Billion years this world has spanned...
Close to a hundred was mine to spend...
Searching for meaning in this existence...
Hoping someday I'll make a difference
Wishing that maybe, just maybe...
Behind me I leave more than a story...
Let me be a light in the dark...
Let me be a guide to the ships...
Let me show the way to the port...
Let me be a light house...
There were many times when I would look up into the sky and would think to myself that there was something magical about nature, there was something about the way it penetrates into my heart and read my thoughts like a book, painting out the most beautiful and remarkable pictures from pages of my heart. As I stared up into the sky that day, watching as the sun floated above those buildings, lazily chasing away what was left of night and as the wind made soft brushing movements against my hair, I knew that this was one of those times.
A sudden grin broke out of me, I just felt so peaceful, so happy. Even as I look back now I still could not comprehend how much my life had changed with such a small decision; the decision to try out as a prefect. I could not put into words this feeling within me that day, the feeling that made me place one foot in front of the other, it was surely something very powerful, for it gave me strength. Looking back now, I could identify with that feeling; it was the feeling of purpose.
Since I was so lost in thoughts I did not realize that I had arrived in the school compound. I shook clear my thoughts and went towards the badminton court in between two school blocks. As I arrived, my friend gave me a reassuring smile, I returned hers cheerfully. The head prefects then begin ordering us to get into our PST (Problem Solving Team); I hurried on to my PST, PST 4. The prefect’s morning briefing started at that moment, and for the first time, I was in it.
The probates were then assigned with duties by our PST Leader. I had two; the first was after the morning briefing when I would lock the small gate next to the bicycle shed, the second was during recess, where I was to guard the back of the toilet to make sure no one smokes.
The first few weeks as a probate was a memorable one, when I walked along the corridor, other prefects would wave a “Hi” at me. When I sat down alone in the canteen, there would be prefects who would sit beside me and when I was unsure of my duties it was not hard to find assistance. The kindness of the other prefects gave me a lasting and positive impression and I soon awarded them with the title ‘friends’.
I remember sitting on the rough carpeted floor of the prefect’s room on a Thursday afternoon, the room on that day was flooded with prefects in green and at least fifteen or so white-clad probates; all of which was waiting expectantly for the prefect’s meeting to begin. When the meeting began and ended, I realized that it was the first time I felt that I had signed up for something that made a difference, something that was worth putting in a hundred percent. I felt a renewed sense of purpose, of being part of a team; part of a family.
As the pages of the calendar were flipped, my thoughts slowly began to stray towards the day when we would be recognised as true prefects. Month after month of waiting, the day finally dawned upon us. We were brought to the prefect’s room and were separated into two groups; there was a senior in each group. As I sat there in well concealed nervousness, our senior stared at us and said to us, “Please remember to wear your green uniform after the holidays.” We passed! That moment then was really special, because we may still be wearing our plain white uniform and had our probation tags hanging on our ties, from that moment onwards we were now known as true prefects.
The spirit and the excitement of passing my probation slowly faded with time, but there were other things that did not. Till this day my steps were still filled with purpose, the pride of knowing that not everyone had the rights to wear that broccoli green tie or blazer that we wore still burned within me and even though the duties were slowly getting boring and very ritual, I kept on doing them because whenever negative thoughts of laziness starts to seep in, I would imagine the consequences if no one was doing what I was doing.
Being a prefect meant more than having certain privileges, more than the uniform we wear, more than the duties we performed, it also meant listening for hours as people grumble in our ear about our performance. It was hard to live up to the teacher’s expectations, it was hard to be the student’s example, it was harder still to bear with the fact that whenever we made a small slip up, we would immediately be shot down and whenever we did something right, not many actually notices. At times people forget that we are still students and yet there were also times when people would forget that we were prefects. Although people claim that we were basking in our many privileges, if you place them on a scale, our duties and responsibilities would far outweigh the privileges.
Even though there were many people out there that puts us down and discourage us, I learned a lot about the world that not many would have the chance to. I learned that once you have taken up a leadership role, people will expect a lot from you, I learned about gratitude as we realize that there were a few teachers who were there to support us, I learned about patience and perseverance as we stood there each and everyday, doing our boring duty, I learned to bounce back and stand back up whenever someone puts me down. All these lessons in life cannot be bought, sold or given, but only be gained through experience and I am grateful to have been given this opportunity to do so.
There was another great thing about wearing that green tie, was that we will always be given opportunities to help people. When we pull out our pen to jot down a person’s name, we do not want him to get into trouble; instead we hope that he will learn from his mistake. When we ask them to clear their plates, we do not want to show off our powers, we just want them to practice some simple manners. We were given many chances to help teachers too and I learned that behind that mask of animal-like fierceness they were actually humans who at times needed help and support.
I walked on the same road back as I did months ago, this time I am a little different. No, it was not the uniform. Instead it was the person who wore the uniform, for this person here has changed a lot just to cope with the change in his environment; he has toughened up in a sense and grew to be a better person. Putting on that green tie was a decision he never regretted, it was a decision that made him see things from a different perspective, made his life more meaningful and more enjoyable. In fact, it gave him more of a life.
The air-conditioner blew against my face as I sat on my bed writing about the experience in the Youth Leadership Program which ended yesterday. The room was filled with the music from the radio by my bed and the quick scribbling of my pencil.
Stop! Cut! Rewind! Too early!
I sat in that cold room, I was not nervous! I was not! Then why did I feel like vomiting? Finally, the one minute silence was up, I shook hands with the people around me and the chairman looked at us and said, “Now, we have Gan De Ming to present his speech!”
Rewind some more! Back, back, back!
The car drove in the parking slot and stopped short, I opened the door and caught sight of several men standing and talking in a business-like manner. They wore a white collared shirt and their blazer and long pants were black. But what made them stand out was that very bright yellow tie of theirs. I looked at them and asked if this was the right place. No answer. I waited for a few seconds then I walked into the room, maybe they were too deep in conversation.
I pulled out a chair from the table furthest from the stage and after a few moments, Pei Qi arrived, she sat beside me and we started to talk about the class party, I began writing down the names of those that owed the class money and we ended up being the ones talking the loudest. A guy saw this and decided to come over to our table. His name was Hetish and we soon got to know more about him.
The event began with a simple introduction about you by your neighbour. The speaker then begin selecting presidents for the event, (there were suppose to be 4). The process was simple they would have a team A and a team B. Three people would be selected for each team, the president, the secretary, the sergeant at arms and the people would vote if they wanted team A or team B. At last after all the votings, our table ended up with three presidents (Pei Qi, Gan Wai Su and me) and a secretary (Hetish), meaning that all who sat at this table had posts!
We were then separated into two groups and were given random topics to speak on, (they called it Table Topics). Mine was on my dream holiday and I told them honestly, I do not actually dream about holidays, but I really enjoyed my holidays for this year. After every 5 people, Ee Ping would come out and comment on our speech, I was told that I was good but had to stop starting the sentence with a, “Ya, so…”
Our lunch was scheduled right after the Table Topics and we walked from the Extol shop lot to a restaurant nearby that had a plain A4 paper with the writing ‘Punjabi Food’. That really caught me off guard; I have never known that Punjabis had any food. Well it would be a unique experience I guess. I stepped into the restaurant and began scooping food onto my plate. When we finally sat down to eat, I found that I had to force the food to go down my throat. The taste was so strong! No offence, just personal opinion.
The workshop continued with a self introductory speech and I decided to add a little taste of creativity to mine. Instead of the basic “Hello, I am… My age is…” I went up there and said, “Hello I am Mr.Gan from De Ming Corporation and I would like to share with you a product, Gan De Ming. This product here…” So I ended up telling them about how I was a neutral and that I came with three wives. I ended my speech by saying that I cost only RM999.99 (which gave me my speech title). I thought I did okay although I felt it was lacking a little on content, but when it was time for the comments it was a totally different story.
“I have a confession to make, for the speaker Gan De Ming-” I raised my hand. “-, his speech was so out of the world that I could not understand one bit of it. At first it seems that he was talking about himself, then I think he went on to talk about a gadget.” I stared at her, “I was advertising myself!” I looked around me and asked everyone else, “You guys understand my speech right?” Max nodded and said that it was quite obvious that the product was me. All in all, it was a huge disappointment, although she said that my voice was loud enough, my posture was confident, the important part was still the speech and I totally flunked it!
After that, we went back for some tea and were separated again for another Table Topic, but this time Pei Qi and Samantha were with me. I believed that they did quite well in this Table Topic, but they had quite doable topics. When I was finally dragged up, I asked everyone what number I should take, (they had 100 topics and we were to choose them randomly by number) and this Pei Qi shouted 44. Me being me, decided to take it and guess what it was?
‘If you were married, would you have kids? Why?’ This time I stood there speechless, I had no idea whether I wanted to get married or not, what more about having kids?
We were assigned to prepare a speech the next day and I had prepared some notes on some basic emotions, naming anger, love and loneliness. I went up slightly unprepared but since it was something I was interested in, it came out smoothly. This time, I felt that I did a rather good job and I felt rather proud for myself. This pride expanded a little when I got selected as the best speaker for that session.
It was three in the evening, we had already done many speeches by then, I sat by the table beside the stage. One of the toastmasters stood beside me, he was to speak on voice and vocabulary. He called all of us to get closer to him and after a few minutes of the noisy shifting of chairs, we formed a semicircle around him. He then explained to us the effects and the use of intonations. After that he called Pei Qi out and sat her on a chair, Hetish was called out too. As both of them stared at each other in confusion, he instructed Hetish to confess to Pei Qi and to speak with proper intonation and variation of speech. He then said, “Hetish has had a crush on Pei Qi for the past 10 years. Ever since he saw her in kindergarten, he has fallen in love with Pei Qi, but has never got the opportunity to tell her how she feels. Today he is finally given this opportunity.” It was hilarious as Hetish struggled to say those words and finally the toastmaster called out another person. Hetish happily withdrew. The replacement was more sporting (in a way, or maybe he just likes the attention or Pei Qi!) and he went down on the one knee kneeling post. He stared into Pei Qi’s eyes and said to her, “Your eyes are like the moon on a starless night. Pei Qi I want to tell you something… Pei Qi, I love you!” At that moment the whole room burst with laughter and all those who were recording held their camera pr hand phones tighter. “I’m sorry I don’t love you,” said Pei Qi. The toastmaster was not satisfied and at last Pei Qi said to him, “Okay! I love you too!” (It was something like that at least). The day was made more interesting when during our Table Topic, she got a topic on the meaning of love. All in all, it was an interesting day.
The next day, I had prepared a speech for the competition, it was called 100 years. It was about pollution and its effects if left to be continued. I was rather confident in my speech and I thought that I stand a chance to win something, but when I told the title to the toastmaster, he insisted that we do something on family. I knew that if I were to do anything regarding my family, it meant that I was not going to get the prize. But then I thought to myself that however much I wanted the prize, getting a chance to let my parents know that I really appreciated them was more important.
So that was how I ended up sitting on that chair that day as I rehearsed mentally the words that I was going to say to my family. I was number fourteen in line and although I mentally denied it, but I was really nervous, I felt like vomiting in fact. As one by one the people went out, the feeling just got worse and worse until, “Gan De Ming with his title, Unsung Heroes!”
I sat there for 2 seconds to calm myself and slowly made my way to the stage, I shook the toastmaster’s hand in false confidence and stood on that stage staring down into the mass below me. “Good afternoon everybody!” I was answered by everyone of the audience; it had become a procedure. “How many of you have heard about Superman?” Hands were raised. “Who has watched the show?” Some were lowered but others remained up. “What about Spiderman or Batman?” It was the same case. “But today I am not here to talk about all this man-man; I am here to talk about the Unsung Heroes, my parents.”
*****
At least an hour had passed since I ended my speech and within me I felt calmer. After receiving my certificate, it was now time to announce the winner. I knew I was not going to get anything, and I was right. The Most Improved Award went to Cherish, The Most Creative to Hetish and the third placing to Jetish (Hetish’s brother), second placing went to Pei Qi and the winner of that day was Alex with Cooking and Me. I believed they all deserved the prizes for they all were great!
To be honest, I expected my parents to be proud or thankful for my speech, instead, they asked me why I had to talk about them, it was too common. They told me to stick to the previous topic and that it was rather one leveled and was without depth. I was really disappointed and definitely hurt, but as I recounted the events back in my mind later that day, I realized that what they said were true and I learned that day that I should never change the topic especially when I did not have much time to prepare and make it more meaningful. It was a valuable lesson though.
The three days spent in the course was definitely well spent, although I had already known many things on public speaking, I picked up many tips and was now more confident in speaking because of all the times we had to speak in a crowd. In fact, I realized that I actually liked going on stage!
Rain felled at an average ferociousness and the wind blew slightly against the trees giving it a peaceful atmosphere. Inside the Old Town Kopitiam which was lit with dim yellow lights and was spread out with marble and red wood chairs and tables, the atmosphere was in pace with that of the outside. Most of the customers were enjoying a peaceful lunch and Ah Siong was savoring his too, until a couple of annoying teenagers came bustling in.
The moment these teenagers walked through the door Ah Siong could tell that the peace he had would be short lived. Ah Siong stiffened up a little as they sat right in front of him, divided only by a one centimeter-thick glass, he raised his eyebrows at his girlfriend and took a puff at his cigarette, maybe he should have went to a more quiet place for a date, but then how was he going smoke then? As much as he hated to admit it he was addicted to smoking, it made him feel confident.
Ah Siong continued attacking his nasi lemak as he tried his best to keep his girlfriend interested and to ignore those people. After a while noise started to emit from those kids, he rolled his eyes but could not help but to notice that a guy and the girl kept staring at him. Was he being paranoid? He licked his teeth, was there anything stuck there? A moment later those two begin staring at the outside as if waiting for something. What? He could not guess. This people reminded him of how he was when he was a bit younger. There was the same pattern where there would be some talking among themselves, some playing their hand phones and occasionally they would remember they came in a group and would laugh together.
Suddenly he realized that his girlfriend was saying something, he momentarily forget those people as he listened to her talk about her day. When she was done, he began to consider placing his arm around her shoulder. Why not? She’s his girlfriend. As he was debating he realized that the group over there had a cake. Were they waiting for someone? Just as if they could read his mind the guy closest to him began to point excitedly and talked little quicker. The girl in front of him ignored him and the rest started to look out. Ah Siong made up his mind to focus on the important matter, how was he going to put his hands on her shoulders? She sat a little too far.
He raised his arm in attempt to reach out to her, but suddenly someone knocked against his chair as they walked through the door. He pretended to be stretching and stared at his romance spoiler. More of those kids! He blew his cigarette in frustration as the singing of Happy Birthday started to reach his ears. Ah Siong sat up, paid his bill, grabbed his girl and walked away. Such annoying people.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY EE SUEN!” we screamed as she stepped foot into the Kopitiam, I raised my camera and set it to the recording mode, I faced it at her face as she came in. She was not shock. That’s not right! This was a surprise party. Was she so perasan to expect us to prepare her a birthday party?
She laughed as she sat in between Xia Shuen and me. At least she was happy, I thought as I pointed the camera to her. We started singing as she sat there momentarily lost, then we asked her to blow the candle. After doing so, she took a bottle and started swinging it from side to side shouting again and again that she wanted to say something. At last she got everybody’s attention.
“Today I’m very happy. But lea… I know I’m very Ah Lien, but that does not mean you have to choose Old Town Kopitiam.”
“But wouldn’t it be more meaningful and-“
“Also this place is very expensive. One more thing, yesterday I went out and I bought a…”
“HANDPHONE.”
Suddenly all the customers turned around as screams of ‘supportiveness’ broke out. Xia Shuen started to point at Ee Suen and kept repeating, “I knew it! I knew it! You know why? You see I’m so smart!”
The rest of the day passed on pretty quickly as she ate her cake and as we took picture together. The thing about photography that I learned today is that if it is indoors, a flash is a must. It was fun actually and I could see that Ee Suen was enjoying herself. Maybe enjoying herself a little too much, especially when she went all high about being the birthday girl. Definitely using her birthday girl rights to the maximum, but it was her birthday, so I’ll have to be nice! Not to forget, this girl actually ate cake with soya sauce! That was well... very disgusting
All in all, it was good that this party was a success; the surprise part was a failure though. I guess it’s ok anyways. Personally I hoped that there will be many other parties like this to attend. It is not about the food or the venue or even the plan, but it was about who came and how it affected them. Before I end this, I would like to say, HAPPIE BIRTHDAY EE SUEN!
PS: The reason the guy and the girl above was looking at Ah Siong was because they needed a lighter and seeing that he was smoking, they considered sending in Hui Ting.
Like I've mention, there is another story I created called Our Promise, if you are interested please read on even though I do not think it was that good. I still meant every word I wrote though
****
The sky was covered with thick dark clouds as it announces the coming of the rain. I sighed heavily as a streak of lightning flashed before my eyes. I switched on the radio and a soft sad tune started to play, within the depths of my heart I could feel a dark emptiness. It was as if I lost something or someone precious. What was this feeling? I could find no answer.
At last my car drove into the car porch. I unlocked my door and slid lazily out. I began fumbling for my keys as the car door was slammed shut. When I was inside my house, I chucked my coat aside and slumped down onto my sofa. After minutes of staring at the ceiling and trying to understand the feeling within me, I picked myself up and started to rummage through piles of untidy boxes. It has been weeks since these boxes have been ready to be unpacked into my new home.
With every box, the feeling kept getting stronger. Out of frustration I threw a book up into the air. As it landed beside me, I noticed a photograph flapping down slowly. I picked it up gently as it landed on the floor.
“Daphne?” I whispered. “Will you remember me after ten years?”
I shook that memory out of my mind and began tracing the outline of the two figures in the photograph. I understand now the emptiness in me, ten years has passed. Even though I hoped she would remember me, but I have unfaithful and have forgotten about her and all our times together.
She lay back and laughed, “Of course.”
I stared at the photograph again, a photograph of Daphne and I. I smiled as I noticed that I was trying my best to press her shoulders down so she would look shorter. I remembered the look on her face after that, this was and has always been my favourite picture. Has it really been this long? Ten years seems to have passed me by like a flash. I looked around my house and caught sight of my white coat.
“You’re going to be a doctor,” Daphne said one day.
“I doubt I will, I don’t like earning money through other people’s sickness.” I laughed as the memory of how upset I was at her joke of being a doctor. Not once did I ever consider that she might just be right. Not once did I guess I would find so saving lives my passion. Not once.
Our friendship began humbly, the act of sharing one’s heart with the other. But for one such as me who has never been given this privilege until then, it meant the world to me. It was that very day I made a promise to myself that what ever she would have to go through; she will never go through them alone, because I will be there by her side.
“You are special to me; each and every one of my friends is special to me. None can replace the other.”
She was the only person to ever say that to me. I wish I had told her how special she was to me. I wish she knew that she was the only one who was able to change my mood from utter blackness to joy. I wish she knew she was the only person I cared so unselfishly for. I wish she knew she was the person I felt most at ease with. I wish she knew she was the first girl that had offered me a hug. I wish she knew she was special to me too, really special.
I woke up a little nervous that morning. It was exactly ten years since our promise. It was also her birthday. As I stood by the counter of a gift shop, ready to pay for Daphne’s present, I realize that I have been using this wallet for ten years. It was her who gave this to me.
“I’ve got something to tell you.” There was definitely something wrong with her that day.
“Spill the beans.”
She stared at her feet and said slowly, “I’m moving…” She choked at that moment. Moving? Where to? My brain went dead as I waited for her answer. “Australia.”
For the next ten minute there was complete silence. In the end I plucked up enough courage to speak, “Daphne? Will you remember me in ten years?”
I knew her laughter was forced as she answered me, “Of course.”
Both of us then stared away from each other. But when I to look at her I noticed tears streaming from down her cheeks. She was crying. It was the first time she ever cried in front of me. As much as I would like to cry with her, my heart seemed frozen. Moving? No, it can’t be. She’s lying. Why?
Best friends are titles we carry around, but true friends are some thing in our hearts that words find hard to express, it can never be compared to a best friend. I was going to lose my true friend that day. What about the moments we share? What about the times spent together? Why must this happen Although we could still communicate, it will never be the same.
“Promise me that we will meet up ten years from now?” I whispered.
“Promise.”
Although time may change us, although our path may separate, although life will still have to go on, the promise lasted till this very day. It was our promise
It was already five in the evening and I was in the place we had promise to meet each other, on the bench of a park. It was a simple place, yet when we were lonely or were sad, this is where we would be. I stared at the empty space beside me which she had occupied ten years ago. I knew she was going to come. I believe that we all of heart.
But slowly I watched the sun set before my eyes and the stars and the moon came out in all its beauty. The streetlights began to light up one by one and still the seat beside me was empty. She has forgotten our promise. I guess this was how much I meant to her, I guess this was how much I had impacted her. I laughed at how I thought all this years she would remember a pathetic fool like me, a fool who actually believes that all stories has a happy ending. I could see clearly now. I will not be fooled again. The word friendship was just a word that held no meaning.
I was like a walking corpse as I step into my parent’s house. I did not eat, I did not drink. I sat by the study table and taped nicely on the wall was the class photo, for three years Daphne was in there with me, after that it was only me. My eyes caught sight of the heart shape paper she had given me as a token of appreciation during Valentines Day. After ten years all these are still here. So what? They mean nothing to me anymore. Once again just like I did ten years ago, I was trying my best to forget her. But everything I did just kept reminding me of her, her empty seat, her favourite song, her pictures and even the sound of some one’s laughter reminded me of ours. That was why I studied so hard, to erase her from my mind. That was why I did not answer her e-mails. It just hurts so much.
That night memories of her haunted me even more so, by time I was awake it was already twelve. I ate without tasting, bathe without soap and started the car without it’s keys. By then it was already four-thirty, I searched for my keys in my pocket and the photograph fell out of my pocket. The very same photograph that had reminded me of her. I stared at it and was about to throw it away when I remembered something.
“Pick a date when we will meet.”
“My birthday?”
“No, I don’t want that date. Pick another.”
“The day after my birthday?”
Crap, I got the date wrong, it was not her birthday. It was the day after her birthday, which means our promise was today. I ran into the house and grabbed the keys, as I left to the park I laughed and laughed. I was really a pathetic fool.
Every year of my life, there would always be a time when I will sit down and recount to myself all that has happened. I would ask myself whether this year was better than the last. On most occasions, I would usually find that one precious year has gone by wasted and I would promise the same old New Year resolutions. That is until this year, for this year things are different. There are many reasons why this year was such a blessing to me, but in this story here, I would like to just focus on one of the prominent reason for this feeling of gratitude and contentment.
There was a boy who walked aimlessly along a dark narrow path, this path was overgrown with bushes and occasionally the boy had to suffer scratches just to walk along the path. At times the path split and the boy would anyhow decide the path he was to take. If one was to describe this boy, it would be someone who was lost and did not have a purpose or a reason in life. This boy would meet people along his path, but their road would leave his and soon he was walking alone once more. When he was sad, no one was there to comfort him, when he was happy, no one laughed along with him. But one day as the rain poured down on him and the cold made his bones shivered, a certain Someone walked into his path, unlike many of those people that came along his path, Someone bothered to stay with the boy as it poured down hard. This Someone sat by him and cheered him up till the rain stopped. When the dark clouds started to clear and the sun began to shine, Something happened to the boy, Something wonderful. The boy changed. He changed not from the outside, but from the inside. He walked a different road now, one that theis constantly bright and cheerful, his pace now fills with purpose. When he was sad, his tears were dried by Someone, when he was happy, he would share the joke to Someone. He was never alone, for Someone always stood by him.
The boy was me and Someone was a person named Xia Shuen. To be honest, I tried many ways to write out this essay and after a month I realized that my words were empty. Yet I did not give up, for I wanted to let her know how much she meant to me. At last, I decided to write it as it is. In the beginning, I tried to write how we were separated and we made a promise to meet each other after ten years. It was called "Our Promise". In reality that did not happen, therefore I could not place my feelings into the writing. So I have decided to just write it from my heart. I thought it would be called "By Her Side", but then "My Promise " fitted the topic better.
Life was a like a game of chess, at times we have to make sacrifices, we have to let one of our pieces to be eaten; we have let go of things although it may hurt. That happened to me, I lost something and I fought so hard to get it back. I failed to do so, but just when I lost hope, Xia Shuen sat by me and listened to me and that changed the world to me.
The first day our mouth spoke was a normal day, but the first day our hearts spoke was a special day, to me at least. She was upset about something and she shared with me one day. At that time it has been so long since anyone trusted me with anything important, so long since I was deemed worthy of such privileges, so long since I felt appreciated. It was then that I made a promise to myself that no matter what happened I would be by Xia Shuen’s side all the way, I would be her friend.
If you were to read any other stories about friendship, it would tell you about a few memorable or powerful experiences and memories that the author has spent with his/ her friend. But in reality, it is all those small and little things that just make the bond closer.
Next year, we might or might not be in the same class, but before that happens I want to let her know how much she meant to me. I want to let her know that she was the only one who was able to change my mood from utter blackness to joy, that she was the first person I cared so unselfishly for, that she was the person I felt most at ease with and that she was the first girl that had offered me a hug. She was special to me, really special. I just did not dare tell her, because it might sound stupid.
All in all, I just want to say thank you for picking me up from where I was. Thank you for listening to me all this time. Thank you for showing me that this person here is appreciated and is worth something. Thank you for all your help. Thank you for teaching me the true meaning of friendship. Thank you for making my life a brighter place. Thank you for asking me to be a prefect. Thank you for all those precious memories. Thank you for giving me another shot in life. Most of all thank you for just being there for me.
I make a promise today here as I did a year ago, that I Gan De Ming would be by you no matter what happens. If you were drowning, I would be there to pull you ashore, if you were falling from the sky, I would be your pillow, if your organs have any problems, and I’ll give you mine. I say this because I know you would do the same for me.
Every year of my life, there would always be a time when I will sit down and recount to myself all that has happened. I would ask myself whether this year was better than the last. On most occasions, I would usually find that one precious year has gone by wasted and I would promise the same old New Year resolutions. That is until this year, for this year things are different. There are many reasons why this year was such a blessing to me, but in this story here, I would like to just focus on one of the prominent reason for this feeling of gratitude and contentment.
There was a boy who walked aimlessly along a dark narrow path, this path was overgrown with bushes and occasionally the boy had to suffer scratches just to walk along the path. At times the path split and the boy would anyhow decide the path he was to take. If one was to describe this boy, it would be someone who was lost and did not have a purpose or a reason in life. This boy would meet people along his path, but their road would leave his and soon he was walking alone once more. When he was sad, no one was there to comfort him, when he was happy, no one laughed along with him. But one day as the rain poured down on him and the cold made his bones shivered, a certain Someone walked into his path, unlike many of those people that came along his path, Someone bothered to stay with the boy as it poured down hard. This Someone sat by him and cheered him up till the rain stopped. When the dark clouds started to clear and the sun began to shine, Something happened to the boy, Something wonderful. The boy changed. He changed not from the outside, but from the inside. He walked a different road now, one that theis constantly bright and cheerful, his pace now fills with purpose. When he was sad, his tears were dried by Someone, when he was happy, he would share the joke to Someone. He was never alone, for Someone always stood by him.
The boy was me and Someone was a person named Xia Shuen. To be honest, I tried many ways to write out this essay and after a month I realized that my words were empty. Yet I did not give up, for I wanted to let her know how much she meant to me. At last, I decided to write it as it is. In the beginning, I tried to write how we were separated and we made a promise to meet each other after ten years. It was called "Our Promise". In reality that did not happen, therefore I could not place my feelings into the writing. So I have decided to just write it from my heart. I thought it would be called "By Her Side", but then "My Promise " fitted the topic better.
Life was a like a game of chess, at times we have to make sacrifices, we have to let one of our pieces to be eaten; we have let go of things although it may hurt. That happened to me, I lost something and I fought so hard to get it back. I failed to do so, but just when I lost hope, Xia Shuen sat by me and listened to me and that changed the world to me.
The first day our mouth spoke was a normal day, but the first day our hearts spoke was a special day, to me at least. She was upset about something and she shared with me one day. At that time it has been so long since anyone trusted me with anything important, so long since I was deemed worthy of such privileges, so long since I felt appreciated. It was then that I made a promise to myself that no matter what happened I would be by Xia Shuen’s side all the way, I would be her friend.
If you were to read any other stories about friendship, it would tell you about a few memorable or powerful experiences and memories that the author has spent with his/ her friend. But in reality, it is all those small and little things that just make the bond closer.
Next year, we might or might not be in the same class, but before that happens I want to let her know how much she meant to me. I want to let her know that she was the only one who was able to change my mood from utter blackness to joy, that she was the first person I cared so unselfishly for, that she was the person I felt most at ease with and that she was the first girl that had offered me a hug. She was special to me, really special. I just did not dare tell her, because it might sound stupid.
All in all, I just want to say thank you for picking me up from where I was. Thank you for listening to me all this time. Thank you for showing me that this person here is appreciated and is worth something. Thank you for all your help. Thank you for teaching me the true meaning of friendship. Thank you for making my life a brighter place. Thank you for asking me to be a prefect. Thank you for all those precious memories. Thank you for giving me another shot in life. Most of all thank you for just being there for me.
I make a promise today here as I did a year ago, that I Gan De Ming would be by you no matter what happens. If you were drowning, I would be there to pull you ashore, if you were falling from the sky, I would be your pillow, if your organs have any problems, and I’ll give you mine. I say this because I know you would do the same for me.
