The author started to introduce Hamid by describing his looks by using descriptive words such as “tall”, “well-groomed,” “sharp” and “lizard’s eyes.” I assumed that Hamid was a hardworking yet lonely man which can be seen from “He sent whatever money he earned back to his family in Pakistan every month” and “He had no friends.” However, Fatimah’s character was the complete opposite of Hamid. She was a confident and pretty woman and was well-liked by many guys. I could tell that Fatimah was wealthy as she had “heavy gold bangles on her wrists tinkled pleasantly whenever she moved.”

When Fatimah saw Hamid watering the rose, she tried to flirt with him using her looks and was certain to obtain the rose in exchange for her silver key. However, Hamid didn’t fall for her seductions and wasn’t willing to give up his rose for the key because he found comfort in the rose. Fatimah became more desperate when she saw the cat was trotting after being hit by a speeding car and believed the rose possess remarkable qualities. Yet, Hamid still didn’t want to give Fatimah the rose. This tells me that Hamid was not that type of person who would give up something precious to him easily. 

I enjoyed the part when Hamid helped Fatimah when she was abused by the five men. I can infer that she was being physically abused as her “arms were scratched and etched with weals and bruises”, “her eyes were puffed up, one of them almost closed” and “there was blood on her lips.” Despite Fatimah throwing insults to Hamid for not giving her the rose, Hamid cared for Fatimah. He was being a gentleman by cleaning up her wounds, covering the area which was torn and also used all his hard-earned money for the taxi fare to bring Fatimah home safely. I was very touched by Hamid’s kind actions. 

After reading the story, I really want to know Fatimah’s thoughts when Hamid was helping her and if Fatimah came back for Hamid after that day to thank him.  

In addition, the author had used words to describe in great detail what each character in the story looked like. For example, he described Hamid as “a Pakistani, tall and lean and very tough, with a well-groomed, sharp moustache, and eyes gleaming with the light of lizard’s eyes”. The use of such words allows the reader to picture what Hamid would look like without actually seeing his face and physique. Another example is how he described Fatimah: “long hair and wide eyes and lips like two petals of Hamid’s rose”, “heavy gold bangles on her wrists tinkled pleasantly whenever she moved” and “she’d shout across the road at anyone she knew”. By using phrases like these, the reader would be able to establish what the character’s personality was like, Hamid being a mysterious person and Fatimah being an outgoing and popular woman.

Another interesting point is the use of multiple similes and metaphors. By using these writing tools, they help to emphasise and strengthen a certain point that author is trying to make, and it also sets a mood to something that he is writing about. One example is how the author described the rose at the start: “a rose cutting, slim as a … appeared on the rubbish heap one day”. This goes to show that the stem was thin and weak, like it would just break and fall over anytime.

Not only with the setting of the place, Gregory Nalpon is also very good at describing a character and the appearance of the character. Like how the writer described Hamid with "Hamid was the ordinary type of sarabat stall owner except for his shiny lizard's eyes and his military mustache waxed into two sharp barbs thrusting away from either cheek. He had large teeth stained from the juice of betel nuts" . Not only Hamid's appearance, we can also know Hamid's character from the sentence "He seldom spoke and nobody had ever seen him fight".

The story gets more interesting when Fatimah begins to appear. Fatimah's character which is opposite to Hamid makes the storyline even more interesting. Description of Fatimah's appearance such "Fatimah was a very pretty woman. She had long hair and wide eyes and lips like two petals of Hamid's rose. The sight of her figure in clinging kebaya and sarong always incited blushes on the cheeks of sober men". And what is the nature of Fatimah from the sentence "Fatimah was very desirable woman and she wasn't shy at all".

The interaction between Hamid and Fatimah was also very interesting for me. One that caught me was "Look at my lips, do you not consider my lips sweeter than all the roses in creation? Come, give me that rose and I'll let you taste my lips", but Hamid turned away to his usual place behind the stall. I can imagine how this interaction happened in my imagination. You can imagine how much Fatimah wanted to get the roses in any way. But Hamid was not tempted by Fatimah's offer and stayed with his stance. But unexpectedly at the end of the story, there is character development of Fatimah. Fatimah, who initially had a courageous nature and dared to seduce Hamid, experienced an unfortunate incident that showed her character from the other side which made this story even more interesting.

The author uses roses as the major point of the novel to complete the entire story, which is I find it so attractive and engrossing to read it about. That's because the ginger cat ran across the road, directly into the path of a fast car, and then recovered nicely, and Fatimah assumed that the cat's ability to relive was due to Hamid's rose's exceptional properties. At the end of the story is mentioned about Fatimah being hurt by the five young men and Hamid gave the roses to Fatimah hope that it will alleviating her agony. In my point of view Fatimah and the cat share a similar connection to the rose; both were healed by the same flower, so I think that Fatimah is a metaphor for the cat.

To sum it up, this is a very well-written story and I’ve learnt that a more detailed description can help readers visualise the scene as soon as possible, allowing them to immerse themselves in the story and connect with the characters.

 

Nalpon also gave very detailed descriptions of the locations, making the reader able to fully immerse themselves in the reader experience and feel like they are at the place themselves. Not only were his descriptions of the location detailed, his descriptions of the main characters of the story were extremely easy to picture as he compared them to animals and flowers. For example, Hamid’s description was : “ shiny lizard’s eyes,” and Fatimah’s : “lips like two petals of Hamid’s rose,” . This made it very easy for me to picture the location and characters. 

 

Not only that, I was also able to get grasp of how their personalities were like. Hamid was a prideful but good-hearted man, and Fatimah was the exact opposite of that. I was able to infer these details due to Nalpon’s way of describing the character from a third person’s point of view, making it seem more believable. For example: “He never allowed himself any friends”, “If he was lonely, he never indicated it” and “The sight of her figure in clinging kebaya and sarong always incited blushes on the cheeks of sober men” .

 

 The author also showed that Fatimah viewed Hamid differently compared to other men, which made me intrigued to find out why she did so and how Hamid was different from the others. “Fatimah forgot herself and smiled” and Hatim’s reaction to her asking him to marry her: “He snorted and looked away, but his lizard’s eyes shone”, made me even much more curious to find out why the usual prideful Hatim would have just the slightest interest in Fatimah, someone who had the exact opposite of his values.

 

Lastly, the way Nalpon showed how much Hatim cared for Fatimah not through his words, but actions made me feel very heartened and touched, leaving me with a bittersweet feeling at the end of the story. I felt happy to see how Hatim cared for Fatimah which made the whole story very inclusive, as he found someone important to him, and he would not have to rely on the rose to get comfort anymore: “As he buried the sliver key under the rose stem on the rubbish heap, he noticed a new bud was opening into red petals. Soft as Fatimah’s lips,”. Fatimah, on the other hand, also found someone who she could also find comfort from, someone who truly cared for her: “Fatimah wept again because she could not bear the pain of the sweetness of Hamid’s rose,”.

The part about the rubbish dump was not easily understandable at first, but it provides clues which makes me interested to continue the story. After further reading, I finally understood that it is just a usual rubbish dump, but an abandoned one. Suddenly there was a rose that grew. This was described using the process of growing a plant, such as from the roots to the stem indicating its change of colour from brown to green, and its leaves appearing and growing larger. This was followed with a rose blooming. Its size was also described by being the almost the same height of the rubbish heap. 

The silver key was another main part of the short story. The silver key was used to open the door to her room, with rumours about her renting out the key for a price. This led me with wonders of what is in her room that made everyone want to get hold of the silver key. Her character even made the idea that only men are interested in the key. This can be seen from the description of fights happening in the bar, usually because of Fatimah smiling at more than one man at the same time. 

After Fatimah knows about the rose, she tried her best to get hold of it. However, Hamid’s perseverance in controlling himself made it difficult, although Hamid’s smile to Fatimah was rare. There was also a part of connection between them when Fatimah had messy hair, arms scratched, and kebaya torn. Hamid went to attend to her and cleaned her. That was when Hamid place the rose in her hair. It was the connection and how sincere both were that led to this incident, helping one another no matter the circumstances. 

“A rose cutting, slim as a cheeping chicken’s leg and almost brown,” this helps me to picture the detail in my head more accurately, which explains why the rose was so thin, as it was a dirty environment. Next, the author described Hamid’s characteristics “A Pakistani, tall and lean and very tough, with a well-groomed, sharp mustache, and eyes gleaming with the light of lizard’s eyes.'' The way Hamid was described in detail helps me to be able to imagine that Hamid looks fierce. “Nobody had ever seen him fight, yet no gangsters ever tried to collect protection money from him.” This sentence further shows that Hamid was not to be messed with, and everyone respects him. The story shows how the rose appeared one day and Hamid discovered it, “The rose was his love, his child, his God.”, and how the rose has changed Hamid’s perspective of his life. He started to care for the plant, and gradually became gentle and became polite to others. 

Similarly, the author described Fatimah in detail, which helps me imagine what she looks like. The author also shows that she was popular among men and she made use of it to earn money, “She was the cause of many fights in the bar across the road. Next, it shows how they begin to fall in love with each other, even though they have contrasting personalities.

“Stray dogs investigated dustbins and starlings twittered and wheeled amongst the footsteps.” This phrase shows how deserted Dhoby Ghaut was at night. “A little later, Fatimah left the bar with a group of five young men. They got into a fancy saloon car and drove away.” This made me feel like there was more to it. Fatimah ended up returning back. The author described what happened to Fatimah very well and also showed how Hamid took care of Fatimah without questioning what had happened to her. “Hamid drew out all the money he had in his cash drawer and shoved it into her purse.” This shows how Hamid has changed and is willing to be kind to others. 

The next part of the story which states “somehow, a rose cutting, slim as a cheeping chicken’s leg and almost brown, appeared on the rubbish heap one day.'',  caught my attention as it is unusual to see a rose, having an unusual number of thorns and leaves as well, which is most of the time beautiful looking, growing out of a rubbish pile. Another detail was when Gregory described Hamid with features similar to that of a reptilian as seen in the sentence, “ and eyes gleaming with the light of lizard’s eyes.” Despite the eyes and the moustache, “..waxed into two sharp barbs thrusting away from either cheek.”, everything else about Hamid was relatively normal. When Hamid found the rose blooming in the rubbish heap behind his stall, it can be seen in the story that he had an instant attachment to it as he found comfort in the red rose as seen in the sentence, “The rose was his love, his child, his god”. Even though Fatimah wanted the rose, even willingly giving away her silver key for it, Hamid remained unresponsive to her words. It was only after the ordeal that Fatimah went through with the five men which left her in a disheveled state, seen in the sentence “Her kebaya was torn and her eyes were puffed up”. After calming her down and helping to make her appearance more presentable in a comforting way, did Hamid silently place his beloved rose in the woman’s hair. She was in a state of curiosity when her eyes trailed after the man who walked to the garbage heap, only to change to a bittersweet from the red rose in her hair which had her tears pouring once more, this can be seen in, “..Fatimah wept again because she could not bear the pain of the sweetness of Hamid’s rose.” Nearing the end of the story, the silver key that once dangled across Fatimah’s neck now lays where the red rose had once been and from that heap, a new rose starts to bloom.

another use of the juxtaposition mentioned earlier on with the rose and the rubbish heap is also shown with Fatimah and Hamid. Fatimah is shown to be a very outgoing, loud, flirtatious and wealthy woman living a very ‘loud’ life and she would talk to many guys. it was also shown that she has “heavy gold bangles on the wrists” and “a silver key hung from a chain around her sweet neck” that was made from real silver she rented for her room. Hamid on the other hand lives a very humble and quiet life in Singapore. he had no friends, sent money back to his family back in Pakistan and slept at his stall every night. unlike Fatimah, he does not flaunt whatever wealth he had and lived as a humble person. contrast was also shown with Hamid treating the rose like his God, while Fatimah was associated with ‘sin’ as “kind men imagine that they shared her company purely to relieve her of a weight of sin.” 

Yet by the end of the story, despite these contrasts between Hamid and Fatimah, and the different men Fatimah had been with, Hamid’s actions managed to touch her rather than just insincere actions from the other men. although Hamid had not given the rose she had begged for for so long, including sacrificing the silver key that was the only thing that could bring her home, he still managed to make her feel touched without meaning to. he gave the rose to her in the end, by placing it in her hair, she gave the silver key in exchange not for the rose, but for his kind actions instead. the use of contrasting subjects throughout this story made me absorbed in the storyline.

Hamid was describe from his race, his height to his appearance which allow me to use my own imagination to imagine what he would look like. The author then continue to describe Hamid’s personality by empathzising his shiny lizard eyes which makes me think that he has a really beautiful and mesmerising eyes. He was also describe as someone with a very strong presence as people respected him and also a very kind soul who would give to people who are needy without anything in return. He is also very independent as being in Singapore for 11 years without any friends and his family but also able to provide for himself and give any money to family in Pakistan.

Fatimah on the other hand was describe as a very pretty and attractive woman who is able to get the attention of any man. But wasn’t fazed by any of the man. But when she saw  the smile on Hamid face it made her blush which shows me that she is still able to catch feelings for someone. What I really like about the story is that the author never stops mentioning his shiny lizard eyes which to me is very pretty in a way as it is the little details that can capture my attention.

The author’s use of an imagery of a rubbish heap in the beginning to foreshadow the ending drew my attention. The once unwanted trash “became warm and rich and fertile” soil helped new life, such as the rose cutting, to eventually blossom. 

 

The detailed description of the sarabat stall – “canvas roof, spoked wheels, aluminium counter”- helped me envision the unfamiliar environment, while setting the story locally in Singapore, specifically Dhoby Ghaut, made me feel a sense of familiarity and solidarity with the characters.

 

 

The constant comparison between Fatimah and the rose throughout the story – how her lips were “like two petals of Hamid’s Rose”- made it apparent to me that she would be involved with its guardian Hamid.

The author’s intentional juxtaposition of the two drastically different main characters made their eventual relationship more touching and impactful for me personally. Hamid was initially described as a quiet and intimidating-looking man with “shiny lizard’s eyes and his military moustache”, while Fatimah was originally depicted as a loud, audacious lady who knew that her beauty could easily incite “blushes on the cheeks of sober men. His generous personality was shown by how he treated customers “with only a bus fare” in their wallets even though he lived for his family and “sent whatever money he earned back to his family in Pakistan”, while she appeared to live more for herself as she wore “heavy gold bangles” and had “collected a tidy sum of money at the post office”.

Therefore, I could clearly see how the rose affected their personalities. Hamid began to open up and even smiled “at Fatimah for the first time”, which in turn caused the proud woman to forget herself and blush like a shy school girl, despite her salacious field of work. 

 

This caused me to be greatly saddened by the Fatimah’s obsession over the rose. The more determined Fatimah was to obtain the flower, the more she began to degrade herself. She first offered her silver key to Hamid for “half the usual price”, before eventually offering herself “free of charge”. She was so consumed by her desire to have the flower that she even believed that it had healed the wounded cat.

 

 

Despite his previous indifference to her many attempts, I could feel Hamid’s true affection for Fatimah through his actions after the incident with the five men. He silently warmed her rain-soaked body with a hot cup of coffee and used a warm damp rag to gently clean her wounds. 

 

He even gifted her the rose that she had wanted so badly without any strings attached, showing her that she was equally as precious as his beloved flower. The author then showed how his kind gesture had resonated with Fatimah as she “could not bear the pain of the sweetness of Hamid’s rose” and wept. Finally, Hamid’s generosity was highlighted once more as he gave her all his earnings and made sure that she made it home safe in a taxi after her traumatic experience. 

 

Summary 

The ending made me hope for a better future for both characters, as Hamid buried Fatimah’s past, represented by the silver key, in the trash where a new rose began to bloom, seemingly signifying Fatimah’s second chance in life – where she would hopefully appreciate herself better.

 

The details about the surrounding made it easier for me to imagine where the story is taking place. Like at the beginning of the story, we are introduced to where the story is taking place first at. It describes how the place is filthy and later becomes a beautiful place with greens and flowers everywhere. This tells me how the people staying around Dhoby Ghaut used to not care about the cleanliness of the place till some time passes. Later, it starts talking about the saraband stalls in Singapore. “a canvas roof, spoken wheels, aluminium counter (easy to wipe clean with a damp cloth), brass urn with compartment” The descriptions made it easier for one to visualize how the stalls look likes and built like even without any context on what is saraband. 

 

Next, Gregory Nalpon introduces Hamid’s character. It describes his physical appearance as “his shiny lizard’s eyes and his military moustache…He had large teeth” which tells me what at Hamid's appearance is like. It shows how he looks presentable to his customer despite staying in his stall and never leaving. The author also mentions that Hamid seldom spoke to avoid making any friends. This shows how lonely Hamid is in Singapore. “He never allowed himself any friends…he never left his stall.” This part was relatable as foreigners often get misjudged for working and staying in a foreign country and so they feel like being alone is a safe choice. But despite that, the author's description of Hamid's character shows how well presented he is and it was engaging to see that despite how lonely he is in Singapore, people around him still respected him. This was relatable as sometimes the people we admire and respect the most are the loneliest. 

 

The author then introduces us to a female character named Fatimah. She was different from Hamid's character. She was described oppositely as Hamid. This was the most engaging part was when we read more details about Fatimah, we can start to see how different she was from Hamid, and we began to get curious about how Fatimah and Hamid's interaction is going to be like. We then get to see how Fatimah and Hamid interact. The difference between their characters made it engaging as the start of the story was only about Dhoby Ghaut, the surrounding, the stalls and Hamid one of the stall owners but then Fatimah was introduced, and we get an adventure of Hamid and Fatimah. 

With the rubbish heap’s contents making the soil fertile, a rose is able to grow. At this point, I became more engaged with the story because Gregory made the connection with the first part of the title. I become curious to know more about how the rose plays a part in the story. 

Gregory Nalpon then starts to introduce the first character, Hamid, to give life to the story. He describes Hamid’s appearance, he lets us know that Hamid is a stall owner as well what Hamid is like as a person. The smaller details such as Hamid being Pakistani in Singapore and the fact that he seldom speaks helps me connect with the story more because I am from Philippines and not a very extroverted person. Having similarities with a story’s character engages me with the story better. 

The second character, Fatimah, is introduced and Gregory applies the same techniques as he did with Hamid. However, Gregory describes Fatimah to be un-ladylike yet she behaves when she is at Hamid’s stall. This makes me wonder whether Fatimah is a potential partner for Hamid. Another important part of the story is introduced along with Fatimah when I learn that The Silver Key is part of Fatimah. This makes me wonder why it is important.

Gregory’s attention to detail makes me think about why those details are written. I think that details in a story is written because they all build up to paint a larger picture. If Gregory Nalpon did not write about Fatimah’s behaviour, I would have assumed that Fatimah would only just be another customer at Hamid’s. The details make me question, but they also give me answers about Hamid’s and Fatimah’s story. This makes me immersed into their story because it keeps me wanting to know more.

After, the first main character of the story, Hamid, is introduced. He is described as “tall and lean and very tough, with a well-groomed, sharp moustache, and eyes gleaming with the light of lizard’s eyes”. Without the author having to tell us, from this we understand that Hamid does not seem like a very approachable person due to his hardened exterior. This is then proved to be accurate when we find out that he had the barest amount of social interaction, even gangsters did not engage with him. However, Hamid was an extremely hardworking person who worked all the time, willing to wake up in the middle of the night to serve a customer. We understand that this is because he has to earn money for his family back in Pakistan. This shows that despite his exterior, he is a caring person and this makes the reader empathise with him. Hamid sees the rose bloom and starts taking care of it.

We are then introduced to the second main character of the story, Fatimah. Fatimah is described to be beautiful; “The sight of her figure in clinging kebaya and sarong always incited blushes on the cheeks of sober men.” It is then brought to attention the fact that she is extremely wealthy, as she is seen wearing “heavy gold bangles on her wrists”. This shows how different Fatimah and Hamid led their lives. She is known as a troublemaker with a big mouth, vastly different from Hamid’s quietness. The introduction of Fatimah makes the reader wonder how these two characters lives would intersect.

The rose seems to bring Hamid joy, which Fatimah immediately notices. “”Give me that rose,” she said alluringly. “Pluck that rose for me and I’ll lend you my silver key for half the usual price.” Hamid ignored her.” This shows that no matter how tempting Fatimah was, Hamid was not interested, furthermore, Hamid heavily disliked her advances.

The climax of the story is when Fatimah is assaulted by a group of men and goes to Hamid for comfort and solace. Hamid helps to clean her up, which highlights how caring he is. Hamid then does what he did not do earlier in the day, he gives Fatimah the rose to comfort her. To add to that, Hamid gives his hard earned money to Fatimah, despite the fact that he needs it more than her. After he leaves, he sees that she left the silver key for him on the table. The story left me wanting to find out what happened to them afterwards and how their relationship would develop after this incident.

He then moved on to describe the characteristics of the main character, Hamid, in the story “ A man called Hamid owned the Sarabat stall on wheels – a Pakistani, tall and lean and very tough, with a well-groomed, sharp mustache, eyes gleaming with the light of the lizard's eye.” The phrase “eyes gleaming with the light of lizards eye” tells me how determined the character, Hamid, was in the story. Not only that, this part of the sentence “ he sent whatever money he earned back to his family in Pakistan every month” shows me that Hamid is a very hardworking person who prioritizes and places his family first.

Further down as I read, a new character has appeared. Her name is Fatimah. Gregory has described Fatimah’s characteristics as someone who is “desirable and she wasn’t shy at all” and “she would shout across the road at anyone she knew” It gave me the impression that she is a bold and confident person inside the story. However, when she was Infront of Hamid she will control herself and act a little ladylike even though she is not. Additionally, I found out that even though Hamid may seem tough and doesn’t like to talk at all, Hamid is a very nice and caring person because he “soaked a rag in warm water and wiped her face gently” after Fatimah’s incident. Which then shows me the contrast of both character’s personality. Despite the contrast in their personality, their relationship was still able to develop in the story. 

Thus,based on how the author had used his word to describe and express both characters of the story in a unique way, I was able to empathize with the character and picture the scenario how it was.

  At the beginning of the story, the writer gave lots of details about the location allowing me to picture it clearly without doubting any other details. The writer also described Hamid well, especially the emphasis of his lizard's eye. The way the writer described him made me imagine him as someone who looks really intimidating. However at the end of the 4 pages, I now understand that he does have a very good heart, he just looks unapproachable but he actually is approachable.

   I can imagine it because of the way the writer describes the actions he does to take care of the rose, and how in the middle of the night, even when Fatimah looks like a mess. He still tried his best to take care of her without the use of a single spoken word.

   In the middle of the story, the writer gave details on Fatimah and her looks gave me the opportunity to picture her well, including the accessory she had which is her key necklace. The way the writer wrote the details on how she blush as Hamid smiled allows me to picture how pretty Hamid’s smile actually is that can cause her to smile.

  The writer also described the rose well to the point as someone who dislikes rose. I am also curious on how beautiful the rose actually is that it caught Hamid’s attention alongside Fatimah to the point where she is willing to lend her key necklace for half the price. This actually gets me engaged as Hamid kept refusing it even though a good offer was held in front of him.

  It made me engaged as I was curious if he would actually give his beautiful rose away to Fatimah just for the key necklace. At the end where the writer described how she does not look like her usual self in the middle of the night got me thinking if this is the time where Hamid will give his rose to her, which he did, but out of his own will and not for the key necklace. The ending took me by surprise as I was not expecting Fatimah to give her key and for it to “affect” the growth of the rose as the writer describes.

For our protagonist Hamid, the writer focuses on his lizard eyes which gives the readers an imaginary image and bigger curiosity to read more. The passage first told us that he is an ordinary guy, but later indicates there were no gangsters who dared to find trouble with him. Though he was alone throughout his life in Singapore, he took care of the rose very carefully. This makes the readers want to know more about the outcome of the rose and Hamid.

Then for Fatimah's arrival, the writer mentioned the silver key which was confusing to the writers and why it was so precious. Moreover, the case of a cat ran over by a car but then resurrected gave us an impression of the power of the rose.

Reading without a stop to the end, I was surprised but understood the fact that Hamid gave Fatimah his rose and did all these for her. I really love echoing end to end at the end.

Then come's Fatimah, it's implied that she works as a prostitute and that she has a hidden deep regret for this line of work, purely from the richness of her attire (gold bangles/ silver key) and that she doesn't seem all that enthused with her money, even trying to entice Hamid by giving him a full discount. His indifference can be seen through his stonewalling of her by doing mundane things like pretending not to have heard her, even when she shouts abuse at him.

His quiet existence is explored incredibly with the paragraph: "After a while, Dhoby Ghaut was deserted except for cars passing now and then. Stray dogs investigated dustbins and starlings twittered and wheeled amongst the rooftops." It gives the reader more context as to what Hamid's life is like, as well as a feeling of calm and serenity in the same way as how Hamid feels.

9/10 short story.

 

Once the first character, Hamid, was introduced, things started to get more interesting. The fact that Hamid “seldom spoke” and had “no friends” but had no enemies – “no gangsters ever tried to collect protection money from him” was really intriguing since it is usually presumed that someone who was quiet and aloof would attract bullies, as they are portrayed as weak. Hamid was however the special one and nobody “presumed upon his toughness”. 

 

The second character that was introduced later on, Fatimah, was the polar opposite of Hamid. With visual descriptions of Fatimah being the “cause of many fights across the road”, shouting “across the road at anyone she knew” and displaying “a small hint of inconsolable regret for her way of live, I am able to learn that Fatimah was a really bold, loud and desirable lady. 

 

The story then sets in, and the interesting interactions between Fatimah and Hamid draws my attention way further into the story. Fatimah would flirt with Hamid, whispering “small invitations of promised delight to Hamid” and once she even jokingly asked if Hamid wanted to marry her when saw Hamid smiling at her. On most occasions, Hamid would just ignore her advances and go about manning his store – his usual way of keeping a distance from people and not wanting to befriend anyone. This is seen as interesting as Fatimah was the only person who attempted to talk and interact with Hamid while the rest “avoided his eyes. 

Soon, Fatimah became desperate and yearned for Hamid’s rose, after realizing that his rose possessed “remarkable qualities” when a cat died in a car accident but returned back to life in the next moment. She would try to convince Hamid repeatedly, offering her silver key in exchange for his precious rose. By offering Hamid to taste her lips and lending him her sliver key “free of charge”, it just showed that Fatimah wanted his rose so badly. 

 

Afterwards, there seemed to be some kind of development in Fatimah and Hamid relationship. On that faithful night when Fatimah was badly assaulted by some young men at the bar to the extreme that there was “blood on her lips’, and her “kebaya was torn”, Hamid appeared to be concerned for Fatimah since he cleaned her face, arms and neck with a rag “soaked in warm water”, and also covered patch the in her kebaya. The fact that Fatimah allowed Hamid to do all these things for her after being physically assaulted by other men shows how much she trusted him and was opening up to him. Hamid then gave her the rose that she wanted so badly and she “wept’ since she “could not bear the pain of sweetness” of his rose. At the end, she also fulfilled her end of the deal by leaving the silver key behind in exchange for the rose. This is seen as interesting as their relationship managed to develop so quickly after that fateful night.

While reading through the story, I had a feeling that the rose was going to be some sort of a metaphor for Fatimah. Seeing how Hamid treasures the rose a lot like its his everything, I thought the introduction of Fatimah right after talking about his love for the rose is like a foreshadowing that he will similarly care for Fatimah like the rose. Fatimah seems to be infatuated with Hamid as she insisted that Hamid gives up on what was his everything, which was the rose. Hamid’s nonchalant attitude towards her only made her more “delusional” as the incident with the ginger cat that died from a crash made her more determined to prove to Hamid that she’s as worthy of the rose that supposedly gave the cat a life. 

It was only after an incident with the five young men Fatimah hung out with that made Hamid realize that her life was as precious as a rose. The author compared her lips to the rose petals which once again gave me the impression that there is some sort of connection between Fatimah and the rose. There seems to be some significance in the silver key as well. Fatimah started off saying that she’d offer Hamid the key for half the price and for free and then lastly it landed on his counter. He ended up burying it under the rose and while doing that a new bud opened into a red petal which was “soft as Fatimah’s lips”. I’m assuming that the petal was Fatimah and the only thing that could allow it to bloom was the silver key that Hamid was holding on to.