PSLE: An argument

Every time I look at my piggy bank, it brings me back so many memories, especially the one when my parents had a serious argument. It all happened a few years ago when I was only five.

It was a brilliant day. The sun had set and I was going to my bedroom as I was going to bed. Excitement was bubbling inside of me and I just could not sleep. The next day my family and I were going to the zoo. It was a rare occasion as my father had lost his job for a few months already and my mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. Her pay was not an excellent one but only meagre, barely enough to support the family.

Suddenly loud voices resounded through the whole house and interrupted my thoughts. I opened the door slightly and peeped through the gap. My mother had just come back from work and fatigue was overwhelming her. Still, she managed to muster her strength and screamed at my father, saying, “Why are you sitting here on the couch, drinking beer and watching television? Shouldn’t you be finding a job! You expect money to just fall out from the sky and you just have to sit down and shake legs*!”

My father replied sternly, “This is my first beer in three months and I am not shaking legs. Today, I went to about five companies to ask for a job but they saw me as a useless piece of junk and would not hire me. It’s not my fault, you know!”

At this point of time, both of them were staring at each other with daggers in their eyes. My mother could not control her anger and it literally engulfed her. My rarely angry mother bellowed, “You are so irresponsible! Even our only child, who is only five, is more mature and responsible than you! You are blaming the companies for not hiring you when there are so many jobs in Singapore! You could even be a cleaner if you really want to help support the family!”

With that, she gave my father a hard push. My father was flung back to the wall with a loud thud. His hands were bruised and seemed to be bleeding. Ignoring the pain, he stood up and flipped the table and the beer bottle smashed onto the ground. Both of them were like seething dragons, getting angrier by the second. They were so angry that I could actually see puffs of smoke coming out of their ears.

Instantly, I had a bright idea. If money was the thing they were fighting for, why not give them my piggy back that was filled to the brim with coins? I was sure they would stop fighting.

I took out my piggy bank and walked towards them and asked politely, Mummy, Daddy, can you take the money in my piggy bank and stop fighting?” My father was still mad and in a fit of anger, he pushed me backwards. I wobbled backwards and tripped over my toy ball and came falling to the ground. My precious piggy bank came smashing to the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

Seeing the shattered pieces of my piggy bank on the ground made me cry. My loud wailing sound reverberated through the entire room. When my parents saw me crying, their rage and anger melted right away. Both of them came rushing towards me and hugged me really tightly. At that point, I was comforted by them and stopped crying. After that, they scotch-taped the piggy bank together with a handwritten note pasted on one of its sides. Then my parents put me to bed and reassured me that they would stop their quarrel and all of us would have a great time at the zoo.

Till today, I can still see the ‘bandaged’ piggy bank on my desk and I cannot bear to throw it away. On it is written: Family – Father and Mother, I love you.  

Written by: Terance P6

* Local colloquialism.  'Shake legs' means to be idle and do nothing.