Introduction

In the 20th century, there lived a girl named Farah. She was living her life to the fullest 5 years ago… However, her mother died from a heart attack when she was 15 years old. Farah had just overcome her trauma not long ago by her aunt, Makcik Salmah who was the one who took care of her when she needed the love and concern. Her father remarried another woman not long after her mother died. This woman was recently divorced, and had a child named Hamidah who was 18 years old.

Farah lived in a village called Kampung Jelapang. She had a well-off family, but never once felt happy as her father paid more attention to her stepmother and sister. However, when Farah always felt down, she would always sing her heart out. Normally, many villagers adored her voice. But, Hamidah was envious of her beautiful voice. One day…

Body

“Attention! In the search of Kampung Jelapang’s most melodious voice ever! However, only girls are allowed!” said a villager, while reading some poster pasted on a wall.

“Wow! The winner would stand a chance to be the village head’s son’s fiancé, Haris!” cried one of the villagers.

Farah, who accidentally overheard their conversation while she was going to the market, was shocked. Soon, her imaginations started to run wild. Farah’s heart told her that she would stand an opportunity to win the competition. Even though she was a humble person at heart, she knew she had a beautiful voice.

Then, Hamidah, Farah’s stepsister, arrived on the scene. She heard the news as well, and already had her eyes on the reward. However, she knew that Farah would out-beat her in terms of vocals. So, she came to a conclusion – to trick Farah so that she wouldn’t get to enter the competition. "Only I can win the competition! And only I can be the fiancé of the village head’s son!” she said to herself.

Climax

As dawn broke over the village, Hamidah started to take the first step of her “evil plan”. During breakfast time…
“Farah! Could you please follow me for awhile later on?” asked Hamidah with a kind voice. “Err… But I have to do the house chores first. Otherwise, Mother would scold me,” replied Farah. “I’ve already told her. So, you don’t have to worry much. Come and follow me,” Hamidah said.

After a good ten minutes, they arrived at Jalan Pisang, the place where Hamidah intended to go. Then, she led Farah to a certain place. It was solemn, and quiet as well.
Out of the blue, “Quiet! Don’t move around!” shouted one guy whom Hamidah appointed to “kidnap” Farah. Hamidah only stood there, and “enjoyed” the scene. Farah tried to get away in vain, but to no avail. After regaining consciousness, she found herself to be in a dark cell. She had no idea where she was. Finally, it then dawned on her that Hamidah tricked her so that she could win the reward of being Haris' fiance. She was disappointed that her own stepsister could so such a thing like that.

“Krrk… Krrk...” her stomach roared, alarming her that she was really in a state of sheer hunger. She tried to endure her empty stomach. However, later on, she fainted, due to the lack of food. A few days had passed, and none came to save her.

Ending

Soon, the day of the competition came. Hamidah was getting ready for the competition; she had her hair done very neatly and nicely. She was sure that she would win, although her vocals were not that good.
"Knock, Knock!" somebody was at the door. “I’m coming!" Hamidah said as she opened the door. She was shocked when she saw Makcik Salmah at the doorstep.

"Where have you hidden Farah?!" Makcik Salmah said angrily. "What are you talking about? I don't understand." Hamidah said innocently.

"Don't think I don't know what evil plans you have up your sleeve, Hamidah!" Makcik Salmah barged into the house without being invited in. She began to search the whole house; the possible places Hamidah would have hid Farah. Hamidah just stood there and watched, she knew Makcik Salmah would never be able to find Farah. Suddenly, the door knocked again.... Hamidah was curious, "Who could that be?" she thought. This time it was Haris, the village head's son. He wasn't alone. He was carrying Farah. Hamidah stood rooted to the ground and stared in horror…

"What have you done to Farah, Hamidah?! I know this was your plan, you wanted to win. You hid Farah so you could win and marry me. You will be banned from qualifying in this competition!!" Haris said in a low and ferocious tone. Hamidah was too shocked for words. She then admitted her mistake. Hamidah was sent to the village head, Pak Ali, to inform him about the incident. Haris then sent a few people to dress and get Farah ready for the competition. Not long after, the singing competition began and as expected, Farah won the competition. Farah was given the opportunity to decide on what kind of punishment should be given to Hamidah. Soon, Haris and Farah's marriage was held, and it was the talk of everyone in the village that very day. It was also a big occasion and all the villagers of Kampung Jelapang were invited.

They were then called the 'king and queen' of the village. Hamidah was punished lightly on Farah's accord. "What goes around comes around. If a person is cruel to others, that person would receive retribution later on." Makcik Salmah whispered softly to herself.

Now, the legend of the Singing Girl was popular, and many people adored Farah as she has great moral values. Although she was being stepped on by her stepsister, she still treated her as her very own kin. And as for Farah’s father, he had given out a promise to Farah never to neglect her.

Recently, people have been talking about how similar Makcik Salmah and Farah’s previous mother are. However, there was no answer to this mystery… Till now, it has been a mysterious question that nobody could answer.

Moral of the Story
“What goes around comes around. If a person is cruel to others, that person would receive retribution later on.”