Old Friends and Farewells
A weekend of reacquaintance and farewells.
My parents met RD’s father for lunch on Sat. As we walked out of the hotel, an old classmate of mine recognised my father, and got my number from him. Andrew Chin - the boy down the street on Jalan Selaseh. Same school, same sibling structure. We were eldest of three - one younger sis and younger brother. Same class for six years, then both of us came to Singapore. He studied in RI then continued on the RJC. Strangely, we never kept in touch - perhaps that’s something I was never very good at. I lost touch with him after I joined the army - and now he’s back! We promised to catch up the next time he returns to Singapore.
RD and I bought KS lunch. He’s left GN and is now headed back to Japan. We’ve known him a short while, ever since I picked him up from the airport in Feb last year. I’ve tried to be as good a host as possible, and he was gracious as only a Japanese could be. So he leaves next week, and I hope his stay in Singapore has been fruitful.
This weekend I received an email from MH - he will be visiting Singapore, and it will be good to see him again. He has been a close friend, and I’m dying to catch up with him. I can’t wait to introduce RD to them. There will be so much to share.
EY is also back from the US and she flies off to Egypt next week. She will probably return, but in a different guise. Who knows how people change when they leave? A year or more away - by the time she comes back much would have changed here!
Its an interesting observation how people drift in and out of my life. I’m always grateful for friends, and renewed acquaintances, although I barely understand the meaning of each friendship. Each soul that I come in contact with is like a divine gift - like life itself. Sometimes they stay longer than others, but at other times, the encounter lasts a brief moment. Perhaps they teach me about what life is like - to savour each person before they are called away on their own journey.
I will never tire of bidding a fond farewell.