Ignoring her words, the boy leant backward and tried to yank Ai Ling away. She shook off his hand, taking a few steps back. The wind had whipped up to a deafening speed, howling in her ears. Shrill, frantic birdcalls chorused madly around them. From somewhere, another shout of alarm.
“No, I need to get back to him.”
The boy dropped his arms to his sides and stared at Ai Ling. For a brief moment, Ai Ling felt as if they were looking at each other through a distorted glass, across a span of shared history.
The boy turned and sprinted up the beach.
Before Ai Ling could utter another word or form a single thought, the huge wave swept onto shore and lifted her into its embrace, carrying her as far as it could, into the heart of the island, before drawing her back into its depths.
The sun dips slowly into the sea, turning the water vermillion, as darkness creeps its way across the tiny island. The wispy tufts of dry grass shiver in the light breeze, bracing themselves for the night. All is calm. The woman remains perfectly still.
The boy steps out of the water and walks up to the woman on the beach. Water drips from the boy’s body onto her back, dotting her shirt with dark splotches. He squats down and puts a hand on the woman’s hair, brushing it gently with his fingers, straightening out the kinks, freeing the tangled ends. He wipes the crusted trails of dried blood from the corners of her mouth, and fills the empty eye socket with sand. Then he places his right hand on her bulging stomach and holds it there, fingers splayed.
Closing his eyes, he listens to the world of sounds coming from inside the woman’s husk of a body. He listens, and beyond the skin and blood and flesh, he finally hears her. He clenches his hand into a fist on the woman’s stomach. He’s here—he will always be here.
And the sea, ever present, surrounding them, raging inside them—teeming, roaring, alive with its own dark appetite.
The boy sits on the sand beside the woman, his body touching hers, and looks out across the water. Together, they regard the silence of the island. The sun—now a sliver—slips below the horizon and disappears into the crepuscular folds of the approaching night.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The life of writing is a long, arduous and solitary one, and impossible without the support and good faith of my family: Pa, Ma, Siew Yen, Harry, Thiam Teck, and Agustiniwati.
For endless inspiration and for keeping my heart in all the right places, the four bright stars of my life: Ryan, Gabriel, Kristine, Gareth.
For their generosity, kindness and constant encouragement, my big-hearted friends: Kok Wei, Jenny, Yew Pin, Angeline, Gavin Ng, Yvonne Lee.
A special callout to the A-team at Epigram Books: Edmund, for his vision and firm belief. My editor, Jason Erik Lundberg, for his invaluable advice, patience and guidance; for shaping and sharpening this book to its current form, you deserve the full credit. And also, to my beloved team of supporters/angels/ cheerleaders: Clara, Winston, Lan, Sophia. Always a pleasure working with all of you.
And finally, to my dear readers, for believing and supporting me through the years. This book is for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
O Thiam Chin is the winner of the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize, the richest literary award in Singapore, with a cash prize of S$20,000 and a publishing contract with Epigram Books. He is also the author of five collections of short fiction: Free-Falling Man (2006), Never Been Better (2009), Under The Sun (2010), The Rest Of Your Life and Everything That Comes With It (2011) and Love, Or Something Like Love (2013, shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize for English Fiction).
His short stories have appeared in Mãnoa, World Literature Today, The International Literary Quarterly, Asia Literary Review, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Kyoto Journal, The Jakarta Post, The New Straits Times, Asiatic and Esquire (Singapore). His short fiction was also selected for the first two volumes of The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories anthology series.
O was an honorary fellow of the Iowa International Writing Program in 2010, a recipient of the NAC Young Artist Award in 2012, and has been thrice longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He has appeared frequently at writers festivals in Australia, Indonesia and Singapore.
ALSO FROM THE EPIGRAM BOOKS FICTION PRIZE
Let’s Give It Up for Gimme Lao! by Sebastian Sim
Death of a Perm Sec by Wong Souk Yee
Sugarbread by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Annabelle Thong by Imran Hashim
Kappa Quartet by Daryl Qilin Yam
Altered Straits by Kevin Wong
Epigram Books Fiction Prize
The Epigram Books Fiction Prize promotes contemporary creative writing and rewards excellence in Singaporean literature. The richest literary prize in Singapore is awarded to the Singaporean, permanent resident or Singapore-born author for the best manuscript of a full-length, original and unpublished novel written in the English language.
The closing date for submission to this year’s prize is 1 September 2016. The winner will be announced in December and have his or her novel published by Epigram Books.
For more information, please visit EBFP.EPIGRAMBOOKS.SG
Born on the night of Singapore’s independence, Gimme Lao is cheated of the honour of becoming the nation’s firstborn by a vindictive nurse. This was the first of three things he would never know about himself. The second was the circumstances surrounding his parents’ marriage and the third was the profound, but often unintentional, impact he had on other people’s lives.
FORMAT: Paperback, 288 pages, 152x225mm
ISBN: 978-981-4757-32-4
PRICE: SGD $24.90
AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: www.epigrambooks.sg
In 1980s Singapore, a top civil servant is found dead. It appears to be suicide, by a cocktail of morphine, alcohol and Valium. But upon investigation by a CID inspector, who might not be what he seems, the family discovers there may be far more sinister circumstances behind his death, reaching the uppermost echelons of government. Death of a Perm Sec exposes the dark heart of power politics, from the country’s tumultuous post-independence days to the socio-political landscape of the 1980s.
FORMAT: Paperback, 284 pages, 152x225mm
ISBN: 978-981-4757-34-8
PRICE: SGD $24.90
AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: www.epigrambooks.sg