by Ann Chin

Created on: August 06, 2008

Switching Identities

The year was 1907, Pearl Lee and her slave Little Flower boarded the steamer at Hong Kong to sail down the Pacific Ocean to Singapore. Pearl's parents accompanied them from Canton to Hong Kong and said goodbye to their precious only daughter.

"What you reach Singapore, you will have a better life. Seng's parents are very very rich."

Pearl had been betrothed to Seng as a baby. Seng's parents were rich rubber tycoons in Singapore. The betrothal was a common practice among the rich people in China at that time. When the children were in their late teens, they were wedded irrespective of the protests by the kids. She had never seen Seng and she went on this trip reluctantly.

Little Flower was born to a very poor peasant family.

"Not another bloody girl!" her grandmother and father exclaimed.

Before her mother could get up from her bed, Grandmother had snatched the baby and sold her to the mid wife who earned more money as a baby broker than delivering babies.

Pearl's parents wanted a slave girl who would be a playmate for Pearl, and as the slave grew older, she was expected to do chores for Pearl. And in an extreme custom which would be frowned on in today's world of woman's lib, she would have to sleep with Pearl's husband at the whim and fancy of Pearl.

Fate had Pearl and Little Flower growing up in an upstairs-downstairs situation. They grew up really close and surprisingly, rich little missy, Pearl wasn't spoilt brat. She had a kind heart, and shared her food with Little Flower. Pearl's parents were quite liberal and let the girls go out chaperoned by an old slave girl, Peony to the shops and the parks.

On one of the excursions when they were fifteen, they went past the village school. Pearl met Tiger in the school ground doing chores for the school master. Tiger's parents were too poor to send Tiger to school. In exchange for lessons, Tiger had to do chores for the school master. Tiger was carrying water when Pearl and entourage came by the well to have a drink of water. As a perfect gentleman, Tiger give them some water from his bucket.

It was love at first sight for Pearl and Tiger. It was really silly of Tiger to even remotely dare to talk to a rich girl, far less to say to fall in love with one. Peony was not only a chaperon, but a spy as well. She reported to Pearl's parents about Tiger.

They decided they had to act swift and fast before a scandal erupted. They went to the shipping agent to book the next available passage for Pearl and Little

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