The line between Deceit and Truth

A lazy afternoon.
Spent 10 minutes walking to the Chinese Garden MRT station, slightly panting (well, I always make a point to brisk walk). Cool winter wind caressed my face and the mighty short, new hairstyle of mine, which have received no compliment to date.
ONLY to realize that I have left my wallet at home. Darn it….
Called my bro to bring it down to the nearest bus stop. Disgruntled with careless self, backtracked to my estate, waiting for Bro’s rescue.

An old man with unkempt hair and long whiskers approached me.
“I do not have enough shillings to take bus. Do you have fifty cents to spare?
“Uncle, sorry. I don’t.” I smiled awkwardly. He looked straight into my eyes, as if he is trying to determine if I am lying.
“I really do not have any money on me. In fact, I left my wallet at home and my family sending it down to me!”
Doubtful stare
“How much do you need, uncle?”
“Erm… $1.50..”
“WHAT? $1.50?!”
Is this harmless looking old man trying to con me….? The bus stop we were at, you can only board buses that terminated at the Jurong East Interchange- that cost 90cents at most.
“I am sorry. Really no money with me now. Please ask someone else.”

He shifted uncomfortably on his seat, giving the fellow bus stoppers a quick scan. I left the bus stop and called back home to check the whereabouts of Bro. Mom picked up phone and reported that Bro was already outside… and out of nowhere, she commented as a matter of fact:
“Your hair is very ugly leh… why you cut until like that?”
-_-“ Thanks mom…

Well folks, you know that it is such a common scenario relating to the above narration that we face every now and then. (No, dumbo. I am not referring to a bad haircut…)

Trust.
In complete stranger.
Should you?

It was past 1am. Just finished with a guilt-stricken heavy supper with my colleagues at Geylang and was on my way back in a cab.
I was coughing badly and taxi uncle offered me a sweet to soothe my throat. I declined with the resounding advice in my head:
Never talk to strangers. Never accept sweets from strangers
He was rather persistent. Kept promoting the bag of sweets he had. Mints, chocolate or fruity flavors?
After much dithering, I took one that looked least dangerous… (No tiny holes poked in its not-crumpled-at-all wrapper). While sucking the sweet slowly, my mind was busy devising means of escape- should I feel dizzy at any point of time…
Turned out that the taxi uncle was the Good Man- he has taken time to watch over me, ensuring I got into my flat’s lift safely before moving off.

How many times that we took kindness as malice and lies as the truth?
Countless of times

During the Uberduperians’ Bangkok trip early this year, Ben and I took a Tuk tuk to venture into Patpong, leaving the girls at the entertaining world of the Thai transvestites. The driver was a chatty Thai whom launched into the identity as our local guide almost instantly, telling us where to visit and eat in Bangkok.
Should have suspected something amiss when he said that Patpong was ‘bery’ near to the Central but his friendliness overlaid the suspiciousness that arose.
To our horror, he led us into a dark alley, parked in front of sinister-looking pub- one of the few shops that was opened.
“Here. This is Patpong 1. One of the best pub in Bangkok!”
Ben and I squirmed in our seats uneasily, scrutinizing the dark surroundings. Where the hell were we? Wasn’t Patpong a lively nightlife district?
“Oh. Still early. Bars and Pubs not so early open.” The liar explained in a straight face. Early? It was already 9 plus!

We started to walk down the alley, telling him that we will like to explore the district first before settling into a pub. He panicked and started to trail after us, taunting us to visit the pub. We declined and continued walking.

The guts he had. Offered to drive us to Patpong 2 (according to him, was ‘bery’ far from here) at a discounted rate. I was disgusted as I recalled vividly that Wenting advised that Patpong 1 to 3 were closely linked.In the end, he gave up, leaving us in an unknown deserted place with a cheery goodbye wave and an unhappy piece of memory etched in our holiday.

I find it sad that we could never completely trust a fellow human being- be it a stranger or a friend. Their motivations to lie and deceive can be complicated and wicked yet valid, necessary and substantial to themselves.

It is tiring to be always on guard against someone or speculating the level of truthfulness in that person before making a decision - only to find that, after much careful consideration before lunging into a mindset of trust, your fiancé ran away with your best friend, your business partner absconded with your money and the Meepok uncle sold you stale fish balls that caused 1 week hospitalization of food poisoning.

It is sure a far-fetched wish of mine to be living in a world of only truths prevails because in reality, we couldn’t have survived without lies now. People lie to spare hurting someone’s feelings. Lie to get one out of tricky situations. Lie blatantly to attain personal goals or sales results- “Oh Miss, you look fabulous in that dress!” where she looks like a hippo in a tiny swimming trunk.

Lies- is it really a sinful act at all- where the blunt truth can bring more devastating damages than a beautiful lie (Oh Ash, you look fat with that new haircut…)? Where a conman can feed his starving family with his deceit?

Could we ever draw a line on this? I doubt so.




Having said so....
Guys, do I really look that bad in this new hair cut???