Faridah and Tianhui were playing hide and seek at the void deck of their
block with some of the other children in their neighborhood. The two made a
wonderful pair because they were such experts at hide and seek. None of the
other children could find them when they hid themselves. They decided it would
be more interesting to play the game from the ground floor to the fifth floor of
the block. the others agreed. When it came to their turn to hide, Faridah and
Tianhui dashed to the third floor. They hid silently behind some large potted
plants along the corridor, making sure they could not be easily spotted.
Suddenly, a man with torn ad dirtied clothes walked unsteadily down the stairs
and started shouting at the top of his voice t the two girls. He pointed at them
and scolded them. then he laughed and teased them. The girls knew him as the man
who was mentally ill. His queer behaviour scared the
living daylights out of them. Faridah and Tianhui looked at him
uncertainly, not knowing what to do next. He seemed to be getting closer to them
with each step he took. Then, he made a move on Tianhui, grabbing her wrist and
pulling her towards him. Tianhui screamed and kicked him in the knee. The man
bent over in pain. The girls scrambled from
their places, running past the mad man and into the safety of the open void deck
below. They had never been so frightened in their lives before. |