The family decided to make their way to the Maha Sivan Alayam at the top of the Gasing Hill. It wasn't all that far since it was the nearest temple to their home.
Shruti carried a large silver plate with a few of the freshly-picked mangoes as they went in, dressed up in traditional Indian attire.
"Shruti, where's your scarf?" Suganthi asked.
Shruti only just noticed it missing. "Aiya, where lah it went?"
"Here," Shri came in, holding it. "It fell in the car."
Suganthi took it and helped her put it on.
They entered the temple, carried out their prayers and lit a ghee lamp. Shri decided to break a coconut to pray for the success of his upcoming book.
"I want break also," Shruti said as she followed him.
So they each bought one from the counter and made their way to the pit to break it. Shruti waited as he went first. He faced the temple held the coconut in front of him, his eyes closed, and prayed. After that, he flung it onto the large stone block in the centre of the pit with force. Coconut water splashed as soon as it hit the stone, splitting it in half. Shri looked at it and to his surprise, there was a sprout in it.
"Shri, there's an egg in your coconut!" Shruti gasped. "It's a blessing!"
Shri looked at it in surprise. "Yes ah?"
"Yeah lah!" Shruti grinned. "If the coconut rotten only bad, it won't break. That one is sprout, what. Good lah!"
Shri didn't know. He just brought his hands forward in prayer and stepped aside to let his sister break hers. Shruti prayed too and bashed the coconut against the stone. It broke into pieces, much to her surprise, and the water splashed onto Shri again.
Shruti started laughing, seeing how he had gotten his new jippa all wet.
"Take it as a blessing lah," Shruti chuckled, grabbing his arm. "Come, we go and sit first."
They entered the main temple again and sat with their parents before leaving.
Misao walked home, still thinking about the look on Genjuro's face. She shuddered at the thought and was just glad she got it over with.
Her home eventually came so she took her keys out and went in to see Kumiko reading a magazine on the couch, fresh out of a bath in a lavender yukata.
"You're home early," Misao said as she locked the door.
"Yeah, there wasn't that many customers today so they let me go," Kumiko shrugged. "So I came home and got a bath before you."
Misao sighed. "Your Okaasan is very kind..."
"I know, right?" Kumiko grinned. "Anyway, go take a shower. I left you some water."
Misao grimaced playfully. "Eww, no thanks. I don't want your dirt on me."
Kumiko scowled and watched as she made her way to her room, laughing.
Misao carefully took her wig off and put it on the stand before taking her kimono off, changing into a light pink yukata before making her way to the bathroom for a late-evening bath.
She wondered what Shri was doing, but didn't really wish to bother him with another call since she figured he must've been busy celebrating with his family.
***
Shri sat at his desk during work, the sound of his fingers tapping against the keyboard being the only thing breaking the silence. His assistant, Mikail, came in with some paperwork.
"There, I'm all done with it," Mikail said as he placed them on Shri's desk. He paused and watched as he typed his story. "A new story?"
"Yeah, Mik, got inspired when I went to Japan," Shri said in clear Malay. "It's almost done too, just a few more chapters to go."
"I see..." Mikail nodded. "Well, I hope it becomes a hit."
"I hope so too," Shri smiled as he watched him leave. "Bye!"
Mikail smiled and left Shri's office. He finished the paragraph he was working on and closed his book, pushing his typewriter to the side to look at the paperwork that his assistant had given him. Everything seemed fine but he needed the financial department's approval for it too.
So he got up, turned his typewriter off and made his way to the Chief Financial Manager's room. The sitting room was just down the hall and the name Wang Xiao Sheng was inscribed on the nameplate stuck on the door. Shri knocked and waited.
"Yeah?" The answer came.
Shri snorted and went in. The young Chinese man looked up through his round glasses, wisps of straight hair falling right below the frame. He smiled upon seeing that it was only Shri.
"Oh you ah..." Wang said, straightening himself. "Come, come. Sit down."
Shri put the paperwork down and sat on the chair in front of him. "Nah, Mikail finished this. Budget all okay, right?"
Wang frowned as he read it and nodded. "Yeah, all okay." He handed the paperwork back to him and leaned forward with a smirk, resting his chin on his hands with his elbows on the table. "So, how your new book? Okay ah?"
"Okay lah," Shri shrugged. "Got inspired by Japan a bit. Very nice place."
"Yeah... I also must go one day lah," Wang nodded. "What to do? No holiday."
"Why you never come when we went?" Shri rolled his eyes. "We got call you, right?"
"Yeah lah, you all go with family, how you want me to come?" Wang pointed out. "I don't want to intrude leh."
"Yeah lah, but we wanted to book separate hotel for you leh," Shri countered, imitating his accent with a smirk.
Wang sighed. "Couldn't come lah that time. Never mind. If you wanna go again means, tell. I'll come. Okay or not?"
"Okay lah, okay lah," Shri got up with a chuckle, collecting his paperwork. "Anyway, see you. I wanna go continue my book."
Wang smirked and waved at him. "Yeah, bye. Make sure you give me free copy of your book ah. I want to read also."
"You like reading meh?" Shri asked doubtfully. "Never seen also."
"Because I don't read during work! I very dedicated to my job, not like you."
"I also dedicated writer, okay?"
"Yeah lah, yeah lah," Wang chuckled. Then he waved. "Okay-kay, bye."
Shri laughed and left the room, waving at his friend.
He went back to his office and decided to finish typing out his story until the end of his work. After that, he packed everything up and closed his typewriter, carrying it like a briefcase as he went to his father's office.
"Finish ah, Pa?" Shri asked, sitting down on the chair in front of his father. "Where Big One?"
"Still in his office lah he," Shridhar said, turning his computer off. "Anyway, the new project okay already or not?"
"Yeah, Mikail helped with it, then I showed Wang, he also said okay," Shri informed, then smirked. "So wang no problem lah."
"Good lah," Shridhar chuckled. "Like that means can proceed."
New characters:
Mikail bin Ahmad Syed
Wang Xiao Sheng
You might be seeing new terms like lor, meh, leh, and all that. These are all Chinese dialect but at the same time, Chinese aren't the only ones who use this in Malaysia lol.
It's not uncommon to see an Indian speaking in Chinese accent and a Chinese speaking in Malay accent.
Also wang means money in Malay. It also happens to be a Chinese surname so it just makes it a funny reference to how Wang is the Chief Financial Manager who deals with wang lol.
Also, electric typewriters from that time, especially the Canon QS series, can be carried like a briefcase since it had a handle and a case. The case is more like a slip-on so it's more like placing the case on the typewriter than placing the typewriter in the case. So yeah. Don't imagine Shri walking around with an analog typewriter held in a strange position like that.
Yeah, this is it. There's usually a cover on it. Also, I didn't know that typewriters could be so cool back in the day. It even had the ghost-typing feature, can you believe it?! This book has made me research lots about 90s gadgets lol.