News had come of her pardon some days ago, and running upstairs twisted in happiness she had laughed in gusts like sobs: ‘I am free, free.’

Today she had come walking gently down the gravel path, and told of her wish to visit her old village at the Dragon Boat Festival. Already she had missed the sweeping of the graves, having been busy in the prison that very day.

Together, neither knowing the day nor the month in our tropical forgetfulness, we turned indoors to look at the calendar.

The Ever Handsome and Joyous Sports Co. Ltd, owning a tumbled shop next to the cemented basketball court of the Hokkien Athletic Association (where at night, in the blue flare of arc lamps, the Chinese school boys and girls played strenuous games applauded by enthusiastic polyglottic crowds), issued thoughtful yearly calendars of modest size (twelve foolscap pages) and encyclopaedic aspiration.

Not only the Chinese lunar, European solar, Moslem and Tamil years, months, and days were recorded in inch squares, one for each day, but also the Penang, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur racing days, complete with microscopic picture of horse and rider for the illiterates’ convenience; the festivals of all five races in four languages, each with a picture; Deepavali, the lights and the roof of a Hindu temple; the fire-walking day, glowing with embers; Chinese New Year; the fasting Malay month of Puasa, when not even one’s own spit is swallowed during the long hot days; and Hari Raya, end of the fast, day of gorgeousness and Malay New Year; Christmas and Easter; the public and private holidays; the opening and closing term days of Malay, Chinese, Tamil, and English schools; the birthdays of the nine Sultans and of their fathers. Besides this compendium of knowledge the calendar was lavish with fruit and female figures; durian, mangosteen, jackfruit, mango, papaya, chiku, coconut accompanied dark-haired Malay, Chinese, and Indian maidens in sarongs, in tops and trousers, in slit and collared dress, in bathing suits. Each page was furthermore decorated with bats, balls, tennis rackets, racing cars, and golf clubs. Each month suggested, diffidently, a different sport; badminton or basket-ball, tennis or water skiing, cricket or ping-pong, boat-racing and football, underwater coral gazing, and of course fishing; gear and tackle for which could be had, cheap and good, at the Ever Handsome and Joyous, which was a Chinese enterprise.

Today was the 20th of May, 3rd of April, 16th of December, and 8th of March. We counted the days to the Festival.

‘Will Golden Orchid come back for the day?’ Whispering an inaudible goodbye Golden Orchid had left two weeks before. I felt the loss of her presence still.

‘I shall invite her,’ said Ah Mei.