Ada bilik kosong?

When Yah called me last time to tell me she was already working in Ipoh, I was made to understand that she was renting a room near her workplace. As such, I thought there should be no problem accommodation-wise. So when she called last Friday asking me about getting a cheap flat for her to rent, I was wondering why she would want to move further from her workplace.

Apparently when she said she was renting a room near her workplace, she was actually staying at her sister-in-law’s house. Now, if readers had been following Yah’s story from the beginning, you would remember that Yah had been having some problems with her in-laws – from mother-in-law, brother-in-law right to sister-in-law. They were very calculative people who would even charge for every single thing and they even had the cheek to ask Yah to pay them their share when Yah withdrew her EPF. It was Yah’s EPF in the first place, why on earth would Yah need to give a certain percentage to them?? All because of money, the in-laws became out-laws!

Despite all that, Yah still decided to stay with her sister-in-law when she got a job in Ipoh. Why on earth did she do that? Beats me! In the first place, I still feel Yah should have tried to get a job nearer to her kampong where her children are.

Now the problem is surfacing again. According to Yah, all her pay is gone having to pay for her sister-in-law’s household needs – especially since the husband is a drug addict! Now Yah wants to move out and she heard about the cheap flats for rent meant for poor people. That was why she called me.

Actually the flats are meant for poor families. Yah, on the other hand, wants to stay alone! No way will her application be approved unless she’s bringing all her children to stay with her. Well, if she does bring them here, then who will be taking care of them while she’s at work, especially when she has to follow her employer for outstation catering jobs?

When she found out that she’s not eligible for the flats, she asked if I could look around for rooms to let. Frankly, at the area where she works, there are lots of rooms to let. She would be the best person to scout around for one. She can’t expect me to be her kuli to look for a room for her to stay when she's more familiar with the area. I told her to take the initiative to find one herself.

On another note, her 2 daughters who went to an orphanage since the beginning of this year are now back at home for the school holidays. Earlier they were the ones who wanted to go to the orphanage, now they want out! According to Yah, her second daughter Kak Ngah, the chubby one, is now just as skinny as her Kak Long. Oh wow! She must have lost a lot of weight. She’s not happy at the orphanage as she said the seniors there like to bully her. Adoii… at an orphanage also like that ah?

Yah told them to give it another month or so before they should really decide if they want out for sure. Maybe they just needed some time to adjust. I guess we shall just wait and see, although I do hope Yah does not see them as a burden if they do come home for good.

Anyway, there was one thing I noticed. For the past 2 calls from Yah, she did not mention anything about Mr. Darling. Not a single word!

Hmmm… I hope… I really, really hope… that means good news. Ye think?