Paul Reads Aloud

(From NEW TALES OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA: THE INAUGURAL ANTHOLOGY OF THE HONG KONG YOUNG WRITERS AWARDS; pp. 40-41.) You have undoubtedly picked out this story by mistake, so I advise you forcefully to please put it down. In this story, all the mischief of men has been faithfully and dreadfully recorded in these few pages. I cannot think of a single reason why anyone would dare enter into a world of criminals filled with misery, mischief, and despair. Every time you come to a paragraph, all I can do is to warn you to think twice. My solemn and sacred occupation is to write this story but it is NOT made to be read. Now, the story finally begins … A mortuary quietly stood on the edge of one of the most expensive suburbs in Singapore, along the South China Sea. John Bellamy, the owner of the mortuary, spent his life among the dead. As an undertaker, he did not enjoy his job. His mind became a bit twisted since he spent his days with corpses. To be precise, he was an embalmer. He embalmed bodies, treating them w