The Journey IV

Long woke up in the sweltering heat. He wiped his brow and felt the tender area at his ear. It was hurting again.

Scratching his neck, arm and legs, he got up from his thin mattress, folded into half and slid it under the bed. He checked carefully for any bugs that might be crawling around the floor as he suspected that was the source of his persistent itch. The occupants had gone out early for their shift at the construction site. "That's good" he thought as he knew he would be able to use the bathroom without the hassle of queuing for more than 1 hour for his turn.

Long was working the night shift today, and it was only 11am in the morning. He had reached home at 2am last night after his night shift ended at 12mn. The cab ride he took with 3 other co-workers took him to various other places in Singapore he had never seen, and he was the last to alight.

4 months have passed since Long's arrival into Singapore. He had only ever ventured out to take a bus and MRT to his workplace and home. The other place he knew of was to the supermarket 4 blocks away to buy bread and instant noodles. And he had to buy the more expensive cup noodles instead of the packet noodles as he was instructed by the agent not to do any cooking in the dormitory.

Long washed up and opened his luggage bag for his loaf of bread. He ate what was left of the remaining 2 pieces and washed it down with some tap water.

Looking at his room shared with 7 other workers, he thought about his village back home, and longed for the fresh air of the fields. Here, his room mates, all construction workers smoked and drank in the hall way and at times in the room. The bedding provided was thin, dirty and smelled of stale perspiration mixed with cheap cigarette smoke.

For the past 4 months, Long had been living out of his suit case as there was no room to hang his clothes. The room was small and housed 3 double bunk beds. Long and 1 other worker slept on the floor at night. Long made sure he locked his suit case in case anything was stolen while he slept. Meals were expensive in Singapore, each meal costing easily $4 ached Long painfully. He tried to eat only 1 meal per day while at work, and sustained himself on bread while at the dormitory. He yearned for some fragrant white rice and vegetables from his home.

He felt a tickling sensation in his ear, and pressed the tender area gently. It hurt badly. Long felt some liquid ooze from his ear, and thought that it smelt off. Long suppressed a small wave of panic. What if a bug had crawled from the bed into his ear at night? Would he go deaf? How much would a visit to the doctor cost here? Oh no...

Long tried to nap, but the persistent ear ache would not go away. In the sweltering heat of the room, the concoction of pain and stale odours made Long feel giddy. Was it fever?

Long got up, dressed for work and left for his work place. He arrived 2 hours ahead of schedule. In fact, Long was never late for work. Partly because he knew being early for work was about the only thing he could do better than his co-workers, and partly because he wanted to escape from the oppressive dormitory environment.

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"It's an infection of the outer ear, and should clear up after a week to ten days. In the mean time, no swimming, no contact with water for the affected part. Use cotton wool while in the shower. Avoid baths." Dr Lingam advised Lucy.

Lucy repeated this in Mandarin to Long who nodded silently. Long then asked Lucy there was any bug found in his ear. Lucy translated this to Dr Lingam who smiled and said, no no there were no bugs, not to worry. Just a minor infection. Remember to complete the antibiotics, and take the paracetamol if the fever persists.

Long wanted to show his bed bug bites on his back, shoulders, arms and legs to the Doctor, but hesitated. He didn't want to appear rude or demanding as he didn't know if he could ask this many questions. He hoped they would subside soon so he would not have to live with the itch.

As Lucy and Long walked back from the clinic to their work place, Lucy asked in mandarin "Why didn't you see a doctor about your infection?" Long explained that he didn't know how much it would cost, and also he was worried about what to say to the doctor. "My English is bad." Long said.

Lucy smiled "There are many doctors who can speak mandarin too" and then she stopped. What if Long met with Dr Lingam by himself? How would Dr Lingam or Long cope with each other? That would make an interesting doctor-patient relationship.

Back at the staff room, Lucy made Long write down in mandarin the dosage and frequency of administrating his medication. She also helped him report his Medical leave to his supervisor, and processed the medical claim of $25 from the company.

Long noted all this in his notebook, and was relieved that there were no bugs in his ear. He had heard that these bugs will live in one's head and cause one to lose their minds when they grow old by singing high pitched tunes constantly. Long still had to look after his parents and little sister, and did not want to lose his mind. No, Long had to be strong.

Long thanked Lucy profusely for her help. If not for Lucy who detected Long's pale lips at work, he may have had to live with the bug in his head for a long time.

"How are things for you so far? Have you settled into your dormitory nicely?" Lucy asked

Long went on to tell her about how 24 people share 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in the rented HDB flat. And how these workers from different countries speak different languages, smoked and drank in the rooms, and how they fought to use the bathroom daily. Some used camping burners in the room to make their own meals as they could not afford to eat out, adding to the smell of the already squalid living conditions.

"Have you considered moving out?" Lucy asked, apparently taken aback by what she heard.

"I've paid 3 months deposit to the agent already, so I'll have to stay here. Besides I don't know how to go about getting another apartment." Lucy did the maths and realised that Long had been paying far too much at $250 per month for a floor space to share with 7 other people in the room.

Long needed money if he were to move out on his own, and he would do best if he could pool together 3 others to share a room with him. And he needed money to pay deposit for rental as well as agent fees. Earning $1000 per month doesn't leave Long with much savings at all.

Suddenly what the demi-goddess said to him back in China hit him hard. But he felt cushioned against the impact as he had been warned. But little did he expect his living conditions to be so bad, it was worse than his village back home. And he craved for a good decent meal too.

"Have you called home lately?"

"Yes, I called my parents when I reached Singapore."

"What about lately? Xing and the others have been calling home nearly everyday. Don't you miss your family?"

" No need, as long as they know I am safe, I will work hard, that's ok. Not good to let them worry about me."

Long was steely about his stance on calling home even though he knew that calling rates for long distance call was extremely cheap here in Singapore. It costs something like 5 cents a minute or possibly less. Xing and Jiang would know all the rates quite well.