Waiting

Reunion

School was exciting. It was one of those moments in life where I’ll never forget. For those 6 years, life was great. School was more than welcoming. I’ve made friends, we rally behind each other and help whenever we could. Lessons were challenging but with each passing class, I learnt something new.

My mother and I stayed in a small apartment within the school’s compound. I worked in the noodle restaurant ran by the school. The head chef was like a father I never had, my fellow colleagues were like my extended family. They taught me everything they knew. They didn't judge me for my background. My mother worked in a bakery nearby. Just a short 15 minutes walked away. The boss was this lovely old lady who cherished my mother’s hardworking background. Her family had moved out of the country thus she treated my mother like her own. It was a very truly a different life.

In school, I hung around a smaller group of friends. We would head to an open kitchen together to test out new dishes. We talked about life after our school years. I found myself looking towards the future as a goal and not a distant dream. I did well in school. I was constantly on the directors list. My mother was so proud of me. Ms Tan and Mr Lee were as well. They would visit us from time to time. They kept me updated about the happenings back in my hometown. I came to understood why Ms Tan pushed me so hard. She was like me, back in her school days. Rebellious and uncaring, that was till her parents got into a horrible crash and didn't survive. She suffered through the pressure of society, she proved everyone wrong. My mother treated Ms Tan with love and in time, she became family. She brought her boyfriend to visit my mother, we celebrated every special occasion together.

Mr Lee brought his family on visits, he had two adorable twins. I felt the need to be a better role model. I didn't want them to follow in my footsteps. I would take them out for snacks and treated them my specials. During the year end, we would all come together and watch the sun rise. The twins would cuddle by my side and we would all sleep till the next day. That was what family felt like. And yet I was still searching for more.

During my fourth year in school, I dated a girl. She was everything anyone ever wanted. She was smart, funny, attractive and outgoing. And yet, we didn't end well. We broke off after dating for a whole year. It didn't felt right, she could tell. She told me that I'm obviously waiting for someone. That I would constantly look into an open crowd as if I was searching for someone. I confessed to her, I probably was. In every crowd I would find myself spotting for him.

Me and him, we stopped contacting each other during the second year of my university. Ms Tan and Mr Lee updated me about him. They said he stopped being an ass. He came to classes and aced them. He spent hours in school clearing questions he couldn't answer. The last they heard of him, he was headed for an engineering business university. But where, he didn't say. I was excited for him, he's fighting for his dreams. He's a smart guy, he'll probably make it. I found myself wanting to know, if he was looking for traces of me in his crowd.

But all good things comes to an end. My school life was coming to a close. As my 6 years slowly dwelled into 1, my mother’s time was running out. The doctors said she couldn’t live with me much longer. The city wasn’t the right place. She took her time to go around town and making sure that life without her would be an easy transition. The old lady helped as well. Together they sold away the bakery and invested the money they earn. I made the final year in school my best. I topped my class and graduated with honours. I wore the graduation gown into the hospital, my mother burst into tears. The old lady held my hand and told me not to worry. That everything will be fine in time. We took a family photo together, my mother and me, along with the old lady, Ms Tan and Mr Lee. I have that photo framed in my current apartment. It brings me great joy every time I looked at it. I promised my friends I would keep in contact with them, although most of them were leaving the country to pursue their careers overseas. Before the final day where we would all part ways, we partied till we didn’t know what was up or down. But when the sun set came, every single one of us was packed and ready to move on. I have cleared out the apartment and was ready to hop onto the train bring me to the next town away from the city. The head chef offered me a cooking position in his neighbourhood restaurant. It was in his family way before he was born. But he had no children and couldn’t pass it on, till I came along. I was beyond honoured, of course I took up that offer. My friends bid me good luck and made me promise, that I would offer them a free meal when they came to visit. For the past 6 years, we’ve walked together on the path towards our future. But now we were all at the cross roads. Ms Tan and her now fiancé were by my side. Mr Lee on the other end of the town driving upwards into the rural village ferrying my mother. We said our goodbyes with the promise that we will see each other again.