Down the road

it was about 3 am.

there were no cars on the road except for the white Merc cab that i was in. the road was exceptionally wide. palm trees lined the road, small shrubs served as the divider. the smooth purr of the merc drowned out the silence.

an odd sense of tranquil calm wash over me like warm ripples of the sea in the afternoon. i have been here before. i know this place. i know this feeling.

it was the same route i have taken home from the airport so many times.

the plane landed. picked up my luggage, waved to parents. their relief was palpable. but it was not just relief. it was pride and joy, a yearning satisfied.

the air outside the airport was moist, felt almost as if someone had pressed a wet towel over my face. the heat was oppressive. my body had forgotten how it felt like to be back in Singapore.

hopped into the first cab available. quick instructions and off we went. perfunctory questions answered, idle chit chat. the cab sped down a stretch of wide road, lined with palm trees, where shrubs served as dividers. it was an unfamiliar stretch of road. but speeding down it felt refreshing.

we rounded a corner, sped down a distance, up a bridge. the sun was setting, the sky a mixture of azure blue and tangerine orange. set against this backdrop, the skyline of the city centre of Singapore came into view. towering skyscrapers of glass and steel stood where less than half a century ago, there was nothing. i know this place. i was here before.

we looked at the skyline of the city centre. no one spoke. a gentle breeze carrassed our skin, whispering softly a sweet melody. we had just finished our A-levels that morning. a chapter of our lives have ended. where will we go from there? will our divergent paths ever cross? will our friendship forged survive the assualts of the humdrum of life? no one spoke. no one knew. i will be here again.

we were on that bridge, staring at that skyline. it was now brightly lit for the sun has set. the first summer was ending. i pulled her tighter into my embrace. i looked at her, falling into her deep gaze. we took a circuitous route to be there. it will surely work out. regardless of the ocean between us. regardless of the time difference, regardless of how our ideals differed. regardless.

the merc cab sped on. too fast! i have not seen enough! i want to go back! but there is no turning back. they have become doctors, one is getting married soon. she has left my life, no doubt doing well. we have all moved on, speeding into the darkness of the future.

a bridge. a skyline. i have been there before. they have changed and so have i.