Societal Imperfections (Singapore) [1]

So here I was standing beside a man sitting on a step with eyes bloodshot and tears flowing down his cheeks. I had no words of comfort for him and most of the things that could be said had already been offered. The night was a cool one but there was immense impatience in me.  I started asking myself what was I doing here at 2am in the morning at a stairwell of some HDB block in the heartlands.

He mumbled something before continuing his depressed routine.

"What was that you said?" I asked

His head faced down on the pale green tiled floor slowly turned to me, "I said I love her"

I nodded my head as I lifted a fag to my lips, "Yes Gerald I couldn't agree more but you know you are locked out right", I lighted my fag and took a deep inhale "what are you planning to do right now?"

He shrugged and looked back down.

I didn't know what to feel, this wasn't the first time I was here in the same place, in a similar situation and having the exact words conversed between the both of us.

Gerald was a cheerful bloke, before he married Luana at the age of 25 that is. No this isn't one of those situations where love was unrequited or a divorce was underway; this was a case of domestic violence.

I looked at his arms, bruises were raw and he wore a swollen right eye. No this isn't your typical domestic violence I kept repeating to myself, what on earth am I supposed to do to help him.

"Lets go back, if she refuses to open the door then you could wait in my car"

He shot a stare "you called the cops again didn't you?"

I gave an irritated look "no I didn't but it won't do with you just clad in shorts would it.

He got up and we walked to his apartment door, I gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You alright?"

Gerald nodded and knocked on the door "Honey can you open up please?"

Neighbours peered out of the window, there was a sense of anticipation from each and every one of their faces.

"Get lost you bastard!" she screamed as she started shuffling and trashing the place.

Man she got issues I thought before seeing two cops walk down the corridor towards us.

"You called the cops?"

I shook my head, "Not me, must have been one of your nosey neighbours."

The door next to Gerald's opened and a man pointed in our direction.

Gerald knocked on the door again as we pretended not to notice the cops till they got close by.

"What is going on here?" the Malay Sergeant asked nonchalantly.

"His wife refuses to open the door and she hits - "

"She just doesn't want to open the door" Gerald interrupted

I let out an intentional sigh, exasperated at the fact that Gerald keeps covering up for her; the cop picked up the sign and probed "What happened to your eye and arms? Did you both have a fight?" as he pointed at me.

What on earth are you trying to say you stupid cop, I thought to myself. "No its his wife"

His partner walked towards us while talking on his Walkie Talkie, "We got a disturbance call from one of your neighbours. What is going on here?"

Gerald spoke to him while I walked with the Malay Sergeant further down the corridor, he waited and I talked, "Its been going on for a long time...."

Luana sat in the middle of the kitchen, shards of glass lying around. A loud knock came from the door, "Luana can you open the door! We are the police."

She answered the door and started shouting at the cops "What do you want? Do you know what time it is?"

I walked away and took a fag, I'm too tired to deal with anymore drama I whispered to myself. Luana shouts died down, it probably took a threat of hauling her back to the station with them before she shut the hell up. I looked up into the sky, it was clean with nothing but one bright star. Maybe I should be that one star I wondered; Single, alone and probably a lot happier.

Gerald walked up to me, "Thanks man for being here."

"No worries man. So whats the outcome?"

"Luana is gonna let me in so it should be fine."

"And that?", I pointed to his swollen eye.

He shrugged, "nothing much I guess."

"Aren't the cops going to do anything?"

"Nope they aren't, they just took a statement down thats all."

I gritted my teeth knowing this is going to happen again as I remembered what the cop told me earlier, "Nope we can't do anything unless your friend is the one battering Luana."

"What?"

"Nothing we can do, just call us if something like that happens again" saying that he walked away.

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