Capítulo 24: Working Outside
Ludwina felt upset this morning because she could not find the perfect outfit to leave the hotel to see Andrea.
Today's weather was not as hot as usual. It's like a perfect day in summer. She could wear casual shorts and a thin blouse or tank top, typical look for the tropics.
It would look really trendy and casual, but somehow, she felt that every girl in Singapore was rocking the same style. She wanted to look special.
Finally, after changing her clothes for the umpteenth time, she settled with her first choice.
[Where do you want to find inspiration? Should I pick you up at your hotel?] Andrea's text came to her phone.
The man had just arrived at his workplace and was asking for permission from his manager to work outside the office. Joe looked surprised but happy to see Andrea want to work outside today.
He could see the change in the young man's mood these past two days and could guess that Andrea might be seeing a woman.
[I want to go to the National Museum and look for inspiration there. After that, I want to sit in the coffee shop and write. See you there.]
[Okay.]
They met at the museum and walked around to see the exhibited objects, before deciding to look for the nearest cafe and start working there.
They both chose the quietest corner for privacy, because Andrea worked with classified material, while Ludwina didn't like the sounds of people passing by or talking when she was working.
Once seated, she opened her laptop and wrote down pieces of information she had gotten from the museum just now in a special folder. She called it her inspiration bank. She had collected so many ideas for novels in this special folder over the past 3 years.
In Singapore subfolder, she typed down the case of Maria Hertogh which sparked a riot in Singapore in the 1950s. Maria Hertogh was a girl born to a Dutch family in Java.
During the Japanese occupation (WWII), Maria, who was still very young, was entrusted by her parents to their neighbor, a Muslim Malay who had no children.
Maria was raised as a Muslim by this neighbor lady and later brought to Singapore. After the war was over, Maria's biological family wanted to take her home to the Netherlands but was prevented by her adoptive mother who claimed that Maria had been handed over to her for adoption.
Maria did not want to leave her adoptive family, but the Hertogh family sued her adoptive family in court and they succeeded in winning the case. This forced the 13-year-old Maria to return to the Netherlands and went back to Catholicism.
When the court ruling came out, there were bloody riots all over Singapore due to the protests of the Malays who considered the British court was unfair to the Malay natives.
"What are you taking notes for?" Andrea asked, looking interested. Ludwina explained the story as she typed so that Andrea would understand the background.
"I like keeping snippets of historical facts, which later I can use as the background of my novels. I think the Maria Hertogh's case is quite interesting."
"I see."
"Ethnic riots caused by the court ruling back then changed Singapore and the government decided to take a firm stand on ethnic inclusion. Until now, we could see how tolerance in Singapore is upheld and racism rate is very low," Ludwina added.
"Interesting," commented Andrea. "You are always full of interesting stories. You just have to pour them into a real novel."
"Yeah, I know..." Ludwina tried to peek at Andrea's laptop, but she only saw codes that she didn't understand. "What are you doing?"
"I am trying to hack into the back door of an international bank, looking for weaknesses in their system."
"Oh ..."
They returned to work in silence, only occasionally raising their faces and smiling at the sight of the other, busy with their world.
After two hours, Ludwina began to feel bored and tired of typing. Her inspiration bank was full and she missed seeing the trees.
"Do you want to go to the park? On our right is Fort Canning Park," she asked Andrea.
"Sure." Andrea closed his laptop and paid for their drinks. He then walked out of the cafe, followed hy Ludwina with a big smile on her face.
She took Andrea for a walk in the vast Fort Canning Park and finally chose a shady spot under a tree. From there, they could see the expanse of grass and colonial buildings in the distance.
"Do you want to sit here?" Ludwina offered. She sat leaning against a tree and pulled out a book to read. Andrea nodded in agreement. He cast his glance around and loved how the place was so green and peaceful. He then sat next to Ludwina and continued his work.
They were busy with their work again. Ludwina with the novel she just bought, and Andrea with his security testing.
It turned out, working side by side like this felt very pleasant. A gentle breeze blew and made Ludwina feel so relaxed and sleepy. Soon, she fell asleep.
Andrea only realized that Ludwina had fallen asleep when the girl's head drooped and hit his shoulder. Shaking his head, Andrea held the girl's head and slowly positioned it against his shoulder comfortably. His face was filled with a happy smile.
He would not wake Ludwina. He would let the girl rest on his shoulder for however long she wanted. If necessary, he will stay in this park even after his laptop battery ran out.
***
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