my new siblings

Ma just started her new job less than a month ago. And she was actually allowed to attend their annual D&D, where they will always have their never-so-lucky-for-me lucky draw. And she bagged the first prize. Out of thousands of staff, notably more old-birds. I didn't understand why she had that luck, though she claims, up to this day, that it has everything to do with the new fish she got from my uncle that fateful afternoon. You see, the trend in Singapore now is the much-hyped LuoHan fish. One tiny fish can give you the prosperity that you've been craving for all your life. Oh would you believe that! We now have 2 luohans in a tiny tank in the hall. One's called Ah Fu. The other, Ah Gui. Irresistable names, since Fu Gui means prosperity. So that makes it a double shot of prosperity for my family.

Sometimes they make me jealous. They never get yelled at when they dirty their habitat. They never get screamed at when they don't finish their food. In fact, all the garbage they're producing gets cleaned up without a snort of complaint from Ma. They have unconsciously taken over the apple-of-the-eye position in my family. Or is it apples-of-the-eye? Even I, the victim, has been unknowingly brainwashed by these unscrupulous villains into their fanclub. I bought them a plastic tortoise for company! Can you fucking believe that?! I have spent my precious minutes staring at them swim in that tank, waving that pen with a blue cap outside that tank just to let them play chase. I'm guilty of talking to them like they are babies, and I'm certain as hell that between themselves, they must be laughing their scales off at me being a moron. Will someone come pull me out of this evil ring?!

Just last week, while we were watching TV in the hall, we heard this rap-a-tap tapping. Yes we know that it was Ah Fu and Ah Gui playing with the pebbles. I swear, my parents looked at each other, and smiled. I goddamn swear upon my life.