Wan Phing Lim > Quotes

“Afiq looks at the mannequin, her eyes blue and sad, unblinking, with lashes painted on them. No matter how he tilts her she could never sit in a proper L-shape. So he had broken her legs so she could sit on the sofa with him at night, like a real human being.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“No money, no jewellery?'
'Nothing,' she said. Lyssa gripped the bangle tightly in her pocket.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“The residence sat at the top of a winding road that looked out onto the beach at Batu Ferringhi, and sometimes, Lyssa would walk to the lookout and imagine that she was in Hong Kong, looking down from The Peak onto Victoria Harbour. At night, when the porch lights were turned on, the house was a moody yellow. The driveway was always empty, except when Jacob, Lyssa's boyfriend, decided to stay over.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“Jeffrey ran to his car parked outside Mr Roslan's block, not wanting to lose sight of the young man and remembering Faizal's number plate. He found the black Nissan and pursued it from two or three cars away. It had started to drizzle and he almost lost him a few times along the Bukit Timah and Kranji Expressways, but kept a close eye on the back of Faizal's car. For twenty minutes they drove like an invisible convoy, before Faizal turned off the highway into the Lim Chu Kang area.

Keeping his distance, Jeffrey saw Faizal stop his car by the main gate of Pusara Abadi, the Muslim cemetery ground. Jeffrey swerved to the side and waited until he saw Faizal getting out of the car empty-handed and entering the cemetery. Then, getting out of his car he pried open the Nissan's boot with an Allan key that he always carried in his pocket. Inside was a black trash bag and a long machete, well-worn and used, crusted along its edges with a dark stain. It was soil, not blood, as he lifted his finger to taste it.

Jeffrey put the machete back, closed the boot and went closer into the burial grounds, the long weeds brushing the sides of his trousers. Faizal stood in a far corner of the cemetery. Jeffrey stopped, crouched behind a large tombstone and watched. A darker, smaller man appeared next to Faizal. They talked for a few minutes; several crumpled dollar notes were exchanged. Faizal patted the man's back. The man departed. Then Faizal walked back to his car.

Jeffrey continued to watch. Faizal returned with the machete. Taking his time, he hacked away at the overgrown scrub around a blue minaret tombstone. Slow and lethargic like a landscape gardenener, he pulled up the weeds and threw them into a pile at the side. Jeffrey waited until Faizal cleared the vegetation and left the grounds, before inching forward. On the minaret tombstone, he saw the engraved name, 'Rubianah binte Bakar' - she had died eight years ago.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“He and I entered into an unspoken pact, as though a secret handshake had taken place and we would always have each other's back. I started to keep a small shovel in my handbag, and even made friends with the butcher down the road for scrap meat and blood.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“The pungent smell of medicine mixed with camphor wafted into her room. Lyssa went into the bathroom and quickly rolled a towel to cover the gap underneath her bedroom door. Then she climbed into bed and threw the covers over her head.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“She remembered begging her grandmother. I'll practise my piano, she used to say. But Ah Ma would knock her forehead anyway, the green bangle coming down hard on her skull. For the longest time, Lyssa had always thought that jade could break bones.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“In the car, the two figures saw the flash of a light bobbing on the water before them.
At last...

From the dashboard, she could see Sofran's shadow slowly drifting to shore, the hum of the motorboat gradually stopping. Big Jim's body, which had been lying in the boot of their car, would now have a permanent home-either in a factory or a granite quarry somewhere in Batam, crushed among limestone shards together with their fears. Together, those two bad things would disappear into the cement mix that builders bought. Together, they would be sold back to build Singapore's homes, universities and offices.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“The door creaked and she felt the shadow of something large creeping into her room and looming over her, despite the thick material of her blanket cover. The stench of decay was overpowering. She tried to keep as still as a dead body, but her breath was now coming out in short sputters. She thought her heart was going to give way, as though she was holding her breath underwater and her lungs were about to burst.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“I think about that hairdresser girl and how everybody in my family is dying. First, my Pa. Then my Ah Ma, now my Teow Teow. My Pa, he was gone when I was eight. He was a durian seller and he got cancer. My Ah Ma got cancer too, and so did my uncle. Me, I plan to stay alive for as long as I can.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“She wears a long drape skirt and a black top that shows her curves, her long hair dancing as she moves around the room...
I know that her smaller Canon 3000D, paid using her hard-earned money from freelance assignments, will produce great things in her delicate hands.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“The young man had short black hair and dark eyes murky as dirty seawater. The girl next to him was bleach-blonde fair, with false eyelashes and too much make-up. She wore tiny hot pants and chunky strapped heels, and it was not difficult to guess who they were to each other.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“The barrage of flashes starts again-oh the absurdity of it all. The lady with the largest camera flash comes up to my sail nose and blasts a big, bright one. My nigiris must be writhing, my tempuras scorched in an instant, medium-rare wagyus turned well done.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“This hill in Bukit Gambir, people say it's haunted. But it's my favourite place in the whole world. Just down by the slope of the Tua Pek Kong Temple, you can see the sea, and at night, the Penang Bridge looks like an orange snake.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“Parked in the homestay lot, the car faced the black of the sea. A soft glow of light came from the hotel, but a tall stand of trees blocked the lobby from their view...

The moon was out and I could see the grey of its craters. It shone on the light blue sedan, an odd colour for a beautiful car like that. His deep, dark eyes from the seafood stall flashed into my mind-sad, lonely and frantic. From the window of the car there was a small amber glow from what looked like a lit cigarette.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“She had hidden the jade bracelet inside her pillow cover when showering, and now she took it out and wore it around her left wrist. She rubbed the surface of the green band and saw that it was smooth like glass.

Lyssa held the bangle to her cheek and let the cool surface caress her skin. Then, she let the band rest in between her lips.

She shut her eyes and tried to think of Hong Kong and the twinkling lights of the skyscrapers, like stars in the night, but her mind went back to what had happened earlier in the room downstairs.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“I'm so tired of them washing me, or not washing me properly. The grains of rice tend to get stuck between my wooden planks. But when Chef Jiro Sakamoto does it, it's always different. He gives me proper care and attention, pays heed to the details of my grooves and curves. Maybe I remind him of a loved one in Fukuoka, a woman he used to caress. The restaurant, our restaurant, is getting quieter now that we're well into our years, floundering in an ocean of its own.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“It was almost midnight. I thought about how in seven long hours I would finish my shift and the night would be over...
They did not hold hands, but as the lift door closed I saw him looking at me as he reached out to touch her waist.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“The sun had set on Day Five and the blue of dusk was over the horizon of the multi-storey flats. The ashes of Jeffrey's cigarette had gone cold underneath his shoe, as he continued to camp out on Marsiling Hill. This time, he found a park bench by the corner, which did not provide as good a view but still enabled him to look straight into the flat. Suddenly, a figure stirred from the living room window and Jeffrey quickly picked up his binoculars.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“The mistress lights two joss sticks, places them between her palms and brings them to her forehead. Her mouth moves quickly like a woman in trance.
'What did she say?' I ask Da Ge when she leaves.
'She asked about her future.'
'What did Pek Kong say?'
'Nothing. He can't see anything.'
'What else?'
'She asked for numbers.'
'What were the numbers?'
'I don't remember.'
I light my third cigarette. Da Ge sweeps his hair back behind his glasses and walks back to the medium's table.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“From her vantage point she could see the door of Ah Ma's room. Lyssa remembered that she had shut the door, but right now it was wide open. What had happened? Surely, Ah Ma could not have gotten up to open it herself. Strangely, she felt an odd feeling of hope. Lyssa decided to make her way down the stairs, one step at a time.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“It was the cats in the Roslan household that Jeffrey couldn't stand - four of them, climbing all over the furniture and watching him with suspicion as he scanned the room for evidence.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“For the past half hour, Corporal Jeffrey Kong had been staring into Roslan Ibrahim's apartment unit, with no shadow or movement coming from the open windows. The sun was to his back as he stood on Marsiling Rise, a hillock which looked straight into the fifth floor unit of the old man's flat. Jeffrey took a last whiff of his cigarette and squashed it with his black shoe.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“For now, it may be smarter to tell the woman I love that I don't have any money. Then, she'll never like me for my money. She'll always like me for who I am, and I am Billy Sozai.
I look into the side mirror of my EX5. Da Ge looks ahead onto the road home. My fringe is sticking out and it's gone from blond to grey. It's time to see the hairdresser girl again.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“Weeks later, I was on my menses and brought used sanitary pads to the tree. Alfi crinkled his nose as I buried the blood-stained cotton in the ground.
...
My eyes were fixed on the soil as I patted it down. To our surprise, days later small shoots started to appear. Alfi was in disbelief as we examined every branch closely.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“How does a man afford both a mistress and a million-dollar plot of land? And on top of that, the seven-bedroom bungalow. The saying is that money doesn't grow on trees, but maybe it does for some. The soil and the grass could really be greener on their side, but I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“But he scoops two bowls of rice instead of one. My my, our man is hungry tonight!”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“I didn't want to speak to him, because this woman is not my Yi Yi. I wouldn't know what to say, because I didn't want him to know that I knew who this woman was. He seemed to have read my mind, because he sat in the car and didn't come down.
Her fortune had been changing then, but the medium didn't tell her anything. Maybe the medium really doesn't see anything, not even tonight. In a few months' time her cash cow, the man waiting outside by his car, would be dead but she wouldn't have known then.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“When he awoke the next morning, he was greeted by a pair of creamy white legs as he sat up. Ling, in her panties, was reading from a book placed on her thighs, her legs high on the desk.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories

“Alfi ignored me. Out came a hand shovel from his knapsack, and he crouched on his knees digging at the roots. I held onto his cooler bag and watched him pour the chicken blood to the ground, circling the tree and spreading the liquid all over. He handed the shovel to me and patted the soil with his hands.
'There, there,' he said.”
― Wan Phing Lim, Two Figures in a Car and Other Stories