Sago Lane, in the heart of Singapore's Chinatown, was snuggled in the midst of the oriental enchantment of a thriving British colony. Endowed with the mysticism of the East, it was a famous local landmark in the 1950s. To the clinical observing eyes of a Westerner, Sago Lane then had a uniqueness of its own as a street of flowers, paper and wood. The narrow straight lanes were home to a certain kind of human being. Those human being without life, that is. For Sago Lane then hustled and bustled with funeral parlours and shops selling products to accompany the dead in their long sojourn to the underworld.

As I walked that late afternoon along Sago Lane, my mind was not focused on or distracted by the unusual business activities of the shops along this colourful street. After all, I had walked down this same route for many years since my early childhood. And even after my own parents decided to move the family away from our last home in the same first floor flat which we shared with the Lee family, I had always been making that weekly pilgrimage to visit my god parents Jait Hoe and his wife Li-Lian. On that Monday afternoon, I knew that my godfather would be at home as it was a rest day for him.

Jait Hoe or Uncle Jake as I would normally address him opened the door. He stood immodestly bare chest in his white hand sewn brief. He was smiling and was expecting me. He had seen me growing up before his eyes and had accepted me as his own son. A short and stubby man of five feet and worn out by years of toil as a hawker in Singapore's Chinatown, he looked much older than his fifty years with his fading hair line crowned by a thatch of white hair. Yet despite his serious looking face, he had a heart of gold and a good sense of humour that made him always a joy to anyone who had the fortune to beget his acquaintance.

“Come in. Hung and Li-lian are out shopping this afternoon.”

“It's alright. I will come back later.” As I turned to retrace my steps down the dark clammy staircase, which was the standard architecture of the row of pre-war buildings in the heart of busy Sago Lane, Uncle Jake spoke again.

“Robert, why don't you come in and wait for her. They should be back very soon. I am not feeling too well today and have come back early from the stall. Perhaps we can have a chat till the ladies come home.”

I responded to his kind invitation and made my way into the front section of the building, which was occupied by the Hoe family. The Hoes had been family friends and I had grown up with Hung, their youngest daughter who had become my childhood paramour. At eighteen years, Hung was one year my junior, but she was one of the sweetest creature in the neighbourhood. I had seen her blossomed from a cheeky and talkative child into a fine specimen of the female sex. To say that I was infatuated by her giggling and smiling disposition was an understatement. I was totally engrossed by her charm and harboured the deepest wish to make her to be my life time partner one day. Uncle Jake and Aunt Li-lian knew of my fascination for their daughter. They spared no efforts to make me comfortable at home during my daily visits to their home to see Hung. My parents who were on good terms with the Hoes were also very supportive of my efforts to win the heart of this young lady. She had all the elegance of a female member of the Chinese race.

I sat with Uncle Jake in front of the windows, surveying the street not batting much of an eyelid at the occasional funeral possession that passed below. Sago Lane, in 1969, after all had its unique local fame as the street of death where locals patronised the row of funeral parlours and casket makers. With few alternate facilities to mourn their loved ones who had left this mundane world for the after world of the Chinese race, Sago Lane had never been busier with those locals who could not afford the more lavish expenses of a proper Chinese funeral send off.

With cheap local beer flowing from our glasses, we were soon the best of friends talking without the generation gap that existed between him and me. Uncle Jake was very much unlike my own parents who were ever so strict about the need for propriety. He was so down to earth. Alcohol was out for me at home until I could make my own dole to pay for it. But in his simple life making a living selling fried noodles, Hung's father found beer to be the drink it was designed for, a drink for pleasure and for relaxation. I was introduced to this yellow liquid during one of my regular visits to his home at the tender age of fourteen when Hung was my neighbour. Time had passed so fast and she was able to sustain my interest in her with her simple honesty and faithfulness that our respective families had accepts us as two young underage sweethearts.

As the smell of burning sandalwood incense permeated the atmosphere, my future father-in-law and I were lured into a somewhat intoxicated stupor by the flagrancy and the wonderful effects of alcohol. Or perhaps it was the total familiarity of Hung's father and me for he suddenly burst out with a delightful grin and talked to his prospective son-in law like one adult to another.

“Robert, I know that you are only coming to nineteen. At your age, Li-lian and I were already married and she was bearing Hung's elder brother. I supposed it may be a bit too early for you to think about tying the knot with Hung since you are so ambitious and would like to go into the university after your higher school certificate.”

“Uncle, we are too young to think about marriage. But I am very fond of Hung and she is the sweetest girl I have ever known.”

He was not put off by my candid reply and pursued the subject further, but I was not aware that on that day, he was planting the seed to my future misadventure with his family. Not in the way he had intended to anyway.

“Yes, I know. Hung is a bit too young to be married to you now. As a girl, she cannot really experience much of the joy of an adult experience because her mother would certainly want her to be a virgin till she has properly gone through the tea ceremony. But you are strong and should try a bit of fun like me outside the knowledge of the old lady.”

My ears instantly turned into the high quality microphone that it was designed for as his adult talk fascinated me. Uncle Jake had never been so open in his conversation in the past and especially in the presence of Hung and his wife. Suddenly, I found in him a potential tutor who could teach me about the facts of life. At nineteen, I was no longer a young child. I had an active and normal body and had learnt from my schoolmates about those adult things and adolescent fantasies, which had passed through the minds of boys of that age. Some have experienced relationships with adult women and were able to describe in depth their sexual adventures. But for me, I could not find someone to talk to at home about such a sensitive subject. Not to my own highly conservative parents and certainly not to ladies like Hung and Li-lian.

“I don't really know what you meant, uncle. Papa and Mama had told me to control myself as I could get into trouble playing with ladies.”

“Oh, you are so simple and naive. Not, if you know how to take care of yourself. You can have some fun at this age and still be faithful to Hung. Have you seen her body beyond the dress she is wearing?” I was feeling embarrassed by Uncle Jake's questioning. Especially the last question concerning his very own daughter. What Hung had done to me was none of his business and I was not prepared to reveal to her father her secret feminine charms, which I was not unfamiliar with. Yet, it would have been a disgrace to her for her own father to know about what had transpired between her and me in her bedroom when the family is out of the house. I turned my face downwards and gave a meek reply. “No, Hung is a good girl and we don't do shameful things together.”

“Ha. Ha. After all you are a young man and should learn to be a man. Women are there for us to enjoy and to bear our babies.” He continued with his simple wisdom of the place that all women were destined for. To be faithful wives and baby makers while the breadwinners had all the opportunities to sow their wild oats. To be fair to him, local females in the 1960s were not tainted by Western concepts of women liberation and many would have quietly and meekly accepted the male dominance of the family. Uncle Jake was not the unique species of the Chinese male. He was the norm and he continued to talk openly about what he considered were the rights of the older generation males who married for the sole purpose of sustaining the family lines.

“Robert, you are so square. That ‘fa hai' (female genitals) between a woman's legs is not there just to bear babies. It can be a lot of fun to a man. I suppose you have never seen one close-up before?”

“No. I have not seen any before.” I stuttered in my reply, not wishing to offend him and at the same time wishing that he would not ask if I had ever peeped at that furry burrow between Hung's legs.

“That's a shame. When I was half your age, I had already seen and even furtively touched some fine specimens of those cock pleasers.”

“I don't have the opportunities that you had Uncle. What were they like to you then?” I replied cheekily without offence.

“I could see my mother's from a distance while she was making love at night. It was not that alluring to my sight because she was my mother. But those unmarried aunts and their friends provide some opportunities for me to sample. And they were so much more attractive.” I was feeling randy with his open talk and wanted him to continue with his description of his post adolescence experiences. Hence I decided to give him some moral support by sharing some of my own personal experiences.

“I had also seen my parents making love at night when I was sleeping with them when we were living at the back of this building. But in our new home, we have separate rooms and it's been years since I had slept with them. What they were doing was very exciting, but I feel that I must not be too eager to get myself dirtied by a lady. I would like to try it with Hung when we are married.” I replied sheepishly and honestly as we continued to refill our glass. The alcohol was having its desired effect on me and we talked with more abandon. Suddenly Uncle Jake seemed to be reactivated by my reply and his feeling of tiredness was dissipated by my candour.

“Yes, I know it is difficult to see your parents having sex and not been able to have it yourself. When I was at my puberty stage, it was a torture to sleep in the same room with my parents and seeing them doing their duties to each other. I had to masturbate myself each time when they were making love. I suppose you must also be spilling your seeds sometimes. It's such a waste. If Hung were older, I would not mind even if you try it with her before marriage since you are so attached and committed to her to make her your future wife. But you can't now and Li-lian would never allow it. Have you had any sexual affair with an older woman?” He asked as a matter of fact way. I was taken aback by his forthrightness and began to turn red in the face. But he did not take much notice; perhaps because of the effects of the alcohol we had been imbibing as he continued with his raucous talk.

“Robert, that young cock of yours is not meant to be kept inside your trousers all the time. Especially when you are young and so strong. It will excite those ladies who longed to be screwed by a stiff weapon. Mine is no longer as good after all these years of usage, but it could still make Li-lian beg for more. And she doesn't know that I am having nights of fun out in Geylang. It's a bit too close to home to go to Keong Siak Street too often, but Geylang is a bit safer and quieter.”

“It's not such a bad thing to start now to gain the experience. Since the ladies are out, why don't we slip down to Keong Siak Street to have a massage and you can have a proper look at what a ‘fa hai' (cunt) looks like on an adult woman. It must be much more attractive than that small furry burrow between Hung's legs. Once you have seen one at close hand, you will know that her mother and your Mama have the same thing. That's the part, which we men must learn how to enjoy. I don't know how much time I have to use my old cock to screw as Li-lian is complaining that it is not as hard as before. But I am still able to go into a ‘fiery cave' of a call girl without any trouble. Much better than fucking your very own wife and they are all so well trained to please.”

“Thank you, but I won't want to catch the disease. Honestly, I have not even peep at Hung's body. We are too young for that.” I replied with a touch of implied innocence.

“Oh, you simple fool, you can't catch any germs if you wear a protective. I will let you have a few before you enter the room so that if you are game, you can go all the way. Those girls are so easy to enter and you will find it such a difference than playing with yourself or having Hung to bring you off. You have a massage first and don't worry about the bill as I will pay for your education.” He offered his generosity without hesitation and seeing that I was still undecided on whether to take up his offer, he added. “Let's go now while we have the chance and you can compare it with Hung's possession later. There is a lot of opportunity to do that when you come and visit her when the old lady is out. But for now, let's enjoy what is rightfully ours as men.”

I was still unsure of the wisdom of an involvement with ladies of the night at my age and shook my head. But Uncle Jake was equally determined that he should educate me in the ways of an adult as he saw fit and was not willing to accept my reluctance without trying another tack.

“Okay, if you are not ready to jump into the deep end now, perhaps you can have a massage and nothing more. Feel the heat of a ‘fa hai' and know how a woman's body responds. And if you want to see how the man goes into a woman's body, I will have the ‘tai cheh' (madam) arrange for a room where you can peep through the hole on the dividing wall to see how I'm going about slaughtering the chicken. Let's go now.”

I was totally unprepared for this first experience, but at the same time, I was not prepared to offend him as my future father-in-law. I decided to change tack and asked him to bring me to a girlie bar instead that evening.

“Uncle, Hung will be back soon. I would love to go with you to a bar instead as I had heard so much about the fun drinking at such places. Maybe you can take me that this evening and I will surely like to go with you for a massage maybe sometime next week when I am more prepared.”

“Okay Robert, we will go to a bar instead. Let me tell you about the first time I saw my parents making love in the middle of the night.”

We continued with a most fascinating conversation as Uncle Jake described his family background and his sex education process before the return of Hung and her mother. I spent the next two hours listening to his rambling of his childhood days and his description of his feelings when he first saw his parents engaging in the coupling act.

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