Diary of a Keychain. Lara Therrise Chen

      

      Diary of a Keychain

      Story by

      Lara Therrise Chen

      Text © 2016 by Lara Therrise Chen

      Designs and Illustrations © 2016 by Teguh Pranoto Chen

      All rights reserved.

      Published by Fulton Holding.

      E-mail: [email protected]

      ISBNSoftcover978-981-09-8941-5

      ISBNeBook 978-981-09-8976-7

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owners or publisher.

       www.fultonholding.com

      To my beloved mother, father, and younger brother,

      who are my inspiration,

      I dedicate this magical journey of a keychain.

      Happy Golden Jubilee,

      Singapore …

      Prologue

      Greetings, intrepid readers. I am a keychain, and this is the story of my life… Yes, I know I am an inanimate object, but believe me, I have a life!

      My first memorable experience was that of zooming down a production line and getting shunted into the back of one of my millions of siblings. We were packed into a dark box like souvenir sardines, and, in there, on the shelf of a dirty factory, we stood motionless for a month.

      It was then that I began to keep a diary, just to pass the time. Today, I want to share with you some of the highs and lows of my keychain of events!

      Dear Diary,

      Finally, moving day! And, at last, a glimpse of sunlight through a gap in the tape around our box.

      “Where are we going?” I wonder. Have we been marked “FRAGILE” cargo? … Ouch! I guess not.

      Soon, a fluorescent glare floods in. It’s coming from the stark, humming fluorescent tubes on the ceiling, and an impatient, small, sweaty guy is manhandling us onto a rotating display.

      This is scary. I’m glad my identical siblings are here.

      Dear Diary,

      I am bored and lonely now. I watched everyone else as they were admired and sold. Some to excitable children who were here on a big school trip. Some to a motel that wanted one for every key.

      I wonder if, perhaps, I have a defect. Maybe there is something wrong with me…

      Oh, shhh! Someone is coming over (my fingers would be crossed if I had any).

      Dear Diary,

      Just a quick note today. Li, my new owner, is LOVELY. She has made all the waiting worthwhile.

      At the moment, I am proudly dangling from the zip on the front of her bag. Perhaps I’m not defective after all.

      Li has a very full calendar on her bedroom wall, and it looks like we have lots of fun adventures to look forward to!