The Fire ... epilogue

Storm snugly settled on my sofa...

After deciding that it would be more comfortable for Storm, the Quays moved into my house on 30th Nov. He had to be cooped up in the room whilst they were staying with doc’s brother. Here he has free rein to come and go as he pleases. Because he is accustomed to peeing and doing his business on lawns, the maid has to take him for walks at the park nearby. From my observation, he is truly enjoying his walks and this routine may very well carry on even after they have moved back home.

They will be staying for another week or so before they can move back home. I hope they have been comfortable in my house even though it is not as spacious as what they are accustomed to. There is no internet access or Astro, no garden for doc to practice his putting and only 1 shower room. The porch can only fit 1 car and Doc had to spend many sleepless nights getting up every now and then to ascertain that his car is safe. For Diane, who should be enjoying her holidays, there is no PS2 to play etc.. For both E & Diane there are no MSN or Facebook… Must be tough on them…

Their stay has benefited me too. Rohimah has done a good job cleaning every corner of the house. I tell people that I go back to clean house almost every Sunday but ‘cleaning’ meant just the hall and bathroom really… so the house now is as clean as it can ever get! She has rearranged and moved things so I figure I will have to spend a day finding out where things are kept once they move out. E too, had miraculously fixed the toilet bowl in the master bedroom, which had been leaking for the past 3 (?) years! Hmm… Maybe if they stay longer, my whole house might eventually get a new coat of paint, faulty faucets & wiring replaced etc ??

Even though the fire which occurred was most unfortunate, I believe that God was present throughout their ordeal.

Hard as it may be to recognize the hands of God at work in the face of any crisis, or understand why He allows certain things to happen, the fact that nobody was hurt in the fire was something to be really thankful for.

E would think it is easy for me to say since I am just an outsider but even as an onlooker, it was gratifying to know that God did not forsake them or let them them undergo this trial on their own. In the midst of adversity, God showed His love through people that cared. In days ensuing the fire, friends and relatives, in a show of support, rallied to help. God seemingly, wanted to convey a message that they were not alone.

With this I close. We do not need a certain number of friends, E. We only need a number of friends we can be certain of. May the certainty of knowing you have friends who care brings you much comfort.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. – 1st Corinthians 10:13

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The Fire (Part 2)

Tuesday morning, S called bright and early. She drove past E’s house before going to office and said it looked bad when viewed from the back. Told her I was taking half-day’s leave and meeting P at 1.00 pm.. S said she’d also try to take off but it would depend on her workload.

At 1.00 pm. P was already at E’s, chatting with Mrs. Lee. We couldn’t go for lunch because they had to wait for the arrival of the MT container. Mrs Lee was there early, helping to clear the debris but they were advised to stop cleaning before the Insurance Adjuster assessed the damages. E & Dr were out filing reports with the various Departments but came back shortly after with our lunches. Diane was in school. She had a paper that day. Storm was running in and out barking non-stop till they locked him in Jo’s room. (Yeh yeh very good.)

Dr’s brother came with his family followed by Sue who brought some empty cartons. Then came the container. S was to return in the evening with a trolley and she was also trying hard to get hold of some workers to help with the moving.

We planned to be very systematic. Items from each cabinet were to be packed into one box and marked so that it would be easier to unpack later on. That didn’t work.. Halfway through we found certain boxes were too heavy to be lifted and eventually we had to mix the items. Sigh… S called, no luck with the workers. Doubly sigh…

The adjuster came and Dr and his brother went through the list of damages with him. Mrs Lee was tireless. She worked non-stop as compared with P and I who kept taking breaks to satisfy our cravings for nicotine! S called, she managed to get workers but they would be coming in much later as they had day jobs.

From the room upstairs, we notice the 2 Quay brothers standing outside. (the adjuster had left). The 2 strong able-bodied men were smoking and chatting while the ladies were hard at work.. Doesn’t that reminds you of a little village in Indonesia where the women worked whilst the men strummed their guitars and played checkers followed by long sessions of siestas??

Evening came, E left for classes. S finally arrived with 4 scrawny guys along with rolls of plastic sheets as well as a heavy trolley. P was the one who requested for the trolley but I doubt we would be able to handle it on our own. The leader opened the doors of the container with just a kick and some quick movements of the hands. P and I had earlier struggled to get the latches on the container to budge with no success. We wanted to do a test that the container was leak-free. It wasn’t roach free though and we had a fine time spraying Ridsect and sweeping away dead cockroaches !!

The 4 ‘scrawny’ guys were stronger than I would have given them credit for and boy did they work fast and efficiently! They made shrink-wrapping looked so easy but when we tried it, you know it definitely isn’t easy! They finished loading everything in less than 2 hours and there we were wondering if we would be done by midnight! It was just before 9 p.m. S, who had gone home after leaving instructions with the guys came back with cold drinks for everybody.


E came straight from class to meet us at the restaurant for dinner. Admittedly, we looked a trifle scruffy….. and I for one would pass off as an Indon maid had anyone been observing our group that night. We were pleased with the amount of work done. What was left were the smaller items, Diane’s books etc…Tomorrow, she would be able to help since there was only 1 more paper left to “merdeka!” …

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The Fire (Part 1?)

It was an ordinary Monday evening after work on 24th Nov, 2008.

Whilst at the office I chatted briefly with P & E. E seemed a bit distracted but she’s been that way the past few weeks. We’ve been talking amongst ourselves and worrying about her, is she okay?

Back home, I had just withdrew cash from the ATM and was sitting at the hall reading the papers, waiting for dinner. At 7.29 pm my hand-phone beeped, alerting me that an SMS message had come in. It was from E, a message that simply said “Luck very bad. House on fire.” I froze. What did she mean, fire? Big fire, small fire, what? If big fire, she wouldn’t have time to sms, would she??? Questions, questions…

As usual, when feeling tensed, I took out a cigarette. Went to the back of my shop, lit my cig, then called E. Why is she not answering ? I tried again and she hello-ed. I don’t remember what my first question was. (probably something stupid).For a brief moment her voice broke when she said “I got no where to stay tonite….” and my heart did a dive. We didn’t talk long; just long enough for me to get some facts from her. After offering her the use of my house, we hung up. Seemingly, a couple of drug addicts had caused an explosion while they were in the vacant house next door. Neighbours saw them running out soon after.

Dinner forgotten, I decided to go over to her place immediately. Thank God my brother didn’t take the car yet….. Faster faster ‘chup’ the car keys… I called S and then P… P already heard from Mrs Lee. We all agreed to meet at E’s.

As I was about to leave the house I remembered the cash I withdrew earlier was still in the pocket of the shorts I was wearing. I ran upstairs to keep the cash and when I was downstairs again, aiyo.. I couldn’t remember where I had placed the car keys. Since the phone call with E, I had gone out to the shop to tell Supri that I was going out so she should feed the dogs, I used the toilet, went upstairs to keep the cash…. now where did I put the keys??? Just as I decided to use the spare keys, I found it next to the sink where I had gone to wash a cup.

On reaching E’s, the whole place was a hive of activity even though by then, the fire was under control. The fire brigade was parked outside, firemen were walking in and out of the house, curious on-lookers and busybodies were loitering outside. It was already dark. Mrs Lee was there and the 2 of us went in to view the damage. In the dark you can hardly make out anything except that the floors were wet. The power supply had to be shut down when the fire occurred.

M dropped by with her niece for a while. P arrived soon after and E passed us some of her things for safe-keeping. The guitar is with me along with the I-POD and i-Home and ahh…Diane’s PS 2. Where is S? Called her again and she said she was still at dinner and would come later. Some officers from Fire Dept (?) came and E had to make a statement.

Storm was a pampered pooch that night. He had to be carried most of the time as the floors were wet and grimy. Mrs Lee instructed Rohimah on how to go about sweeping water into the toilet. P & I helped. Doc’s brother said that he would arrange for a 40’ container to be placed outside the house for storage purpose during the renovation and repair works which apparently would be quite extensive, based on what the contractor said.

We emptied the freezer. S’s was quite empty so she was suppose to take the food to store in her fridge. But where was S? Unbeknownst to us, S was having dinner with clients and she didn’t tell us that she was dependent on her colleague for transport. She didn’t figure that dinner would drag on and on. Instead of waiting for S, on my way home, I would leave the things with her husband instead.

There wasn’t much that could be done that night so they decided to lock up. E and family, including Storm and their maid would move in with Dr’s brother.

P and I planned to drop by the next day to help in spite of E’s insistence that they could cope…. If she wasn’t so distressed, I would have asked her to shut-up even though her I know it was just that she didn’t want to impose on us… We are friends. Wouldn’t you do the same for me had I been in the same situation?

By the time I got home, it was close to midnight. Suddenly I was hungry… time to raid the fridge….

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