The Five Daughters
“Remember…the two most important things in a woman’s life are a good husband and lots of money. Only then will you be happy…”. These were the last words of Old Madam Neo still continue to resonate in the room in which she passed away many, many years later.
The five daughters were all present at their mother’s deathbed way back in 1970. The eldest daughter, May Fern was twenty years of age when the heavy responsibility of looking after her four younger sisters fell on her shoulders, following the bereavement of their mother. She had to put up a brave front before her sisters May Leng, May Hong, May Tin and May May in descending order. Cry she could not afford to. She had to fight back her tears even when May May, the youngest who was only nine then tugged sorrowfully at the skirt.
But the dying words of Old Madam Neo did play a very big role in shaping the lives and personalities of the five daughters as they grew up and attained adulthood.
Money is and has always been the first love of the first daughter. In comparison, the second daughter loves gossip and the third daughter stray cats. Men and beauty are the only loves of the two youngest daughters respectively.
May Tin, the fourth daughter often allows her head to follow where her heart goes. She remembers her mother’s dying words very clearly and preaches them in her everyday life to the extent that it becomes her only principle. Every week, she is with a new boyfriend. As May Leng puts it very simply, she changes her boyfriend as quickly as she changes her clothes. May Tin works in the entertainment line and returns home in the wee hours of the morning.
Rumours are rife that she is a professional dance hostess and that is why she is able to dump her guy so quickly and be in the arms of another so easily. Being so much in ‘love’, she tells May Leng, who is known as the unofficial neighbourhood network reporter of her most recent amorous triumphs which surprisingly, managed to last for two weeks.
He was a Caucasian named Jack. It all started when she bumped into him at Orchard Road on a rainy night. She was thoroughly drenched and was shivering in the cold. He was as if Godsend, offering to share with her the use of his umbrella. She obliged, her wet bra only accentuating the fullness of her breasts and this imbued in her a sudden feeling of excitement she had never felt before. She was the proverbial damsel in distress and he was there to deliver her from Hell’s flames. They ended up making love in his apartment, with the rain still beating furiously at the window plane.
“Leng, tell you a secret. When I snuggled close to him, I could feel the strength of his rippling biceps and ooh, his tight bottom…But what really turned me on was the size of his penis. Good heavens, it was so big. And the way he shook it…He was so potent, so strong when he entered me…” After this two-week fling, May Tin only befriends Caucasians whom she strongly believes are more capable of performing sexually than the locals. She is still on the lookout for that Caucasian who will marry her eventually and love her always. Always.
And May Leng listens with intense interest.
She, unlike all her other sisters, loves gossip. She strongly believes that only with the glib of her tongue and her ability to source out ‘reliable news’ will she be able to nab her future husband. That very evening, the whole neighbourhood knew of a certain Miss K’s sexual experience with a Caucasian. First hand information is always transmitted from May Leng’s reliable sources to her keen listeners, most of whom are homemakers who also enjoy indulging in the latest gossip. “Did you know that the Tan couple living five houses away quarrelled so loudly last night? They even threw some flower pots out of the window.”
“That Sam, I tell you people, is so rich. Yesterday, he bought a new furniture set. Cream colour. Said to be pure leather. And just an hour ago, I saw him driving a new BMW Compact home. Filthy rich. Must have strike 4D. Lucky guy.”
Her love for gossip has only increased over the years. Although she has now aged considerably over the years, her eyes and ears, her two most valuable assets are still very receptive to the latest happenings in the neighbourhood. Very often, she sits on a rattan stool outside the house and informs her audience (her fellow gossipers) of what they have missed out. But what makes her ‘news’ worth listening to is that she will inject some exotic flavour and serve the gossip dish with added ingredients, which is what her listeners want. The attention and fame she has gotten from her gossip spreading fame - she relishes. This is what keeps her going. Gossips and tales, both old and new, no one knew them better than May Leng.
“Come on, babies. Feeding time!” May Hong coaxes the stray cats out of their hiding places. Like the Piped Piper of Hamlin, the stray cats crawl out from under the drains, cars and lorries. The stray cats listen attentively, then rush forward to May Hong and surround her, purring in unison. May Hong will then place the wrapped packet of food that consisted of leftover rice, some fish and meat on the ground tenderly for her ‘babies’ to feast on. And May Hong will look on from a distance, looking visibly happy. After the meal, the cats will then follow May Hong wherever she goes. At times, they will even follow her home. The colours of the cats vary from black, gray, white to the mixed coloured ones. In fact, they form a marching contingent, with their heads looking high into the air and their tails moving in similar rhythm.
Her favourite stray is the black cat, the one with the shiny black coat of fur. As a sign of affection, May Hong will cuddle it in her arms and stroke it gently, showing a degree of maternal instinct she has never experienced before.
Nearing her house, she hears May Leng telling the next-door neighbour of Richard’s impending marriage to a fat, short woman.
“Hong, please get the furry creatures out of the house. You know I’m allergic to their fur,” grumbles the youngest daughter May May, already in her nightgown.
“May, if you afraid, just stay in your room and carry on with your beauty programme. I thought you were supposed to do your facial?” enquires May Fern, the eldest daughter.
“Fern, why do I always have to give in? Fancy you siding with the stupid cats,” chides May May sulkingly.
“May, didn’t the government or was it the SPCA that told us to care for our pets?” questions May Hong.
“But Hong, this black feline is not even your pet, it’s just a stray. And look at the entourage you bring along. You don’t even know if they are clean, you know what I mean – any diseases, sterilized…”retorts May May.
“I intend to keep this black feline with me anyway. I’m naming her Goddess. She’s my very life. I’ll chase the rest away for your sake, dear sister,” proclaims May Hong.
“Stop squabbling, you two. Let me have some peace so that I can concentrate on monitoring the prices of my shares. Why can’t the two of you understand? Money is the most important in life. Remember what Ma said before she died?” The eldest daughter stamps her authority as head of the family of the unmarried sisters.
May Hong carries Goddess to the garden and plays with her while May May returns to her room to carry on with part two of her self-beautifying routine. She is obviously obsessed with beauty.
May May was fourteen then when she met her first and only boyfriend who dumped her. Her pock-marked face, a result of the remnants left by pimples was complemented by an obviously obese body which was badly out of synch with her small head. Besides, she had bad dress sense, very dark complexion and her hair was not unlike that of a Negro’s. In addition, her penchant for chocolates, snacks and sweets only aggravated her size. But she was so much in love then and she proclaimed that she was the most fortunate person on planet Earth. Well, things turned out differently as envisaged. It was love of a different kind – not mutual love but infatuation on May May’s part. She loved him, but her love was never reciprocated. One fine day, in fact, it was the third day of the supposed boy-girl relationship when he rebuked her publicly. He called her a total disgrace and thereafter dumped her.
May May’s failure at initializing and maintaining a proper relationship woke her up literally and set her thinking. The first thing she did was to take a good look at herself in the mirror. She almost fainted when she saw the horrible state she was in. “I look terrible, grotesque. No wonder he dumped me,” she moaned. “I have to do something quick, real quick. Yes! Beauty is the answer.”
Having made up her mind, May May embarked on an intensive beauty regime which included endless facials, slimming courses, body therapies, make-up lessons, popping vitamin cum mineral pills…
The next day, she waited at the front entrance of Latron, the largest department store in town for more than an hour. When it finally opened for business, she was the first one to rush in and headed for the perfume department. The brand names were all alien to her – ‘Red Door’ by Elizabeth Arden, ‘White Linen’ by Estee Lauder, ‘Chanel No. 5’ by Chanel, ‘Tresor’ by Lancome, ‘Fleur de Fleur’ by Nina Ricci, ‘Miss Dior’ by Christian Dior… The air was filled with the different perfume scents which delighted her so. She tried one perfume after another and bought four brands without any hesitation. Next, she moved to the cosmetics department and purchased the necessities like lipstick, eye shadow, foundation, face powder, blush, cleanser, toner and moisturizer. The clothes department awaited her next. Not forgetting the shoes and nightgowns.
Contented with all her purchases which added up to seven shopping bags, May May walked out, feeling very much a happier person.
May May is now a completely changed person. Her complexion is almost porcelain smooth and silky white. She never fails to leave home without her umbrella, shades and a good rub of the sun-block lotion. Her hair is long, black, lustrous and her skin glows with radiance. Yet she is not satisfied and sees herself as second best compared to the supermodels who grace the catwalks and the covers of many a fashion magazines.
“Henry, sell my Extron shares for me, all of them, when the price hits $4.80 per lot,” May Fern calls her reminiser over the phone.
Money is everything to May Fern. She goes for anything that makes the most money and recently, has concentrated all her efforts on the stock market. Till date, she has over ten counters of shares and can rattle them off without even thinking. Her principle for buying shares is to try to buy them at the lowest price and sell them once she has made at least a fifty percent profit. “It’s quick and good money,” she tells all her sisters. “If not for the money, I would not even strain my eyes staring at all the figures on the teletex.”
Nonetheless, May Fern has been the chief money-lender to her other younger sisters, especially May May, whose shopping list each month for beauty products reads like an official guest list of stars invited for the Oscars every year. But it is also the money she makes from the shares that keeps her going. She is no doubt a very shrewd woman who has made quite a neat pile from shares. Her back account is supposedly able to support the man she loves, if she finds Mr. Suitable.
“Hello Fern? Tin here. I’m not coming home for dinner tonight. Yah, got date. Bye.” The telephone conversation is short yet to the point.
7.30pm. Dinner time. The four daughters sit around the round table for dinner, their dead mother’s portrait hanging on the wall just opposite the dining table, emitting a sense of overpowering omnipotence which still dominates after so many years.
“So Fern, how much did you make today?” enquires May Hong.
“Two thousand dollars, after I sold my Extron shares,” replies the eldest daughter.
“Waah, so much, enough for me to buy four months worth of beauty products,” chirps May May, obviously delighted.
“That’s all you ever think about. May, if you have no money, how to have beauty? How to go for facials, buy cosmetics?” asks May Fern.
“Knowing how to talk is also important. If you have money and beauty but don’t know how to talk and gossip, you will be cheated, both money and body.” May Leng interjects.
“Compassion is also needed. We need to show care and love for the unfortunate, especially the stray animals. That’s why I adopted my Goddess,” adds May Hong.
“No, all of you are wrong. Beauty is the most important. With my beauty, I can go out there and live off the fatta the rich man. No need for talk or compassion. Remember Xi Shi, the ancient Chinese beauty who caused the rival king to neglect his state affairs when she was presented to him? I am the Singapore Xi Shi, with beauty personified in May May,” the youngest daughter speaks.
“Nah, money…”
“No, compassion for strays…”
“Beauty!”
“Gossip, can hook men, sweet-talk them!”
The four daughters continue to debate which is the most important element in life, each emphasizing on her love – money, gossip, strays, beauty.
“Hello, dear sisters, I’m back!” announces May Tin, as she enters the house.
“Aiyoh, men are the most important in life,” May Tin declares. “I just met my Prince Charming tonight. I’ll tell you people all about him. Michael…such a lovely name. We spent such a romantic night at the East Coast Beach, walking bare-footed, with his arm glued, yes glued to my waist. I’m so happy. I feel complete. He makes me feel so young again. He’s really a hunk, a real gentleman. Yes, Caucasian. I will gladly die for him…”
“Tin, judging from your praises, are you going to marry him or is he just another of your playtoys?” asks May Hong.
“I don’t know, when the time comes, I’ll tell you,” answers May Tin. “Love for men, men do make my life worth living. I live for my man,” exclaims May Tin.
May Tin joins in the discussion with the rest of her four sisters at the round table.
“Money!”
“Gossip!”
“Strays!”
“Men!”
“Beauty!”
The clock strikes eleven. Goddess finds a comfortable rug nearby and curls herself to sleep. Outside, the moon is shining bright.
Author: Lionel L (04 June 1997)
