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department damn suck eh. The toyol never clean anything also.”
    The forest spirit’s face changed. This time I knew it was feeling shy. I guess it’s just a matter of getting use to the difference.
    “No. Ah, no, that one was a security guard,” it said. “I, ah—actually the land was quite happy with you already. Technically you already had the freedom of the land. But you are new here. Who knows what kind of pervert might try to break into your hole? I was a bit worried lah, that’s all.”
    “That’s all?” I echoed. “That’s all ? Bastard, if you so concerned until you put toyol in my hole without asking, why didn’t you just tell me I had the freedom of the land in the first place?”
    “I don’t know,” said the forest spirt. “My business … I can handle the toyol, no problem, but like you said, the marketing side is not so good. The accounting department also. I cannot get anyone to pay their bill. I don’t know to manage spirits lah. I no PR skills. You earth spirits are better than me at this kind of thing.”
    “You string me along because you want a manager for your company,” I said flatly.
    “Not only that lah,” said the forest spirit. “Got other reason also lah.”
    It looked at its feet, as if got something very interesting to look at.
    “You know,” it said. “My uncle married a river.”
    “Hah,” I said. I cannot tell you whether it was okay for me to say ‘hah’ then or not. This kind of situation you must figure out for yourself.
    “His parents allow meh?” I said. “Interracial marriage.”
    “They’re not so happy at first lah,” said the forest spirit. “But they got use to it. He was 1,800 years old anyway. Old enough to do what he want.”
    “I’m 2,467,” it added inconsequentially.
    “Year of the Phoenix,” I said.
    “Really?”
    “I’m born Year of the Nian,” I said. “Nian not so compatible with Phoenix.”
    “I never believe in this astrology thing anyway,” said the forest spirit.
    “I’m 53,” I said. “In another hundred years I’ll die already. Hundred fifty if I’m lucky.”
    “No time to waste, then,” said the forest spirit. It smiled.
    If I was smart, the first time it smiled I would have run away. But I wasn’t smart, and now it was too late.
    “Are you coming Back to your hole?” said the forest spirit.
    “I never go Back one,” I said.
    Its face changed.
    “But maybe this time I’ll make an exception,” I said. “Tomorrow lah. Tomorrow I come see you.”
    “Tomorrow?” it said. “Why waste time? Come lah today.”
    “Tomorrow,” I said. “You come into my hole without permission, you think got no effect ah? I need to rest first. Maybe later I go talk to the earth in my hole, make friend again. I got a lot of thing to do. Tomorrow only if I have time, I’ll come. We can talk about what is good manners. Personal boundaries.”
    “But tomorrow is so long lah,” it said. “Come today lah, boss.”
    “Stop complaining,” I said. “You don’t learn to wait, you’ll never make it in this world. I’ll see you tomorrow. Now get out of my hole.”
    Of course I went to see it the next day. But you can guess what happened. Happy endings are all the same. I’ll just say: it’s true also, you don’t always have to draw line or follow rule. Not being sure whether you are boy or girl or both or neither—it’s messy, but then life is memang messy. Once you get used to it … but we cannot talk about this kind of things. Let’s just say lah. It’s quite interesting.

Petting the Tiger
    …Tamlyn Dreaver
    I wait for the first question.
    The people before me blur, sliding into one formless mass. No matter their differences, they are all the same. Freckled faces, pale and bloodshot eyes, crooked teeth grinning around bits of food, rose-red lips pouting, sticky ice cream smeared across chubby cheeks, wrinkles lost in wrinkles, green eyes, brown eyes, blue eyes. All the same. Hunched bodies gather together in