I will tell you a love story tonight.
Ten years ago, a man walked into a hospital and caught the eye of a girl - a beautiful girl with radiant eyes who had a special gift for bringing joy to others. She had a way of making people fall in love with her at first sight. He approached her, asked for her phone number, brought her watermelon juice, waited for her outside as she finished her shift, and took her out to dinner. He went the extra mile to make her happy, and she was over the moon.
After a decade has passed, my love for her remains as strong as ever. I always find reasons to come and steal a glance at her from a distance. Today, I took a flight straight from Changi to be near her. In my usual spot, waiting in the car, fate played a cruel trick on me by showing me something I didn't want to see. He arrived to pick her up, just like he did a decade ago. It felt like a dagger through the heart, as if my world had come crashing down. I watched them from afar.
I didn't come to see the man she chose to fetch her. I came to see her because I miss her, to feel close to her, yet fate threw me a curveball. It's like rubbing salt in an old wound. The wound from ten years ago bleeds afresh. Is fate giving me a sign to let go of love that's not in the cards for me? It feels like I'm chasing rainbows, holding onto a love that may never be mine. That's okay. I have the whole night to weep my tears. Tomorrow morning, I will smile again like nothing happened.
What a lonely world. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but the show must go on.
Tebrau City, Johor Darul Ta'zim
17 March 2024