by Hoo Sze Yen

By a simple twist of cruel fate
The arrow that misses its mark
Hits the target which leaves the world
Grappling in the dark ...

EVERYTHING WAS DARK. He could not see anything. 
	He sat up. His hands flailed around wildly to feel his surroundings. 
	He tried to open his eyes, but seemed to be unable to do so. His hands flew to his eyes. A soft cloth 
was wrapped around his eyes. 
	He heard a soft rustle, similar to soft cotton brushing against itself. Gentle hands restrained his arms. 
�Aah, sir, but you are awake.� 
	�Where am I? Who are you? What is this? What�s going on?� He cried out in fear and confusion. 
	The gentle voice shushed his endless worries. �Don�t worry, young man. You are in the hospital and 
the doctor has been treating you for your ... injury. I shall call the doctor now. Don�t be alarmed ... everything 
will be ... fine.� 
	The hands pushed him back gently against the bed, and then he felt the hands move away. He heard a 
soft buzzer being sounded. He heard the person, whom he assumed to be the nurse, going back to her chair. 
	He lay there, tense. He had heard the multiple hesitations in her voice. He was terrified. He had not 
asked her what happened. He did not need to. He knew what had happened. As he lay there, his thoughts 
unconsciously flew back to what had happened ... 
 
 
	THEY WERE AT THE newly opened shop in their residential area which sold fragrances, skincare 
products and several other similar products. 
	�White musk,� Aini sprayed the tester on her wrist, and sniffed the fumes. She coughed. �Yuk! Smells 
terrible.� She made a face. 
	�Really?� Jalil asked, looking at the gel that was up for sale. 
	He was at the other side, looking at the cologne. Fatimah went up to him, and asked him what he was 
going to buy. 
	�I don�t know. I intend to use the money wisely,� he replied cheekily. 
	Jalil came up, and asked, �What money?� 
	�Oh, Hassan�s parents had given him fifty ringgit for topping the class in the end-year examinations,� 
Fatimah explained. 
	Aini joined them. �Topping the class?� 
	Fatimah looked at her. �If you had forgotten, Hassan did get first, you know.� 
	�By four lousy marks,� Aini retorted. 
	They all stared at her. They knew Aini usually was top of the class, Hassan nowhere near that. 
Hassan started studying real hard and his hard work paid off. 
	Jalil chuckled quietly to himself. 
	Competition between the twins was no secret. Well, Hassan was the more good-natured one actually, 
who never appeared to mind if his sister had one up over him. Aini was the one who would get furious and 
jealous, and belittle her brother�s achievements. Aini did not ever appear to be proud of her brother, nor 
care about her brother. One would hardly think she was even related to him, much less his twin. 
	On the other hand, however, Hassan would be proud of his sister and concerned about her and 
everything. How is it possible, Jalil often wondered, that Hassan cared so much about Aini but Aini 
appeared to have no affection at all for him? How could it ever be? 
	Fatimah shook her head. �Your parents always gave you fifty. Isn�t it Hassan�s turn now, for once?� 
	Aini glared at her. �I was denied my �income� simply because Hassan got four marks higher than I 
did.� She said her brother�s name with a snarl, as if it was a slug she was mentioning. 
	�Can�t you ever congratulate him for once?� Jalil cut in. 
	Aini looked at him. Her expression suddenly seemed to change. �Of course,� she smiled. Her eyes 
gleamed, and she looked at her brother. �Congratulations, Hassan.� 
	Hassan just smiled. �Thank you. A bit long overdue, though.� 
	Aini laughed. 
	�So ... what are you going to get?� Jalil broke the silence. 
	�Let me help you choose,� Aini said brightly. She glanced at the displays her brother had been 
admiring. She started looking at the different products that was up for sale. 
	Jalil and Fatimah smiled as they watched the twins looking at the cologne samples, and moved off to 
the other sections of the shops separately. 
	�Try this,� Aini offered, spraying the tester onto her brother�s wrist. 
	Hassan sniffed, and shook his head. �Yelch. No thanks.� 
	Aini put the tester back and then took up another bottle. She glanced at her brother, who was looking 
at the other bottles, running his hand through his hair ... 
 
 
	�AH! HASSAN! So, how are you feeling now?� 
	Hassan woke up from his daydream, hearing a man�s friendly warm voice. He assumed it to be the 
doctor�s. 
	He cleared his throat. �Fine, thanks,� he croaked. 
	He felt the doctor�s hands touch his temples, apparently looking at the bandage. �I think we can take 
this off right now.� The hands started groping for the ends of the bandage, and he felt the bandage slowly, 
softly winding around from his head ... 
 
 
	... RUNNING HIS HAND THROUGH HIS HAIR ... he never should have done that. 
	Aini had taken the bottle and just turned to spray it on his wrist. In a bizarre twist of events, she 
reached up to spray the cologne on his wrist ... he turned and removed his hand from his hair ... she pressed the 
top of the bottle ... it went into his eyes ... 
 
 
	THE BANDAGE REMOVED ITSELF, and finally the whole thing came off. 
	�You can open your eyes now, Hassan.� 
	Hassan tried to force it open, but his subconscious mind apparently seemed to argue. He felt cold 
sweat breaking out on his nape, and his hands went clammy with the cold sweat too. He was afraid ... 
 
 
	�OH NO!� Aini screamed. 
	He screamed, too, purely because of the pain. His hands flew up wildly to protect his eyes, and it 
seemed like eternity before the spray stopped coming. But the pain did not stop -- it felt hot, terrible, burning. He 
wanted to dig his eyes out, to stop the horrendous pain, but he could not even open his eyelids. It was 
terrible ... terrible ... terrible ... 
 
 
	�CAN YOU see anything?� 
	Hassan was startled. He tried to force open his eyes, but they did not respond. 
	�Can you see anything?� the doctor repeated. 
	Hassan was confused. How could he see anything when he had not even open his eyes yet? 
	Oh no, please, no, when a horrid thought struck him. His hands flew to his eyes, trying to pry open his 
eyelids manually. 
	He felt his eyelids were already open, and felt the movement of his unseeing eyeballs. 
	�No! No!� he screamed out, his hands groping at his eyeballs in vain hope that his suspicions were 
not confirmed. �No! No! No! It can�t be! No! No!� 
	He was not conscious of the arms that tried to pin him down, nor of the voices that tried to calm him. 
	�No! No! No! It can�t be! No! No! Noooooooo!� 
 
 
	HE SAT QUIETLY IN A CORNER, unaware of the things that moved around him, unaware of the 
things that moved in front of him. How could he? The one most essential thing to him was no longer his. 
	He could no longer run. 
	He could no longer read. 
	He could no longer walk without the assistance of others. 
	He could no longer see the faces of his beloved ones. 
	He could no longer ... 
	�Are you okay?� Hassan jumped at the sound of Aini�s voice. 
	�Yeah ... I�m fine,� Hassan nodded. 
	Aini sighed. �I�m really sorry, you know.� 
	Maybe his hearing had been heightened because of his blindness. He thought Aini�s voice bore no 
trace of regret. Hassan brushed it away. Aini was his sister, his twin. Twins were supposed to be the closest to 
each other in the world, even if they weren�t identical twins. 
	�I didn�t mean it to happen,� her voice said sorrowfully. �I just wanted to spray it on your wrist, and, 
well, I don�t know how it happened, it just ...� 
	�Never mind,� Hassan cut in. �Forget it.� He got up, and groped his way around, wanting to go back 
to his room. 
	�Isn�t there anything I can do for you?� 
	Hassan shook his head, and then continued on his way. Then he stopped, and said thoughtfully. �Do 
you think I could go to school tomorrow? I want to �see� the school for the last time ... be with our friends 
for the last time ... you know ...� 
	Aini did know. Next term he was going to a special school for the blind. 
	�If it�s okay with Pa and Ma,� she said. �I don�t see why not. Tomorrow�s the last day of school, 
however.� Although it was after the examinations, their school usually had two weeks of ordinary 
schooldays before the holidays. �Many of our friends will be skipping school -- you know, because there 
won�t be anything to do tomorrow.� 
	�Typical,� he replied. He turned and stumbled off. 
 
 
	IT WAS THE LAST PERIOD OF SCHOOL, leaving half an hour before it was officially the holidays. 
Aini and Jalil were accompanying Hassan to �see� the entire school for the last time. Fatimah was one of the many 
who had skipped school. 
	Hassan ran his hand along the table in the Biology laboratory. �This was where we dissected rats and 
toads,� he said sadly. Never again would he pry open a helpless animal to examine its insides. He had to 
abandon his dream of being one of the most successful surgeons in the country. 
	He sighed, and then allowed himself to be led by the two to the last room. 
	�Chemistry lab,� Jalil announced. 
	Hassan walked around, feeling his hand along the tables and apparatus at each table. The two stood 
at the front, watching him. 
	�Uhh ... I have to go to the bathroom,� Jalil said. �Be back in a flash.� He hurried out. 
	Hassan did not even bother. He stopped at a table. He fingered the test-tubes and test-tube holders ... 
and his hearing seemed to be sharp again. 
	�He�ll never beat me again.� A girl�s voice said very softly, apparently to herself. �Never again.� She 
giggled quietly. 
	Hassan stood very still. His hand clutched the bottle very tightly. 
	A few moments passed. �Hassan, are you okay?� 
	Hassan did not reply. 
	Footsteps towards him, then stopped next to him. �Hey, what�s wrong?� Then, �Be careful with that. 
You�re holding sulfuric acid.� 
	Sulfuric acid. H2SO4. Highly corrosive. 
	He remembered what happened when he spilt the contents of a similar bottle all over his book. It 
disappeared slowly -- literally. 
	Aini put a hand on his shoulder -- the left one. 
	It was all a sign from God. 
	The hearing ... Jalil going ... Aini speaking ... Aini coming ... corrosive acid ... 
	In one swift motion, he uncapped the bottle and splashed it at her face.