Salina Christmas

Ghost elephants, a were-tiger in Hertfordshire, dangerous women and blades that fly on their own. That’s bound to make for an interesting story. Scissors in the Fold aims to entertain you at every turn of the page.

The title of Part Seven: Scissors in the Fold is inspired by a Malay figure of speech, gunting dalam lipatan (scissors in the fold), which means a traitor. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. At the time the story unfolds, we’re already out of war, but in this tale of the supernatural, the danger is far from over.

Scissors in the Fold, the seventh part in The Constant Companion Tales, was published two days ahead of Ipoh Alternative Book Fest 2025.

The were-tiger, absent in Part Six, makes an appearance again in Part Seven, this time creating troubles at a boarding school in Hitchin, England. Why Hitchin? Why not? Hertfordshire needs to see some were-tiger action.

A homage to the Chilterns and Sitiawan

Scissors in the Fold is actually my homage to the Chilterns – in which the county Hertfordshire is a part of. I spent two years in the Chilterns before moving to London to return to journalism. My solitary drives across the rolling hills and the downs were filled with imaginings of ghosts and fairies – things I heard a lot about in this area. I returned to cox boats for rowing competitions here, but I’d always thought Hertfordshire needed a bit more spice.

The boarding school plot is also an opportunity for me to introduce a new character, Julian Woodville Wang – a distant cousin of the Raden sisters. If you remember, his grandfather Wang Yilun was also haunted by the were-tiger as a child – until his family did something to resolve the matter. Unfortunately, Julian isn’t so lucky.

Scissors in the Fold is also a homage to my Perakian hometown, Sitiawan – hence the elephant on the cover. Sitiawan was once under Dinding, one of the Straits Settlements. The British returned Dinding to Perak in 1935 after 109 years. Our local legend has it that an elephant got stuck in a local river during rising tide. Its mate refused to leave its side, and both elephants eventually drowned. Sitiawan is the abbreviation of the word setia kawan, meaning loyal friends. Enduring friendship is a theme in this e-book, and indeed, you’ll discover the lengths that friends would go to avenge their comrades.

Karmic retribution

Some of you probably have read the paperback The Keeper Of My Kin – or at least the e-book The Night of the Flying Blades. In the world of The Constant Companion Tales, karma returns with a vengeance. Those who summoned the flying blades in the past to vanquish their enemies create a future that harms their descendants (see ‘the coven of Al-Jaffari’). There are people who are forced to inherit the murderous demon servants, whether they like it or not, and what they reluctantly possess are seen as resources to manipulative individuals.

Cloths that make you invincible

Part Six: The Devil from the Deep mentions a bit about ilmu kebal – the invincible spell – and the devil’s shirt used by a soldier to protect himself during the Emergency period. The wearer of this shirt can’t be penetrated by knives or bullets. Part Seven explores more on the nature of the enchanted textiles of which shirts like these are made of: cindai and gerinsing. The former is also known as chintz by the Europeans, and the latter was used for royal ceremonies in Bali and Java, as well as for healing.

For the research, we visited John Ang’s sumptuous exhibition at Semua House, Kuala Lumpur, Limar and Songket, in late 2024. The details with which I described the magic in Scissors in the Fold couldn’t be done without the knowledge imparted by this exhibition. More information on cindai magic in martial arts was gained through the reading of Hikayat Malim Deman. An article about boats and the alleged spirits that inhabit them in Muzings Edition 5 2024 (Muzium Negara) helped me to understand the worldview of those who subscribe to this animistic belief.

Of course, I’m very much inspired by a ‘ngeruk’ trance that I observed in Bali some years ago. I had this image in my head when I wrote the story.

I’m not going to reveal any more of Scissors in the Fold except that this is a very action-packed episode. Like the Night of the Flying Blades, the ending is rather Senecan. But this time, there are no insurgents and soldiers. Just very dangerous women who should know better than to play with knives.