the past

Last night, I attended my kindergarten friend's 21st. It was a fairly intimate affair with close friends and her dear family - about 40 people present. It would be close to exactly what I'd want for my birthday.

But that's beside the point. I cannot begin to explain how small Singapore is. Every one is intertwined with the next person in some way or another. Last night was evident of that, especially since most in attendance are turning 21 this year.

I met an acquaintance I knew from Primary School. We hardly talked.

I met a JC friend who was once close to me. Z and I used to share our stories and our faith. It was hard to take in all that I had missed over the last 3 years that I'd not spoken to him. He doesn't seem quite different though I cannot shake off that disappointment at the realisation that he's picked up smoking. I never can with friends whom I care for. Why am I so against it? That's a post for a different time. But I was happy we caught up and the fact that we still had things to talk about.

I met a JC acquaintance. We'd probably never exchanged more than 3 sentences while in JC. It was an "I know him, and he probably knows me, but we don't know know each other". Last night, we exchanged 30 sentences.

I met a boy. We used to have some short history with a long story. It was awkward, terribly so. And he came with a girl, his current girlfriend (friend of the birthday princess). We both were surprised to see each other and I think we dealt with it in a mature, 21-year-old-way; shook hands, did our salutations and smiled if our eyes ever caught the others' in a glance. But that was it. "Hey! How are you?" and then "Take care, goodbye."

Our past is never passed. It merely seems to have left us (and that can be quite convincing if one's intentions are such). But it will always be a part of us. It has a strange way of inching back into our lives, no doubt, and when it does, be prepared to act like it was never a big deal. If it goes as well as mine did last night, you should be able to fool the lot.