‘An ugly man can only settle for a whore, I suppose’, one of them said to you when I wore a miniskirt to the workshop. Another said to me, ‘Well, it's about time you find a man and settle down too,
puteri
(noun)
"daughter, princess" in Malay.
.’"daughter, princess" in Malay.
I returned her unkindness, ‘Well, at least we won’t die alone. After all, I hardly see any of you hanging on to any man.’
They continued to pester us. And you began to keep your distance. It’s like those countless workday lunches and Friday night dinners were simply illusions. Whenever I tried to talk to you at the garment workshop, you only looked at the empty space beside my feet.
The rest of them would always heckle behind us. I felt like the tiniest of ants scurrying for shelter in the monsoon. Now, again, you’re staring at another empty space beside me.
