The Feng Shui Man Said: A Short Story (Chp 1)

The following story is fictional, or not. The characters depicted in the story are also fictional, or not. The events described in the story did happen, or maybe they didn't... I will write it over a period of time... you decide if its true or not..


The Feng Shui Man Said

Chapter 1: Melanie Revisited


As the large jumbo jet commenced its descent into London's Heathrow airport I felt the knot in my tummy tighten. It was as if someone had stuck a winch into me and kept winding it ever so slowly with every passing minute. I gripped onto my glass of gin & tonic a little tighter as I watched the cabin crew go about their business preparing for the landing.

Irene was particularly nice to look at. A pretty face in a petite, yet curvy, sexy body. She had been sitting opposite me during the take off and we started chatting. A university graduate with a Bachelors' in Philosophy, she had started this job 3 years before to fulfil her dream of travelling the world before settling down. She was engaged to be married, and wanted to do as much of her own thing as possible before eventually tying the knot. She wanted 3 children. A boy followed by a girl, then a third one just for the sake of seeing how he or she would look like. I liked watching her work the cabin.

My thoughts drifted from Irene back to 1991. It was the year I met Melanie. The memory of that first meeting so fresh in my mind. It was as if I had only met her yesterday. I had just watched an English play at the Lake Club auditorium in Kuala Lumpur. A comedy piece by a local theatrical company. Political satire with class. I enjoyed it immensely. As I approached my car in the basement parking lot, I noticed the tall, pretty, long haired girl jiggling the door of her car. It was an old 1983 or 1984 Honda Accord. I sauntered over and realized she had locked the key in the car. Using my trusty Swiss Army Knife I managed to release the locking mechanism and save the proverbial damsel in distress. She insisted we go out for a drink and from that point on our friendship bloomed.

The landing was pleasant enough. The Boeing 747 is so huge that as its about to land, the pressure on the runway actually results in huge cushion of air that helps absorb the weight of the mammoth aircraft as it touches down. Being near the front, I reached and cleared immigration fairly quickly. My heartrate increased a hundred fold as I walked out of the arrival hall. I looked around in anticipation. The lobby was very crowded. I gathered that several flights must have landed close to one another.

"Ritchie!", someone called out.

I turned around with great anticipation. The wind was completely knocked out of my sails. It wasn't Melanie. It was her younger sister Athena.

"Where's Mel?" I asked. I suddenly realized I was being rude and gave Athena a hug and asked about her wellbeing and how her drive to London was.

"We couldn't get you on your phone yesterday.", she said. "ChiChi had to attend a funeral today. She sent me to get you".

I froze at those words. It was exactly as the Feng Shui Master had said.

Chapter 2