Chapter 1: Now you see him

What a day it had been!

Two lacerations requiring suturing (and taking up a whole load of time while a dozen patients waited...impatiently); a half-hour blackout which meant no computer use and a reversion to hand-writing out every instruction for every medication; one staff member calling in sick early in the morning...gosh, was I glad to finally leave the clinic but darn it!
I had forgotten to bring my iPod with me today. There would be no music to plug into and get lost in whilst I made my weary way home.

Everyday I walk through the same underpass, which almost always sees the presence of a series of buskers.
A lone guitarist singing John Denver's songs; a Filipino couple belting out Top 40's hits; a guy with a ukelele trying to sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow, a la Mr Schue in Glee (and failing miserably).

Everyday I wish some busker would astound me with a Jay Chou song and I in turn would reward him or her very generously....I kid you not.
But it had yet to happen and I did not hold out much hope this evening as I hurried along to the underpass, my stomach rumbling as lunch had been forgone due to the madhouse morning stretching into the afternoon.

But...as I approached the tunnel, my ears pricked up.
Was I hearing things?
Were those not the extremely familiar notes of Ju Hua Tai, floating towards me??
The unmistakeable melody put a smile on my face immediately and quickened my pace (and my heart rate!) to bring me nearer towards the source of this refreshing sound.

The man in a pale pink hoodie, torn denims and black-rimmed glasses sat hunched over, his fingers gliding effortlessly over the keys of the portable piano, playing a series of variations on this beautiful song.
It was all I could do to prevent myself from squealing out loud and giving him a hug for his music which was providing a much-needed balm for my harrassed soul.

However, I felt that would be a trifle rude and besides, I did not want to interrupt his seemingly endless improvisations.
Strangely enough, I seemed to be the only pedestrian willing to pay him any attention as the hordes of rush-hour workers pushed on past me, quite oblivious to the musical genius which was being played out in that underpass.
No matter, I was lost in my own world enjoying Mr Pink Hoodie's renditions of one of my absolute favourites and nothing was going to disturb my moment of bliss.

All too soon, he reached the end of the piece and I started digging in my bag for my wallet to do the inevitable.
How generous should I be?
After all, this WAS a Jay song...how I loved Mr Chou's music!
And this fellow had just improvised on it...unbelievably well, at that.

I fished out ten dollars (that's alot; usually all I see on buskers' guitar cases are coins and two dollar notes!) and went towards him, ready to give him a thumbs up.
It was then that I noticed he was smiling and on his left cheek was a most adorable dimple!
As he looked up at me, there on his left upper eyelid just above the rim of his glasses was a most distinctive mole....goodness me, this was a true doppelganger for Jay, if there ever was one!

I mean....how could His Royal DIAOness ever be playing piano in an underpass in Singapore alone, right??
But then again, did I dare to believe it... maybe it really WAS him...after all, Joshua Bell had once played violin incognito in a Washington DC subway, as a social experiment, and hardly anyone had recognised him.
Why couldn't Jay be doing the same thing?
My heart thumping anxiously, my hopes and spirits lifted, I continued walking to him and....


"STOP THIEF!!"
And all I remembered after I heard those words was hitting the ground, a splitting pain in the back of my head and the world went black.

"Miss, are you alright?"
I opened my eyes warily and focused on a friendly face staring at me anxiously.
It was the Filipino busker.

I got up slowly, rubbing the back of my head gingerly and reassured him that I felt fine.
My bag was on the floor but the belongings appeared intact.
I stared at the spot where Mr Pink Hoodie had been in earlier and to my dismay, realised that it was now the Filipina lady who was sitting there, with her keyboard, also staring at me anxiously.

"What happened?" I asked cautiously.
"There was a pickpocket trying to run away and he knocked you down. Don't worry, he has been handed over to the police," he replied me comfortingly.
"By the way, I often see you walking past here, listening to your iPod. You like music too, ya?"

I nodded my head and asked him, "Did you see another guy in a pink hoodie playing a portable piano here just now?"
He looked at me in surprise and said, "No, today it is our turn. No other busker is licensed to play here. We were trying out a new song today, actually. Something by Jay Chou...do you like his music?"