Girl With A Pearl Earring

It was customary for her to wear her strands of pearl necklaces and pearl bracelet to work on Fridays regardless of what she wore – baju kurung or kebaya (traditional attire worn here) or the usual office-wear. She does wear accessories on other days but pearls, just like Fridays, are special and hence she always wore them on Fridays.

That was until two Fridays ago.

This morning, as she dressed for work, she pondered on what little accessories she has left that she could wear to work. And she couldn’t help remembering her loss and she started feeling sad all over again.

The pain and the ache in the heart were still there apparently and she wondered how long they would stay and how many Fridays she would have to go through before she comes to terms with the loss.

When she was pick-pocketed and had her handbag snatched (leaving her with lifelong physical and emotional scars), she consoled herself into thinking that maybe she didn’t pay enough tithe. Now her weak attempt at a joke is she doesn’t have to pay tithe on her jewellery because there’s nothing left to pay tithe for.

For all she has left are some rings, what she wore and still wears on herself, and strangely enough, one half of a pair of pearl earrings (that must have been dropped in the thieves’ haste). So, like that painting by Johannes Vermeer (or the novel and the subsequent movie), she is now a Girl With A Pearl Earring.

What the f*cking heck is she going to do anyway with one half of an earring, pearl or otherwise?