The World of Tai Tai

One day, I asked a colleague if I could read her students' essays. She shook her head and told me that their work was not with her. " It's okay," said I, "I can read their essays the next time they hand in their exercise books." "Are you sure you want to read their work?" asked the woman. "Yes, they are the best students in Secondary Two. I am sure their writing is of good quality." She paused for a while and said, " You're right, they are the cream of the crop. They have an edge over others in writing." "I am sure that is because of your proper guidance." "Of course, I have always shown them good writing techniques." She seemed to be very proud of herself and her students. " I could hardly construct simple sentences when I was fourteen years old." I said humbly. "They sure have read a lot of books." "I am an avid reader myself," declared the fifty-ish lad...

The sun is peeking over the horizon. Its hazy streams of light penetrate through the windows along the cloistered corridor. Tendrils of shadows stretch themselves up the walls until their heads touch the arched ceiling. They form an intriguing archway illusion which gradually diminishes towards a dark, hollow room in the farthest end of the age-worn walkway. From the other end of the corridor, Tsin is inching in the direction of the room. The remnant cold of last night’s heavy rain sends a shiver through her thin, frail body. She instinctively pulls her collar tighter around her sagged neck. The sun rays that pour in can hardly mitigate the chill. She would have made nothing of it had she been in her teens. How fast time has elapsed. No one can stay young and fit forever. She sighs and draws a deep breath. The damp, fetid smell of the peeling walls invades her nostrils, making her wonder when the building was abandoned. Could it be in mid 1940s or late 1950s? She shakes her head in u...