Blank Doll says ouch.

Your father dies two days after you're born. Your mother has to work day and night just to put food on your table. You are skinny, not enough food after all.

And you are only 12 years old.

My mother's work take her to some strange places. She had clients from all walks of life and sometimes, I follow her to see the other side of society from which she has lifted us long ago.

I felt so much like crying then because a twelve year old shouldn't have to wear that sort of grim responsibility on his face. He shouldn't have to laugh with so little innocence. He shouldn't, just shouldn't have to live like this.

I look at my sister and I wonder if she knows how fortunate she is. She has everything that she could want for. She's been to so many places in the world. Does the boy her age, living on the meagre earnings of his mother, know the difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa? Or where Hyde Park is? Or how toro sashimi could taste like when eaten in Japan?

Do I know how fortunate I am? I can pick and choose where I want to study without worrying about school fees. True, I may not be as wealthy as some of my friend's family but it is wealth enough for me to feel detached from the everyday life of the heartlands. Enough for me to believe that we are different in some way.

I have my mother to thank for this. She told me about her childhood, how she was just like this 12 year old boy with not a penny. How she worked so hard her whole life. Today, her son cannot imagine surviving on two thousand a month.

I can only say a prayer for the little boy. Grow up strong and tall. Don't go astray, don't be trapped by the hopelessness of mediocrity. Study hard, come to Raffles. Don't fall prey to jealousy and inferiority, don't grudge those who are better than you now. Don't think only of petty schemes and cunning ways. Be noble, get a scholarship. Study harder. Work very hard. Give your mother that Breguet lady's watch with forty five complications on her 70th birthday.

Be strong.

C'est tout.