The Storeroom

All the new HDB flats these days come with a storeroom which would double up as an emergency shelter in times of crisis. As such, these rooms are sturdily built with thick, steady walls with a heavy steel door. There is only a little round vent which allows for air circulation to take place. If you have ever been in one, the first thing to strike you, you would know, is the still and silent air inside the room. This, of course, is due to the thick walls that block out most noise from the environment. But it also has the effect of leading you top believe, if you are the type inclined to imagination, you are in a world separate from the real physical one.

Ever since Edward Lee was a baby, he had had this irrational fear of the storeroom. In the hospital, he had worried his parents with his silence. His only and elder sibling Gordon had been a squawker, fussing all the way home and continued to squawk for one whole year after that. Which explained why Edward only came into the world five years later. After Mr. and Mrs. Lee's experienced with Gordon, they were anxious about Edward's quiet ways. The only noise that he uttered in his first three days on earth was when the doctor slapped his rump, right after he was delivered. And even then, the soft cry that he emitted was a pale shadow of the lusty howls that Gordon had yowled five years ago.  Only when he returned home did he begin to cry in earnest. However, Mr. and Mrs. Lee's relief was short lived. Unlike Gordon who cried to get attention, Edward's crying was fretful and had an urgent quality to it. They could sense that the baby really needed something, but as the poor babe couldn't speak, they just simply had no idea what he wanted.

The Lee family went through half a year of living hell. For those six months, Edward spent almost every waking moment that he spent in the flat crying. Mrs. Lee, who was a full time housewife, was so sorely tried that she almost lost control several times and was sorely tempted to spank and shake him. Although they employed a confinement lady, she could not help them much because she only did the housework and looked after the baby. But she could not shut the child up and it was the endless crying that had everybody's nerves, including her own, so frazzled. Gordon did not help matters much with his insecurities and resentment towards the new intruder in the family who was competing with him for daddy's and mummy's affection. He did not mean it but he would inevitably choose the most inopportune moments to demand mummy's attention. When Edward had soiled himself, the kettle was whistling, the running water had filled the bathtub and the telephone was ringing, Gordon would then cling onto Mrs. Lee's skirt and demand with a pout that mummy read him a storybook. Instead, he would earn a smack.

Although Mrs. Lee bore the brunt of Edward mysterious tantrums, Mr. Lee was not spared either. Very quickly, he earned the nickname of 'Panda' in the office. This was because he could not get any rest at night because of Edward's non stop crying. The only time Edward would keep quiet was when he had exhausted himself to sleep. But for the poor Lee parents, that would be the time for their ears and nerves to rest, not them, because then they would have to devote some time to neglected Gordon. This dragged on for six months. For six long, miserable and interminable months, the Lees tolerated Edward's ceaseless crying. In the deepest and most unconscious place of Mrs. Lee's heart, she almost regretted giving birth to her second son. The confinement lady had gone home in an indecent rush once the first month was over, claiming that in her more than ten years of confinement experience, she had never come across a baby that cried as much as Edward. Mrs. Lee was left to fend for herself with her two young sons. Utterly worn out, she wondered for how long more she could cope with Edward's incessant crying before her control snapped.

One morning, Mrs. Lee had to do some marketing. Wearily, she put the wailing Edward into his pram, hung her shopping bag on the same pram and pushing the pram with one hand, holding Gordon with the other, she headed towards the nearest supermarket. On her way, she noticed a curious, and to her, almost miraculous phenomenon. Edward's sniffling subsided and he began to take an active interest in his surrounding instead. In fact, he even tried to coax an indifferent Gordon to play with him. Her heart lightened. Maybe the worst was over, she thought with a thrill. Maybe, all that Edward needed was some time to outgrow his crying habit. However, after buying her groceries, the moment she pushed the pram into the flat, Edward began to bawl again.The frustrated young mother almost wept too. She had been so certain that Edward had outgrown his senseless crying. Ready to give up, she pushed the pram and dragged Gordon out of the door once more. She wanted to go to her mother's place and put both her children there for one afternoon. She desperately needed some rest. However, the moment the front door was shut, she realised that Edward stopped crying too. Curious, she entered the flat with Edward again. The latter erupted into great sobs the moment he entered the flat. She opened the door and exited once more. Edward's howling abated once more. 

If Edward stopped crying each time he left the flat, then it must be something in the flat... Icy tingles of fear raced down Mrs. Lee's spine as she recalled what had happened in the flat before she and her husband purchased it seven years ago. The previous owner's four year old daughter had drowned in a pail of water in the storeroom. It was even printed in the newspapers at that time. The Filipino maid was charge with negligence. She had been cleaning the storeroom at the time when the telephone rang. She went to answer it, keeping the storeroom door open with a broom. It was her friend who had called and she became so engrossed in chatting with her friend that she did not notice her young charge going into the storeroom and kicking away the broom by accident so that the door of the storeroom closed. Nobody would know for sure what happened next. But by reconstruction from the clues at the scene later, it seemed that somehow, the young girl had slipped and fallen head down into the pail. It took only a few minutes for her to drown. By the time the maid finished her conversation fifteen minutes later, it was too late.

The victim was an only child. Her heartbroken parents were so upset that they just could not stay in the flat where her death had taken place. They put the flat on the market at a decidedly low price  and the Lees snapped up the offer immediately. Not in the least superstitious, the young Lees were not deterred by the death. Moreover, as they were just getting started in their careers, they did not have much cash in hand and most of the other flats were just too expensive. They did not to wait either. They had known each other for more than ten years, having first met in Secondary One. They became a couple three years later when they were in Secondary Four. Their relationship had been smooth and steady and although they were both only 24, they felt that they had come to a stage whereby they were ready to consummate their relationship. And a marriage is not just about becoming husband and wife by registering at the Registry of Marriage or giving a banquet. They also had to look for a place of their own. Most of the flats they looked at were priced at unaffordable prices. the ones that were cheap, well, there were valid reasons why they were to cheap in the first place, like being next to a busy and noisy road, or being in some remote and inaccessible spot or having some serious structural defect, expect for this one, a ninth storey flat in Yishun. Not only was the flat well maintained, but it was also close to the homes of both their parents, making it very convenient for the young Lees to keep in contact with their families.

The lees did not have to consider very long or hard. They made up their minds about it within a week. Their parents warned them about the death in the flat but the young and modern couple brushed it aside as old wives tale. Science has proven that that there are no supernatural beings. The death of the young child was very unfortunate but it would not hinder them from staying in the place where the tragic event had taken place. Within a few months of the purchase, the Lees were comfortably ensconced in their newly renovated, second hand flat. They had continued to live there without incident, until now. Now that she recalled the drowning, coupled with Edward's strange behavoiur, Mrs. Lee did not dare to enter her own home. Her previous disbeliefs were so easily shattered by the new turn in events; they must have been quite fragile. She made her way to her parent's place. Over there, Edward was quiet, like he had been in the supermarket, and played with his own toes contentedly. This confirmed her suspicions.

That night, she refused to go home. When her husband tried to persuade her, she told him her fears. 'But it is just a coincidence. Maybe Edward doesn't like our flat, because it is true that he hardly cries here. But that doesn't mean that our house is not 'clean'. It could be something else, like the light or atmosphere!' 'Whatever it is, I don't care. I just don't feel safe in there anymore.' 'Then what do you want to do? Stay at our mom's place forever?' Eventually, Mrs. Lee had to admit that she could not stay on indefinitely at her parent's flat. When Mr. Lee promised to find a new place as soon as possible and her mother offered to engage the services of a well known exorcist, she reluctantly went home. The moment he entered the flat, Edward started crying again. Mrs. Lee did not sleep that night either.

The very next day, an exorcist came and performed the rites to cleanse the flat. Despite the exorbitant fee that he had charged, he did not seem very effective because Edward continued to cry day and night after the 'cleansing'. but after some experimentation and observation, Mrs. Lee soon discovered that he would only cry if he were in the living, dining room or the kitchen, which were closest to the storeroom. If he were in either of the bedrooms, he would be very nervous and edgy, but he would not cry. And if the bedroom doors were closed, he would be a lot calmer. Having discovered a way to sooth Edward's fears and seeing that there really was nothing wrong with the flat apart from Edward's strange reactions put Mrs. Lee's mind at rest. She also stopped pushing Mr. Lee to look for another flat. After some discussion, the couple agreed to save for a few more years before upgrading to a condominium. It did not make sense for them to change to a new flat then.

As the years passed by, the Lee family learnt to adjust to Edward's fear of the storeroom. Whenever they were at home, Mrs. Lee would always leave him in the bedroom with Gordon and keep the door shut. A TV, DVD player and hi-fi system were also installed in the bedroom. The second bedroom was converted to a dining room. As soon as Edward learnt to crawl, he would always crawl into the bedroom if he should be placed in the living or dining area, like when the family just returned from an outing and his parents and brother were removing their shoes and chattering. Later, when he was able to walk, when the family had to leave for an outing, he would grab his shoes and dashed back inside the bedroom to put on his shoes. then Mr. and Mrs. Lee would have to hold the door open, yell to him that it was open already and he would sprint out of the bedroom through the front door.

As soon as he could talk, his parents asked him what frightened him so much in the house. He only pointed at the storeroom. Mrs. Lee felt the chills going down her spine once more as she thought about the dead girl. But during the 10 years that she spent in her flat, she had never experienced anything out of the ordinary to justify Edward's reaction. Moreover, now she had set her heart on condominium for a second home, so she let the matter rest. Outside the house, Edward seemed to be like any other normal boy. He had the same interest as other boys his age; he was interested in sports, particularly ballgames like soccer, he watched the usual cartoons and worshipped the same TV characters.

He was only slightly different in that he was a lot quieter and more sensitive than other boys. His teachers in the playschool and later, in the kindergarten, informed Mrs. Lee that she had a genius for a child. He seemed to have a gift for perceiving the subtlest subjects, be it the stories in the books, the math problems that he had to solve or people's moods. Despite the trouble that he gave her, Mrs. Lee could not bring herself to blame him because he was such a sweet boy. Like the one time when she lost $500 after visiting the bank. Gordon had insisted on buying the Ultraman model that she had promised him two weeks ago. Reluctantly, she bought it because he looked like he was about to throw a huge tantrum in public if he did not get his way. She had also promised the same model to Edward. But the four year old Edward had said that he did not want it then, even though she knew that he was just as crazy over Ultraman as his older brother.

Or the other time when Mr. Lee had forgotten her birthday, the first time in their long relationship. She had been so upset that she cried secretly into her pillow that night. The very next morning, Edward, who was six at that time, had made her breakfast by himself and brought it to her bed. So despite Edward's abnormal reaction to the storeroom, Mrs. Lee felt that she was very lucky to have a sweet and considerate child like Edward. Gordon, on the other hand, well... was truly just like any other boy. He was as rowdy as Edward was quiet. Edward had always showed an inclination for books. Gordon detested books, particularly school texts. In his five years in primary school, Mrs. Lee had been summoned to the school nine times.

He seemed to be developing into a bully. In the last year alone, Mrs. Lee had seen his form teacher three times. Each meeting was prompted by complaints from other pupil's parents who claimed that Gordon had been tormenting his classmates. The first case was about teasing behaviour that got out of hand; the second about him beating a classmate and the last case was about extortion. Mush as Mrs. Lee would like to deny it, Gordon was becoming more of a headache than Edward. She suspected that at home, He was also up to the same tricks. Although she was not home for much of the day these days, she went back to work when Edward was three, from the little that she had witnessed, she knew that Gordon ordered Edward about like the latter was the former's slave. She had been seen Gordon whistling for Edward to bring him his comic, like his own younger brother was a dog!

She had tried to probe by asking Edward if he was happy about his relationship with Gordon. But the young Edward just maintained a stony silence. So instead, she decided to monitor the situation. One stiflingly hot afternoon, Gordon went to fetch Edward from his kindergarten. This was a routine that took place every weekday afternoon. Both the older Lees usually left home at seven in the morning and went to work after sending Gordon to school. Edward would be left with a neighbour, Auntie Soh who would look after him in the morning, prepare his lunch and send him to kindergarten at one in the afternoon. In return, Mrs. Lee paid Auntie Soh a small fee every month. In the afternoon at half past three, Gordon would leave school to take Edward home from kindergarten. Once home, the boys would occupy themselves either by napping, doing their homework or playing until their parents came home. That afternoon, Gordon was in a very bad mood because Ms. Chew had ticked him off for bullying another classmate yet again. Ms. Chew had threatened to call his mother to school if she received another complaint. 

He brooded over the morning's incident all the way home. Once they entered the house, he kicked Edward in the butt and told the latter to make him an ice cold Ribena and to take it into the bedroom for him. 'But kor, I don't want to go into the kitchen...' 'What, you dare to disobey me? Want to die huh?' 'No, no, but... I've got to go into the room,' Edward turned to walk towards the bedroom. He was yanked back by Gordon. 'You're in serious ***! Actually dare to said 'no' to me!' 'No, kor, just let me go, please, I'll do anything else, please, just let me go into the bedroom, I'll do something else for you.' 'What's the matter with you? Why must you be so special? Always pretending to be scared of this, scared of that. Only to get Dad's and Mum's attention, right? You think I don't know your tricks, you sneaky b******? You're scared of the storeroom?' He pushed open the storeroom door. 'What's so scary about this stupid little room?' 'NO! NO! CAN'T YOU HEAR HER? SHE WANTS COMPANY!' Edward burst out in unearthly howl.

For a moment, Gordon was taken aback. He realised that his brother truly believed that there was something in the storeroom. The his heart re-hardened. He would help to cure the idiot of his own fear. He thrust the struggling Edward into the dark storeroom. No matter how hard Edward fought against him, the five year gap between them was telling. Even with the strength borne of desperation and fear, Edward just could not overcome his brother who was almost 20kilograms heavier and 50 centimeters taller than him. 'No! No! No! Let me out! I'll... I'll not... Anything... NO, PLEASEEEE!' by now, Edward had degenerated into an incoherent sobbing mass. He begged for mercy one last time before Gordon shut the door, panting after his exertions, trying to get his breath back. That little squirt sure was strong for one so little.

After a while, when the mad anger had receded, he realised that there was no longer any sound coming from the storeroom. 'Eddie, what are you doing inside there?' He knocked on the storeroom door. Silence. 'Eddie, don't be an idiot. I know that you're trying to scare me. Stop playing the fool! You may come out now.' Still silence. 'I won't be taken by your tricks. You can come out any time you decide to stop being an idiot.' With a bravado that he did not feel, Gordon went to the kitchen and got himself a drink. Ten minutes later, when there was still neither movement nor sound from the storeroom, Gordon panicked. he strode to the storeroom. 'You miserable b******, you better stop playing the fool, you understand? If you don't come out this very instant, you'll regret it for the rest of your f****** life!'

There was a giggle, muffled by the thick walls of the storeroom. The storeroom door creaked open. Gordon heaved a sigh of relief before he saw what stood in the doorway. Then he shouted and backed away. Two hours later, Mrs. Lee returned from work. She was surprised to see the storeroom wide open. In the dim light of the evening, she saw a figure lying on the floor of the storeroom. It was Edward. His heart had stopped beating, his muscles had already stiffened and his skin was cool to the touch. A frantic Mrs. Lee immediately called the police and the ambulance.  Only later did she notice that Gordon was missing. After searching the house, she found him cowering underneath his bed. Any attempt to ask him about what had happened was useless, it was impossible to make any sense out of the gibberish that he uttered. The police also met with no success in their questioning when they took him to the police station.

That night, when the grieving Lees returned home, they were stunned when Gordon refused to enter the flat. 'No! No! The storeroom!' he howled, drawing all the neighbours out to see what the commotion was about. Eventually, the Lees went over to Mrs. Lee's parents home for the night. Mrs. Lee had already made up her mind; she would sell her flat as soon as possible. When the forensic report came out, it stated that Edward had died from misadventure. The cause was drowning. The Lees were not satisfied. How could Edward have drowned in the storeroom where there was not even a drop of water?