With his index fingers, Junhao cast a miniscule opening in the vertical blinds. Golden sunlight burst forth in fat eager rays, blinding him momentarily. This otherwise simple act of nature never fails to astound the corporal for it come to symbolise far more than just the mere propagation of energetic photons. For him the symbolism is great. He took a good hard look around his room. He was once again reminded that his working environment and his life here was dramatically different from the boys below, slogging it out in a drab parade rehearsal.
He is somebody yet he felt something is still acutely missing from his life. For the record, nobody's life could ever feel complete in National Service. The opening of your postal enlistment order is tantamount to receiving a mortal blow. The shackles of rules and regulations as well as the cultural shock serves primarily to imprison you.
For now, Junhao feels much better than a year ago when he just enlisted. He has learnt the deft ways of life in the Cage. Just like a canary which will eventually learn how to flutter about in the limited confines of its cage. Yes, in his case the cage is intricately crafted and decorated to look as soft as possible. But a cage is still a cage. A comfortable prison. From the confines within, he can never see for himself how a wholesome sky looks like, virgin and uncorrupted by the cold bars of the cage.
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