Mei Lin wiped her face with the sleeve of her blouse. The children sitting under the shade of the tree came near her. She picked up the pot of water near the basket and gulped down some water quickly. She then spread the cloth in the basket on her lap and laying the baby on it, breastfed her. Passing the water pot to Yiu Yi’s mother she said, ‘Drink some water, aiee. Or else you will feel unwell.’ Without a word, Yiu Yi’s mother drank from the pot and put it away.

Mei Lin then took out a container from her cloth bag in which was a bit of cooked rice, mixed with salt and a few drops of oil. The oil that she got for a week’s cooking was hardly enough to see her through. She added a few drops to her boiled food to give it some flavour. Unlike the others, she ate a little rice in the middle of the day, otherwise she felt weak and dizzy. She made a few small balls of rice and gave one to each child. She then offered one to Yiu Yi’s mother. She didn’t respond. Mei Lin began to eat fast. She didn’t have much time to rest with her baby.

The baby was happily suckling and kicking her legs. She looked like the perfect blend of Pulok and Mei Lin.

‘O Maa –’

A fearful cry spread across the field.

Mei Fung was crying loudly and trembling. She was staring fearfully at a skull, along with some bones under a shrub. The workers had found the ruins of old graves in this wasteland.

Liang, who was working nearby, came running.

‘I won’t work here. I’ll die if I work here. Take me back. Take me back to Makum!’ Mei Fung wailed. Yunlin took her to a corner, while Ahlin brought water. Mei Fung was still crying. Gravely watching her for a while, Liang left.

The girl was slowly finding a niche in Liang’s heart. He felt like bringing all the happiness in the world to her, to make her forget all her miseries and redeem her of all her wretched loneliness.

But he had not revealed his mind to her yet.

This time he had to tell her. He would tell her today. Mei Fung was wilting. She had lost her urge to live. If she remained this way, something untoward might happen.

Liang got busy with his work.

The sun was about to set when the whistle blew announcing the end of the day’s work.

The muddied and exhausted group of workers started coming out of the fields. With her bag slung on her back, Mei Lin picked up her baby, while Ahlin carried the basket.

‘Let me hold her,’ Akong offered. Smiling gratefully, Mei Lin handed over the baby.