As it turned out, a reporter from The Straits Times did eventually contact Jessica to request an interview. They were going to run an article about an incident that happened one year ago. There had been an unprecedented train breakdown that left 750,000 commuters stranded during rush hour. Amidst the pandemonium, an expatriate by the name of Anton Cassidy had been caught on video verbally abusing a hearing-impaired technician. The video clip also caught the silhouette of a young lady who courageously defended the victim from the bully. The identity of the young lady had remained a mystery until two days ago, when the technician stepped forward and claimed that he now knew who his saviour was; it was Jessica Tan Jia Lin, the J Bruise girl.

Jessica caught her breath. What did Adhha want? Why had he chosen to reveal her identity now, when he had been so adamant about keeping it a secret then? Jessica informed the reporter that she would hold back on the interview request until she had read the piece on Adhha.

The Life & Leisure section devoted an entire page to Adhha’s story. It traced his bitter childhood growing up poor and hearing-impaired until he became inspired by Singapore’s football legend Fandi Ahmad. If Fandi Ahmad could rise from humble beginnings to become the first Singaporean millionaire sportsperson, so could he. Adhha knew he had a talent for track and field even at a young age. He did not back down when his school principal discouraged him from competitive training on account of his hearing impairment. He persisted and proved the principal wrong by winning two gold medals at his very first sports meet.

After Adhha graduated from the Institute of Technical Education and found employment with SMRT as a technician, he continued to train for regional sports meets in his spare time. A considerable portion of his meagre income was spent on nutrition and supplements necessary for his training, for it was almost impossible to get sponsorship as a private athlete. Adhha confessed that there were days he felt bitter and frustrated about the lack of support for handicapped athletes like himself. But he soldiered on, determined to chart his own course.

On the day when the train system broke down, a group of commuters were trapped in a carriage whose doors would not open on account of a technical glitch. Adhha empathised with the frustration of the commuters and was prepared to endure a tongue-lashing from them. One expatriate was particularly brutal in his tirade. At one point, a young lady from the platform crowd, who must have stayed behind to help, decided to stand up to the bully. She boldly denounced the expatriate’s behaviour and demanded that the man apologise to Adhha. In the tussle that ensued, she was pushed down onto the ground and suffered a sprained ankle. Although Adhha brought her to the clinic for treatment, he had been careless and forgot to get her name or contact information.