Since I got here, I noticed the peacocks had been roaming freely. The feathers are all stacked to make the patterns homogenous & uniformed. It’s like someone’s work of art on these birds as no two are alike. And they moult. I’d developed a favourite pastime of collecting their feathers, long, short & fluffy. Some of these are sitting between the pages of my Bible. 
Bookmark
And with every find, I chuckle with glee, knowing that I’m competing with the rest of the resort staff who are also vying for this prized possession. Hahaha! The moulting process enables them to grow newer & more elaborate feathers. So the existing feathers make way when their time is up. What a splendid process. I have feathers all over my room now.
The Deck
Divers who come here, ask me how I can move from bustling KL city to a laidback idyllic island living. A girl friend whom I had met briefly before, was surprised to find me here too. I tell them that I am adjusting but the pace is still the same for me. The only thing I have to contend with is the non-availability of the usual convenience of midnight dining at mamak stalls. And the friends who would be awake to be there for you. Diver friends call me to give me encouragement & the inspiration to write. I needed it. Thank you, Eng Hoo, for believing in me in this occasionally lonely place. Then I told them of the birds that visit me are not the usual kind nowadays. I have three eagles atop the tallest trees in the jungle behind me, peacocks all around me & a rooster that likes to chill out at my balcony. Then the common mynahs will squeak when the monitor lizard emerges from below my chalet. The two dogs from the neighbours will roam into our place & I have access to so many pets in a gigantic marine aquarium that houses fearless Sergeant Majors & Cleaner Wrasses!! Ok, so I miss church & fellowship but I also get to meet people from all walks of life. We have had stories from a freight forwarder who transported dolphins to the Singapore Underwater World from Thailand. The whole operation was an intensive-care affair. Then we have the host of the Survivor series coming here to go diving with us. Shortly after, I met Erhling Wahlgren, former Mr. Universe! Who needs the city?
My Daily Visitor
So I have prided myself above the average city slicker (that I was) to come to this island & operate the dive centre with an equally if not more, proud city slicker of Singapore, my dive manager, Sam. Gene, a long time friend & fellow instructor, laughed himself silly when he found out. He didn’t think I could manage the compressor breakdown (if any) or the equipment breakdown (heaven forbids…) & asked me how I was going to manage them. Kaseng, my associate/godfather/guardian, interjected with “she’ll pick up her phone & call for help!†Swanky! That’s why I hired Sam. Life is never going to be the same again. When I made arrangements to cook our own meals, a friend enroute here kindly fulfilled my groceries request. Well, chocolates aren’t exactly groceries but they are my happy food. I got succulent grapes, a 300 thread count per square inch pillowcase & bonito flakes among others, to add onto my feel good therapy! Is he going to be the charming prince who rescues the princess from being marooned? I don’t feel marooned but it’s nice to make believe that I live in a fantasy once in awhile. Castle in a faraway land, an army of guards & servants. A tyrant king guided by an evil prime minister. And me? Stuck in the garden with my Golden Retriever & hornbill. Of course, ideally it should be pet tiger & a macaw but I’m being a bit realistic here. It would be better if this prince believed in Christ & walk in His ways. Maybe he was sent to be a distraction from the better things to come? Maybe he’s been sent by a competitor who’s got high stakes on a bet between themselves. Whatever it is, the last thing on my mind is to let a bet get in the way of friendship if friendship is what the friend is after. If the bet is really what this friend wants to win, then he would have lost the opportunity of my friendship.
The Beach
Relationships used to take up much of my time & effort as I’d placed so much emphasis on them. After going through life being single, I think I have an idea of what my soul mate would be. He will have to look like a peacock to impress me, drop life’s burdens no matter how much significance they hold like the moulting feathers, be ready to accept the period of looking bald & incomplete until the new feathers with greater magnificence grow out to replace the old. He must be monogamous like the macaws too. Tall order. Well, they say nothing is impossible with God. Just as He had arranged all the feathers to a pattern, numbered the hairs on our heads, letting a Godly man find me is like discovering my peacock feathers. Not knowing which peacock had dropped its’ feathers, chancing upon it is already an excitement. How the feather got there would be the adventure I’d live to tell my descendants, hopefully, in my garden full of flowers, hornbills & macaws, a Golden Retriever & God.
