'We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun but the wine and the songs like the seasons have all gone.......'
Terry Jacks, 1973.
Ah Feng then started to think of what to do next as she realised that she have to keep the matter from her parent. The next day, she called the bank and told the manager that she had some urgent family matters to settle and needs to apply for a week of leave. The manager approved as she had quite a number of uncleared days left from the year before.
She then went out immediately as her parents had went out for breakfast in the early morning and she did not want to meet them yet. Although being dealt a blow to her normal life, she sensibly first went to her family doctor and had a checkup while telling her doctor that she did not want to get pregnant as she had forgotten to take precaution while sleeping with her boyfriend. After this was done, she went to a cafe nearby the clinic and had breakfast and thinking of what to do next. She do not have any close girlfriend to confide in and discuss her situation. She felt like going crazy while thinking of the incident and with no one to confide into. And also whether she should let Ah Shan knows about it. Though Ah Shan appears to be deeply in love with her, but she do not know whether their relationship in the future would be affected by this incident after he knows about it. Further, they are going to get married and if later on, he might be influenced by the incident which might leads to them separating during quarrels and it would be complicated. She then decided to temporary avoid him until she can finds a way to be sure of his feelings.
Well, when Ah Shan awoke from his drunken stupor from the night before, he immediately thought of Ah Feng and called her office. He was surprised that she had applied for leave and he then called the home but the maid who answered told him that she had left the home as usual in the morning. He then thought that maybe Ah Feng had went out with her parents to tend to some family matters. He remembered he had also asked Ah Feng to apply for leave before the party and that they could spend a day together but Ah Feng had said she had things to do that day. After taking some rice porridge to cure his hangover, he went back to sleep as he still feels tired.
It was in the late afternoon when he awoke again and he immediately called Ah Feng but this time, the mother who took the call told him that she was sick and sleeping and to call back again the next day. At this point on hearing that she was sick, he then decided to pay her a visit instead when he have finished work. The following evening, he drove straight to Ah Feng house and the door was opened by the maid who told him Ah Feng is still not feeling well and resting and asked him to go back first. He then did not wanted to interrupted her rest as the parents might misunderstood that he is being possessive even before marriage.
This carried on for a few days and even though he had called by telephone but she had not take the calls and each time it was the maid or mother who told him to wait for her to call him back instead. Ah Shan then start to think whether it was because of that night that he had got drunk that Ah Feng was unhappy and therefore had avoid him. He then decided to go early in the morning during breakfast as she should then not be in her bedroom and be able to avoid him. True enough, the maid let him into the house as Ah Feng should be having breakfast at that time as he expected, he then saw her at the dining table. Ah Feng then told him to wait at the living room as she had just finished her breakfast and help the maid to clear up the table.
In a while, she came to the living room and then just sat opposite him instead of the usual side next to him when he visited in the past. She was silent and Ah Shan immediatedly started to apologise about that night. She was rather cold while listening to his explanation and did not reply. Ah Shan then continued about her health and whether she have recovered as he wants her to look at the bed he had wanted to purchase for their apartment. At this moment, Ah Feng said: 'Who said we are getting married?'
Ah Shan was shocked and said: 'Why did you say that? I had already apologised several times over the phone through your mother and the maid to you apart from now here.'
Ah Feng just kept quiet and just looked blankly at him.
Ah Shan then asked: 'Is there a problem from your parents on our marriage and you are in a difficult position to tell me. I can wait for your parents to be back and discussed with them if they are still unsure about my feelings for you.'
Ah Feng just said : 'No, this have nothing to do with them, it is my decision.'
Ah Shan then noticed that Ah Feng' s eyes was red and teary and he had thought that she had looked unwell as she probably had not recovered from her illness. Sensing there is something amiss, he started to talk loudly, unable to control his feeling. Ah Shan: 'Then please tell me what is the problem that have made you change your mind? We can try to discuss and there should be a way out as we have known each other for such a long period.'
Ah Feng was starting to lose her control as she senses the sincerity in Ah Shan and about to break into tears when she firmed up and then told Ah Shan: 'My parents will be coming back here soon and I don't want them to hear what I want to tell you, come back in the evening to pick me up and we will look for a quiet place.'
Ah Shan was relieved as he was worried that she might locked herself up in the bedroom and avoid him again.
'All-right, I will come back in the evening and we can go for dinner.'
Ah Feng: 'No, I am not in the mood for dinner, you can have yours first before coming by at 7.30 pm.'
Thus saying, Ah Feng then went back straight to her bedroom without sending him to the door. Ah Shan felt helpless but to leave and hope that he will be able to settle any misgivings she have on the marriage later on.
Well, as expected, Ah Shan took a quick dinner and came before 7.30 pm and Ah Feng was already waiting for him. In the car, Ah Shan as usual asked where she would like to go and Ah Feng said: 'Anywhere that is quiet as I want do not want to be disturbed by other people in our conversations.'
Ah Shan said: 'I will get some soft drinks from a provision shop then and we can go to the same place at the beach where you had saw the shooting stars.'
Ah Shan hope that as Ah Feng like that place, it would be easier for him to convince her of his love for her which is true as he really cannot imagine life without her by his side. This was why he is so anxious to get married as he was worried that anything can happens in the future to affects their relationship if he do not commit himself to her soon. He of course, believed that Ah Feng truly loves him and felt he was correct in wanting to get married early as this incident had shown.
As they sat there looking at the sea and that night, there was no moon or stars as if they were afraid to appear before the troubled love couple. Ah Feng was still quiet and looks solemn while Ah Shan had kept quiet, waiting for her to start the conversation as he did not want to annoy her unintentionally because of her present mood. Ah Feng then said : 'There is something I must tell you which had made me decided to call off our wedding.' Ah Feng then told him about the incident though she had misgivings about whether she should or not before she left home. But she felt that it is not fair to let him know without any explanation to call off the wedding because of her doubts about his feeling. Being her character and her principles, she also had no wish to keep it as a secret from him too if they were to get married.
When Ah Shan heard about it, he started feeling guilty as he had gotten drunk that night and even more as Xiao Jin had warned him about it. He had not let Ah Feng know about what Xiao Jin had said or bought her a protection talisman. He also felt that he had a part in causing this incident as he had not being able to send her home personally that night for he will usually walk her up to her apartment before leaving. Rather than berating himself further in the mind, he started to assure Ah Feng of his true feelings and that he will not let the incident affects their future relationship. Of course, he did not dare tell her about what Xiao Jin had said which ironically will leads to more problems later on. He then insisted that they will get married in Spring when he confirmed the wedding date with his father while having his usual breakfast at home in the morning. He was glad when Ah Feng kept quiet and did not voice further objections. He then decided to send her home as he also don't want her to suddenly change her mind again and also to let her have more rest as the incident is a big blow to her as well as to him. When he send her to the door of her house, he told her he will be back the next day to bring her out for lunch and go to her favorite places to let her slowly forget about the incident so she can be back to the usual cheerful girl he knows.
The next morning, he called his office and apply for leave and then while having breakfast with his father, told him that he wants to confirm the date for the wedding. To his annoyance, his father told him that he is not sure of which is a better date and wanted him to asked the old fortune teller, Master Ze De to choose the date again. Without any choice as he knows his father will not pick the date for him since he had said so, Ah Shan had to call the old fortune teller. This time, when he told his request to the assistant who took the call, the latter after making him wait on the phone, came back and told him the master is busy. Ah Shan was about to throw his temper at the assistant after all he went through the last few days over Ah Feng's incident when he thought of his Feng Shui master cousin and an idea came to him. He then told his father who had not gone out that the master is still busy and suggested why don't they asked his cousin to pick the date instead as it was already nearing the Chinese new year. As what he expected, his father agreed saying that if the cousin was willing to do it, he have no objection.
The relieved Ah Shan immediately calls his cousin who happened to be at home and agreed to meet him as it was still early for him to fetch Ah Feng. When he reached there and after the maid had served him tea, his cousin Ah Chong immediately took out a Tong Shu, a chinese almanac without even asking him for their birthcharts and in a while, gave him the date after asking Ah Shan for the month that he wants to get married. Ah Shan despite after meeting that old fortune teller and his schoolmate, Xiao Jin, he should have felt something amiss that this was done without even looking at his birth data even though Ah Shan do not know or believed in this stuff. Rather in his mind, he thought that this should be the way as he don't understand what had took the old fortune teller such a long time to decide the date for him.
Anyway, the cousin then carried on and asked him whether he have started renovating the new apartment at which Ah Shan told him there was no major renovation except for some minor repairs which the previous owner had left behind. And also that he just needs to furnish the place apart from that at which his cousin told him that he was lucky to have got the apartment at a good price, considering that it was quite new as the previous owner had stayed there for less than a year. As expected, with Ah Chong' s inadequate knowledge in Feng Shui, he was unable to know that there are major problems with the apartment. But common sense should have told him that there is something amiss as the owner was obviously willing to lose money when he sells the place at that price after staying there for less than a year. And it looks like the owner was in a hurry to get rid of the place as soon as possible.
His cousin then wanting to show off his feng shui knowledge started to tell Ah Shan that there are further things that needed to be done like positioning the bed and stove at the right place. Ah Shan was impressed by his so called knowledge. And as Ah Chong was free, he asked Ah Shan for lunch after which they can then go to the apartment and he will tell Ah Shan what to do. Ah Shan was agreeable as he have been thinking of where to go with Ah Feng after they had lunch. He remember Ah Feng was delighted when he had collected the keys to the apartment and bought her there to discuss on the changes to be done on the apartment.
When they finished lunch and as usual with Ah Chong, the fengshui master talking most of the time and bragging about his skills, they then proceed to the apartment. Ah Chong lately because of his unfavorable luck pillar which had started have less clients and business, was bored as he was the boorish type with few friends willing to pay him that kind of attention. Ah Chong then started to tell Ah Shan that the bedboard is to be positioned at the South and which had the end of the bed pointing towards the bedroom door which is located in the North sector in a straight line which was bad advice as readers here familiar with feng shui layout should know. The other thing was that Ah Chong do not know destiny analysis and was unaware that Ah Feng was born a week before Chinese New year and her Ming Gua is still Dui Trigram which belongs to the West group and not the East group for Eight Mansion Feng Shui. Anyway, as for apartments till today, there are practitioners which uses the balcony and some which uses the Main door to decide on the category of the property that it belongs to. Therefore, we would look at Flying stars feng shui instead for readers here to understand easier what I had earlier mentioned about how the six relationships in a Bazi chart affects a person destiny where the story started.
To make things worse, Ah Chong have never heard of Xuan Kong Flying stars which was gaining popularity at that time after the knowledge was made public in the 1920s. The property is considered Age 6 which had started in 1964 and will complete its 20 years cycle in 1984. It is sitting at the Xun Trigram or South East where the Golden Dragon is and have the main entrance door at the West where water star 5 and mountain Star 7 meets and have the Master bedroom at the South Sector where you have mountain star 9 and water star 3 which is in clash with Ah Feng' s Ming Gua. Most of the readers here familiar with the Flying stars feng shui would know that water star 5 when it is untimely is best to be left alone as activation would creates problem. The main door of the apartment in the West sector is facing South and had made Ah Chong determine it as auspicous for the East group in Eight Mansions Feng Shui. I would leave it here for readers to analyse further on how bad the configuration of the apartment was for both Flying Stars and Eight Mansions. The only saving grace was that the Early trigram for the bed position is at Qian Gua.
After Ah Chong had told the couple where the stove needed to be placed in the kitchen, he left as he had an afternoon tea appointment for Tim Sum (A Chinese afternoon pastime like the English afternoon tea) with an old friend who do not mind listening to all his feng shui stories. Ah Shan then told Ah Feng that he thought of going to the temple to seek blessings for their coming marriage as the date have now been fixed by Ah Chong. He was glad that everything is now proceeding smoothly and with placement of furniture for the apartment settled instead of another day. He also finds that it is coincidental that Ah Chong had volunteer to instruct him on the layout of the furniture for the apartment. He have been thinking of how to approach Xiao Jin for advice about the apartment on the things to be done to neutralise the harm that is in his Zi Wei birth chart accordingly to the latter who had told Ah Shan to inform him when the apartment is ready. He had to do it without Ah Feng' s knowledge as he feels guilty if Xiao Jin would to ask if anything had happened the month before infront of Ah Feng. He was glad that Ah Chong had got him out of the dilemma and had then thought of going to the temple as he felt that the Gods must be helping him now.
They had then went to a popular Chinese Taoist temple at Causeway Bay and while there, Ah Shan had asked for a divination which was 'Colours belongs to Spring while Magnificence is in Summer. Unintentional Grievances is resolved with a Stroke'. Not knowing what it meant, they had then look for a fortune teller to decipher it at the temple. They found one stall which was still opened with an old man who appeared to be sleeping as the late afternoon weather was warm and breezy. There was a banner with the words, 'Half Fairy' which must be his hallmark as most fortunetellers have one. Ah Shan then approached the stall, thinking of how to awake the old man when a small boy he had not noticed at the side, pulled at the old fortune teller sleeve. The old man opened his still sleepy eyes and saw him and then asked: 'Yes, young man, anything I can do for you?'
Ah Shan replied: 'I would like to seek your opinion on this divination I got from the temple.'
Half Fairy: 'Not a problem, let me have a look...'
Ah Shan passed the paper on which the divination was printed to the old fortune teller who then stared at it blankly for a while. He then asked Ah Shan what he was praying or seeking for as he needs to know in order to decipher it correctly as it is a poem. Ah Shan with the by now curious Ah Feng at his side, then told the fortune teller that it was for his coming marriage in Spring.
Half Fairy: 'Mmm, it is a very auspicious divination for it means that as with Spring and Summer, all things have reached its glory and that all previous grievances would have been resolved when you get married.'
Both Ah Shan and Ah Feng was pleased to hear that as it had in their hearts,implied that the rape incident would not affect their marriage which would remove the negative feelings of grievances from that incident. Of course, they did not tell the fortune teller about it and gave him a more than the usual token of money in the red packet which Ah Shan took from the table for customers to put their money in as appreciation. However all of them did not know that there is a hidden meaning in it including the fortune teller who had taken over the stall by paying a sum of money to his friend who had gone back to his hometown in China to retire. The so-called Half Fairy actually had no foundations in destiny analysis or divinations skills .
The words : ' 艷於春而盛於夏, 無心之怨一筆解決.' is actually part of another poem which is
':艷於春者, 望秋先零
而盛於夏, 未冬已萎'
and together with: '無心之怨一筆解' is not auspicious at all to a person who is well versed in divination and familiar with the old chinese poems and its hidden meanings.
Ah Shan seeing that Ah Feng had now more or less revert back to her usual cheerful self, was glad and thankful that the final trip to the temple had helped. The deeply in love couple then happily went to look for a restaurant to have dinner.
To be continued.............................
