The House of Little Sisters by Nava Eva Wong

Author:Nava, Eva Wong
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House SEA
Published: 2022-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

I manage to prise Ah Yoke gently away from the scene taking place behind the screen. It’s time for her bath. I am eager to get her to bed as soon as possible.

The Lee family’s bathhouse is the size of a little cottage attached to the main house. It is north-facing, the cardinal direction which ensures Heavenly protection and fortuity. Because this good luck direction must always be energized allowing a continuous flow of blessings, the feng shui master advises that the bathhouse be decorated with luscious verdant plants that Chandra has to take care of everyday. He is not allowed to let the plants turn brown or die off. A ceramic Shanghai tub, greenish-brown in colour, with an ornate coiling five-clawed dragon, sits in the middle of the square bathhouse. The bathhouse has an opening at the centre of its ceiling so that rain water, a natural element, can flow from the outside in. Reflected on the water’s surface is the open sky, again inviting nature in. This water tub represents the lake, a body of water symbolizing wealth.

Ah Yoke sits, naked, on the low stool by the Shanghai tub. The tub is filled to the brim. It has been an exceptionally rainy February. There’s a slight chill in the air because of the northeasterly winds blowing at this time of year. This evening, the dusky sky is streaked with ribbons of clouds like dough crullers reflecting back at me from the urn.

‘One, two, three,’ I say, pouring a bucket of water over Ah Yoke’s head which comes up to my stomach.

She squeals in shock and inhales deeply as the cold water hits her. I do this again three times until her body is used to the water’s temperature. I rub the bar of jasmine-scented soap on her wet head until it lathers. Then, I wash her hair. Her eyes are closed like Huat’s was when I used to wash his hair by the communal pump. Ah Yoke’s skin is pale compared to mine. It has a yellow tint, the colour of tofu. Her hair is thick and long and it takes me a while to get all of it soaped and rinsed. When I am done, I pass the soap to her and she washes between her legs like I’d shown her how. I remember the first time I bathed Ah Yoke and my surprise in discovering that nobody had ever showed her how to wash herself properly. No wonder she was always complaining of pain when urinating. The complaints are lesser now and washing between her legs has become natural to her.

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