Chapter 19 Shifting Houses Again

Before the final examination Fabian's family shifted again.This time they shifted to a room on the first floor in a wooden house in Pasir Bedamar Road.Only the two brothers were to reside there.Both parents were working elsewhere.

For food they had to eat at their Auntie's house at the Government quarters.Both brothers had bicycles to cycle to school and to their Auntie's residence.Life was hard.
For Fabian he had only two months more to do his final examinations.Residing in that house were of no problems to the brothers.

It was a quiet place and staying in a room upstairs was quite comfortable.Sharing the same floor were a newly married couple with a small baby .The front room was occupied by the owner's beautiful daughter and son.Both almost similar in age with Fabian.

Those were friendly people and easily became Fabian's friend,especially the daughter.She appeared interested ion prolonging her friendship with Fabian,but Fabian had some one in mind so showed no interest whatsoever in her.She made several attempts to be friendly but Fabian turned a cold shoulder towards her.

Fabian continued to mix with his friends and gang.Roaming till very late at night and returning to study at home thereafter.In the early part of the evening he will go round with Hooi and cousin brother John.Like always Fabian learned to sing through Hooi.

Fabian also went round town with his gang but after that gang fight incidense they now acted smarter keeping away from unwanted fights with anyone.Because of the tight relationship among them,other gangs never interfered with them.The man who wanted to start a new gang never bothered them again.

Fabian had no problems at the new place of stay accept that one day he went into the neighbor's house by mistake.The house was of similar designed,also a wooden house.The astonished occupants of that house asked him,"Hey!,who are you?".

"I stay here ",said Fabian."Where?"asked that occupant.
"Up stair,in that corner room"said Fabian."But I have not seen you before",came the reply.Just then Fabian noticed the beautiful girl of the next house beckoning to him that he had entered the wrong house.

Noticing the mistake Fabian apologized to those occupants,fortunate for him that girl came over and acknowledge that Fabian was the new tenant of her house and that entering their house was truly a mistake.Fabian thanked her for the help saying."Luckily you are around otherwise,I will surely to be in trouble".

"You are new here,that why you made that mistake.Lucky for you as I had just returned home after supper",said that girl."Well.next time I would not make that silly mistake again but should it happened again I call out to you,surely you will help me again.Next time round I take you for supper,alright?"asked Fabian.

"Okay,be sure you call me",said the girl.Did he called her?No never Fabian spent his last few days with his friends before leaving for Taiping.

Hooi took him to see Koong who like Fabian was also preparing for his examinations.Koong resided on the other side of Perak river not far from the Chinese Temple by the river side.His house actually was very near to Pasir Bedamar road.Fabian went there to swim as as well as to revised his lessons with Koong.

Koong also an excellent swimmer,that was why they clique up very well.They swam only when the tide was high.Here there were no mangrove trees to dive from,but they had an alternative they all dived from bamboo rafts.The bamboo floating in the river tight to stakes provided very good resting and diving for the swimmers there.

The place also an excellent fishing ground and fishes caught were very big.That was because near by was a pig slaughter house,thus supplying plenty of food for fishes.Another thing was Malays do not fished there because they were taboo against pigs.

Koong was better swimmer than Fabian and had beaten Fabian time and again in any competitions.Apparently he learned how to swim since six or seven years old,therefore well adapted to water.It was him who couched Fabian in other subjects of the examinations.He came from St.Anthony School.

Thus those were the final days Fabian in Teluk Anson as a teenager.

With Fabian gone to work in the plantation Francis was thus alone,but the Auntie in Teluk Anson came to his rescue and gave him lodging thereafter.Therefore the family shifted to be with the Auntie.Only one person so there was so problem in taking him in,for he could share room with the other cousin brothers.

Within the next two years the family again shifted to a rented house along Immigrant Road,because by then their elder sister had returned from U.K. and was teaching in Convent School.By then Francis also got a job as temporary teacher for overage students at Horley Methodist School,teaching only afternoon classes.

With all children working their parents stopped working as the family could now depend on their children.





To continue later