Walking Home (Singapore Stories Book 3)
by Floyd CowanPublish: Jun 27, 2020Book Overview
Eddy, a feisty little Chinese Singaporean, steps outside the law during the Covid-19 lockdown in Singapore in order to help, as best he can, street people who avoid taking advantage of government and social service help. Raju, a Singaporean of Tamil descent, reluctantly follows Eddy who ‘patrols’ the mostly empty streets of Singapore, despite their different backgrounds, outlooks on life and their food preferences. While their efforts to help are minimal their friendship grows stronger and they manage to maintain their freedom until the end of the lockdown.“Ha ha ha!” Eddy laughed in glee. He did a little dance step. He motioned at all the highrises around the Kallang River. “Look there. All those million-dollar apartments. Rich people! Now they have them. They can no go out. Lockdown! They can no go anywhere. They hate it! They hate it!”
Raju shook his head in disgust at the words of his obnoxious little fiend. “Eddy, you are the only person, in this magnolious world, who is happy that everyone is being confined to their abodes.”
“Yes!” Shouted Eddy. “Yes. I’m deelighted! Raju, you rag bucket, you, you should too be!” Eddy grinned. “They spew filth on world. They abuse environment and animals living. Now they pay for it,” he poked a thin finger at the undefined them. “God get them. Hit them right in the ku ku bird! Ass kicking. Fuck to you! Fuck to you!” He shook his fist at the Riverine that towered above him. He shook his fist over the MRT at Kallang Heights. “Fuck to you!”
Raju wasn’t taking this. He shook a finger at his wiry little friend, “Don’t think your good self is not a part of the destruction of this beautiful planet. You are no less culpable than any resident of those magnificent highrises.”
“Magnificent highrise? Fuck you! I wouldn’t live there if you put dynamite in my ass and blow me to top floor!” The wiry little lipoid danced about. “They pay. They pay.”
Raju shook his head.
“Before retire. I is retire now. Before. I good job. Good job. I know much. I make many money. I know things. Many things.”
Raju was all too familiar with Eddy’s sense of superiority. What he had exactly done in the financial sector Raju didn’t know and found it hard to comprehend that Eddy had worked anywhere of importance. “I know why you are so happy that everyone is locked down. Because now, Mister think you’re so big. Think there is no one out here who can really challenge you. Who could really kick your ass. You are like those pretend ‘security guards’ sitting in front of those impressive highrises that all the Foreign Workers built. They couldn’t stop a drunk Filipina maid from trying to get in to get at her foreign lover whose given her the short, and neither could use.”
Eddy laughed. “Now job to keep rich pundek from getting out. Hilarious!” He pointed up. “Bird Man of Alcatraz, Papillon, Shawshank Redemption. The Green Mile! Now, now know what like to lock up already. No jus thinking – can know.” His finger jabbed his temple.
