Telltale Glimmer

As the summer sky turned into a melancholy purple, street lights flickered and came on creating a dull glow. Vendors thronged to set up their food stalls on a narrow street, in a shabby downtown district in the heart of the city, instantly transforming it into a melting pot of hungry customers and sellers.  Then, as the night sky set in, the sultry smoky air wafted barbecued pork and chicken giblets that melded with the pungent smell of dried fish nearby.

Lucy strode across the street towards a nondescript building on the corner, unperturbed.   She got to the doorway and stood there catching her breath, then ascended the tight stairway of the dismal premises.  As she reached the third floor, she coughed profusely at the stifling odour of mouldy wood that welcomed her, then dragged her five-foot frame along the creaky corridor. Lucy glanced briefly at Apt. 310.  Then through the faint but steady glow of an incandescent bulb, noticed a piece of paper taped to the rusty door sign, snatched and read it.

Lucy,

Your unpaid rent for April is due.  To avoid any inconvenience, please pay immediately.

Aling Cora

“Oh no!” Lucy whispered, “The rent…” and frowned.  Then she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and coughed.  

“Alas, I’m short of funds right now and in between jobs!” she muttered, her face flushed. Meanwhile, as she was unlocking the door of her apartment, someone called out in haste.

“Lucy!”

Lucy glimpsed Aling Cora limping towards her and flailing her shrivelled arms.  The frumpy old landlady in a shapeless housedress was waving her abaniko and staring at her from head to foot.  

She said in between breaths, “I— need your payment— this month!  It’s long overdue, you know.”

Lucy stifled a cough.  She cleared her throat and said, “...next week Aling Cora, don’t worry… I promise.”  

Aling Cora grimaced at Lucy while fanning herself with her abaniko.  Without a word, she stomped off mumbling to herself.   

... ‘Don’t think I deserve this—it’s pointless working so hard but finding yourself in dire straits,’  Lucy thought as she quickly turned to the door and shouldered it. Then she heaved the door open and slammed it shut behind her.

‘Strange how this place I call home feels so unfamiliar… I never thought it would all boil down to this,’  Lucy said as she stepped inside her uninspiring apartment.  She stood there and scanned her pitiful surroundings, from the bare cupboard to the window with a wire screen laden with dust that had thickened through time. She ran her hand through her hair and stared at the cracks on the tiled countertop on which lay a sachet of three-in-one coffee and two packs of crackers.  At that moment, as if a heavy mist of gloom hovered. Lucy yearned for the old times hoping to find some solace. Misty-eyed, she walked to the window and gazed out at the faint glimmer before her. Then with a sob of despair, sank into the clutches of a shabby couch with a sagging middle. Oblivious to the street cries outside Lucy stared at the cracks between the floorboards.  Flashes of memories swirling in her mind flooded through her. Moments later, she closed her eyes.

#

Born to a farmer and a dressmaker, Lucy had lived a modest life in a small provincial town.  Diligence and hard work, she learned from Father, while Mama was kind and understanding. With material comforts and wealth wanting, she enjoyed the simple pleasures of summertime frolics, the aroma of fresh morning coffee and bright sunny days.  

One particular summer day though, it was dismal and cloudy.  But it didn't bother Lucy.

After all, Lucy thought, What’s a little cloud? Little did she know that change was coming and nothing could have ever prepared her for it.

“I’m afraid,” Mama said, “we’ll have to manage by ourselves starting today.” Lucy was silent.  “Our situation won’t be easy… it isn’t going to get any easier. ‘Need help with your sisters, Lucy,” Mama said with a quiver in her voice.  “They’re still very young.”

From that time on, summer was never the same again, for they had fallen on hard times. There were no more leisurely frolics nor bright and sunny days, for Lucy had suddenly become an adult.

“Mama,” Lucy said, “no matter how it seems right now, we will survive, won’t we?”  

“Listen, Lucy,” Mama said gently, “ Misfortunes may come, but trust that in moments… miracles happen.”

A year had passed since that fateful summer day.  And in the year that followed, Lucy’s mama had fallen sick. It was as if Lucy had lost hope, until one day, luck came knocking on her door.

Mr. Lucky Donting was his name.  He was an austere man who wore a shabby shirt.  He owned D’ Lucky Pawn Shop which had two branches in the city.  Anyone who knew him thought he was a bad-tempered person with a nasty habit.

Her difficult circumstances had Lucy jump at the first opportunity to make a better life, although it entailed being away from her hometown and carving a life in the city.  Fresh out of college at twenty-one Lucy ventured out to a world unknown to her. While Lucy was enthusiastic at the idea of being able to fend for herself, it also made her anxious, knowing it’s a jungle out there.

Lucy had struggled uncomplainingly with Mr. Donting’s strange and unconventional work habits.  And she burdened having to do his bidding, more often than not. Coffee and crackers became staples for lunch, in fact, even the soles of her flat shoes bore the weight of her worries.  It was bad enough that he didn’t pay her right. But to endure his foul smelling cigar breath, was insufferable.  

#

Lucy woke with a stiff neck shortly after midnight and realised she had fallen asleep through the commotion.  Recalling her last meeting with Mr. Donting, she rose from the couch, walked a few paces to the window and gazed absently at the glimmering moonlight through the dust-filled screen. The bustle was over. The street, deserted with piles of litter strewn all around.  Then all of a sudden, a light breeze caressed her cheek and wafted the fragrant aroma of coffee. It was as though her troubles had lifted.  

For now, it was enough.