Student Exchange

Amy was then on an exchange program and was then in Toronto, Ontario. She was going to be staying in a hostel right next to the University and would be rooming with the students as well as going for lectures and tutorials with them. The stay would last for three weeks after which she would come back (with the three other students that came with her) and give a presentation to her fellow school mates about what the stay had been like. So far, she had only good things to say. She had gone at the beginning of the term (which was the middle of the term break in Singapore) and had been there for the past five days. Her roommates Trisha and Anna were both warm and friendly and she enjoyed exploring the university and its campus. As for the lessons, it had only been five days but she had already decided subconsciously which lessons she would actually be interested in. Old habits were hard to break. She realized this when she found herself falling asleep during calculus.

At the end of the fifth day, Amy found herself tired and longing to go back to her room. She was walking up the stairs when Trisha and Anna came bounding down. 'THERE you are!' exclaimed Trisha almost crashing into her.' Are you packed yet?' 'I've been here less then a week and already you want me to go home?' smiled Amy tiredly. The two girls looked at her, amazed, as she covered her mouth while she yawned. 'No silly, take out your program,' laughed Anna. 'Can this wait til I...' 'Now!' Amy groaned as she put her bag down ans unzipped it. These Canadians were too full of energy. She wished that some of it would wear off on her. She thought that if she were to close her eyes then and there, she would fall asleep, roll down the stairs, curl up in a foetus position and never wake up again.

She looked at the two week timetable that had been printed and laminated for her. Her eyes immediately popped open as she glanced at the appropriate day and time. 'Ah! The camp is this weekend?!' 'Apparently you did not know this...' 'Ah! Where are we supposed to be?' 'The third basketball court. Go up and change. We'll wait for you here.' Amy ran up and sped into their room. There was supposed to be a level wide camp at the beginning of each school year. The camps would go on for four weekends, one for each of the levels. Everyone had been divided out amongst their various subject combinations. This was hard because it was rare to find more than fifteen people with the exact same combination. So it was done roughly and since she was an exchange student, she was put with her roommates. There were four different groups and they were staying in the area nearest to the basketball courts. This was where they would be having their campfire.

She ran down in her track pants and nearly crashed into Anna. 'Remind yourself to get decaf at breakfast next time...' They were outside in the basketball court when the sun was just going down, singing campfire songs which everyone knows don't really have any meaning but were fun to sing anyway.Then, they were separated into six different groups where they set up their own little campfires and were supposed to have dinner. When they were getting everything ready, Trisha slapped herself on the head. 'I left the marshmallows in the gym,' she said, getting up. They had left all their overnight stuff there because that was where they would be sleeping. 'I am going to go get them.' 'I'll get them Trisha,' said Amy. 'I need to go get my sweater... It's getting cold.' 'Okay then, but don't die on the way.'

'Thanks a lot. If I do and you see a figure resembling me dripping in blood at your bedside one night, just go back to sleep; less painful.' She turned around and walked up the stairs to the gymnasium. The minute she got up, she had regretted not asking Trisha to come with her. She looked around the third floor and could not recognize anything. Yes, she had only been to that part of the university twice; today and three days ago. Not to mention that things looked much more different in the dark. She scanned the area and finally remembered which corridor she had walked down before, immediately following it. She came to the sports rooms. There were three rooms in a row; one small one and two huge ones. It was quite easy to identify the small one not only because of its size but also because of its windows. Looking through it she could see the various workout machines and a whole row of weights. She passed it and walked to the next two rooms. They were both gymnasiums. Their interior architecture was such they reflected each other perfectly and because of that, their doors were right next to each other. She stood in the middle of the two and tried to remember which one she went through before. One of them was supposed to be out of use and she was told never to go in there.

Something clicked as she remembered that. How could she have been so blur? If a place was out of use, people usually locked the door. She tried the first door and it opened easily. She smiled as she walked in. She did not reach the gymnasium straight away though. They both had double doors like many of the lecture theaters. No one was sure why. In the theaters, they were made to prevent noise from coming in. Someone would open the first door and before the second door was opened, the first door had closed. So there was a compartment where the person would be for the awhile before he or she actually went in. It was a good idea but why on earth would anyone put them in a gym? She opened the second door and felt around for the light switch. She found it and flicked it on. Light flooded the room and turned her blood cold. The place was completely empty. There were no gym poles or beams and no mats on the floor.

The whole gym had been covered with mats so they would be able to sleep on the floor. But all she saw was dusty cement. She had not really been scared, just shocked. The bareness of it all had just been shocking. She turned around, flicked the lights off and opened the inner door. She then put her hand on the outer doorknob and pushed it down. 'What the...' Even when she realized that it was locked, her mind had not registered it. By the time she spun around to prevent the inner door from closing, it had shut. She pushed it and then pushed the other one. They had both locked by themselves and she was stuck in between them. She was not claustrophobic but the panic that set it made her that way. She gripped at the knob and pushed it down as hard as she could. It would not budge. There had to be something wrong; doors did not just lock themselves. Suddenly she heard a scream. It had come from right behind her and had echoed in the space she was in. She spun around and saw nothing but darkness. For the first time in her life, she would have sworn that darkness had weight. She knew. She knew because it was weighing down on her and trying to suffocate her. She turned around and started banging on the door.

She heard the scream again. It was deafening. It was a female voice. She would not have been able to place the age of the person. It was high pitched and filled with panic and fear. This time, the scream did not stop. It carried on and on and filled the whole space. All Amy could think about was getting out. She banged and banged on the door. After awhile, she was crying when she realize she would not be able to get out unless someone opened the door from outside. She turned around, leaning on the door, slowly sinking to the ground. She covered her ears but the sound did not go away. Suddenly in front of her, she saw a face... but just for a second. It seemed to flash in front of her and disappear without a trace. It was the face of a girl. She was a strawberry blonde. Her eyes were bulging in a frozen scream of horror. It appeared and disappeared in front of her in less than a second.

The screaming continued and just when she thought that she was going to go crazy, she saw yet another face. It was the face of a man. His hair was mess and his mouth was twisted up in a snarl.He too flashed in front of her as the screaming went on. She did not know what to do. She yelled for help and shut her eyes. She did not want to see or hear anything more. She just wanted to get out. She was crouched up against the door when she suddenly fell out. A split second before she did however, the screaming had stopped. It took her awhile to realize this. She was still covering her ears when she opened her eyes to find Anna and Trisha staring down at her. 'You... you... said the room was out of use...' was all she could say. She was still slightly hysterical. 'Oh God Amy. It is. We heard you screaming and opened the door. Are you okay? What happened?' It was supposed to be out of use... out of use...' 'It is. It is always locked. How did you get in...'

'WHY WASN'T IT LOCKED?' yelled Amy. 'WHY IS IT OUT OF USE!' She was still breathing hard and had nowhere near recovered from her panic. In her head, the girl screamed on and all she could look at was the outer door. Her eyes stayed fixed on it as Anna's voice came from far away. 'That place has been closed off for so long time Amy. Some girl was raped and killed in the compartment one night during a camp six years ago when she had come up to get something. No one wanted to use the gym there anymore. The equipment was moved out into the multi-purpose room next door. It was already like that when we came in.' Amy's anxious eyes shifted towards Anna's concerned ones. 'Can you please tell us what happened now?'

Himalayans

The journey up the mountains was an uncomfortable one. On the narrow dirty track, the four wheel drive vehicle rocked on the bumpy road. Inside, Micheal looked out of the mud splattered window, up at the mountains. There was a bus ahead of them, filled to the brim with passengers. The bus climbed slowly, excruciatingly up the dirt track. On the left, the mountain fall away steeply. The dirt track had only space for one vehicle, and their vehicle, powerful as it was, was stuck behind the bus.

Even then, he could not quite believed that he was in Nepal. He had spent his whole life dreaming of coming to Nepal. Over the last few months, he saved and stinted on every single penny, finally scrapping enough for the trip. 'Hey, check out the view!' Micheal turned to see Kate talking to him. He smiled at her and nodded. 'Beautiful, isn't it?' Kate, his travel companion for this journey, stayed at the same hotel he stayed at. He had met her the night she arrived. In their hotel, the other backpackers would gather nightly to discuss anything to pop fiction to philosophy. The two of them both came from Britain. Micheal could not help but be attracted by Kate's gregarious company. Like Micheal, Kate had a passion for the outdoors. Like Micheal, she had her own views about the world, and an insatiable wanderlust that made her want to travel the world to discover it. It was a spontaneous decision to drive into the mountains. One of the backpackers staying at the hotel wanted to visit the Tibetan monasteries, and see the monks. Micheal and Kate wanted to go along. They decided to hire a local guide and also a vehicle to take them into the Himalayan Mountains and into Tibet.

He looked out of the window, in the direction as Kate. They had climbed quite high into the mountains. Stretched out before them, the majestic view of the Himalayans Mountains stood, shrouded in greyish clouds. Pillars of light filtered through the dense cloud cover to illuminate the stone giants beneath. Micheal glanced at the passengers in the front seat. The Nepalese guide was driving the vehicle, keeping his eyes on the road while Max, the guy who came up with the idea of visiting the monastery was snoring. Micheal noticed with disgust that a thin trickle of drool could be seen at the corner of his open mouth. Just then, a commotion ahead caught his attention. Micheal looked up to see the Nepalese guide shouting in a language he could not understand. Even Max had been forcefully dragged from his nap. A cracking sound on his left distracted him; Micheal turned to see a large crack in the glass next to him. He glanced out of the window and saw pieces of rock rolling down the mountain on his right.

'It's an avalanche,' he thought with horror, as more rocks and pebbles struck their vehicle. Suddenly, the vehicle he was in came to an abrupt stop. The bus ahead had also come to a stop. Micheal turned back to the front and saw in slow motion, a gigantic boulder rolling down the side of the mountain. It struck the packed bus on the side, and its momentum was enough to push the bus off the dirt track. In his vehicle, Micheal could hear echoes of screams coming from the bus within, as it plunged down the mountainside. Two minutes later, the avalanche stopped. As the last rock came to a rest against their vehicle, Micheal opened the door and climbed out. He edged towards the end of the dirt track to look for the bus. Scanning the mountainside, he spotted the bus lying about fifty feet down. In the distance, he could see that on the side where the boulder had hit the bus, a big dent appeared. He bowed his head and gave a moment's mourning.

When he looked up, he was surprised to see figures climbing out of the bus. As he looked on incredulously, Kate and Max had come up besides him. Excitedly, Micheal turned to them. 'They're alive!' He shouted excitedly. Both Max and Kate looked at him with strange look on their face. Both took a long look at the bus before turning back to him. 'Look!' Micheal exclaimed. 'What are you talking about?' Max was clearly agitated. 'Can't you see? They survived the fall,' Micheal could not understand Max's agitation. 'We have got to help them.' At that, Micheal was about to start down the mountain when Max's strong arm pulled him back. 'Are you alright, Micheal?' Kate asked in concern. 'No one could survive that fall.' The Nepalese guide had come out of the vehicle, and joined them at the side of the track. He saw then arguing on the mountainside and got curious. When he saw the bus, he started to talk rapidly and gestured wildly with his hands. The three looked at him in puzzlement, wondering what it was that he was trying to tell them.

'Dead people... not alive...' he struggled with the English language. 'What?' Micheal asked. 'They're climbing out of the bus.' 'Ghosts...' Their guide finally found the right word. At that, Micheal froze. It suddenly dawned on him why the guide could be right. There was no way the passengers in the bus could survive the boulder hit and the fall. By then, the figures were getting quite close. Micheal could see that their heads were bloody, and some even lost a hand. There was a look about them that told Micheal that they were not alive. 'Let's get out of here,' he could only mutter, as they headed quickly back into the vehicle. When the vehicle drove away from the spot, Micheal kept his eyes firmly fixed on the road.

Ghostly Flyer

The sky was cloudy even at thirty thousand feet.The modern aircraft was piercing through the sky as Marilyn stood at the galley at the back of the plane, thinking the letter that had shook her. It had been a month since she had received the news, but she could not bring herself to accept it. She had been demoted from her international flight schedule shuttling between Singapore and Beijing, to a shorter local schedule. Today would be her last day serving on flight number, SQXXX. Her high flying career, as an international air stewardess would end as of tomorrow. Marilyn could imagine her remaining years in Singapore Airlines spent on some airbus ferrying between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, or maybe condemned like all air stewardesses to ground jobs.

'Marilyn? Marilyn!' 'Huh?' Marilyn snapped out of her reverie, to see Elaine, her colleague glaring at her. 'Marilyn, will you please see what seat 47E wants? The service light is on.' Elaine asked, with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. She was busy putting away the food trolley. The other stewardesses kept quiet, but Marilyn could see that they too, were unhappy with her. 'No one respects the downtrodden or loser,' she thought to herself. Marilyn looked down the aisle. Indeed, a small light was lit above seat 47E. She started down the narrow aisle of the economy class to attend to the passenger. The other stewardesses were at a different part of the plane. Sitting down, she started feeling sorry for herself again. She wanted to be alone. Her heart was heavy and anger was rising in her. She had sacrificed her life for this lousy job, 'a high class waitress job,' she chided herself.

'And now like sugar cane fibres thrown away when all is done.' She felt angry. It was not the first time she had felt angry. The last time she lost her temper with the other stewardesses and lost their companionship in the process. When she had seen to the passenger's request, she returned to the back of the plane. 'Miss, can I have a glass of orange juice, no ice, not even chilled? For my medicine?' A female voice with a heavy Chinese accent interrupted her reverie. Marilyn looked up and saw a Chinese woman. She was tall for a Chinese, and her long straight hair only accentuate her physical assets. Marilyn stood up and came face to face with the lady. She knew straight away that she was from China because by the built, she knew that Southeast Asian Chinese had smaller builds. 'Where are you seated? I'll take it to you.' She tried to smile at the lady. The lady had two large almond shaped eyes, set in an oval face. Her lips were curvaceous and full. There was a mole on her left cheek. Strangely, that black mole only accentuated the fairness of her skin. Marilyn noted her beauty, and the politeness of the lady. Many passengers were so rude, as if they enjoyed being arrogant and rude.

'42A. Send it to me later. I have to...' The lady smiled back, as if knowing that she was being admired, and went off. Marilyn watched her as she entered the toilet. Marilyn walked to the food section and busied herself with the orange juice, opening a new pack and pouring it into a plastic cup. Before she left for the passenger's seat, she checked her makeup just to make sure it was perfect. In her mind, she was wondering what sickness did the lady have. 'Strange, isn't it? I think my problem is terrible and we have a poor good looking lady on probably some serious medication,' she murmured to herself. 'Maybe I should be thankful that I have got my health and spirit.' She was talking to herself to boost herself esteem. Nothing worked like a good self motivation talk.

There was a man sitting in 42A, a window seat. She checked the seat number above his seat to make sure she got the right one. The seat next to him was empty. She glanced around the cabin, scanning the place for the face of the passenger she saw earlier. 'What seat number was it now?' She mumbled to herself. A sea of faces greeted her. Although this flight was headed from Singapore to Beijing, the nationalities on the plane was as varied as any United Nations gathering. The balding Japanese man sat in the aisle seat, oogling at every stewardesses since he got onto the plane. Two rows in front of him was the Australian trekker who came abroad in a T-shirt and a comfortable pair of bermudas. In the next row, an irrate Singaporean housewife was taking a short break from her sleeping children. Marilyn remembered faces easily enough, and she was sure that the lady passenger was nowhere in sight. 'Maybe wrong cabin?' She was puzzled. 'Maybe this man was just sitting in her seat.' She thought, but the man in the seat was gazing out of the small window, into the darkness outside. He looked sad. She was not sure whether if she should disturb him.   

'Marilyn, what's wrong?' Elaine, her colleague, asked quietly as she approached Marilyn on the aisle. 'I can't find someone.' Marilyn said, a little frustrated that Elaine had to come up to her. Now the other stewardesses had another fault to pick on. Quickly, she explained the situation to her colleague. 'Let's approach the guy. Maybe he's her boyfriend, or something like that.' Elaine took the orange juice from Marilyn's hand and walked to seat 42A. 'excuse me, sir. Are you in the wrong seat?' 'No, this is my seat.' Marilyn noticed that the accent in the man's voice was similar to the lady's. 'Is there another lady companion with you?' Marilyn blurted. Somehow, that seemed to insult the man. 'Do you know anyone else on the plane?' Elaine asked.

'No, why are you asking me this?' The man looked annoyed and stared at Elaine. 'It's not me sir, it's my friend Marilyn who asked me to ask.' 'What do you want? Make it simple.' The man was definitely annoyed by the disturbance. 'Your funeral,' Elaine whispered Marilyn and handed the orange juice to her. 'I'm sorry, sir. It's just that a tall Chinese lady came up to me, asking me for orange juice. She gave me your seat number to send it to. But we could not find her. We just thought that you might know her.' Marilyn started looking around. 'It's a mistake, sir, Marilyn here is clarifying it.' Elaine cut in. 'Marilyn, let's not bother the gentleman...' Elaine tapered off as Marilyn quickly butted in and spoke. 'How does she look like?' The man asked suspiciously. 'She's tall, about six foot in height, with long straight hair, and a mole on her left cheek.' Marilyn gave the man a short description. She had expected the man to deny knowing the lady, but strangely, the man grew quiet.

'Let's leave it as it is...' Elaine was pitiful. 'She asked you for an orange juice? Okay, I'll take it.' The man reached his hands out to take the orange juice from Marilyn. As he did, he gave Marilyn an odd look. 'Thank you both.' When they reached the back of the plane, Elaine turn to Marilyn and spoke. 'Marilyn, I know that its your last day here. But I expect you to give the same level service that you normally do. Please stop all this unprofessional nonsense and concentrate on your job!' Elaine was angry and she wanted to give to Marilyn. 'Come on, Elaine, someone is unhappy that she has to go tomorrow.' Some other stewardess sniggered. Marilyn had a good idea who it was. They were all so eager to see her go. She did not bother to reply, but went on with her tasks. All the stewards and stewardesses went out of their way to search for this Chinese lady. On discovering that there was none and Marilyn was just imagining, they started to tease and insult her.

'Maybe the Chinese lady went out for a walk.' 'No, no. She went for a Mahjong session,' and so on and so forth. The episode of the orange juice made Marilyn doubt herself. The act of doubt tore her spirit and heart apart. How could she prove to all that someone ordered the orange juice. The question in her mind was did anyone order or did she just imagined it like what everyone was saying. The more she thought about it, the more she felt they were all right. The guy in seat 42A was the last to leave. He sat there patiently, waiting for another passengers to disembark, before getting up to leave. The stewardesses lined up at the exit, smiling at all the passengers s they left, wishing them all pleasant journey. it was not sincere, but a job requirement. As he came up to Marilyn, he stopped.

'I'm sorry over the drink incident earlier. I hope I did not get you into trouble.' He was apologetic. That shocked Marilyn. 'It's okay. It's my last trip on this flight.' Marilyn smiled at the guy, fighting away the selfpity. The apology was like a well deserved pat on her shoulders but that did not explain the lady. The man saw it in her eyes. 'Anyway, I think you deserve to know this about the Chinese lady.' 'There was a Chinese lady right? Where is she?' Marilyn asked. Hearing this, all the other stewardesses had gathered around Marilyn, hoping for another chance to poke fun at her. The missing Chinese lady passenger was milled out to the maximum. 'The description you gave me earlier describes my wife closely. She had just passed away recently.' 'Oooohhh, Marilyn, a ghost followed you around, even at thirty thousand over feet above the ground.' Elaine burst out. Giggles broke out among the crew at the jibe. The churns of laughter irritate Marilyn. She gave a blank look at them.

The guy frowned at the statement, as he continued. The guy shook his head in disgust at the stewardesses for their bitchiness and stupidity. He had to reveal the truth if not for Marilyn's sake, at least for his wife's sake. 'So you buy one ticket and your wife travel free...' Elaine was hilarious. 'In fact I bought a ticket for her too.' There was silence. Marilyn was attentive. She wanted an answer. The others were getting control of themselves. 'Where she was seated?' Elaine was bold. 'If you must,' he took a pass and handed it to Elaine. All the other stewardesses crowded around. Marilyn knew immediately. She stretched out her hand to say something to thank him, not knowing why. 'I'm sorry to hear that,' she was sympathetic. 'Thanks. In fact, I am going to Beijing because my wife's last wish was to be buried there. That's why I am taking the coffin with me.'

He said calmly as he took the document from Elaine's hands and walked out. It took sometime to register but it finally did. The coffin was being flown to Beijing, it was right there in the aircraft. The lady Marilyn saw was the corpse in the coffin.

Hitchhiker

Matt was travelling along the North South Highway in Peninsular Malaysia. He was a Singaporean businessman who had a factory in Ipoh. Something urgent had cropped up at the factory and now he was on his way to see what was it all about. 'Darn luck I have this week,' Matt muttered under his breath. Earlier this week he saw his shares tumbled during the opening trade and incurred substantial losses. Also, tomorrow was his wedding anniversary and son's sixth birthday. The thought of his family made him relax a little. He was very close to his family. After work everyday he would rush home to enjoy a quiet evening with them. He was looking forward to this year's anniversary but this problem has to turn up this week. He knows that his wife and his son were very disappointed when they heard that he has to go on this trip.

'Never mind, I'll make up to them when I get back,' he thought. His mind was already running through the things his wife and child would have like to have. 'Maybe a new keyboard for junior,' he thought happily to himself. 'Or a pair of emerald earrings for my darling,' he smiled as he visualized how happy and beautiful his wife would be. He already got these presents all wrapped up in the trunk. And his mind began to wander further. Then he snapped back to reality when he realized that he was not concentrating on the road. It was dangerous to let your mind wander when you were on a highway driving at 120km/hour. With one hand on the wheel, he slapped himself awake with the other. He had always thought that this was a good remedy. Now it was late into the night and Matt had driven for 8 hours already. Matt was tired from all that driving but he pushed himself on for the last 10km. He yawned loudly and, to kill his boredom, starts to sing loudly to himself. He was singing 'Amazing Grace' and, when he forget the words, he hummed the tune. He always felt a sense of strength and new found energy when he sings this song. And in his mind, he starts counting down the number of kilometers left whenever he sees the highway signboard.

'That's ten,' he thought happily. 'Nine.' Suddenly, further down the road, he saw a lady dressed in white flagging at his car. She has long flowing jet black hair but Matt still could not see her face properly. 'Someone needs help,' Matt thought as he slows down the car. He sat up to get a closer and better look at her. She was a beautiful young woman. Fine chiseled nose and full moon lips, she was every man's dream girl. And she has a good figure too. She looked a little familiar though, Matt thought. Then what he saw made his blood curled. The lady has no legs! Matt wasted no time to step on the accelerator, speeding past the leg less lady. He sped up all the way to 150km/h.

'This is really not my week!' Matt said to himself, beads of perspiration forming on his head. After all, who in the right mind would stop his car for a leg less woman? He prayed to God that whatever that was would not appear again. But to his horror, the apparition kept appearing on every turn. Matt sped faster and faster. And no matter how fast Matt sped, he just could not shake her off. In his mind, the flashes of the happy times with his family came on like a slide show. He prayed profusely. Suddenly, the lady appeared in the middle of the road and Matt's car was heading towards her at full speed! Matt stepped hard on the brakes and tires started screaming unbearably. And he was screaming too. For in front of his eyes, the beautiful girl had turn into a maggot infested body! Flesh were dripping off her face like  wax and part of her facial bones could be seen. Maggots were crawling all over her face it was too gruesome for any man to look at!

Quickly, he swerved his car to the left. Just as his Volvo hit the rails by the side of the road, Matt wanted to puke but then he was jolted from his seat and his head whammed hard against the windscreen. As he blacked out, he could feel blood trickling down his face. He woke to see his wife looking at him in deep concern. 'Are you alright dear?' She asked. His throat was parched. All he could do was nod. At that, she broke down in relief. Matt reached a hand out to comfort his wife. He really needed some water. 'The doctor said you suffered only some cuts and bruises, and that you will be fine after a few days.' Sitting up in bed, Matt looked around for water. As he did, his eyes rested onto a newspaper article. With puzzlement, he saw his face on the headlines. The paper reported the accident that he was in.

With curiosity, Matt realized that another accident had occurred the same spot within the last week. His eyes scanned the paper and came to rest on a picture. He froze when he recognize the picture. It was the face of a young woman with a fine chiseled nose. 

Oriental Flower

Matthew and Celine were at Marseilles for their tenth anniversary honeymoon. they were going to be there for one and a half weeks and had been saving up for the past year for this. They were married on the tenth of February do Valentine's Day would fall somewhere within their trip. On Valentine's Day itself, Matthew woke Celine with a good morning kiss. 'Get up, get up, get up! I have a surprise!' he said smiling. Celine opened her eyes groggily and gradually, hearing the traffic downstairs, still amazed at the cold air that blew in from the window.

The weather was gorgeous, she had thought, the minute she stepped out of the plane. It felt like there was a gigantic invisible air conditioner floating above Paris, keeping the air perpetually cold. 'What?' She started out; people usually weren't that coherent first thing in the morning. 'I said I have a surprise.' 'Huh?' 'It's Valentine's Day!' 'Oh! Valentine's Day! Surprise... Oh, okay! Happy Valentine's honey.' She sat straight up and gave Matthew a peck on the cheek. She was only thirty years old, while Matthew was thirty four. They had both married young and everyone on both sides of their family had thought that they would not last more than a year. That was ten years ago. Matthew took out two pieces of paper and waved them in front of her face. 'Tickets?' She asked in an almost childlike wonder. 'A musical?' Matthew shook his head as his eyes sparkled. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the tickets carefully.

'A cruise!' Matthew nodded enthusiastically and began to talk about the cruise. The luxury liner was obviously making lots of money the fact that it was Valentine's Day. It was however, a very good deal. For just thirty dollars extra per couple, (the money was paid when purchasing the ticket), they would get complimentary chocolates, a stalk of rose, a modest bottle of champagne and a complimentary dinner. Not forgetting that Celine had always adored the sea. 'Where are we going and for how long?' She said, extremely excited. 'Nowhere.' 'Pardon?' 'Here's the thing... It's an overnight cruise that sails until it reaches a wide expanse of sea. Then it drops its anchor and we spend the night on the ocean.' He waited to hear if she was disappointed. But much to is delight, she threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

The ship was beautiful. It boasted a pool, a games arcade, a wide selection of eating places, a childcare area, a small pub as well as an entertainment room where people could have dinner and watch live entertainment put up by the crew itself. They spent the day exploring the ship. They caught up on their childhood and played a few computer games them celebrated their adulthood by having a few drinks. Matthew  did not want to go swimming for the fear of sea sickness. But they did have a fabulous early dinner before retiring back to their room. In their room, a 30cl bottle of champagne lay on the bed together with a long stemmed red rose. On the pillow lay a small box of eight beautifully crafted chocolates. A small circular window (which of course could not be opened) was right next to the bed. Matthew was in the toilet and Celine was taking out her bracelet when someone knocked on the door. Celine laughed as she heard Matthew's surprised exclamation (which sounded a bit like an 'uh?') coming from the toilet. 'Expecting someone?' She mused as she walked to the door.

'Maybe it's one of our parents.' 'You take that back right now.' She opened the door and thought at first that no one was there. She then looked down and saw a young girl. She could not have been older than seven. She had tiny blond curls which fell around her face and cheeks of strawberry. Her eyes were big and hazel colored and she wore a small velvet green dress. She was indeed beautiful and if she had been perfectly still, one might have even mistaken her for a doll. 'Yes?' Celine said, unable to stop herself from smiling. Her own eight year old was at her mother's all the way back in Singapore. She wanted to pick this girl up and cuddle her in her arms. She had her hands behind her back as if she was hiding something she had stolen from the cookie jar. 'For you!' She said in her tiny French voice as she took her hands from behind her back, revealing a red rose. 'Happy Valentine's Day!' 'Huh?' Celine was most definitely confused. 'You get one free flower when you sail today. I am Alamae. My father drives the ship.

'Oh! But we already have a flower dear...' 'Who's there?' She heard Matthew asking from the toilet. The girl looked up at her like she did not understand. 'But it's okay, we'll take it. Thank you very much.' She took the flower and closed the door after the girl ran off. Wow, she thought. Talk about excellent marketing strategy. People are sure to tell their friends about this after going on the cruise. And what an adorable little girl she had been too... Matthew then popped out of the toilet and she explained to him who it had been. He just shrugged and took the rose as well as the one on the bed and put them in the sink in the tiny little toilet. He plugged the water up and left them to soak in their respective containers. The one the bed had a little plastic vial filled with water attached to the stem. The one which the girl had been holding was wrapped in the traditional foil and soaked cotton. They were both unbloomed and would live for at least another three days before they had to dry them. Celine loved roses and thought that they were beautiful.

The night went by like lightning and before they knew it, Matthew and Celine saw sunlight streaming in from the tiny porthole that was their window. The ship rocked slowly as Celine looked at the watch she was still wearing. She woke Matthew up and asked if he wanted to take a stroll out on the deck before they went for breakfast. He shook his head and yawned. She kissed him on the cheek and told him she would be back in a while. She contemplated on brushing her teeth as she put on her shoes but decided not to. People often thought she was gross for this reason but she like to brush her teeth after breakfast; she saw no point in cleaning them then getting food stuck in between them all over again. She opened the door and shut it quietly, smiling as she thought about the whole cruise. She walked down the corridor and up to the deck where she felt the fresh breeze upon her face. She stood at the rail at the topmost corner of the ship and looked out at the sea. It was truly beautiful in its shades of green and blue. She wanted to fly to the horizon. It was then that she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to see a man dressed up in some kind of uniform. He wore a white shirt and pant and a navy blue jacket over. It was actually quite grand with its gold buttons and all. She was not sure what kind of uniform it was. He was fairly older than her and smiled at her cordially.

'Are you having a nice trip ma'am?' He asked, his voice dripping in a thick French accent. 'Yes, I am thank you.' He must have been one of the crew members. 'You here alone?' 'No,' she smiled. 'I am with my husband.' 'Ohhh,' he said as if he realized something... 'So you are here for the Valentines' Day special... did you like it?' For some reason, she suddenly realized that this must be the captain. She felt incredibly stupid for not realizing what she thought now should have obvious. 'You are the captain!' He laughed. 'Yes. But dont worry. My... How do you say... my assistant is driving ship.' 'Ah! Your daughter came last night. She's a very pretty girl. Is your wife aboard the ship as well?'

'My daughter?' he asked, sounding almost offended by the word. His voice was filled with a mixture of shock and caution. Celine even took a step back when he replied. 'Yes,' she said slowly. 'Your daughter came to our room last night to give us a flower.' 'Not my daughter.' 'huh? She said the person driving the ship was her father. She had blond hair; very curly. She was about...' Celine gestured with her hand '...this tall... what was her name? Ellamay? Alemay? And... Are you okay?' The captain's face had turned white. And he was looking for a place to sit down. Realizing that there was none around. He just covered his face in his hands for a while before continuing. 'My daughter... she died three years ago, on this ship. She was sending flowers and she...' 'Oh my... I am so sorry...' 'It's okay, I must leave.' 'But... Why me?' Celine could not understand.

'That, I have no idea. Anyway, I hope you have a nice journey back to Paris,' he smiled bitterly as he turned and headed below deck. Celine could not believe what she had just heard. She walked briskly back to her room and unlocked the door. Matthew was still in bed, smiling as he slept. She wanted to see the rose. She wanted to feel its solidity in her hands. She opened the toilet door and looked at the roses. She could not explained it. They were both still there. The one that had been left on the bed was blooming beautifully. None of the petals had dropped. It stood erect and lovely, it's petals showing of their beautiful color. The plastic vial was still attached to it. The other flower was bent over the sink, it's foil covered in a light hue of brown that looked like rust. The stem was brown, as were its leaves. The red had dried into a deep maroon color and it bent stiffly over the edge of the sink as if it had wilted in that position. Mould grew on the bottom part of the stem where the water touched it; that happened to many dry flower when they are wet.  

Somehow, Celine wanted the captain to have this flower, mouldy as it was. She went out of the bunk and went to the deck. The captain was not at the helm but after asking around, she managed to get the directions to the captain's room. At the door, she hesitated a while, not sure whether to disturb him. In the end, she rapped on the door. 'Come in,' the captain's voice could be heard. Celine opened the door and entered. Inside, the captain was seated at his desk, surrounded by photo frames. 'Hi, I came because I wanted you to have this rose. Your daughter gave it to me,' she reached out her hand and placed the dried rose on the table. The captain smiled at her. She could see that he was touched by her gesture. 'Thank you.' 'Is that the photo of your family?' She asked, indicating the photo frames on the table. 'Yes, and it occurred to me why Alamae came to you,' he picked up a photo frame and showed it to Celine.

A beautiful Chinese woman in the frame was smiling at her. 'Alamae's mother died at childbirth. We do not get any Chinese ladies on board. Alamae never met her mother. Perhaps she thought that you were her mother.'

Ghost In The Machine

Four school friends were on a three week tour to Europe with fifty six other students and five teachers. It was indeed a school trip of major proportions. They would be touring England, France and Italy for the sake of art. They would be visiting museums, sitting down to draw scenery and learning to appreciate what the region had to offer. It was the first day of the last week of the trip and Melissa, Cheryl, Amal and Eu Imm were sitting in a circle in Melissa And Cheryl's room. 'Yah right!' exclaimed Melissa to Eu Imm, hitting her on the shoulder. 'You were only nine and you told your teacher to...'

'I told you lah... I was only nine... I did not know what it meant... but you can be sure she called my mother that night... she barged into my room and washed my mouth with soap. I refused to talk to her for the next two days...' The other three burst into hysterical laughter. 'Hey! It was traumatising okay!' 'Wah,' started Cheryl. 'Our sweet innocent Eu Imm cursed her teacher when she was only nine... I still can't picture it.' Amal giggled wildly. 'Eh, don't play... if I tried hard enough, I could probably still blow soap bubbles with my mouth to prove it.' Eu Imm was fifteen as were the others. They were in the same class and had signed up for the tour the minute the announcement was made. Melissa and Cheryl had walked in when they were signing up. They had all been in the same sec two class and knew each other fairly well. They were amongst the oldest there since the secondary fours were not allowed to participate. The prelims were in three months and they were supposed to be using the holidays to study.

Melissa collapsed on the bed, laughing. It was already three in the morning and they were in a hostel in England. It wasn't a particularly fantastic place, with the best facilities but then again it wasn't a hotel. Besides, it was a once in a lifetime experience. Melissa got up and leaned on Eu Imm's shoulder, making puppy eyes at her. 'What?' 'Thirsty, Eu Imm.' 'The bathroom less that three metres away.' 'Do you rhink you could pop by the drink machine outside and get me a drink?' She pleaded, already reaching into her pocket, looking for change. The others immediately started fishing for change as well, as if the proporsition of Eu Imm getting drinks was one that was very good. Eu Imm rolled her eyes and got up. She 'took their orders' and opened the door. She left it slightly open, so she would not have to re-open it later... The less noise they made, the less chance the teachers would wake up to tell them all to go to sleep. 'Just don't get Coke... The Coke here tastes like melted sour kana with ice.'

She walked down the brightly lit corridor to see two vending machines; one selling snacks and one selling canned drinks. She slipped some coins in and pressed a button. A can fell into the collection compartment and she took it out. She repeated the process three more times. Somewhere in between some blond guy who was obviously drunk made his way up the stairs with much difficulty. Their eyes met for awhile as he muttered a slurred goodnight under his breath. He made his way up another flight, almost stumbling near the top. Eu Imm put the canned drinks on the floor neatly as she looked at the machine next to it, feeling hungry. Actually, she did not feel physically hungry. Her eyes were hungry. She used this phrase often when she looked at edibles that were tempting. The machine was one of those you could look into. The outer wall was made of plastic to reveal the hung up treats in their multi-colored packaging. She gazed at the chocolate and the chips and the little packets of candy, so much to choose from; so few coins.

She finally settled on a packet of M&Ms and popped the coins into the slot. She pressed the button and began to pick up the cans on the floor. But she did not hear the mechanisms moving in the machine. She did not hear any steely fingers wrapping around her chocolate and depositing it at the door of the machine. She was mildly annoyed. She put the drinks back down and hit the flap near the bottom of the machine. She squinted her eyes while looking in and saw nothing. She stood straight again and pressed the button continuously. Still, nothing happened. So she did what she always did the few times this had happened. She kicked the useless machine. She smiled as she heard the mechanisms whirring inside. She pick up the drinks ans somehow managed to hold all four by embracing them within the crook of one arm. She then bent down again, trying to keep hold of the drinks and reached into the collection compartment to collect her purchase. She did not notice it right away. In fact she only realized it when she had taken it out. This was probably because she was trying to keep hold of her drinks. Besides, when you buy chocolate, it doesn't occur to you that you will be getting anything but.

her right hand was wet and sticky when she drew it out. She looked at what she had taken out and dropped it straight away, disgusted. It had been smooth and wet and weighty when she looked at what it had been, she realized that she had taken out a severed hand. What an evil trick to play on me, she thought deliriously, directing the thought at the machine itself. She backed away slowly, her eyes fixed on the hand that lay motionless in front of the machine. Blood soaked into the carpet, creating a version of some sort of modern art. She was going to run as soon as she could connect the tube that joined her legs to her brain. Tears of shock and fear filled her eyes. She blinked them away as she clutched the drinks to herself, their cold beads of condensation giving her something material to feel. All of a sudden, a light went on within the machine, illuminating the translucent backing that blocked the store of candy behind. She swore she felt her heart stop as she dropped the drinks to the floor.

For behind the display of candy and chocolate, behind the backing and within the steel workings and wires behind, she saw the figure of a man, intertwined within them. She saw a leg bent at an angle that was not humanly possible and she saw hair hung around in a mess. At that exact moment, she felt her paralysis wearing off and she felt her body spin round and run back towards the room. She crashed through the door that had not been closed properly and fell, slamming the door behind her. Her friends, who had been wondering what had taken her so long, practically pounced on her in their concern when they heard her sobs. She just cried and cried until she finally found her voice. She told them what had happened and Melissa immediately left the room with Cheryl, leaving Eu Imm in Amal's arms. They came back a minute later. There was nothing on the floor except the scattered drinks.

Holiday Blues

Caroline and Savitri were incredibly excited and blissfully happy. They were nineteen and waiting for the 'A' level results. What was so exciting was that they were doing one week of waiting in a beach resort in Cebu. Savitri laughed at her brother who always teased her for being such a 'kiasu' girl. She entered every lucky draw contest she saw. One might have called her neurotic instead of kiasu because when she saw coupons at shopping centre counters or in magazines, a little voice would tell her that there was no harm trying and that there was always a chance to win.

She had won three things through lucky draws: Half a year's supply of free soap (when she was fifteen), a charger for a mobile phone she did not have the time (when she was seventeen) and a free trip for two to Cebu at this beautiful beach resort. She had not pondered long before she decided whom to bring. Caroline had been her friend for as long as they could remember. But it did take slightly longer to convince their parents that they were responsible enough to go by themselves. Caroline's defeated mother had finally said, 'Okay, fine. But if you come back with a strange boy from over there hidden in your suitcase, just remember that I'll know.' Savitri's mother, without much thought, had just given a simple "O kay lah.' The place they were staying in was not a stereotypical hotel. It was literally a resort on the beach. There were little luxurious chalet like huts scattered all over the beach and if you were to take on step out of the door in your bare feet, you would feel sand in between your toes. Soon the fifth night of their free trip to Cebu, they had just come back from swimming all day and had rented a movie called Three of Hearts from the hotel's movies list. It wasn't very wide but then again, not many people made use to it. There were only about sixty movies in the modest collection. The movie had been okay and Caroline and Savitri had enjoyed themselves. They had both had their dinner and taken their shower before they watched the show and now it was time to turn in. (It was almost midnight by then.)

'So what do you owe me for the glorious trip?' Savitri asked, yawning. 'Well, it's not like you paid for it,' rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner. 'Go die Caroline! yelled Savitri, playfully offended as she hit her with her pillow. Caroline could just laughed. 'Okay la, okay lah. Thank you Queen Savitri. But we should go to sleep now if we want to go jogging in the early morning.' So they said goodnight, deciding to make up in sleep what they had lost over the past few nights. Drip. Drip. Drip. Savitri opened her eyes and let them adjust to the darkness. She groaned as she turned over to look at the digital clock whose numbers glowed in the dark. It was half past two in the morning.

Drip. Drip. Drip. 'What the hell is that?' She moaned as she buried her face in her pillow. 'Huh?' Caroline answered, not really aware of what was going on. Drip. Drip. Drip. 'Argh! THAT! What is THAT?' She said in an aggravated whisper. 'That?' asked Caroline, slightly more orientated. 'The dripping you idiot!' 'Idiot yourself lah. You bathed last right? You must have left the shower dripping. Savitri groaned again and realized that she was right. She had bathed last and since the noise was coming from the bathroom, it must have been her fault. She turned to see Caroline fast asleep by the time she had realized this. So she tried to sleep too.

Drip. Drip. Drip. She turned again to try and get comfortable. DRIP. She lay flat on her back. DRIP. There was apparently no way of getting away from it and she guessed that she would just have to go and switch the shower off properly if she wasn't going to go crazy. She got up groggily, trying to remember what she had been dreaming of when she been so rudely awoken by the shower. The floor was cold and she simply could not be bothered to turn on the main light. This resulted with her almost tripping over her carry bag next to the bed. she swore as she regained her balance. She groped around for the switch next to the toilet door. Her eyes were still half closed. DRIP. Her fingers found the switch and they flicked it on. Light shone out from beneath the door and flooded the area at her feet. She instinctively narrowed her eyes as she placed her hand on the doorknob, to prepare them from the unwelcome light that would pour out at her.

She opened the door and jumped back. At first, she had simply seen a figure standing there. Her eyes had been narrowed and once she focused, she started to scream. In front of her stood a man. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt. He had no head. She started to hyperventilate and was paralysed for an instant. Standing there, she looked down faintly, away from in between his shoulders where his head should have been; where the clots of congealed blood were instead, where a gaping hole and severed pieces of flesh were. Then to her horror, she saw that he was carrying the head that should have been on his shoulders. He held it, blood dripping down from his cut up neck and dripping onto the floor. This had all happened within a few seconds. DRIP! She finally regained her senses but was still screaming. She turned and screamed even louder when she bumped into Caroline, trying to run. She had got up with a start when she heard her screaming. 

'RUN!' she screamed in her face. 'Wha...' 'RUN!!!' Caroline saw the look of terror in her friend's face and just obeyed. They ran to the door and unlocked it as fast as they could. Savitri ran all the way to the lobby, followed by Caroline. There, she demanded that someone come back with them to check the room. A tall, rather reserved looking man followed them back and all three of them found nothing in the toilet. There was no man and there was no blood. Caroline still did not know what was going on. Savitri told Caroline to pack up. She would explain on the way home. 'Home?' 'We're leaving a day early.' Much to the disgruntlement of the hotel staff, Savitri and Caroline checked out of the hotel that very night. After a long wait, they managed to get a taxi driver.

With their luggage packed neatly into the boot, Savitri got into the taxi with Caroline. They were headed for the nearest hotel. Just as the taxi pulled out of the hotel driveway, Savitri felt something telling her to turn back and she did. A young man was walking into the lobby of the hotel. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and white shirt. It was then that Savitri realized that what she saw was not an apparition of the past, but one of the future. Although she knew that the young man was going to die, she was too frightened to go back to the hotel and tell him. The taxi continued its drive into the dark night.