The crocodile – or not?
The scene of dream took place back in the HDB flat in Jurong where i used to stay. The amorphous shape of my memories of the place vividly took its form before my eyes. The seemingly never-ending corridor that would take me from my house past the strange yet ever friendly neighbour who liked to sit by the gate and stare out, the lovely and cheery neighbours with the three children whom we are still in touch with today, the major with so many dogs you could borrow one home to play, the weird family who kept to themselves and never opened their windows or doors except to enter and leave their homes…etc…to the lift lobby. And in that second last house in the corridor, farthest from the lift, was where i stood running around the house trying to get myself ready.
It seemed that everyone else was done getting dressed ages ago and here i was still looking for matching pair of socks, combing my hair, doing a second take on the outfit i was wearing, yadda yadda…i always liked dressing up to go out. Going out is always reason to dress up, especially in this country where fashion seems to be a distant relative. Moreover, dressing is about being presentable and about showing other people your respect for them (and obviously respect for yourself. There isn’t much respect for oneself if one dresses to be chided or laughed at)..
Anyway so here i was applying the final touches to myself and seeing myself out of the door so that i could get down to the car where everyone was waiting (no longer patiently) for me. I ran along the corridor but at the first corner, i stopped in my tracks. Amidst the many pots of plants was a pair of cold-blooded eyes staring back at me.
*Gulp* i swallowed my saliva hard. Run! i told myself instinctively, urging my legs to get moving. Knowingly, there was no way i was going to be able to make it pass the green scaly reptile. What in the world was a baby crocodile doing there? i thought to myself as i made a dash for the staircase to my left. 2 floors down with 6 more storeys to clear, i made my way through the corridor to the other staircase near the lift lobby and continued on my journey. Hoping i had thrown the crocodile off my tracks for a while, i hastily pressed the buttons of the lift, urging the lift doors to open quickly; all the while hopping from one foot to another so that i would be ready to break into a run if the croc appeared in my view again.
With a sigh of relief, the lift door finally opened just as i saw the croc appear at the top of the flight of stairs. I leapt into the lift that was mysteriously filled with yelping dogs and pressed the button, willing the lift door to shut in time. The scene within the lift was hilarious and uplifting with heaps of fur all over the place, each crying for attention from this stranger that had entered the lift.
*Ting* finally…the sound of bell announcing that we had arrived at our destination – the first floor. I stumbled out of the lift, still watching in awe at the number of dogs and cats (at this point in time, cats had joined the scene too) in the void deck.
“Oi! What took you so long?” A familiar voice rang out.
I ran towards my family and explained the ordeal that i had just been through. After i had related my experience, they looked at me incredulously and said, “Are you sure? We just ran into the Major and he said that the crocodile he kept as a pet had died some years ago.There can’t be another crocodile in the estate…’
