Chapter 6 A lovely Old Dame

Going away from that plantation in Ulu Sapetang,Taiping was in deed a blessing in disguised,at least he will be away from that lovely girl whom he was reported to have jilted.Was she jilted? Was admitting the truth and leaving her in order not to hurt her further meant jilting her?

Oh Blessed Lord,please give him an answer.Did not had the courage to face her, face to face,made him quite a coward.He could not faced her and tell her gently that he could not love her because he still am madly love with another? That heinous cruel thing he had no guts to do.He knew his own weaknesses and to face her would only end up with him holding to her and kissing her---that only prolong the story.Then breaking up will even be more difficult.

So to leave her abruptly was the best way out,and now with him transferred away,things would work out just fine for both.The hurt on her would not be great and the wounds incurred could wear off easily.But she left her marked with Alex,her loving first kisses with Alex long to be remembered with fondness.The sweetness of that kiss still lingers behind for many,many years to come.

Now that transfer to Selama was in February 1962,Alex was sent there by the Boss.Arriving at that plantation he was introduced to the other staffs and was given a room at semi-detached bungalow.Any way it was a front room that he occupied.

Later that evening he arranged for transport to town to purchase some essential goods.It was an illegal taxi he went in to town but that was the only means of transportation on that plantation.That was really an old junk may break down along that stretch of road but he had no choice.

The town had only one main road and by the side of the town was a huge swamp with a drain running through it.Alex saw someone fishing there.Apparently that man caught a big "huruan" or snake head and was struggling with it.He had some food and brought some necessities before returning to the plantation by the same transport which had waited for him.

He also saw a group drinkers drinking hard liquor at a restaurant,and learned that they were ex -bandits or communists who had surrendered and living there as restricted residences.They in deed were enjoying lives there for they had plenty of money to drink and it seem almost every day they were drunk.After their surrender they were given a small living allowance but how could they effort to be drunk everyday?That question pondered in Alex mind.

Back at the plantation Alex had to work very hard as there was a replanting field there and he had to be in that field supervising the planting of budded stumps under the blazing sun.He also had to go into the tapping fields later.The rubber tappers there begin tapping the old rubber very early in the morning.Being new Alex volunteered to go and see how they performed their tapping so early in the morning.

So early next morning at about 2.00 a.m. he went with the "Kapala" into the old tapping areas.There he saw the tappers tapping the old trees with the aid of a tiny kerosene lamp attached to their fore heads.Many of the tappers were Chinese females.All of them were astonished as to why a staff had taken the trouble to supervise them that early.

The one in charged told Alex that was not necessary but Alex being new insisted that he just wanted to experience that,that was all.At times it could be quite frustrating when you try to do some thing some one else tell you off.Well he just wanted to experience first hand what it was to wake up so early to tap rubber.Nothing wrong or sinister about that.

In frustration he met a lovely divorcee and soon tempted to get entangled with her.It was lovely encounter worth remembering.With this experienced he now knew why a young man age about twenty in Taiwan could fall in love and married a woman more than twice his age.He can also viewed into that story of "Lady Chatterley's lover in dept.Here Lady Chatterley was undoubtedly an older woman while the lover was a young man.

Even Madonna(50) had pursued a young more than half her age as lover so did actresses like Demi Moore and Haile Berry.There is a longer list of them, anyway to substantiate my point that is sufficient for the time being.These women were termed as cougar a slang used in American pop culture to describe an older woman who sexually pursues younger men at least eight years her junior.

So Alex was lured into having an affair with an older woman as lover in that plantation.Whatever it was still he could not forget one name while indulging in love making with that woman.That was his first love at first sight.Even as he was making love to another woman.It was worth remembering because that woman was not only beautiful and absolutely sexy.Very voluptuous body and definitely can seduced any other man not only Alex.

However that affair only lasted three months or so before he was taken away by the Boss to be transferred to another plantation in Bentong,Pahang.But prior to this he when in to town where he introduced to a young slim,tall,and beautiful teacher,her name was Susan,and what a nice name.She was actually half Chinese and half Indian.
A black beauty in fact.

He had dated her once from that day and he took her to Taiping where they went for a film show and returned quite late that very evening.At the end of that date he stole a goodnight kiss from her it sure was sweet even though she did not response aggressively to his advances.She allowed herself to be kissed gracefully as he bide her "good night",promising to call her the following day.So they agreed to meet again for another date.That night he arrived at the plantation very late by the private taxi he had earlier arranged.

His other older lover was at hand to open the doors for him.Yes she had waited for him to come home from town.As he entered the house she gave Alex a very possessive hug and warm kisses.They retired to bed thereafter.

Now as his call to transfer came so rapid and so abruptly he could hardly had the time to inform Susan of his untimely departure and to say "good bye".It was after he had settled down in Bentong that he gave her a call but she was not available at that school,so he left a message for her,promising to call her again.He tried again only to be inform that she had just left that vicinity.Failing to locate her time and again,that relationship thus eluded him with no further followup.

What a sad ending for she could be the one to charm him into forgetting the first love but fate was always cruel.For one she was equally charming and wore a sweet and memorable smile which could easily charmed Alex into wild dreams.The distance now between this new girl were so far apart,evidently faded away from his plans.

His immediate departure from that plantation also saddened his older frame as it was sudden she shed some tears and not wanting to let go,but he had to leave.It was another sad goodbye.Nevertheless he requested her to follow him but she refused as she had other problems to attend to.After his transferred he did called her to join him but she did not bothered even to reply him,thus concluded that relationship.It was marvelous while it lasted and what an encounter?.It lasted only three beautiful and enjoyable months.

That affair will long be embedded in his mind.These experiences can never elude his mind.Never again can re-phased those relationship.An experienced worth living for.With his untimely transfer he too did not inform his friends from the neighbouring plantations.However those people were to easy to contact at a later time and their friendships remained in tagged.

From Taiping he traveled back to Teluk Anson to inform his family of his transferred to Bentong.By now the family had moved on to a rented wooden on the 2nd.Mile of Changkat Jong Road. That house was exactly opposite of the house of his first love.Though she just lived across the road they never did met again on this trip for he had to leave that next morning to Bentong.

Maybe she did see him but he never saw her,not that he did not want to see her because he dared not faced her as he had not made any headway in his career.He as usual was determined to become a success in life than only will he met and propose to her.This in reality was fat hope,never the truth.In fairy tales and in dreams maybe can but never in real life.

She as a beautiful and charming young girl definitely had a long line of admirers and with so many to choose from where will Alex be,perhaps at the end of the line.Nevertheless he never gave up his hope and continue believing that when there is will there will be a way,how ridiculous?