USP PIPER Short Story
posted by Justin D. Pereira
Ok, as I promised I said I would post up the short story which I wrote for the USP – PIPER workshop. The story is below, so feel free to take a look but please, this story is copyrighted and in no part should is be reproduced.
The Contrasting Will of Man
Justin Daniel Pereira
Anderson Junior College
12th June 2007
Total no. of words : 853
"You will not sell our shop to the Chong family!" shrieked Swee Neo as she waved her arms frantically in the air while her face contorted to a twisted face of anger. "Your father had worked so hard to build the shop into a bakery. It's practically a symbol of his entire life, blood and sweat. I simply will not allow any of that family to even take a footstep into our shop." The entire floor of the condominium shuddered under the weight of the tension that erupted from just one person, it had never seen such disgust exude from its mistress before. Receiving the full brunt of the harsh admonition from his beloved mother, Kee Cheng could do nothing but listen to her amiably. Not because he enjoyed it, but it was more of the respect and honour which he was bound to as a filial son to his elders in any traditional Chinese family.
"But mom," reasoned Kee Cheng in a pacifying tone which hinted strongly of his acute business sense, "Chong Lee is willing to offer us $1.2 million for our premises. That is $100 000 more than the Seow's offer. Can't you see the bigger marginal profit which we would get. I know a good deal when I see one Mom. Since I have to focus on my business's expanding operations in Shanghai, this bigger offer is all to our advantage!" Within himself, Kee Cheng suppressed the burning righteousness that he could just sell the shop as and when he wanted since it was willed to him after his father's passing. He only consulted his mother as he believed it was right, after all the shop once housed the family's bakery where his parents toiled their hands in the dough all day to bring him up. His accomplishments today would be nothing without their hard work, and since only his mother was left, he felt he had to ask her. Kee Cheng studied his mother's face for what she would say next but then he noticed that the aged lines on his mom crinkled even more. Suddenly, she looked old, worn out and tired. It seemed only yesterday when he was out in the garden playing with her and she was nothing but a resemblance of the springtime of youth.
"So what if we get more money by selling to those cockroaches! They are nothing but mere pests. I don't mind getting less as long as our property is kept within the circles of our society, our distinguishable class!" Swee Neo stood up, adjusted herself, and with a swift graceful movement stood in front of the window while looking out of their 17th floor high rise condominium facing the lit giants of the darkening city. "For our whole life, that family," she crinkled her nose and sniffed at the sheer thought, "has been stealing our customers, our ideas of baking, just to drum up their sales. We started the bakery first, not them. Theirs was just a small bread shop. There's no respect there. I tell you. No respect! I even hear from Mrs. Chen that they want our shop just so that they can monopolize the neighbourhood business. How low can cockroaches stoop?"
"Mom...it's just business..." the strength in Kee Cheng's voice started to falter and his mind was still estranged between the ethics of business and the duties of a son. "Can't you even reason yourself out and not listen to the daily gossip from the aunties in the market? Please mom, I love you, just listen to me this time. I know I am making the right decision." His vision started to grow cloudy and all he could see of his mother was a distinct blur of a lady against a shadow of emerging darkness. His cheeks grew wet as he ran his hands through his hair, grasping two fistfuls of it tightly.
Swee Neo turned around and stared at her son in horror, her eyes wide open with bewilderment and disbelief. Her very own son had accused her. She was placing her best efforts in helping him, but all he could do was accuse her of being a gossip who makes the wrong decisions and in no way a help to him. Still, she mustered in herself the strength that her own parents had imbued her with, and with a simple curt tone like those of the Empress Dowager to the Emperor, said, "I will say no more. It's either you obey my will like what a filial son would do, or simply get out of my house and run amok in the streets to be a vagrant who is devoid of the simple knowledge of piety and indulge only in the sheer gluttonous of insect money."
Outside the windows, dark clouds loomed through the black sky. A sudden flash of lightning and thunder erupted, masking the cityscape in a blanket of light and then darkness dotted with yellow. Without warning, the thunderous beats of drums could be heard throughout the city drowning what was a distinct man's cry of helplessness into an endless pit.
Ok, as I promised I said I would post up the short story which I wrote for the USP – PIPER workshop. The story is below, so feel free to take a look but please, this story is copyrighted and in no part should is be reproduced.
The Contrasting Will of Man
Justin Daniel Pereira
Anderson Junior College
12th June 2007
Total no. of words : 853
"You will not sell our shop to the Chong family!" shrieked Swee Neo as she waved her arms frantically in the air while her face contorted to a twisted face of anger. "Your father had worked so hard to build the shop into a bakery. It's practically a symbol of his entire life, blood and sweat. I simply will not allow any of that family to even take a footstep into our shop." The entire floor of the condominium shuddered under the weight of the tension that erupted from just one person, it had never seen such disgust exude from its mistress before. Receiving the full brunt of the harsh admonition from his beloved mother, Kee Cheng could do nothing but listen to her amiably. Not because he enjoyed it, but it was more of the respect and honour which he was bound to as a filial son to his elders in any traditional Chinese family.
"But mom," reasoned Kee Cheng in a pacifying tone which hinted strongly of his acute business sense, "Chong Lee is willing to offer us $1.2 million for our premises. That is $100 000 more than the Seow's offer. Can't you see the bigger marginal profit which we would get. I know a good deal when I see one Mom. Since I have to focus on my business's expanding operations in Shanghai, this bigger offer is all to our advantage!" Within himself, Kee Cheng suppressed the burning righteousness that he could just sell the shop as and when he wanted since it was willed to him after his father's passing. He only consulted his mother as he believed it was right, after all the shop once housed the family's bakery where his parents toiled their hands in the dough all day to bring him up. His accomplishments today would be nothing without their hard work, and since only his mother was left, he felt he had to ask her. Kee Cheng studied his mother's face for what she would say next but then he noticed that the aged lines on his mom crinkled even more. Suddenly, she looked old, worn out and tired. It seemed only yesterday when he was out in the garden playing with her and she was nothing but a resemblance of the springtime of youth.
"So what if we get more money by selling to those cockroaches! They are nothing but mere pests. I don't mind getting less as long as our property is kept within the circles of our society, our distinguishable class!" Swee Neo stood up, adjusted herself, and with a swift graceful movement stood in front of the window while looking out of their 17th floor high rise condominium facing the lit giants of the darkening city. "For our whole life, that family," she crinkled her nose and sniffed at the sheer thought, "has been stealing our customers, our ideas of baking, just to drum up their sales. We started the bakery first, not them. Theirs was just a small bread shop. There's no respect there. I tell you. No respect! I even hear from Mrs. Chen that they want our shop just so that they can monopolize the neighbourhood business. How low can cockroaches stoop?"
"Mom...it's just business..." the strength in Kee Cheng's voice started to falter and his mind was still estranged between the ethics of business and the duties of a son. "Can't you even reason yourself out and not listen to the daily gossip from the aunties in the market? Please mom, I love you, just listen to me this time. I know I am making the right decision." His vision started to grow cloudy and all he could see of his mother was a distinct blur of a lady against a shadow of emerging darkness. His cheeks grew wet as he ran his hands through his hair, grasping two fistfuls of it tightly.
Swee Neo turned around and stared at her son in horror, her eyes wide open with bewilderment and disbelief. Her very own son had accused her. She was placing her best efforts in helping him, but all he could do was accuse her of being a gossip who makes the wrong decisions and in no way a help to him. Still, she mustered in herself the strength that her own parents had imbued her with, and with a simple curt tone like those of the Empress Dowager to the Emperor, said, "I will say no more. It's either you obey my will like what a filial son would do, or simply get out of my house and run amok in the streets to be a vagrant who is devoid of the simple knowledge of piety and indulge only in the sheer gluttonous of insect money."
Outside the windows, dark clouds loomed through the black sky. A sudden flash of lightning and thunder erupted, masking the cityscape in a blanket of light and then darkness dotted with yellow. Without warning, the thunderous beats of drums could be heard throughout the city drowning what was a distinct man's cry of helplessness into an endless pit.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home