One bright, Sunday morning in August 2014, my parents and I left home for Upper Seletar Reservoir Park, with Dad at the wheel of his prized BMW 760. Aside from participating in the day’s official butterfly walk organised by the Butterfly Interest Group1, we were there on a mission. A mission of special significance to our family. More on that later.
As we were heading toward our destination, all filled with anticipation and boundless enthusiasm, everything fell perfectly into place. With the sun blazing the blue sky and temperatures in the 30s, what could be more perfect than this? Perhaps finding the rare Golden Royala butterfly?
Going out together like that really made our day. It felt really good when family members, at my fervent request, chose to become members of a society that assertively champions the causes of nature. What made it even better was that we get to really enjoy what we were doing.Moreover, it was a great opportunity for us to bond as a family.
It wasn’t like that not too long ago.....
My name is Dennis Chan. I turned 12 years old a week ago. Home is a three-storey bungalow off Holland Road. Growing up, I must admit, I have never really known my parents. They were as familiar as strangers one encounters briefly in an elevator. Both my private banker father and real estate mother were hardly home. Sad to say, I spent more time with our three Filipino maids in one month than with my parents in an entire year. Nevertheless, recent events had conspired to change all that for the better.
Being an only child, I was terribly spoilt, through no fault of my own. Whatever I wanted I usually got, often times much more than I asked for. For instance, they would get me the complete series of a collectible item when in fact I needed just one. Or, in the case of last Christmas, receiving a customised TREK Madone 7.9 instead of my fancied and less costly PLANET X RT-57 bicycle. I guessed it was their way of making amends for not spending enough time with me. They thought they could replace the lost time with expensive gifts. Well, they thought wrong!
I became self-centred and a notorious serial attention-seeker. Behaving badly and getting into fights at school became my norm. Throwing tantrums at the drop of a hat became my forte. While I was able to keep my emotions under wraps previously, nowadays I would just let it all out. I found it considerably harder to control my temper as I grew older. During bouts of anger I would vent my frustration on whatever close by. Woe betide anyone who had the misfortune of standing next to me. Not many people knew I had a far more sinister side to me. I had no qualms killing any animal I deemed offensive. Ants were my initial victims. They contaminated my first ever stash of Jelly Belly candies with their saliva. Next came caterpillars, cockroaches, grasshoppers and even mice! My hatred for caterpillars was legendary. I despised the way they looked, moved, ate and pooped. How could I ever forget the horrendous rashes I suffered at their hands, or should it be spines to be more exact? And when they did crawl on your skin, they gave you the creeps! So if I were to die now and was reincarnated, I wouldn’t want to be reborn as a caterpillar, not ever!
My nightmare really began four months ago. It was a sweltering afternoon. I was cycling aimlessly as I had always done when beset by troubles or anger. Anywhere was fine provided it wasn’t the suffocating confines of our expansive house. I needed to be alone. To think. To cool down. To let off steam.
Just a few hours before, my school principal had summoned Mom over my punch-up with a classmate. On our drive home in her Audi, she was visibly upset. I would be too if someone yanked me away abruptly from work! It was very much later that I discovered why. One of her million dollar property deals fell through because of me. She had to cancel her appointment with a visiting US client to see to my problem.
Once home, she sat me down at the dining table before giving me a stern reprimand. She had not done that before. The principal must have threatened expulsion this time around. Then the ‘G’ word came out of her mouth. Grounded? No way! I couldn’t believe it. What happened next stunned Mom completely. Without a word, I stood up, took my schoolbag in hand and slammed it hard onto the table. Then I stormed out of the house, taking my bicycle with me....
