Page 13 - AAEPC Kaleidoscope Magazine Vol.4

Teresa’s Catastrophic Life
- Bibi Rukayya
BA (Hons.) in Contemporary Eng Studies (Lingnan University)- year 2
“He is waiting for you in room number 209,” the brothel keeper teased Teresa. “He is a foreigner, so remember to spice things up for him, pleasing him will leave you with more tips,” she whispered in Teresa’s ears. Teresa tells the brothel keeper that she will be there in ten minutes, she then sits down and almost laughs in sorrow at how much her life has changed over the past 2 years.
It was just two years ago, when Teresa’s father would accuse her of being a chicken-girl, in other words, a prostitute, when all she did for a living was to work as a masseur in Big Boy Massage, a mas- sage parlour in Tsim Sha Tsui. Teresa would always get so annoyed and disappointed when he would become extremely offensive and disgusted talking about her career.
Why and how did Teresa end up working as a prostitute in a brothel then? 2 years earlier...
Tennessee had missed his flight to the United States due to him not being able to make it to the airport on time. However, he didn’t regret it at all. Instead, he actually thought that it was a clue from the almighty God that he should stay here and disclose his romantic feeling towards Teresa.
Next morning, Tennessee, fully prepared with a script of proposal, paid a visit to the massage par- lour where she worked, and demanded for number “twenty-five”, which was Teresa’s staff number, to massage his foot. The manager directly instructed Teresa to attend this customer who was asking for her. Without any further enquiries, she enters the room with her massage oils where Tennessee was waiting.
“Ten-Nussy... Wha... How... Your... flight?” stuttered Teresa in shock.
“It’s Michael, my name, no more Tennessee,” he said nervously. “Yes, I had missed my flight, but I be- lieve it was the best thing that could have ever happened!” he added, with the tone of his words rising with each sentence he spoke, disclosing his joy at seeing her.
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