Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the three gentlemen who made this tale possible; Jonathan Szeto, Sean Lee, and Ong Kheng Loon.

And to all of you, never understimate the power of your encouragement and support.

Prologue

Jon and Sean were born and raised together. They shared the same cot, showered together, went to the same school, even chased and got rejected by the same girls. In the mystical spirit of brotherhood, they believed that all men are brothers. As such, they put trust in each other to share the good times and tide through bad times as one. They believe in walking through fire and ice together. Above all, they lay emphasis in the mantra 'One for all and all for one'.

Words come cheap. When tested to the limits, will the chains of brotherhood be broken? Throughout the childhood and adolescence years where the bond was forged, it showed no real sign of breaking, save for the occassional squabbers. But afterall, which brothers do not have their arguments at times?

Storyline

Out sprang a hot chic, Loon, from out of the blue. Both Jon and Sean immediately noticed her and in this world where 'Love at first sight' exists, they fell for her. Being brothers, Jon shared his feelings with Sean and listed in explicit details how he would go all out to woo her whatever the cost. Unknown to him, Sean felt torn as he would give almost anything to be with her. But sacrifice his brother? No, he just could not bring himself to do that.

So began Jon's attempts to win over Loon's heart. And unknowing to both brothers, the tiniest of cracks had started to appear in their brotherhood.

For many moons, Jon tried but to no avail. He invited her over to Jewel Box to dine with him but she played him out, causing him to wait alone with an empty stomach till closing time. He bought her a sparkling diamond necklace only for her to ask where he stole it from. He even pretended to faint to at least gain her sympathy but she just left him there on the pavement without a single backward glance.

"Her heart must be made of carbon to not melt despite my best efforts," he said to himself after yet another failure. Out of sheer desperation, he resorted to stalking her.

The cause for his failure is largely due to the fact that Loon's heart is already out to someone. She is aware of Jon's unbashful attempts to woo her but the only reason why she agreed to communicate with him is because she wanted to use him to get closer to Sean. However, it seemed that everytime she is near, Sean always skulked away.

"No matter what, one day, I'll get him cornered and I'll confess my feelings to him," Loon thought.

One day, the window of opportunity opened for her and she jumped right into it. She spotted Sean alone at a park. He just seemed to bow his head and go into his inner world. It was like he was thinking hard, thinking intensely of a woman he could never have. She covered the distance between them in mere seconds.

"Hey!" She said, startling him.

'Hey," he replied, somewhat awkwardly.

"There.. ," she hesitated and then thinking 'What the hell', she bit the bullet and continued, "Tthere is something I've been wanting to tell you. I think about you all the time." She flushed bright red.

"What do you mean?" Sean asked in the same tone, but something in his eyes just ignited.

"Do i have to spell out everything to you? Gosh! I like you.. Do you get it? That is why i even bothered to talk to your friend Jon. I've been trying to get closer to you!" Loon stated in a flustered state.

Now it was Sean's turn to go red, "Truth is, I have the same feelings about you as well. It's just that I cannot afford to lose my brother Jon."

There was an awkward silence and Loon broke it by exclaiming, "Look, a plane!" Sean turned smiling, his arm somehow finding itself over her shoulders.

The mood might have lifted between the two of them but in the shadows, it darkened. Jon, hiding behind a bush, had heard the confession too!

'To be in love is merely to be in a state of perpetual anesthesia: To mistake an ordinary young man for a Greek god, or an ordinary young woman for a goddess.' (H.L. Mencken)

Or so to say, love clouds one's mind to the extent that one simply loses all sense of reasoning.

"YOU!" Jon bellowed, exposing himself to startled gasps from Sean and Loon. "You claim to be my brother! You claim to be happy for me when I told you I've fallen for her. You claim that it was a matter of time before I won her heart. It was all lies! I thought I knew your measure, my brother. But I was WRONG! I should never have trusted you, you two-faced freak!"

"She's MINE!" Jon screamed hysterically.

Thus began a tug-of-war between the two brothers.

"You're hurting me, both of you!" whined Loon. Aware of this, Sean let go.

"HA HA HA! I've won! Just like i've always beaten you in everything" Jon sniggered.

Sean sighed, "I'm so disppointed in you, my brother. How can you say such things? You're willing to sacrifice all these years of brotherhood for a girl who does not even like the sight of you?"

"Yes I am! Didn't I tell you I'll win her over whatever the cost? Even if that means losing you." Jon replied without the slightest sign of emotion.

"You...," Sean began.

"Stop trying to make me feel bad. It will not work!" Jon interrupted.

"You know," Sean continued sadly, "To think that all these years I've been watching your back for you, letting you have things your way, even sacrificing myself in the process."

"How noble of you!" Each word was riddled with sacarsm.

"Not today. Not after seeing you exposing your true colors. Today I'll stand and fight for my own happiness."

Jon laughed mirthlessly, "Bring it on! To the death."

The fight was as brutal as they come. Fuelled by love and anger, they looked like mirror images exhanging blows, employing identical evasive and defensive moves.

But Sean maintained sufficient humanity to not strike to kill and unleashed a wild swing which Jon punished without mercy.

He caught the loose arm...

And drove a thundering fist into Sean's midriff! Sean recoiled, completely winded and gasping for air.

Jon was not finished with him though.

He tackled Sean around the waist and lifted him clear off the ground.

'Man, I am getting my ass kicked here,' thought Sean. And he can't even move any of his limbs to fight back!

All he needed was one opening, one chance to turn the tide in his favor.

As Jon adjusted Sean to get a better grip to hurl him to the ground, Sean's right leg swung free. Seizing this one and only opportunity, he kneed Jon in the chest.

The blow striked home.

Jon gasped in shock and pain..

And they both collapsed in a heap to the ground.

With no time to lose, both untangled themselves and re-engaged in battle.

A break from all those scenes of raw violence and savagery, let's turn our attention to Loon for a moment. Given that she is an avid photographer, despite the fact that the alpha-males were battling it out for her, she simply could not resist whipping out her 2.0 megapixel mobile to snap action shots.

Battered, bruised, exhausted and with nothing to lose, Sean leapt from a rock and soared through the air, with the intention to knee Jon in the face. For a good second, Sean hung in the air and a turn-around seemed possible until cool as a cucumber, Jon raised his own knee and it collided with Sean's crotch.

The pain was immense and Sean felt the fight leave him.

Now, it was all one-way traffic.

Jon pummeled Sean with renewed ferocity. With no energy left to fight, Sean just staggered back unsteadily with each blow.

Then, quick as a cobra, Jon delivered a swift upper-cut and Sean's head snapped backwards, his arms flailing after him.

Pumping on adrenaline, Jon sprang high up in the air and without battling an eyelid, he drove the nail into Sean's coffin with breathtaking force and malice!

The fight was over at last.

Jon bended over to examine the body of the fallen Sean. With every ounce of his remaining strength, Sean reached out to grasp Jon's hand.

His departing words were, "My dear brother, all my life I've lived and loved you. If your love for Loon is as simple as you think it is, I would have gladly just taken a step back and let you live your life. Unfortunately it is not. To seduce her mind, you will have her body. To find her soul, she's yours forever. Do you understand? She will never love you truly unless you capture her heart. Perhaps when I'm gone and you persevere, someday she will fall for you. I believe behind that hot head, there is a kind soul that will appeal to people's hearts. I do not blame you for what you've done today. I just hope you'll find your true happiness someday. Take care my brother."

With that, Sean breathed his last.

As he lifted the limp body of the person he once-called brother, one single thought flitted through his mind and tears streaked down his face.

'What have i done?'

What Critics Say:

"Two Thumbs Up!"

"Simply Number 1!'

[23 Feb. '08].
Take flight to greater heights.

[15 Feb. '08].
The Singapore Zoological Gardens may have been mourning over the recent passing of two Orang Utans. But gloom and doom was not looming around on the day of visit.

Introducing two new beings at the zoo and marvel the perspective of an ultra wide-angle lens. =)