Akannan and Zhi Yu Ong

Akannan:

Being born in the same year as Singapore’s Independence makes my age special every year. My age appears every year when National Day is celebrated. I was even born in the same month, that is August 1965 just a few days before our Independence Day. 

For most of my childhood, I grew up in Bukit Ho Swee Estate where I lived from 1968 to 1986. The primary school I went to was a H-shaped building that was built in 1967 and officially opened in 1970. It was named after the traffic circus at the junction of Havelock road, Alexandra road and Delta road. That was where I had my Primary education from 1972 -1977, Delta Circus Primary School. The building is still there today but the school is defunct. 

The pictures I have drawn in the pages are not related to the story I have written. It is just to express what I have thought at that point when I wrote this book. Nothing is impossible in this world. Write a letter to a remote address on the moon. Imagine your letter reaches the moon while looking at the flat across yours, a  reply from the moon arrives in your postbox…

Zhi Yu Ong:

The moon sent a postcard back. In his postcard, he talked about how he has seen you grow and has been waiting for your letter for a chance to respond. In the postcard, he invited you to visit his garden in your dreams that night. 

True enough, the Moon’s garden appeared the moment you entered your slumber. Two gates towered before you. You showed it the postcard you were holding in your hand and it opened up to welcome you, with a sign pointing “this way”. 

You follow the sign and stand before a rubber tree with a bucket next to it. Instinctively, you start to tap for latex, just like you used to when you were younger. Instead of latex, however, old letters from your teenage years shoot out.  

They pick you up by the sleeves and soon you find yourself experiencing all the scenarios you used to dream about. Most of the ride was exhilarating, with the exception of a few fantasies you quietly thanked yourself for leaving behind. 

Finally, the letters that lifted you up let you back down in front of the rubber tree. That was a wild ride, but your heart was full; despite experiencing all your “what-ifs”, you realized you had written your story just the way you wanted it to be. As you walked out of the Moon’s garden homebound, you passed by the same sign that led you here, which now reads - “To be continued…”