impala



I had a sleepover at the children’s home on Friday night. We microwaved three bags of buttered and salted popcorn. Watched two cartoon movies. Laughed at ourselves. Finished countless bags of junk and sucked on a few lollipops. The kids broke their 9pm curfew and slept after 12am.

I had drool on my arm and a girl fast asleep on my lap. And about six mosquito bites.

Before sleeping, a boy told me he prays before he sleeps. So we prayed together, thanking Jesus for the moon, stars and sun and for giving us our friends, families, brothers and sisters and the night. I liked how we didn’t close our eyes when we prayed. I liked how we looked at each other, smiling and yet conscious of what we were mouthing. Avinash is an amazing kid.

Here’s the kid, moments before he woke up:




Before I left, Darrsini gave me her drawing. I kept asking her if she was sure. She said yes, yes and yes. So she taught me a new word that day: Impala. It’s an African antelope.



Later, my literary friend and I went to a reading event at a posh-eastern-mix-western-artsy-fartsy-upper-crust home-turned-gallery-slash-library-slash-architectural-office. I did not shower since the sleepover, but no one could tell. I think. Anyway, she read a play she wrote about the world’s smelliest durian tower. The pigs loved her. As for me, I loved the open-air bathroom concept.

10 Comments:

  1. david said...
    that's a huge lens.
    Rachel Chew said...
    i think my small hands make it look larger than it actually seems.
    Pilgrim said...
    nice pix with the heart-shaped hands.

    hehe. somehow i feel if i was standing where pat was, it would be unnerving so many oink-oinks staring down at me...
    Rachel Chew said...
    thank you :)
    they were going to devour her.
    Anonymous said...
    if they were going to devour me, at least they were cute.

    you took a pic of yourself in the loo.

    sleepover was fun :)
    el'z said...
    Darrsini's pic - looks like some sort of hyroglifics... maybe she's trying to tell u something :p
    Rachel Chew said...
    literary friend: yes, i took a pic of myself in the loo. (this will get me strange google searches)

    let's do another sleepover! i'll bring the cheese. we can have feta on toast and drink hot chocolate.

    reminder: let's put up proper mosquito nettings for the kids.


    chihui: she's telling me that i'm loved. heheh. i think.
    Anonymous said...
    and even weirder people will come a-knocking.

    i'll do anything for feta.
    Anonymous said...
    but what's feta?

    i like oink oinks when they are roasted..... hmmmmmm.... so nice... :P
    Rachel Chew said...
    vincent: feta cheese. very yummy. i love bacon.

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