Of Hunger And Currypuffs

She stared longingly at the box of currypuffs in the woman's lap. She swallowed her saliva before returning her attention to her novel. Unconsciously, her eyes strayed to the box again.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. No, I'm not mad at anyone, I just feel like taking the bus." The currypuff lady assured the person on the other end the phone. Based on the one-sided conversation she heard for the last 45 minutes, she deduced that none of her family members were happy that a 65-year old woman was taking a three-hour journey on a bus.

Not that she blamed them, for all they know, there could be a seemingly normal yet deranged 19-year old contemplating currypuff girl thief sitting next to their beloved family member.

Her stomach rolled again in small waves. 'The next time the bus lurch, I'm going to 'accidentally' knock the box onto the floor.' She planned wickedly.

'But that could take a while. I never heard of speed bumps on the highway.'

She sighed and brainstormed. 'Maybe I can slide closer to her and cover our lap with my jacket, stealthily open the box, take out a piece- Okay, two pieces, close the lid and voila!'

She started to inch closer to the woman before realising the woman's skin might still be sensitive to motion despite her age.

She reluctantly returned to her spot against the bus window and yawned. 'Gah, why can't sleep override this hunger? If I could just sleep, my brain would be sleeping too. Right? Unless if I have a dream about eating currypuffs. Oh wait!'

She never had a greater appreciation for epiphanies than that moment.

'Maybe I can pretend to be sleeping. Then I can pretend to be dreaming. Then I can pretend not realising that I'm stealing her currypuff. It'll be like sleepwalking this sleepeating thing. Absolutely brilliant.'

She closed her eyes and controlled her breathing to make way for a ladylike snore.

"No one is bothering me. You should have more faith in humanity. Not everyone is bad in Malaysia. You just have to treat people the way you want to be treated."

Her eyes shot open as her conscience close in. 'And there goes out my plan. Why does the currypuff lady have to make sense? Old people and their optimism. Sheesh. Shouldn't they be jaded by life already?'

Throwing her morbid ideas out of the window and mentally blocking the insistent others from seeping in, she took a deep breath and picked up her book again.

"I better hang up now. I don't want to rack up your phone bill. And I'm pretty sure your nephew is trying to get a hold of me too. Yes, of course. I'll call you when I reach Pekeliling." With that the currypuff lady hung up and put her phone away.

Her traitorous stomach emitted a low rumble again. 'Screw my conscience. I'm hungry and it's not like I'll ever see this lady again. I don't care, I'm gonna-' Her thoughts halted when something poked her left arm.

"Would you like some currypuffs, my dear?"



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