Telephones Anyone?
East Coast, Katong 1962 - One of the many haunts for young romantics
May 4th, 1962.
"Iceball satu", Zaed almost whispered to the Chinese man in the twilight of his years. Slowly but surely, his decrepit hands scooped a generous portion of the ice cold ball which for so many years, has relieved both the young and the old in the scorching and bustling port that's Singapore. The bulging veins protruding beneath his crumpled faded skin indicated the years of hard work probably from pushing his war torn mobile 'mart' from one small town to another.
Zaed fished out two pieces of the now defunct 1 cent coin and placed it in the old man's cash register which was really just an ordinary dirty plastic bowl. Zaed longed for days when he could have an iceball for lunch. It's because on days like these that Zaed skips his meal just so that he can afford to order more food at dinner with Rozza, the girl he is going to marry one day.
"Same time same place ok abang Zaed?", Zaed could still hear his Rozza reminding him before they parted during their last date. Singapore back then did not have the majestic malls and streets of Orchard Road to roam about. There wasn't anything close to the vibrant bars the line Boat Quay or the 9 foot walkways of the Durianish Esplanade where couples, both old, new and the queer take long romantic walks.
1960s Singapore had other things though. They had beautiful parks and drive-in movies. They had a theme park in Katong and 1-cent per stick Satays lining the old Satay Club. The youths had house parties every other weekend and dance clubs that was hardly any dangerous to attend.
1960s Singapore most importantly was almost untainted by things modern and every other corner somewhat provided a little bit of memory for couples that allowed the moonlight to guide their long romantic walks after a road-side dinner. The intricate architecture of the island's rich colonial past fused with those brought about by travelling immigrants from Java, Melaka and China, setting up a spectacular array of Film Noir like backdrops that added so much character to life back then.
"Zaed, I'm afraid you got to work late tonight. Ismail's wife is sick and you got to cover him alright?", Mr Smith, their manager informed. Zaed does not have much of a choice but to nod in agreement. Although knowing that his attempts at reaching Rozza would be futile, Zaed still dialled Rozza's telephone number and waited.
"Assalamualaikum. Boleh saya cakap dengan Rozza?", Zaed asked without much confidence. "Rozza belum pulang dari kerja nak. Ini Zaed ye? Rozza kan kat kerja, dia kata malam ni dia balik lambat. Overtime katanye", Rozza's mum went on and on.
Zaed smiled sheepishly for he knows that Rozza only tells her mum that she has to work overtime whenever he is meeting her for dinner or a movie or a walk in the park as Rozza comes from a traditional Malay family and it is not common for parents to allow their daughters to go out with a boy without their younger siblings or friends to chaperon them.
Thoughts of Rozza worrying over his punctuality made Zaid break out into cold sweat. The time showed 8pm. They were supposed to meet at the corner of the Siglap Market almost an hour ago. Surely Rozza must be fretting herself silly waiting for him Zaed thought as he could not fully concentrate on the work he has at hand.
9pm came and went. By the time Zaed was done, Zaed wished the clock was lying when it showed 9.20pm."I hope Rozza is home safely", Zaed told himself as he placed his hands on the receiver of the telephone. "Should I call?", Zaid questioned himself as he was afraid he might get a tongue lashing from Rozza's dad or mum for calling late in the night. "I think I shall just call. Rozza is always the first to answer the phone anyway whenever she is home. Then I shall just hang up when I hear her voice so that she won't get into trouble for talking on the phone at such an odd hour.
Zaed dialed the number and sure enough, he heard Rozza's voice and hung up smiling to himself. Zaed grabbed his helmet and flew down the stairs to his Vespa scooter. On his ride home, Zaid mulled over the beautiful dinner that never came. Stomach growling, no girlfriend, overtime...all these omens encompassed a disastrous day for the young man.
"What the heck", Zaed thought to himself, as he turned left toward the Siglap Market junction. "If I don't get to see my Rozza, at least let me walk in her footsteps", Zaed decided to console himself. As her swerved toward that iconic landmark, never did he imagine what was presented to him. There sitting on the bench was Rozza, smiling from ear to ear the moment she heard that stutter of a sound Zaed's Vespa always made.
"You are late Abang Zaed!!", Rozza tried to sound cross as she walked toward Zaed and hugged him tightly."I knew you will somehow still be waiting. I just knew it", Zaed said while squeezing her hands. "But I could have sworn I heard your voice when I called your home!", Zaed sounded suprised. "Are you a ghost?" Zaed joked as he poked Rozza on her arm. "Its my sister lah. We sound the same over the phone. Even my mum has difficulty differentiating our voice", Rozza comforted Zaed.
That night was one of the most memorable nights that Zaed and Rozza ever had as a couple. The most memorable night was still their wedding day. 10 years and 6 kids later, on May the 4th, 1972, when the flower power and the psychedelic tones of Pink Floyd reigned supreme over the charts, Zaed and Rozza was having one of those rare nights when all of the kids were away at Grandma's place.
Zaed browsed through his vinyl collection before putting on a Bossanova track that reminded the love birds of their courting days. "Can I have this dance?", Zaed extended his hand toward his wife. "Still the Romeo huh my love..", Rozza replied in between smiles as she allowed Zaed to serenade her in their living room.
"Can I ask you something?", Zaed asked like a shy boy. "Remember that night when I had to work late. And the clock said 10pm and you were still waiting at that Siglap Market corner. Why didn't you go home that night? Why did you wait for me? How did you know I would come?" Zaed threw the burning questions at Rozza.
"Because if I had to work late that night...and there was no way I could have reached you, I know that you would have done the same. You would have stayed there and not gone home...You would have waited for me...And I would still come down however late it was, even if its to bask and walk in your footsteps."
Present Day
It's amazing the rate the world is changing. Now it seems everyone owns a mobile phone and hence could be connected to each other at the mere touch of the 'call' button, whatever time it is, however late it is.
Feeling lazy? Call/SMS the person you're supposed to meet and tell them you can't make it because of blah blah blah reasons.
Working Overtime? Call/SMS the person you're supposed to meet and tell them you can't make it because of blah blah blah reasons.
Bad Weather? Call/SMS the person you're supposed to meet and tell them you can't make it because of blah blah blah reasons.
For good or bad, I'm sure the mobile phone has its uses. But with every development or advancement comes a sacrifice. And with this accessibility these telephones bring, it's such a pity that perhaps the youth of today will never ever experience the level of integrity, perseverance and love our parents or grandparents had.
Promises could be made a week before, be it verbally or via writing of a letter and trust these guys to be there at the time stated. Bad weather or not, Overtime or not, Feeling lazy or not, the tendency to shun away from a promise is so much lesser. I for one, shall miss those days.
March 31st, 2007
Zaed passed away suddenly one cold March morning. Rozza accompanied him a day later, leaving behind 8 children and 10 grandchildren.Coincidentally, they are buried beside each other. Till death do us part? Suddenly...I choose not to believe in that either.
