The Candle burnt out long ago….They were a traditional family. Inter-marriage? A Chinese girl? The family was against the liaison. But he persisted. For him, there was no other girl. She was beautiful, sexually arousing and as far as he was concerned she was his future! Their love was so strong and enduring that nothing could come between them. But he needed his parents’ blessings!
In spite of their strong religious leaning, the family still had certain shamanic beliefs. If they were to bless the liaison and the possible marriage, their son and potential daughter-in-law would have to take a strange tribal test. The potential couple decided to take the acid test. So they went back to their home-town to prove that their liaison was indeed made in heaven.
They met up with the village shaman. After the usual mutterings and mumbo jumbo, the shaman requested that she bathed in a bath-tub of scented flower water. After dinner, she was asked to rest in an attap hut by the beach. A candle was lit in her room. The belief was the candle was to burn until the morning if the would-be marriage is an ordained one. If it was snuffed out or extinguished before the sun rises, it was a bad omen and the liaison should be called off.
Unfortunately the candle burnt out before dawn. The family could not give their blessings. Their son must leave his girlfriend. The pressure was too much for him. He went berserk! He resigned from his job, packed an overnighter and disappeared. She went back to Kuala Lumpur, hung out with some old friends and job-hopped.
The last I heard of them: He came back to Kuala Lumpur; got a new job, is less temperamental and has recently married a girl from the village whom the parents have chosen for him. As for the ex-girlfriend, she drifted from man to man and finally took her life.
Les Miserables! A sad story but it must be told.
Quote of the Day:
“Friends are kisses blown to us by angels.” Unknown
Heartsong
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