"Dr. Lim! I'm glad you're here!" A much senior doctor greeted me with a voice filled with so much urgency that his anxiety rubbed off on me. He placed his good arm on my right shoulder, the slight tremors instantly snapping me out of my thoughts.
The moment Dr. Renard whisked me away towards his office, Inspector Harun and Sub-Inspector Javin turned their heads around and narrowed their eyes at me, their intense stares burning onto my back. As soon as Dr. Renard closed the door behind us, both of us exchanged looks that mirrored the other - fear. The tall man paced across the room with unfocused strides, rubbing his lips with trembling fingers. His shaky movements were borderline apprehensive and made me more nervous. His usual calm composure was overridden with a mixture of exhaustion and utter helplessness. It was the first time I saw him so vulnerable and defeated.
Dr. Renard rested his sombre eyes on me and said solemnly, "In light of the current situation, the hospital's barring incoming deliveries. So our services might extend to other hospitals or house calls."
"Say when and where and I'll be there."
"I need you to fill in for a case in Kuala Lumpur. "
"Wait. That's not in Singapore. That's- that's in Malaysia," I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
Dr. Renard stopped pacing and fixed his blue eyes on mine as soon as he sensed my hesitation, "This is a special case as the patient's a good friend of mine. She lives in Malaysia, yes. But she comes for her prenatal check-ups here. Her baby's a breech. She's determined to have a pro-natural birth. I would personally deliver the baby myself if I could," he sighed helplessly as he gestured his head towards his right arm that was wrapped in a shoulder cast. "You and I both know how delicate such cases can be." I nodded in understanding at the vexing predicament that Dr. Renard was in.
"First birth?"
"Second. She had her first baby in Singapore. There will be a doula and a midwife with her in the same room. She wants the baby delivered by VBAC."
My eyes immediately shot up to him, "A VBAC? You're asking a lot from me, Doctor-" My mind was instantly flooded with all the potential risks and complications involved in a vaginal birth after a caesarean.
"That's why I'm entrusting you with such a case. You're the first person that came to mind."
"But...a breech-"
Dr. Renard raised his good arm to stop me mid-sentence, "You've handled breech babies before." The weight on my shoulders did not decrease even when Dr. Renard spoke those words. Truthfully, I felt like I was being dragged underwater with anchors wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me deeper into a bottomless pit.
"Never a VBAC."
"Just because you've never done it before, doesn't mean you won't be great at it. There's always a first for everything." He came closer towards me, relaxed his hand on my shoulder and levelled his eyes with mine. "Look, Dr. Lim. You fought for pro-natural when other doctors could only see a caesarean as the only way out in many similar circumstances before. I have a lot of respect for you as an obstetrician and I trust your expertise. Now, for me to utter those words as your senior, that speaks a lot. "
"But-"
"It's Dr. Wang's case," he interrupted and bit down on both of his lips. He added sadly, "Sorry, I meant...the late Dr. Wang. The patient's well aware that the late Dr. Wang was your mentor and that you worked closely with him during your residency."
"I-" my voice got stuck at the back of my throat and we both knew why. I coughed lightly to keep the tears at bay, "I-I'll do it."
"Good. I'll leave the travel arrangements to Samad. Earliest train to Kuala Lumpur is at one o'clock. You're leaving in a few hours." In less than a second, he was already on the line with Samad, his personal assistant that doubled up as a hospital clerk.
"To-today?"
"Any problems?" He leaned back in his chair and covered the mouthpiece of the telephone receiver as my frown deepened.
I was conflicted - torn between my responsibility as a husband and my duty as an obstetrician. My heart began to fill with dread. I was worried for Melati. Our baby was due any day now. "It's my w-"
Distracted with what I assumed was Samad's voice on the other line, Dr. Renard held a finger up to silence me and continued talking on the telephone. Pausing for a moment, he covered the mouthpiece again, turned his attention towards me and pressed on "Whatever it is, there's not much time. The patient's already experiencing contractions but they're still far apart. However, it won't be much longer before it enters the active labour phase. I need you there when it happens. I'll let Samad fix your hotel accommodation if you wish." He was determined for me to keep saying yes. Dr. Renard was the sort of man that would not take no for an answer.
I avoided his eyes and nodded grimly, "Understood."
After he ended the call, he approached me with a steadier gait and patted my shoulder with a firm hand, "I knew I could count on you."
* * * ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ * * *
Back at the house, I twiddled with the telephone cord anxiously as I waited for the other person on the other line to pick up. I let out a frustrated grunt as it went unanswered for the sixth time.
"Who are you calling?" Melati's sudden voice made me fumble with the rotary dial of the telephone and I immediately hung up the receiver out of guilt. I still have yet to break the news to her and Saleha in regards to my work trip to Kuala Lumpur. I had not even packed for my trip.
"I was trying to get a hold of Mak Joyah," I lied. In truth, I was trying to reach my sister-in-law in the hopes that she could accompany Melati and Saleha for a couple of days.
"Why?" Melati scrunched her brows together. A faint smile creased her lips as she recalled a memory. "Oh, you wanted to call her about the prenatal massage?"
I had completely forgotten about it but my eyebrows perked up when an idea hit me at the same time, "Yes."
"Maybe she's too busy to answer the call. She could be massaging someone. Even so, her youngest son would always be around to answer the telephone in case of any house calls. Mak Joyah never leaves the phone unanswered. Are you sure you dialled the right number?"
I flicked my wrist and glanced at my watch. There was not much time left. "I'll talk to her in person. It's better that way."
* * * ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ * * *
"Assalammualaikum! (Peace be upon you!)" As I said my greeting a second time through the opened entrance of Mak Joyah's house, I caught sight of a faint but plump shadow, which I recognised as Mak Joyah's, moving behind a door curtain that slightly concealed the activities in the room. She was slightly bent over another shadowy form that laid still on a bed. From the way that Mak Joyah's arms moved, it was without a doubt that she was in the middle of administering a massage. I took a few steps forward, entered the house slowly and made my way towards the room brazenly.
The floorboards creaked behind me and a curious voice sounded soon after, "Abang cari siapa? (Elder brother, who are you looking for?)"
Embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my neck and eyed Atan, Mak Joyah's youngest son, from the edges of my eyes, "Oh, er, Abang nak bebual sekejap dengan Mak Joyah. Perkara mustahak. (Oh, erm, I want to speak with Mak Joyah for a short while. It's an urgent matter.)"
Atan eyed me suspiciously but gave me a tight-lipped smile, "Mak dalam bilik, tengah urut Kak Rosnah. Abang duduklah dulu. Biar saya siapkan air. (Mother's in the bedroom, massaging Sis Rosnah. Have a seat. Let me get you a drink.)"
I nodded loosely at the teenager's suggestion before he went on his way. I looked over my shoulder to make sure that the young boy was out of sight. Instead of walking towards the living room, I increased my pace towards the room that Mak Joyah was in. My right hand trembled as it rested on the door curtain separating us.
The thumps in my chest grew louder and louder to the point that it was deafening.
I needed to know. I had to see it for myself.
I swallowed back the nervousness in my throat but like a hard rock stuck in place, it refused to budge. I lifted the thin fabric slowly to the side, revealing more of the scene in front of me. Bit by bit, I saw more of Mak Joyah who was so engrossed in massaging Rosnah's shoulders that she did not realise that I was standing at the entrance of the room. I sucked in my breath as my eyes took in the tantalising curves of Rosnah's body under the batik sarong. She did not look a day pregnant. Maybe she was still in the first few weeks of her first trimester.
I wrenched my lingering gaze away from Rosnah who had her eyes closed and scanned the room briefly. There were a few wooden frames of engraved Arabic calligraphy that hung on the walls of the room. Despite being mostly illiterate in Arabic, I recognised one of the words on the decorative art calligraphy to mean "Allah". The next thing I noticed was the absolute calmness in the room that spread itself in the pleasantly warm and inviting manner.
No floating shadows.
I smiled to myself. The lump in my throat finally slid its way downwards. I was breathing easily again.
As soon as I unrolled the door curtain back in place, someone tapped me brashly on the shoulder. Bashful at getting caught, I turned around feebly and held my arms up defensively at Atan who had his arms crossed against his chest, "Ni kerja Abang eh sekarang? Ngintip-ngintip perempuan? (Is this your job now, Elder Brother? Peeking at women?)"
"Atan, tolonglah jangan salah faham. (Atan, please don't misunderstand.)"
"Apa ni kecoh-kecoh? (What's all this ruckus?)" Mak Joyah hissed as she stepped out of the room.
Atan nudged his head towards me, "Atan tangkap Abang ni ngintip Kak Rosnah. (I caught this brother peeking at Sis Rosnah.)"
"Explain yourself," Mak Joyah glared at me with a slight hostility. Soon, she locked eyes with her son and flicked her eyes towards the kitchen, seemingly trying to order Atan to leave us to which the young boy obeyed.
"Sorry. Don't misunderstand. I didn't mean to. Honestly, I wanted to talk to you, Mak Joyah. I have an urgent matter to attend to in Kuala Lumpur after this. I can't stay long. Our baby's due any time soon and I won't be able to attend to my wife should she go into labour if I'm still stuck overseas."
She crinkled up her nose and an air of unhappiness coated her voice. It almost sounded like jealousy. "What about Mak Bidan?"
"What about her?" I looked at her perplexed.
"I saw her visit your house a few times. I assumed Melati's engaging her services."
Few times?
Frowning at the memory of the uninvited shadows in our house recently, "Well, I don't agree with her methods."
The corners of her frown shook slightly, almost as if they wanted to curl up into a victorious smile but Mak Joyah kept her pursed lips tight, "I see."
"Will you help us?"
I heaved a sigh of relief as Mak Joyah nodded her head.
"Thank you. Another thing. Are you available to come today to give my wife a prenatal massage? She injured her ankle the other day. Could you have a look at that as well? I'm not sure how much you charge-" I searched my pockets and passed Mak Joyah an envelope of money. "I hope this is enough."
Mak Joyah gasped as she opened the envelope, "This is too much."
"Please. Take it."
"I'll come right away as soon as I'm finished with this massage."
"Thank you."
* * * ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ * * *
Saleha's giggles were the first thing that I heard as I opened the door to my Volkswagen Bettle. Speedily, I reached for Saleha's birthday present and Melati's anniversary gift from the back of the car and tried to conceal them from sight just in time to hear Saleha burst into another fit of giggles. I hesitated as my hand hovered over my gift for Kamsaton. I decided to reach for it as well and hid it in my pocket.
Saleha burst into laughter again as I closed the door to my car, "You're so funny, Murni!"
I hurried over to the back of the house and saw Saleha crouched down near a pile of shrubs, seemingly entertaining someone that was out of my line of sight.
"Who's Murni?" As soon as I spoke, a form dashed into the nearest shrubs, rustling the leaves noisily.
Saleha gasped and turned around to face me but her expression was full of guilt as she hid something else in her school uniform pinafore's pocket. "Oh, Baba! I thought you were still out."
I placed the sparkling jewelled headband on her head and beamed at her. "I was out getting your birthday present. Surprise! I know it's a day early but I'm just too excited to give it to you."
Saleha removed the headband from her head to examine in. Just like the jewels on her headband, her eyes sparkled immediately. "Wow, thank you, Baba. This is beautiful!"
"Not as beautiful as you," I chuckled and squeezed both her cheeks playfully to which she giggled. "Where's your friend?"
"Erm...my friend?" her eyes darted around guiltily.
"Yes, the one that you were talking to."
"Oh, erm. I don't think you should meet her."
"Come on, don't be rude now. Introduce her to me." The lines of shrubs rustled in succession as I neared them. "Does she like to play hide and seek like you?" I whispered to Saleha.
"No, Baba, don't!"
But it was too late. I had already spread open the furthest shrubs with my bare hands. A small white form stared back at me. I stumbled backwards and fell on my bum as the sight caught me by surprise. It kept its eyes on me, refusing to blink. Without any warning, it leapt for my chest before it jumped to my side and pricked its ears. I shuffled backwards in panic and checked my body and hands in between my dry-heaves.
I was allergic to cats.
"Baba! Baba! Are you okay?!" Saleha rushed to my side and tried to calm me down. "Baba! Calm down! Look! You don't have any rashes! You're not swelling up!"
Saleha was right. It was strange. My breathing reached a state of calm but my eyes never left the majestic white feline as it strode stealthily by me. Considering the amount of dirt and dust present in this kampung village, the cat's fur was not grubby at all. It was almost too white for comfort and it did not look like any of the local breeds.
"Does this mean you're not allergic to cats anymore?" Saleha's small smile grew into a huge grin. She scooped the white cat in her arms with ease and nuzzled her head against the feline's thick white fur. "Can we keep her?"
"I don't think it's a she..." I observed nervously from a distance, still cautious of my allergy.
"Can we keep Murni please?"
Pressed for time and in no mood to argue, I only nodded my response.
"Thank you, Baba! You're the best!"
"Nuh uh uh. Only until I'm back. Then, Murni has to go."
"What do you mean?"
I sighed and patted the ground beside me, urging Saleha to sit. She took the spot hesitantly and looked at me with downcast eyes as she continued caressing Murni.
"Baba needs to go Kuala Lumpur for work for a while. It could be one or two days. It could be more."
My heart shattered a few cracks as Saleha whispered sulkily, "So you won't be back home in time to celebrate my birthday with me?"
"I'll celebrate with you when I get back."
"Is that why you gave my birthday present early?"
I hugged Saleha closer to me and kissed her forehead, "You're such a smart girl, Saleha. I can never keep secrets from you."
"I wish you were home more to spend time with us. That's what I really want for my birthday this year."
"Okay. How about this? When I'm back home, I won't sleep until I make that swing for you at that spot right there." I pointed towards the tall oak tree beside our house.
"The swing that I wanted since kindergarten?" she squinted her eyes in disbelief and frowned.
"Yes, I will finally make it this time and I will keep pushing you on that swing."
"Even when you're no longer alive?" she asked sadly.
"Hush now. Why are you so preoccupied with death?"
"Because death can happen at any time."
"Even if you're no longer with me, Saleha...I'll still push you on that swing. That's how much I love you and miss you."
"I love you too, Baba," she exhaled wistfully.
"Why are you still sad? I promise I'll call often when I'm in Kuala Lumpur."
"It's not that. It's going to be a lonely week for Mama and I. Cik Intan won't be spending time with us either this Friday."
"Oh? Why not?"
"She's having a short holiday in Malacca since last Monday. She will only be back this coming Sunday. That's what she told me last Friday."
So that's why I couldn't reach her at her house earlier.
"Do you remember if she mentioned the name of the hotel she's staying?"
"I think so."
Right after Saleha told me the name of the hotel, I gave her Mak Joyah's contact details. Carefully, I gave Saleha detailed instructions on what to do if Melati showed any signs of labour during my absence. Just as we were done, my wife appeared at the back door, "Come now, it's time for lunch." From the looks on her face, it was unlikely that she had overheard our conversation.
"Why don't you and Saleha have a head start? I'll be right with you. I need to erm...settle some work stuff first." What I wanted was to spend some time alone in the bedroom to pack the necessities for the work trip. Just as Saleha stood up, I whispered gently, "Saleha, go and transfer the dishes to the coffee table instead. We'll have our lunch there. Let Mama sit on the one-seater sofa. It's the most comfortable seat in the house."
Saleha nodded gleefully and whispered back, "Great idea, Baba!"
I watched my daughter trotted happily behind Melati into the house and I let out a sigh of uneasiness. My chest was heavy with uncertainty. I had no idea why but I felt extremely restless about this work trip.
"This is a bad idea, isn't it?" I whispered to no one in particular.
But I could not stand up. Something heavy on my lap was holding me down in place. As I looked downwards, I saw Murni looking up at me with an unreadable expression in its eyes. It was strange. The weight was similar to a boulder's but it was impossible. Its hefty weight did not correspond to the cat's current size.
Or was I still exhausted from yesterday?
* * * ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ * * *
I looked backwards at the bedroom door to make sure that I was not seen as I removed the bracelet that I had purchased for Kamsaton from my pocket. It would be a bad idea to leave it in the house. I did not want to risk it being seen by Melati. So, I hid it carefully in the concealed compartment of my travel briefcase. As I rushed to pack the last of my essentials and got ready to close my briefcase, a feminine hand appeared out of nowhere and placed an additional item inside.
"You forgot this."
It was a prayer mat.
"I'm sorry. It was a last-minute decision. I meant to tell you earlier," I knew I could not avoid her eyes any longer. It was clear that she was hurt deeply by my actions or lack thereof.
"Saleha told me. It would have been nice if I heard it from you, yourself. You could have told me. I would have understood."
"I didn't know how to break the news to you. I know I promised to stay with you today."
"It's okay..."
"Hey now, don't cry," I gingerly placed both my thumbs under each of her eyes just in time to rub the tears away.
"I'm just scared. What if I go into labour when you're gone?"
"Do you feel any contractions?"
Melati shook her head, "Not even the fake ones. What is it called again? Bracket Hicks?"
"Braxton Hicks."
She nodded. "I don't think it's anytime soon."
"I'll be back as soon as I'm done." Lifting her chin slightly upwards, I gazed down at her lovingly, "I know something that will cheer you up. Close your eyes..."
As quietly as I could, I took out the red jewellery box from my pocket and removed the gold necklace from its casing. The two interlocking gold hearts made a soft tinkle as I dangled it above Melati's chest. Gently moving my wife's shiny black hair to one side, I fixed the necklace around her neck while I kissed both her closed eyelids, both her cheeks, her forehead and lastly her soft lips. I was slightly disappointed when the kiss turned more into a peck as she pulled herself away from me hastily to examine the item around her neck.
"What's this?"
"Happy anniversary," I smiled sheepishly. "The interlocking hearts represent your heart and mine. So that we'll always be together and never apart," I explained awkwardly. I was never a romantic sort of person.
At that moment, she laughed but soon, she was in tears and then she was smiling again. Before I knew it, she hugged me as tightly as she could. I had never seen her so happy in such a long time. I wished we could stay in that position forever but as I looked at the time on my watch, my eyes almost bolted out of their sockets. I was running late.
"I'm sorry, I have to go."
"So soon?"
"I need to leave in exactly five minutes or else the train will leave without me."
"I'll pack your lunch for you."
"Thank you." I gave her a quick kiss on her hand and scrambled with my briefcase in one hand to say goodbye to Saleha who was busy coaxing Murni to eat the scraps of grilled fish but the white feline had its unblinking blue eyes on me the entire time. It was simply unnerving.
In less than a minute, Melati passed me a warm and aromatic packet of food that was intricately wrapped in brown food wrapping paper. "Here you go, Sayang (Dear). Travel safe."
"Thank you. In shaa Allah. (God-willing.)"
"Saleha, why is there scraps of grilled fish on the floor?" Melati chided.
Saleha looked up at Melati guiltily, "I'm trying to feed Murni but he's not eating. Maybe he doesn't like fish."
"Murni? Who's Murni?"
Before I could point out the white cat, Mak Joyah appeared at the door, "Assalammualaikum. (Peace be upon you.)"
The rest of us replied, "Waalaikumsalam. (Peace be upon you too.)"
* * * ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ ˚ ◊ * * *
There was a slight delay with the train at the Tanjong Pagar Train Terminal, so I spent the extra time on the public telephone waiting for the telephone operator to connect my call to the hotel reception at Majestic Hotel in Malacca. After a while, a young man's voice sounded in a background full of static, "Selamat petang. Majestic Hotel. Boleh saya bantu? (Good afternoon. Majestic Hotel. How may I help you?)"
"Boleh saya tumpang tanya? Adakah tetamu yang bernama Intan dan Jalil sedang mendiami di Majestic Hotel sekarang? Saya adalah salah seorang ahli keluarga mereka dan saya perlu memberitahu mereka sesuatu yang penting. (May I inquire? Are there any guests by the name Intan and Jalil currently staying in Majestic hotel? I'm one of the family members and I need to tell them something important.)"
"Sila tunggu sebentar. (Please hold on.)"
"Attention, passengers to Kuala Lumpur. This is your train conductor speaking. Thank you for your patience. The train will be leaving in five minutes."
Oh no.
I tapped the side of the telephone impatiently as I was placed on hold. I eyed my watch anxiously as the time ticked away. Three minutes later, the man's muffled voice on the other line was heard, "Maaf, mereka tiada di bilik. Kemungkinan, mereka sedang bersiar-siar di luar. Mahu tinggalkan pesanan untuk mereka? (Sorry, they're not in their room. Possibly, they're sight-seeing. Would you like to leave a message?)"
I debated with myself internally. It was selfish of me to call my sister-in-law during her holiday with her husband. How could I possibly ask them to cut their holiday short just to accompany my wife at home?
"All aboard!"
I said hurriedly, "Tidak mengapa. Saya akan cuba hubungi lagi. Terima kasih. (It's okay. I will try calling again later. Thank you.)"
After slamming the receiver down in haste, I sprinted towards the train only to crash into another person. The impact of the crash made me drop the wrapped food onto the ground, splattering the contents of the food in the process - a mixture of rice, ayam lemak masak cili padi (chicken simmered in spicy coconut cream and birds' eyes chillies), sotong masak hitam (squid in black ink), fried tempeh (fermented soybeans), sambal terong (sauteed eggplant in chilli paste) and begedil daging (fried minced meat potato balls dipped in egg). My stomach growled in agony at the sight of the spilt food but it was already a lost cause. I extended my apology to the man in a hurry and I quickly dashed towards the moving train, clinging my briefcase close to my chest.
"Wait! Wait for me! Hey!" I shouted weakly, almost out of breath, as I waved my train ticket desperately in my free hand. But the train waited for no one. I was thankful that my frantic waving had caught someone's eye in the last carriage. He and another man made haste to the end of the carriage. They held out their hands and urged me to throw my briefcase first. Under any normal circumstances, I would not hand over my briefcase to complete strangers but I was too desperate to even care and I knew that logically, it would be easier for me to jump for the train with less weight on me.
I needed to get on that train!
As soon as my briefcase was safely caught by one of them, the other man shouted for me to jump for the railings. I took a deep breath, bit my ticket in between my lips, gave it my all and grunted out a deep battle cry as I took that leap of faith. Muffled laughter of relief seeped from my lips as both my hands caught the rigid cold metal and passengers in the last carriage erupted in cheers. Both men pulled me up as I climbed on board and I heard one of the onlookers shouted for the ticket conductor.
I thanked the men that helped me on the train and both of them patted me on my back. I smiled at them as I struggled to pick up my briefcase. I was still out of breath. The ticket conductor appeared soon after and I received quite the stern warning but he was nice enough to usher me to my seat. But just as we entered my carriage, I took a few steps back and stopped following the ticket conductor. Someone else was in my seat. Instead of feeling enraged, I was suddenly feeling embarrassed. Did I get on the right train?
The ticket conductor, upon realising that I had stopped following him, walked back towards me. "What's the matter?"
"There must be a mistake. There's someone in my seat." I craned my neck to have a better look but it was hard to see anything as the seat was too far away and it was facing the front.
The ticket conductor shook his head, "Nope. I work on this train long enough. She's seated in the correct seat. Your seat is the one facing hers. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other tickets to attend to."
Another passenger in the opposite seat? Does this mean I have to be polite and make small talk for ten hours?
I groaned. I hated small talk.
As I approached our seats, I was surprised to find them empty except for a Malay romance novel in the seat opposite mine. Excellent; she was reading. That would mean she did not fancy small talk either. Maybe she made a quick run to the washroom or the canteen when I was busy talking to the ticket conductor.
I took the opportunity to place my travel briefcase in the overhead luggage compartment in her absence. As I observed the train carriage, I realised that it was a sleeper train meant for overnight train rides. There were no tables in between the seats. There were only double bunker beds with accompanying privacy curtains on the other side of the train.
Before I could finalise on my decision to spend the entire train ride sleeping on one of the overnight beds, the sounds from my growling stomach prompted me to find food, so I headed straight towards the train's canteen in the connecting carriage in front of me. There were not many choices of light snacks available so I purchased an egg sandwich and a packet of kachang puteh - an assortment of customised nuts and crunchy nibbles such as cashew nuts, chickpeas, broad beans, sugar-coated peanuts, pillow prawn crackers, green peas and mixed murukku wrapped in a white paper cone.
Not entirely happy with my purchase and especially so after the food spillage earlier today, I stared listlessly at my feet and walked back towards my seat dejectedly. As I lifted my chin, the mixed nuts from my packet of kachang puteh fell to my feet in rapid succession because I was too busy looking at the sight in front of me.
There she was, engrossed in reading the romance novel in front of her. The index finger of her right hand lightly caressing the space above her décolletage that was peeking subtly from her saucy red top. Her eyes looked dreamily outside to take a deep breath of their own before they floated back to the novel, devouring the lines hungrily. Her right hand travelled upwards towards her moist red lips. At every blink of her eyes, she bit down harder and harder on her index finger. Her eyes finally met mine and I could no longer hold my breath anymore.
It was Kamsaton.
__________________________________
CREDITS:
Background Music: Myuu - Unspoken
Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/PvIvXw6gSYA
Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiSKnkKCKAQVxMUWpZQobuQ