CHAPTER 5

• Azreen did not sleep well so she left home earl

y to go to the market to buy some nasi lemak.
• On her way to the market she stops by the hou
se of an old friend – the Old Lady, but she is n
ot in.
• She meets Asraf on her way home from the ma
rket. She persuades him to tell her about the se
crecy surrounding Madhuri’s death.
• Asraf tells Azreen that he does not really know
much. That fateful day, he was on his way to K
uala Kedah to arrange some travel plans but be
fore he could leave he heard the news about M
adhuri.
• He hears that there was an acident and Madhur
i was found dead at the rubber estate. He stress
es that everything was cleared up so quickly a
nd everyone was very ‘tight-lipped’ about the
incident.
• Back home, Azreen helps her mother who is ta
lking rather incoherently, warning Azreen of a
n impending danger to Madhuri. She also reali
ses heer mother is getting worse, ‘the disease
was consuming whatever that was left to her’.
• While chopping wood outside with his parang,
Encik Saleh is disturbed by some odd sound c
oming from the dense shrunnery near the hous
e. He investigates but finds nothing.
• Siti and her classmates talk about Awang, the b
omoh of the village. They had just seen him ru
nning as fast as his legs could carry him. The g
irls wonder if he had killed Madhuri.
• While stealing a chicken, Awang comes face-t
o-face with a woman who looks like a pontian
ak with long hair and large red creepy eyes. Th
e scary woman startled him that he let go of hi
s chicken.
• After a quiet lunch with her family, Azreen go
es to visit her friend – the Old Lady in the fore
st. It is believed that the Old Lady had killed h
er husband cooked him in a stew and fed him t
o her neighbours. Children are afraid of her as
they are told that she could change people into
rats and squirrels and eat them up.
• Azreen, however, has long befriended her reali
ses that she is a wise old lady who is very kno
wledgable in traditional herbs and medicine.
• Azreen feels welcomed and relaxed at the Old
Lady’s house. She is able to talk freely and sha
re her experiences and challenges in London a
nd in collenge.
• Azreen asks the Old Lady about Madhuri and
she is advised not to listen to the gossip going
around.
• The Old Lady, however, comfirms that Madhu
ri was indeed murdered.