring except for the fireworks! There was a string of fireworks being lit in the courtyard and they made so much noise! The firecrackers were popping and exploding so much that it looked like a mini-explosion. The wedding was a very lavish affair and we still had people turning up at the gate of the mansion congratulating Zhi Hao two weeks later. However, the one thing that changed in my life was not the wedding, but a diary. I was doing my chores one day when Jin Rou and Si Ting locked me in a dark room. It must have been some sort of twisted revenge for them. I banged the door with my fists and tried to open it. But it was a heavy wooden door and I could not open it. Next, I tried shouting but, to no avail. I looked around and to my horror, I realised that I was in Old Chu’s room. Old Chu had once said that anyone caught in his room would be thrown out of the mansion 35

immediately. It was said that even First and Second Mother had not been in here before. It seemed like he had had something to hide. Curious about the room, I started checking the place out, walking around, throwing open closets and drawers. Then, I saw something in a drawer, an envelope. I fingered it gingerly and lifted the flap. Then I put my hand in and I found….I found….opium! Yes, it was definitely opium! But how did Old Chu get the opium? Maybe he just found it or……And then I saw it. I saw a letter addressed to Old Chu. It was about a……murder. The date was February 2, 1948. That was exactly the same day that my mother died! The letter talked about how Old Chu was in the opium trade and somehow a woman had seen him. So Old Chu sent a servant to kill her for fear she would let the cat out of the bag! My hands went numb and the letter dropped out of my hands. I flashed back to the day my mother had died. The Chu fanily was missing, no police came at all. No one could have pulled off a murder and gotten away with it except Old Chu. It all made sense now. So my mother had been killed by Old Chu! I just could not believe that……… “Click!” It was the door of the room. Oh no. Old Chu was back! What was I going to do? I spotted a big wardrobe by the bed and squeezed myself into what little space was there. I was cramped in an uncomfortable position and had cold sweat dripping down my face. I kept thinking of the possibilities of what would happen if he found me. Old Chu was not that kind. Besides, he had killed my mother, what would he do to me? From my point of view, I could only see Old Chu’s feet. They were going towards the drawer, then away, then towards the bed and then…..I saw……oh no! I had left the letter on the floor! I saw the feet stop suddenly and then his hands picked up the letter! I saw the feet walk towards me, then stop. Oh no! He’s seen me! 36

I gulped. “Come out!” I stayed put. Maybe there was a slight chance that he had not seen me……. “Come out!” I felt a hand grabbing my shoulder and then pulling me forward. I came face to face with Old Chu and, boy, was he mad! I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. I started yelling and shouting, but almost immediately, I felt his hands coil around my neck and tighten. It felt as if a python or the hand of death itself was suffocating me. I was slowly deprived of oxygen, I was going to die like my mother! “Click!” The door had opened again. It was First Mother! My saviour! Old Chu let go of his grip on me at once and I fell to the ground gasping and wheezing for air, which I breathed in great amounts. My neck was black and blue where Old Chu had grabbed it and my face was a pale white. “What is going on here?” asked First Mother. “I found this maid snooping in my room! You know what we have to do! We have to throw her out!” Old Chu shouted. “Yes, Old Chu.” First Mother replied curtly. She led me out of the room and she looked right in my eyes, as if looking into my soul and said, “I can’t help you now, Jade Pearl.”

****** Tears had sprung upv in my eyes as I walked back to the maid’s building to collect my things. The walk became one of the longest walks I had ever taken. I approached the familiar chocolate-coloured building and I remembered all the times I had had in that building. Be it good or bad. I walked up the little stone path which I had done so often 37

before and found myself in the building. Packing whatever clothes I had into a brown paper bag, I decided to take a last stroll around the maid’s building. The water pump at the back of the buiding brought back all kinds of memories to me. Tears ran down my face and I fell into a deep fog of darkness. I tried to make myself cheer up, saying things like maybe it was a blessing to be kicked out of the mansion and I would be free again. Going down the little stone path again, I took a last look back at the building and I realised that I had never felt so sad before in my life. My mother had been murdered, no one was going to believe me if I told them what had really happened and I had been kicked out of the Chu mansion. But I knew that even if I was kicked out of the mansion, I would never be free, I still had an invisible chain with the Chu family. I knew that Old Chu would hunt me down if he had to. Walking towards the main gate, I saw no one there to bid me good-bye. No one at all. It was as if I had never even existed. Not even my sister was there. My first step out of the mansion and I knew where I had to go. I raced to the nearby village market and bought some joss ticks. Then I went to the graveyard where my mother was buried. I knelt down in front of my mother’s grave and I offered her some joss ticks. Why did my mother have to go through so much injustice? Why? She had not done anything wrong! I quietly got up and started walking. As I turned my back on my mother’s grave, I was sure of one thing. I was going to bring Old Chu to justice, I was going to let my mother rest in peace and maybe…….just maybe…….then would I finally be………free.

Y oung A uthors’ S cheme? What is The

ORIGINS The first of its kind in Singapore, the Young Author’s Scheme was started in 2003 when an innovative-thinking English Head of Department from Anderson Primary School approached Catherine Khoo, veteran author and editor, with a novel idea to motivate his students: write a book! But it was to be no ordinary book: it had to be good enough to be published. Could she help these students develop their potential? Never one to refuse a challenge, she dived into it and stolidly hand-held them to penning their very own creation: a well-crafted story of at least 3,000 words. A mere three years later, 200 young authors have persevered and seen their works in print. 42 had their stories published under the Young Author’s Club. OBJECTIVES Children have a wealth of emotions. How do you draw them out? At the same time, how can they learn as they are sharing? Storytelling is at once therapeutic and fulfilling. The chance to create opens a whole new world to them. Putting them into words allows them to draw on their imagination, learn new words and enjoy the process of writing. MILESTONES 28 February 2004 ... • First Young Author Awards held. • Special Achievement Award to Aditi from Naval Base Primary School who penned a 21,000 word fantasy, The Chain of Tears. 22 July 2005... •

Launch of The Young Author’s Club, a series of of excellent works from the Young Author’s Scheme. The series comprises four titles: Tales of Magic & Fantasy, Tales of Ghosts and Ghouls, Tales of Aliens and Angels and Tales To Warm Your Heart.

Held at the Library@Orchard, the event had an over-capacity audience of 200 young authors, parents, teachers and principals.

10 September 2005... •

First Young Author’s Club event held at Popular Books, United Square. It was hosted by Catherine Khoo, Creator of the Young Author’s Scheme, with guest appearances by three young authors, Thia Shan Zhi, 13, Norman Aziz, 13, and Jennifer Yip, 12, who gamely signed autographs and awarded specially crafted bookmarks.

All four titles were sold out within an hour.

28 November 2005... •

The Advanced Young Author’s Scheme had its first intake of Sec 1 to Sec 3 boys from Catholic High School. The boys had to write a 10,000 word nouvella. They exceeded expectations, with Song Dilong, 13, penning a 62,000-word sci-fi thriller, EAGP and Chean Yufei, 15, with his 40,000-word fantasy, Eclipse of the Rising Sun.

30 June 2006... • Maybank sponsors the Young Author Award. Recognising that young talented writers can be nurtured, the bank is committed to work with the Young Author’s Club to develop this potential. To find out more about the Young Author’s Scheme, contact Catherine at Experiences & Experiments, Tel/Fax 6336-8985, or visit www.catherinekhoo.sg

Singapore has just come out of World War II, Jade Pearlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother has mysteriously died and her father is penniless. She is later taken to the Chu family to work as a maid and her sister, as a child-bride. A marriage is held, plots are uncovered, and a deep, dark secret is exposed.

I am one who likes dogs, food, music, tennis and more food. I hate people who say one thing and do another, medicine and bitter gourd.

An Experiences & Experiments Imprint ISBN No. 978-981-4254-25-0

Ph / Fax 6336-8985