Last Train

Prologue

Everyone usually tries to avoid the subway's last train. And it's no surprise - the final carriage of the train usually transports, along with each passengers, a rich air of mystery.

Come along for the ride - if you dare.

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Esmond was like any typical teenager- he loved to party, hang out with friends and give his parents headaches galore.

A rebel without a cause, he was out late nearly every day of the week. He also had a reputation for being one with the girls- the young man had no shortage of girlfriends.

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For Esmond, it was business as usual on Racial Harmony Day. July 21st was a day Singaporeans celebrated, and still celebrates, its racial diversity. School functioned for only half the day.

Naturally, the young man did what he did best - he took the opportunity to hang out with his friends. This day, the drinking and carousing ended a little later than he expected.

Late as he was, he was on time to catch the last train on Singapore's famed Mass Rapid Transit system, which offered a promise that he would reach home in a mere half hour. He got on with other drunken revellers.

Esmond's destination was the furthest and therefore, the last. The train became lonely as passengers got off at each station.

Just as he resigned himself to another 15 minutes of boredom, an eye-catching young lady in an elaborate cheongsam boarded his carriage. S he took a seat a few chairs away from his.

Esmond, usually surrounded by a bevy of young girls, found himself unusually taken by her. Ornately patterned, the intricate embroidery fused into the cloth of her cheongsam could not be replicated by mere seamstresses. It seemed to come from another time.

The young lady remained quiet throughout the ride. Esmond found the urge to talk to her quite hard to resist, but finally decided to just let things be. She got off with him at his destination.

***************************************************************** Over the next few days, Esmond looks out for the girl in the ornate cheongsam. She always boards the last train and takes the same seat a few chairs away from his.

The young teenager, being as face conscious as others his age, never builds the courage to talk to her. The self-consciousness, however, never stops him from wondering where she goes.

One fine evening, he finally feels brave enough to follow her. Always a few hidden steps behind the girl, he trails. her to a cemetery. The area had long been neglected as the government had exhumed most of the graves to cultivate the land for other uses.

Questions filled his mind. What was a pretty girl like this doing living here? And why a cemetery, of all places?

Esmond finally sits beside her. " I always see you, but never got your name." He offered her his hand."I'm Esmond. And you are - "

"Angeline Lum," she replied shyly. "Thanks for talking to me."

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Esmond, his curiosity insatiable, asks her to show him where she lives. Hesitant at first, angeline finally beckons to him to follow her.

Much to his bewilderment, she takes him to a group of headstones, finally reaching one with

"Angeline Lum" written on it. The information sinks in, and his jaw drops in horror.

"Now, it's your turn," she eyes him gleefully."Where do you live?"

"I'm sure you want to know," Esmond replies. To her surprise, he grabbed her hand and took her to another headstone which read "Esmond Grimm Ree Per."

He looked her squarely in the eyes. "Angeline," he said with conviction," it's time for you to go over."