Down The Forbidden Path...

The air was thick with darkness. Even within the safe cocoon of the car, there was a sense of unease that crept upon us like a spy. The junction we had just passed was akin to a town square ala Sleazeville. The steady thrum of adrenaline coarsed through my veins as I slowed the Trajet to a crawl.

Echoes of my mother's reminder never to cross this piece of forbidden territory rang incessantly in my ears like alarm bells but I pushed them back stubbornly into a corner. I didn't need that now, lest I lose my nerve and point the car towards home.

The only thought running through my mind was that if the Almighty chose this moment in place and time to send down a bolt of disaster ala Noah's Ark or something somewhere along those lines, I was going to hell. Because although you were in a place of sin but wasn't doing anything remotely sinful, you'd still be considered a sinner and if something were to happen there and then, you'd still suffer the same consequences as that of a sinner.

Of course, I am contradicting myself because even though I knew this, I still defied this. Which goes to show that practicing and preaching are two different things.

We had toured around Singapore for the most part of the night and this was our final stop before heading home. Nini sat upfront with me while Faris, Rahman and Salim graced the second row. As much as I would have liked to say I felt comfortable behind locked doors, I wasn't. Not really. It would've been better if at least ONE of the guys could drive so they could takeover my seat and the front passenger's.

The guys were great at giving directions, albeit a tad delayed. But that worked out just dandy because I got to practice my driving lessons all over again. Parallels and reverses at Chinatown and Little India, roundabouts at Newton, a million U-turns because I missed the real turns and had the tendency of keeping to the right.

My control for speeding was tested many times because you see, as much as I would like to think of my car as a zippy Enzo or Gallardo it is just a mere Trajet. A heavy one at that. So whatever turns I make has to be with a firm, steady hand or everyone would behind without a seatbelt would go flying.

Anywazoo, we were spot on with timing because creatures of the night were already out and hunting for fresh prey. It was either their first meal or they were coming back for more. I settled in for a spot just off the Town Square --let's just call it Town Square, shall we?-- and waited. It wasn't long before there was activity to our left.

As I slot the Trajet into Park, two creatures of the night had already begun to lure their prey into their dens. A few crossed the path in front of the vehicle and even though it was behind tinted screens, they knew we were there although we made no move. Probably because I refused to flick off the headlights.

It was like a public stripclub where instead of the strippers being inside a glass box, it was us and they were all out there. Hence, public stripclub. Although they didn't strip for us, you get this sinking feeling that they might as well just do it with all that promiscuity parade. And I can tell you that this was one of the places if not the only where you could find boobs bigger than mine belonging to the majority race in Singapore.

The sense of desperation hung thick in the air as one of the night creatures failed time and time again to snag a prey for herself. We looked on sombrely as she hung on to the prey's T-shirt like a leech, almost begging for him to take her. The look on the prey's face was priceless. It was either he purposefully let her dangle onto him for too long or he just couldn't release himself from her sticky claws.

Just as I turned to ask Rahman what the standard price was for a romp in one the shacks, the night creature held up three fingers for her prey to see. This was despite the prey helplessly shaking his head in utmost refusal. He was just trying to pass through the alley, the innocent thing.

Deciding to hit another spot, we made a round while Rahman cited stories from his days in the Force and when he was a hellkid, curious but not too curious to lose his head. The one tale that stuck out like a sore thumb was an encounter from a friend of his who went undercover and bought one of these night creatures. He said because of the countless shagging and the various preys that came with their shagging, their va-jay-jays reeked.

Too crude?? Yeah, and I nearly gagged after hearing that.

Again, I parked slightly off the Town Square and this time, I found what I had been searching for. The Night Creatures of my race. I knew there were such species because I'd heard and read about it. To me, it was a myth initially but after seeing two of those species with my own eyes, it was fable no more. Heck, they even passed between the Trajet and a car in front of us to get to their keepers.

I mean, if you think about it, the place was akin to the Night Safari.

We finally got around to the Town Square and settled smack-dab in the crossroads where I manoeuvred the Trajet behind a Getz.

As before, we made no move to do anything further than lock the doors. The back of my neck was already tingling on overdrive. It wasn't a stakeout or anything remotely close to that, it was just an observation session that had already half made my skin crawl.

Point-blank, it was a disgusting place. It was stifling, it was disparaging and it was all things that could be associated with darkness and evil. True, it was 3am in the morning, just a little after the witching hour but just the whole outlook of the place made it feel like a trip to the twilight zone.

Here's another piece of trivia. The place wasn't only meant for creatures of the night to prowl about. Herds of couples congregate in nearby waterholes to perform their lusty late-night ritual.

Activity was again amidst us as creatures lounged casually by the corner, leaning on trees or whatever else that could be leaned on. It would not be implausible to believe that there were angelic-looking creatures you would never have expected to be plying their trade the way they were.

Was looking for a normal job so hard?? What could possibly make them think that making a living like this makes them above the rest?? I would not be surprised if these creatures were younger than myself.

It was 4.30am before we finally pulled ourselves away from the scene. Faris had fallen asleep more than once and Salim was on the verge of sounding like a bear. My own eyes were beginning to sting from the lack of sleep the night before. Lethargy was fast catching up, as was the approaching sunrise.

I drove each one home and only reached home slightly after 5am. I already had every intention of telling Mother about my escapade and what time I finally arrived. Unfortunately she had the liberty of finding out all by herself what time her daughter came home because of the residue I left in my wake. In the midst of parking the Trajet, I'd unknowingly rolled over the newspaper thrown over our gate by the newsboy and while I was sleeping, my mother was struggling in vain to get the paper out from under the Trajet's massive wheels. Of course, that riled her up real bad because she had to start the car, move over a little before she could remove the it from underneath.

And with that same Sunday Times, she marched up into my room and whacked me into an out-of-this-world awakening with it. That very afternoon, I managed to do the explaining and although I could tell she disapproved of my whereabouts the night before, she relented a little when I expressed the feelings I had for the place. Of course, I promised never to go again because frankly, who the heck would want to venture there for a second time when you already know what's going on.

It'e been a month since my trip there but sometimes, some things just can't help but linger in your mind. It's kinda haunting, because it's the sinister side of life that you see and you realize not everything is in rose-colored lenses with unicorns shooting rainbows out of their asses. It's always at the back of my mind now although the darkness will creep up unexpectedly from time to time to remind me what really is.

Laterz...
Lenny