THE SAD LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

Witnessing the misery a fellow human being is going through often makes us reflect on ourselves and tends to bring out the sense of empathy in us. Once we are enlightened, we are then able to think for the other person and be less self-absorbed. This particular story shows how sympathy and compassion that’s brought out by the situation helped to bring a quarrel to a peaceful outcome.

Lek Kee could no longer stand the disturbance caused by his upstairs neighbour. There was often the banging of doors, sounds of cracking tiles and worst of all, drums beating in the night. Lek Kee had many times stormed up this neighbour’s place to register his frustrations with Letchimi, the lady of the house.

During the mediation, Lek Kee’s display of anger arising from the disturbance he faced was clear for all to see. However, this anger quickly subsided when Letchimi opened up to tell her side of the story, revealing how her own family was in fact going through trying times. She was headed for a divorce with her husband, and to add to her burden, was also facing financial woes.

The quarrels started when she found out that her husband was cheating on her. The daily slamming of doors was a result of such quarrels. The other strange noise of cracking tiles that Lek Kee often heard was indeed the sound made by broken tiles. Without the means to replace such tiles in their aged flat, she resorted to using black tape to mend them so that they do not cut the feet of her children. As for the drumming, her son Arul had resorted to playing them more frequently to release the stress and frustrations brought on by his parents’ quarrels and impending divorce.

In his heart, Lek Kee felt sorry for Letchimi’s plight and was ashamed of his actions which had caused her undue stress. He felt that he could have approached the situation a little differently if only he had made an effort to get to know his neighbour first. With this new

information, Lek Kee in fact became very proactive in wanting to help Letchimi with her situation in whatever way he could. Lek Kee also suggested certain music studios where Arul could practise his drumming at no cost, and was willing to reschedule his work hours during those periods when Arul was drumming at home.

Compassion aside, the sense of guilt in one party also contributed to the resolution of this case with a happy ending. When we are able to reflect on our actions and behaviour and how it could have affected the other party, there is hope that even the most bitter conflicts can see the light of day.

[Names and other identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals whose stories are portrayed in this article. ]