Short Story: Fading Lights by Dr. Vijo Poulose

This short story by Dr. Vijo Poulose captures the peak of the Opioid crisis in the USA and other parts of the world.               

Friday evening 7pm

Dr Michael Lee’s apartment

Bedok Reservoir

The haze lifted and a throbbing ache swathed his skull, in place of the heroin that was rapidly dissipating from his system. He could read 7pm on the bedside clock. Having a clock seemed antiquated, but it had belonged to his dad, and he enjoyed the nostalgia it gave him. Adjacent to the clock was an old black and white photograph of his dad and Ah Kong taken a year or two before his grandfather was executed in 1942 during the Sook Ching massacre.

Dad was just a toddler in the picture and stood proudly beside his father, both in western attire. This was the only framed picture he kept in the house; time and bad memories had done away with the others. Although he had never seen his grandfather, Michael felt a certain pride in the sacrifices Ah kong and other immigrants had made, so that their families would prosper. Of course, most of the stories were passed down to him by his father. Dad himself had no memories of Ah Kong, but that had only enhanced his adulation.