One Key Fits All
This story is inspired by the homecoming of a long lost friend.
In the rush hour of one Grand Central Subway Station in New York City, Valerie swiftly swiveled her head the other direction as the rapturous gust of wind created a riot within her soft brown hair. By and large, as much as she hated that, it never failed to remind her of her growing up days in Singapore. Squeezing her petite body through the tiniest of gaps just before the MRT door beeped and close so that she won't be late for her lectures in the polytechnic.
It had been a good 15 years now since she had not returned to the sunny island. Frequent phone calls home grew few and far between as she refused to swallow her pride and reconcile ties with her parents. She knew that they had a point for refusing their young girl venturing out into the vast corporate world 10000 miles across the planet. With no family, friends, and warm fish porridge to sooth her soul at the end of every hectic New York work day, Valerie finally realised how important a support system a family and home mean.
Her walk up apartment, albeit being smack down in the middle of the big apple, cosy and comfortable in every sense of the word with a Siamese cat for company, somehow lacked the warmth of her HDB flat. Valerie tried hard to brush such thoughts from her mind, but gazing upon the Chinese family sitting opposite her in the Subway train, it somehow made her miss home even more.
Valerie had given this issue much thought and finally, after all these years of sculpting her own success in a foreign land with nothing but grit and strength, she packed her suitcase and purchased a one-way ticket for Singapore.
No one knew of her abrupt decision. Not even her dear sister, who was the only form of contact she has had all these years via the convenience of email and MSN that made her feel ever so close, yet never close to home.
Valerie struggled with her luggage with excitement and fear all rolled into one as she brisked quickly toward the taxi stand. It was quite a feeling to see so many Singlish speaking folks in one place. Barely 5 minutes in Singapore, and the euphoria of the Lahs and Lehs in the background made her smile warmly.
The kind old taxi uncle assisted her with the luggage before asking her in classic Singlish, "Go where?". Valerie smiled before replying, "Uncle, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 please! Hurry Up. I'm late!"
Valerie was shocked and impressed by some of the changes she had missed in the course of time she was away. Blocks of flats were now painted an array of vibrant colours. Commercial buildings that used to lack character now breathed a new life of its own. For the first time in her life, Valerie felt what it was like to be alone and foreign in her own country!
As the taxi sped closer and closer to her destination, Valerie felt all warm and fuzzy on the inside, like that on a first date with someone special. She was glad however that there were indeed some things that hasn't changed. She noticed the bamboo poles sticking out like ugly extensions from the kitchen side of the HDB flats. Only this time, they seemed much....homely after all.
Valerie noticed that the Chinese Medicine halls and Mama shops still existed in those void deck retail space. At the end of her block, she noticed that the coffeeshop where as a young girl, she would run her father an errand to buy a pack of cigarettes still stood majestically in its old glory with bright orange letterings that read 'Ah June Coffee Shop'.
Valerie hurried toward one of those Mama shops like an eager child with her luggage dragging behind her. "Uncle, can I have one Grape Yakult please?", Valerie requested in her 'Ang Moh' accent. "This one 80 cents", the fifty something year old Indian man replied, rather flustered with the fact that this lady had disrupted him reading his newspaper. "What!? 80 cents!? It used to cost only 50 cents back then", Vivien retorted.
The Indian uncle looked bewildered and scratched his head. "Erm, where you from girl?", he asked. "I'm from Ang Mo Kio!", Valerie replied in an excited tone. "Thank You uncle! See you again!", Valerie bid her farewell and left before the Indian shopkeeper could fathom what had happened within the last 2 minutes.
Thank god for the HDB upgrades, they now had lifts servicing every floor which saved Valerie the struggle of lugging her bags up a couple flights of steps to the 12th floor. Valerie seemed confused at first for she remembered she had to get off at the 10th floor before running up the flight of steps to her house but she suddenly remembered her sister mentioning about the upgrades in the neighbourhood.
As she walked closer to her flat, all the sweet memories of home rushed into her head. She remembered playing hopscotch and catching with her neighbours along the corridors, as well throwing her sweet wrappers off the 12th storey ledge just to see it dancing in the wind before hitting the ground. Such fond sweet memories Valerie thought.
Her heart beat faster and stronger as she stood facing her house. Everything seemed the same since the day she left. It was as though these 15 years didn't even occur and was just one long dream. Valerie rummaged her handbag for her old set of keys which she kept all these years, waiting for a a day like today.
Slowly, she inserted the brass key into the keyhole, half wondering if the family had changed its locks or something during her time away. The door catch clicked loose with one swift turn of the key. It was such a great feeling, after all those torrid years of silence with her parents, to know that they refused to change those creaking old doors, just in case, their dear daughter would come back one fine day.
