On Eagles' Wings

Without meaning to, she’d arranged two dates for the same evening. She didn’t even realise, until one of them pinged her an hour before the date. Hey, so we’re on for later, right? And she thought, Who is this? Oh, shit. It’s Daniel. I’m supposed to meet him, too! Daniel’s profile pic showed him looking a little nerdy—like Spider-Man nerdy. But they shared a lot of common interests—anime, movies, cosplay. Okay, she was probably kind of nerdy, too. But Bryan? Bryan was hot. Like, K-drama oppa hot—complete with smooth skin, abs, and all. At least, that’s how he appears on his profile. She was surprised Bryan had swiped right on her at all. He was gorgeous, whereas she was the kind of pretty that mums would say was “prettier on the inside”. She’d been happy to just chat with Daniel without meeting up. But he’d been persistent. Very persistent. But she’d already imagined what it’d be like dating Bryan. Cue him running after her in the rain, both absolutely soaked, pull...

“Come, Mia. We’re here.” Ling gets down from the car and opens the back passenger seat. Mia and her brother Min appear behind Ling, meekly holding hands. “Just give me a minute,” Ling says. She unbuckles the baby’s car seat, swiftly sweeps her up in her arms. The children watch quietly as Ling wrestles the stroller out from the boot of the car. She swears under her breath when it gets stuck, then takes a deep breath as it finally sets and she places the baby into it. “Let’s go.” No one speaks as they make their way to the entrance of the supermarket. Ling stops abruptly, turns to Mia. “Remember what Mama said.” She sweeps a stray strand of hair from Mia’s pale face, her hand trembling. Mia slowly nods. ** The fluorescent lights are blinding, making every aisle seem exposed. Ling pulls her sweater closer around her as the air conditioning blasts chilly air. She glances at the children—Mia wearing sleeveless and Min in shorts. She leans down into the stroller to t...

Tonight’s the night . I lean over the balcony, prop my face up with my hands, and take a deep breath. It smells like rain. Though the rain might complicate my plans for later, I feel surprisingly calm. I watch the coconut tree, its leaves swaying in the wind. The twilight sky, with its pink-purple swirls, reminds me of the Mat Kool popsicles my dad used to buy me. The ice cream uncle would come around our neighbourhood on his motorbike in the evenings. The moment I heard his beeping horn, I’d run outside, yelling, “Pa! Pa! The ice cream uncle is here!” My dad would jog out after me, laughing, picking coins out of his wallet. “Nah,” he’d say, getting two popsicles in exchange. We’d sit side by side on the concrete slab outside our gate, the popsicles dripping onto the tar road under the humid evening sun. We’d see people coming home from work, in their suits and ties. Pa always looked at them quietly. I never understood why. ** It’s been ten years since my dad passed...