Bitter Sweet Harvest Read Free

had been placed in a position where she felt forced to reveal her feelings and long curbed resentment of her own situation; an anger that made her turn suddenly to lash out at An Mei. “Do you know that you have to become a Muslim, An Mei, if you want to marry Hussein? That is, if his parents even agree. Do you know what becoming a Muslim entails? Do you know that you have to be circumcised?”
    An Mei blinked and she shook her head. It was not something she had given much thought to during the months she had been with Hussein. She had managed to persuade herself that it was an ordeal she could avoid somehow.
    “From what I gather, Hussein’s parents are not in favour of him marrying anyone other than someone from an important Malay family who would help his political career, and certainly not a Chinese girl. Don’t keep comparing your situation with mine, Hussein. It is a different era and your uncle had only himself to answer to. He had no living parents. Even then, his decision to marry me cost him and it took years for his friends to accept me. You, Hussein, can you say that you answer only to yourself? You, the only son and heir?!”
    In response, Hussein took An Mei in his arms. He placed his lips close to her ears. She felt his warm breath, compelling and insistent. “Don’t listen to her,” he whispered. “She is only trying to frighten you. Circumcision in Malaysia is symbolic, just a tiny prick to release blood. See, does she look as though she has suffered any mutilation? In any case, we can get around it. Trust me.”
*****
    Jenny sat in the room long after An Mei and Hussein had left. The fire crackled casting a warm glow. She sank deeper into her armchair. She was aghast that she had revealed all the resentment she subconsciously harboured. It had escaped out of her like pent-up foam from a freshly opened can of beer. Her outward persona was always one of a confident, carefree and satisfied woman. She was ashamed of her bluntness and lack of tact, but she had promised Mei Yin she would put an end to An Mei’s hope that things would somehow work out between Hussein and her. Jenny picked up the phone. She dialled. “Operator,” she said, “Kuala Lumpur please. Telephone number...”
    The minutes passed. She looked at the clock impatiently. A click sounded at the other end. A faint voice asked hesitantly. “Yes! Who is it?”
    “Mei Yin? Is that you? I have spoken to An Mei. I have told her to stay in Oxford and await your arrival. And I think I have said enough to convince her.”

Chapter 2
    A n Mei paced the floor. Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her trousers, she stared guiltily at the flight indicator board. “Any minute now,” she mumbled to herself, “they should be at the arrival hall.” She looked around to check that she was stationed in a spot where they would be able to see her easily, close by the neon-lit sign for the meeting point. She had been biting her fingernails and they were raw and tingling. How was she going to greet her parents with these hands, she thought to herself. It was an old habit, a habit that grew out of those very troubled times when her parents were separated. She sighed. At least, she thought, they were all back together again as one big happy family. Could she dare risk doing anything that might cause the family to split apart again? An earlier short conversation on the phone with her brother, Wei Han, had given her little cause for comfort. “You must not think only about yourself in these very troubled times, not when father has lost so much of his business,” he had said. Accusing her of being selfish, he had slammed down the phone but not before saying that he would be coming to Oxford as soon as he could get permission from his professor. Now pacing back and forth with growing anxiety, An Mei acknowledged that she had been selfish. How could she have been so thoughtless to even consider loading them with another worry?
    At that moment, a flight