To Lemuria

CLARITY

It was a scene out of a James Bond movie, that was my thought as I open my eyes.

Pretty freaky actually, I heaved a sigh really hard.

Mira came crashing into me, burying her sobbing face over my shoulders and gripping me as hard as she gripped the rails.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she blubbered in between sniffs.

I patted her back.

I was actually more relieved than she was. More relieved than surprised that I really did it.

Kim came into view as he hugged both of us. I felt a great lump in my throat. This was a gesture very unlikely of him. I felt like crying too but I ended up sniggering.

Kim chuckled too and then he let go. We all looked at each other and we laughed together.

We looked quite funny, our hairs were a mess.

I realized I was holding the cord, which turned out to be a tattered rope with a wooden bead in one end.

"Let me take this," she said reaching for it. "For safekeeping."

The bead slid into my hand, as I let Mira take the rope. I closed my hand to it as Mira tied the rope to her hip like a belt.

I nodded to her. "Fashionable," I commented. She smiled and posed and fixed it, moving it around her.

I put the bead into my pocket and heard it clinked with the shell.

I wondered how important could it be for us to almost kill ourselves for it. But I was just overwhelmed, I felt like not talking too much.

I realized Kim was walking away before I took in the surroundings. He looked up at a familiar figure and from my position, I can see his form getting drenched with the water flowing out of the Merlion's mouth.

It was just an illusion, we were actually far away in the viewing deck.

I looked around and wondered how nobody seemed to see or care that we just appeared out of nowhere, considering this was some public place.

I nodded to Mira for us to join Kim. She mouthed OK and clutched at my arm.

"Your first time?" she asked him.

He nodded.

It was my first time here too. We looked up at it. It looked majestic.

I leaned over and put my hand under my chin. I waited for them to say something.

"You're right," Mira told him. "There are quite a lot Drifters here. Just like in Hongkong where you came from, Singapore is home to a lot of variety of people. Melting pot of nations, they say."

He nodded again.

I nodded too.

These shrugging and nodding, meaning both yes and no, they were quite contagious.

"Do you know somebody from here?"

He nodded yet again.

"Have you lost your tongue?"

Kim looked at her.

I chuckled. Then he looked at me. I bit my lip to stop.

"Just asking," she said shrugging.

He turned and sat on the bench behind us.

Mira continued looking up at it as I fumbled for Precious inside my jacket. I saw the time, Philippine time 2pm. I looked around, there was no local clock around here.