Giant Magnets
February 16, 2008 by haziamyperspective
I had the pleasure of meeting 2 renowned, young Malay authors when I dropped by at my instructor’s place just now.
However, the purpose of my visit was to discuss his feedback on my new stories. I was so nervous about his upcoming criticism (the last round one was major) that I didn’t even think of getting their new (authographed) books there and then. Yeah, imagine, the authors themselves were there and it didn’t cross my mind. LOL!
Choosing to discuss The Kebaya King and The Other Woman P.I., my 2 less adventurous, relationship-themed stories, I thought his criticism wouldn’t be so bad. How wrong!
On the later, he said it was unrealistic. A homosexual doesn’t become straight, not even after being with a woman for 3 years. Hmm… my point is… a straight person first discover his/her homosexuality in unusual or tempting situations, why couldn’t it work the other way round? He also said that I have 2 different stories in 1 piece i.e the private investigator story and the relationship story. I have to choose 1…
Below is an extract that would definitely NOT make it to the re-write / my book:(
The Other Woman P.I. - 1st Cut
(continue)
…They said a lonely heart is like a giant magnet waiting to hook on a similar minded companion. I was overjoyed when Su Ching first invited me home one Sunday. Her place was bright and cheerful; it was as if the sun was smiling down at us. I could almost smell the flowers of spring during my students’ days in Adelaide. That was where I met Ron, we were both doing our Masters Degree.
My visit quickly became a monthly affair and soon, I found myself spending almost every weekend there. She would cook a delicious Sunday brunch for me and her kids, Tim and John. The energetic five-year old and six-year old and I would sit on the bar stools at the narrow counter in the kitchen, waiting eagerly for her to whip up our pancakes and sausages. After that, I would lie down in front of the TV with the boys and catch one Disney cartoon after another until their mother came and turned off the idiot box. Sometimes, we would go downstairs to the tennis court and I would show them how to hit the ball. At nights, I would go back to my pathetic apartment. Su Ching had an extra room but I did not want to overstay her hospitality.
She finally gained full custody of her children after a massive legal battle. Ron’s eyes nearly popped out when he saw me accompanying his ex-wife in court that day. After that, he just avoided my gaze. I could not imagine what he told his parents but the look they gave us was deadly. It was not as if he wanted to take care of the boys, he was just determined to make life difficult for her. They probably saw more of me than they did of their father in the last three years. That day brought another shocking discovery. The man I used to love was a wife beater. Su Ching took photographs of those bruises, they were useful as evidence…
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