Christmas Song

It is hot when he arrives. Senior has gone out, she tells him. They sit and talk. She sounds alright now, but she has been unwell too. She waves at the different medicines on the table. She is wearing green, like the codeine.

Senior is back now. They sit and keep talking. They eat grapes and longans, but Senior is still hungry, so he makes himself a bowl of curry noodles. He is not wearing a shirt. Junior leans out of the window. It is so quiet and peaceful on a Sunday afternoon. What could be more satisfying than being here?

It is cooler now, because the clouds have rolled in. He brings the clothes in and shuts the window. The conversation turns to her upcoming trip. It might be cold in February, so he asks if she has the right shoes, jackets, and so on. They turn the TV on. The newsreader reports on a murder in a food factory.

"Do you remember the Briyani murders", asks Senior.

"Yes, right behind the church at Dhoby Ghaut?"

They switch to a Japanese show, for children, dubbed into English. Men in robot costumes are fighting men in rubber alien suits.

It is raining now. He borrows an orange umbrella and leaves.