Dad's stay in HK is extended to a month after Christmas. Sometimes, when I think about how he leaves me alone with mum for more than half of the time I'm back to Singapore for this year, I can't help but find him cruel. 15 years ago he came to Singapore leaving me alone with mum and her increasing bitterness for 3 years without coming back once. Thinking about these makes me experience pangs of resentment against my parents and I just want to walk out of the house. Its proximity to the AYE brings continuous noise pollution from the traffic. That makes everybody raise voice in the house when talking, especially mum who never speaks without involving emotion or drama and who is especially in love with surprises. If she received a phone call looking for me, she'd tell me by starting with something ominous, "JY, something happened this afternoon." When she doesn't speak neither do I and the house is only filled with tide-like traffic noises. Either raised voices or silence. And filled with old, faded furniture. Loose pieces of wooden and glass boards were used to cover furniture from dust. Kitchen is bright but fridge doesn't have cause for opening - no snacks or drinks. It is not a surprise that I left the house for 3 years and didn't think of it even once. I couldn't even remember how it looked like (mum rearranges the furniture often of course - another cause for the disorientation).

But I should tell myself that this is just the result of a dismal indoor Sunday alone with mum. I can wait patiently for two more months before dad's back.