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Anthony Lim, an engineer, has a five-year-old daughter
whom he adores dearly. His wife works in the hotel
industry where they have working shifts. Sometimes, she
has to work on weekends where Anthony would be left with
the care of Jean, their daughter. On weekdays, Jean is
taken care of by Anthony's mother. One weekend during
a festive season, Anthony decided to bring Jean to a new
bookstore at Orchard Road while his wife was working.
Jean gleamed with joy and anticipation when she was told
of the plan while his wife warned him over the phone,
"Make sure you keep a close watch over her."
Anthony and Jean stopped by the town centre for lunch
before taking the MRT to Orchard Road. Anthony, a tall
bespectacled man looked very much the typical
unfashionable Singaporean engineer in his short sleeve,
striped business shirt. The only difference from his
usual workday attire was his sandals. It was a treat to
let his toes breathe in the fresh weekend air. If his
wife was with him, she would insist on him wearing shoes
in order to look presentable. He was quite happy with
his casual appearance walking towards Wheellock Place on
that particular Saturday afternoon. The Orchard crowd
was all chic and style along the pedestrian mall. The
young ones were `all dressed to kill' in all kinds of
apparel and manner. Looking at some of them , Anthony
could not help wondering what happened to sweet modesty.
Like a proud father, he clutched Jean's hand tightly.
She was his pride.
"Can I choose my own book, daddy?" Jean asked. She
was a picture of sweet innocence in her simple blue
dress. She had her hair tied behind her with a bright
yellow pin. She half walked and half hopped in her
excitement. "Of course, dear, you can choose any book
you want," the father replied. If he did not like the
book, he would just coax her later. They soon reached
the bookstore which had just opened recently.
They were greeted by the sight of shelves, books,
words and alphabets enticing the eyes and mind to a
world of knowledge and learning. Anthony led Jean
forward and they explored the space ahead of them. There
were the books and the people who were
totally absorbed in them.
The bookstore seemed to expand as they walked further
in. There were all kinds and categories of books set in
various arrays.
Anthony brought Jean to the children's section and
after spending some time with her, he decided to leave
her there for a while. He wanted to browse around in the
bookstore and select a few books for himself and his
wife. He told Jean about his plan and persuaded Jean to
agree to his proposal in
return for a special ice-cream treat. Happily, Anthony
went ahead to look for his books, promising to be back
very soon.
The time slipped by and Anthony lost track of it.
Instead of the twenty minutes he targeted, the watch
showed forty-five minutes when he next looked at it.
Jean! His mind shrieked. He darted across the bookroom
to the children's section. Jean was not there. With his
heart pounding, he scanned the bookstore for Jean.
"Don't panic! She must be somewhere around," Anthony
told himself. He felt anger towards himself while trying
to push back the fears that spooked him.
Finally, he caught sight of Jean together with one of
the counter staff. The tension within him dissipated.
Jean's eyes were red and his relief was soon replaced by
sheepish embarassment as he claimed her back. |
