Thank you, Rice Auntie · Toa Payoh

Where & when

• Toa Payoh hawker centre · Singapore 2019 third stall from the corner

About them then

Rice Auntie · about 59 then

The woman at the third stall from the corner of the hawker centre, a small woman in her late fifties with a pink visor, quick hands and a steady stream of cheerful scolding. She never wrote down an order and never once got one wrong.

Who I was then

The tall foreigner in the wrinkled work shirt who showed up at the same time every night and ordered the same thing.

Why I'm writing

Just to say something · Just hoping my words reach them

I moved to Singapore at the end of 2018 and was laid off in March. For eight weeks I ate dinner alone at your stall because it was the cheapest warm meal in the neighbourhood. You never asked why I came at the same time every night. You just kept adding a little extra to my plate and saying, “Eat first, worry later.” In May I got a new job. I wanted to tell you, but your stall was closed the following week.

Passed on by 2 · reached step 2 · 0 keeping an eye out

Could this letter be about you? This is me