Penlers presents: Short Stories About Children Part 2.
Incredible Imagination
I chuckled as the memories of that day came back to me. That day was so long ago, yet I could still feel the embarrassment coming back to me. I was starting to get red-faced. I could now remember every tiny detail...
I was seven years old then, an age when children were innocent and had incredible imagination. I could remember how I always used to drive my mother crazy. She had often got mad and shrieked angrily in the household. Till today, many of my ex-neighbours thought the shrieking was from some sort of beast my parents had kept in the garden.
There was this particular night when my parents went out to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They had left my two younger brothers and I at home with the nanny. As usual, as soon as my father's car drove off, the nanny laid on the sofa and fell asleep. I had decided that this was enough and that the nanny needed some punishment. I took out my prized black marker my father had given me as a birthday present two years ago and started scribbling on her face.
Suddenly, the lights went off. I shouted in alarm.
'Is this a terrorist attack? Are warplanes bombarding Singapore like in those Channel 5 drama series?' I thought to myself excitedly. A train of thoughts entered my mind. A voice brought me back to reality soon after.
"What's happening?!" the nanny shouted angrily, having been awaken by my shout.
"Terrorists have invaded Singapore! They have cut off the electricity supply and have planned to attack us in the dark!" I screamed back at her, narrating the scenes that were shown on Channel 5's drama series "Price Of Peace".
"T-then, w-what should we do?" she stammered a weak reply.
I thought about "Price Of Peace" and what the good guys in the drama series did. An idea came into my mind. "Get Phuay Hao and Phuay Sheng! We have to barricade the house! When you get them, start to move bulky things out of the house. Now go!"
I started to feel good. It was great to be in charge of things for a change. I was never ever the one to call the shots in my household but now was not the time to act like a boss. We must defend our home. I pulled the comfy sofa in the living room out into the garden. Imagined screams of pain echoed around the neighbourhood. I could even hear the gunshots in the distance with the sound of warplanes in the background. My heart pounded loudly.
"Nanny, quickly! They've almost at our doorsteps!" I shrieked as I ran into the house.
I pulled the shoe rack lying just beside me and dragged it into the garden. Before I knew it, we had a huge pile of various stuff lying in the garden. I ordered Phuay Hao, Phuay Sheng and the nanny to make a barricade out of the pile as I rushed into the kitchen for any weapons we could use.
When I got back, the barricade was already completed. I passed the egg beater, the fork and the knife to Phuay Hao, Phuay Sheng and the nanny. I grabbed the eggs that were left in my hands, ready to launch at any moment.
Suddenly, the street lights came on. We stared in bewilderment at the street lamps.
"The Singapore Armed Forces must have defeated them! Hooray!" I shouted in utter delight. We gave each other high-fives as we jumped about in celebration. At that moment, my parents' car stopped in the driveway. My mother came out of the car and screamed, "Phuay Wei! What have you done?!"
I made a run for it.
'I'm so screwed.' I thought to myself.
