Secret

THE spy wipes the sweats off his forehead. He feels like taking off his camouflage army uniform. The heat of the mid-day sun really scorches his lean figure.

"Endure, endure," this magic word has often been repeated in his heart whenever he faced any difficulty. "Whatever challenges you may face, you must be calm in carrying out this
complicated task," the spy's commander reminded him.

The spy knows that he must complete his important mission before night falls. He has no choice but to spy during daytime because the occupants of a shack he's been watching, normally sleep early. A rambutan tree, only a few metres away from the shack, has become a hiding place for the spy. From the cracks of the foliage, he monitors the movements of the occupants through his video camera. The windows of the shack that are opened wide with their drawn-up blinds make his spying job easier. He is confident that the secret he is
looking for will be found through those windows. The spy feels grateful because the weather this afternoon is very fine. The wind intermittently blows softly to reduce the scorching rays of the sun.

"I hope it won't rain," the spy prays. Usually he does not mind rainy days because he believes that rain is a blessing. But if it rains at this moment, his mission will certainly be
delayed. The occupants would certainly close those windows and he would be in danger if lightning strikes.

The spy does not want to postpone his mission because with each passing second, millions of souls are being killed in battlefields. Everyday, conflicts occur worldwide. Murders are committed everywhere. The spy's mission is not just a game. He will be blamed by the whole society if he fails to find out the secret kept by the occupants of the shack. He must act fast.

The spy has been travelling worldwide for many years in search of a secret that would create peace on earth. Now, he is close to achieving his target after getting information about some triplets who live in Serene Village.

He was informed that the occupants of the shack, namely Tina, Dina and Reni are triplets who have been living together harmoniously since birth.

His mission is to reveal their secret for the benefit of the whole society. He is also required to study the background of the triplets and obtain their full names. According to the information he received, the triplets are orphans, about twenty years old and are still single. Tina, Dina and Reni are busy discussing some financial problem they encountered in their plan to upgrade their shack when the spy records their movements.

Their discussion can be heard clearly by the spy because when they went out to town this morning, he secretly placed a bug on a tempayan that stood beside the entrance to the shack.

By listening to their conversation through his headphones, the spy feels as if he's listening to a drama on radio. "Luckily I placed the bug there, if not I'd have to put my ears on the walls," he says to himself. Inside the shack, the triplets are not aware that a pair of eyes is watching their movements and a pair of ears is listening in to their discussion. Up on the tree, the spy feels like carrying out the duties of an angel while transcribing things that catch his attention.

Among the triplets, Dina is found to be the wittiest speaker until Tina and Reni always have to give in because they could not refute Dina's opinions that are always true.

"Any idea how to get lots of money to enlarge our house?" Tina asks Dina.
"Why not we rear toyols and then ask them to steal money from banks?" Reni interrupts.
"Hey they still believe in shibboleths," the spy whispers to himself.
Tina and Dina were surprised on hearing Reni's suggestion until they became dumbfounded for a while.
"I think it's a good idea if toyols can amass lots of money," says Dina.
"The problem is that I'm not sure of their skills. If they got caught, we'd be in trouble. Where can we hide our faces if people found out that we reared toyols?" Dina asks.
Tina was shocked when she heard Dina's words.
"O my God, aren't you all afraid of God that you dare to sin? Don't you realise rearing toyols means you are befriending the devil? If that is the best method according to your pea-brains, I think the beggars on the streets, are nobler than you all! At least they don't steal," Tina exclaims.
Dina and Reni blush on hearing Tina's sharp criticism.

"I agree with you Tina. Rearing toyols or goblins is wrong and sinful. Just now I totally forgot about sins because I thought it was the easiest way to obtain money. Blame it on Reni's silly idea," says Dina.

"Hoi sister, even if my idea is silly, at least I still have an idea. The most important thing is, I never look down on others. Do you think it's proper of Tina to say that beggars on the streets are nobler than us?

"Although I know little about our religion, I'm still aware that begging has never been encouraged. That's why I suggested that we should endeavour by rearing toyols," says Reni.
"Let's drop the subject Reni, you still want to argue when we know the method is clearly wrong? The most important thing is we should have a consensus and brainstorm to find more acceptable ways," says Dina.

"Brainstorm? Cool idea man," the spy jots it down in his notebook.
"I also agree with you Reni. Tina shouldn't have insulted us. I myself don't like to see people begging if they're still strong enough to work. But I'm willing to donate if the beggar is really needy. Isn't there a saying that it's better to give generously than to receive gleefully?" Dina rationalises.
Dina's words touched Tina's heart. Now she feels guilty for being too emotional earlier on when trying to state her opinion that she inadvertently caused offence to Reni and Dina.
"Forgive me Dina & Reni, next time I'll be more careful with my words," Tina pleads.
Dina, Tina and Reni start to shake hands. The ambience inside the shack is very serene as the triplets pledge to maintain mutual respect for one another.

The spy continues to jot down things that catch his attention: brainstorming; consensus; mutual respect and being forgiving. While focusing his video camera to get a clearer picture, a painting on a wall in the shack catches the spy's eyes. The painting portrays a beautiful and soothing scenery of a river. The spy tries to examine some minute words that were written at the bottom right-hand corner of the painting.
"What a fish, it's too small. I need to use my binoculars," he grumbles. After looking through his binoculars, the spy discovered that the words are actually a poem. Hence, he jots down the poem in his notebook.
"I've got an idea. Why not we gather our used possessions and hold a garage sale? In this way, we can collect money easily," Dina suggests.
"That's a brilliant idea!" Tina and Reni reply in chorus. Their faces shine on hearing Dina's interesting idea.

"Apart from getting money, we can also reduce waste because a garage sale is like a recycling effort. Am I right?"
"What is recycling? Has it got to do with cycling bicycle backward?" Reni asks jokingly.

"Ha ha ha", Dina and Tina burst into laughter.
"Hey listen up, I think I'll be the one who can collect the most money because I have lots of things to discard. I have blouses, pants, shoes, bags, watches, jewellery, radios, handphones, TVs, pagers and many more," Reni exclaims.

"Good for you Reni if you have lots of things to throw away. Moreover, most of your possessions are actually redundant. They only take up space and make our house congested," Dina comments frankly.

"How about you Tina?" asks Dina.
"I don't have many possessions to sell except a looking glass and an antique painting that is hanging on the wall there. These are the only things I can contribute," Tina answers softly, as if regretting her inadequacy.
"The looking glass and the painting you want to sell, I think have a high value. Surely there'd be someone who's willing to pay a high price to own them," Dina praises.
Dina looks at Tina's sweet countenance and smiles at her. She knows that Tina is pleased to hear her sincere praises.
"Actually, I also do not have many belongings to sell except books that I've read over and over until I acquired lots of knowledge from them. Apart from books, my belongings are writing materials like ink and fountain pens," says Dina.

"Apparently what Reni said is true. She's the one who'd bring in the most money for us because her possessions are obviously more than our contribution," says Tina.
"You're right Tina. We should be thankful to Reni," Dina admits.
"Ah, don't mention. Haven't we all agreed to cooperate in all fields?" Reni asks humbly.
Hence they start to busy themselves gathering their respective used belongings and placing them outside their shack. When all the items are placed outside, they realise there is a very wide space in the shack. They start to feel comfortable and can now move more freely in the shack.
"Why didn't we think of doing this earlier?" asks Tina.
"It's better late than never, isn't it?" Dina replies.
"Hey, do you all notice that our house is actually quite spacious?" asks Reni.
"Hah, what I said earlier is true, Reni's belongings only took lots of space. Look, now then she realised," Dina remarks sarcastically.

"You're so mean Dina, always want to disturb Reni. It's good that she doesn't mind to discard her old belongings," says Tina.
"Luckily Tina supports me, if not I'd surely keep back all those things," says Reni.
"Please forgive me sister, I promise not to disturb you again," Dina tries to pacify.

"Just now Reni said this house is quite spacious. Actually I also feel the same," says Tina.
"Yeah, I also think the same. So, what do you all think if we just cancel our plan to enlarge our house? Furthermore, a big house doesn't necessarily bring happiness," Dina reasons.

"You're right Dina. We can learn from the experience of big countries that eventually collapsed after trying to expand their territories," Tina explains.
"In that case, what are we going to do with all the things outside? Are we going to throw them away?" Reni asks.
"Let those things remain outside first. Now you help me clean whatever requires cleaning inside the house," says Tina.

"Why are you so dumb Reni? We can still sell those things and keep the money," says Dina.
"I think it's better for us to just give away the things. Moreover there are many folks who are less fortunate than us in this village," says Tina.
"Hey, there's somebody sitting on the rambutan tree," says Reni when she looks in the direction of the spy.
"Oh my god, I'm in trouble," the spy starts to panic.
"Don't talk rubbish Reni, maybe you're looking at a toyol," Dina teases.
"Dina and Tina both burst into laughter. Reni feels so irritated yet she tries to control her exasperation.

While Dina and Tina were busy laughing, the spy quickly jumped down from the rambutan tree and ran away for cover. Even though Reni saw him jumped, she dares not say a word.
"It's better for me to keep quiet than say the wrong thing," Reni reasons.

The next morning, the spy disguises as a reporter and goes to the house of the local chief of Serene Village.
"What's your intention in coming here, sir?" the chief asks.
"I'm a reporter from Entertainment News. I want to make a report on the progress of the residents in this village," says the spy.
The chief of Serene Village entertains the spy cordially and gives his cooperation without suspecting anything.
"Uncle, do you know the full names of Tina, Dina and Reni?" the spy asks.
"Oh the daughters of the late Mr Adam? If I'm not wrong, Tina's full name is Heartina. Dina's full name is Mindina and Reni's full name is Desireni," the chief explains.

After getting enough information, the spy leaves the chief's house with satisfaction. He has successfully recorded all the pertinent events clearly. The secret he's been looking for has been found. His mission is nearly completed.

Thus, the spy draws up a conclusion: "After monitoring the movements of Mindina, Heartina and Desireni, I found out that the formula for living in harmony lies in our willingness and determination to compromise and live cohesively as a team. It cannot be derived from our competitive attitude in gathering wealth."

"What is obvious and should be made a lesson is the absence of any signs of envy between Dina, Tina and Reni. They are happy and contented with what little things they have. Happiness, which they obviously enjoy despite their humble background, is the most meaningful thing in life."

"The secret I've been searching for is actually hidden in an epigram written on the antique painting owned by Heartina:

A virtuous heart
is like a clean river
it's the vein of life
a sign of harmony."

"Hoi, wake up lah! It's your turn to prowl."

"Eh, whose voice is that?"
"No wonder he can't hear me. He's got his earphones on. Never mind, sleep well, later you'll know your fate"
"Guards turn-out! Turn-out!"
"Oh my God!, guards turn-out! Eh, where am I?"

9 July 1998.

-----------------------------
[He is a creative writer from Singapore, who prefers to communicate his ideas and visions through fiction rather than essays. He writes poems and short stories in English and Malay languages.]