Friday, March 20, 2009

There was a boy travelling down a road.

Just a normal boy, just a normal road. He was heading for a destination, a long journey alone.

Then some way into the journey, a person entered the same road. another boy like him, with his own destination in mind. the two of them were almost walking level, side by side. but the boy didnt know the stranger, and vice versa, so they just continued walking in silence.

The silence was deafening, but no one had the courage to break it. For almost half the journey, this continued, before the boy could not stand it anymore, and said,

"Hi."

"Hello."

It started slowly. A few steps along someone would say something, the other would answer. But gradually it built on, the words became more flowing, the conversation longer. Soon before they knew it, they were chatting like old friends.

And soon before they knew it, they arrived at a fork in the road.

It wasn't really a fork in that sense. The road widened and gently split into two, both heading in slightly different directions. At the fork was a young tree, thin but strong. The boy was heading for the left fork, the other was heading right. They would have to part. Suddenly the boy felt a rush of panic. Lets carve our names on the tree, he said. Leave our mark, to remember our journey together. The other laughed, but went along with it.

The boy smiled. And let's make a promise to return to this point someday in the future, to show that our companionship wasn't nothing. Again, the other agreed, and they set off on their roads. But in their minds both of them knew that it was unlikely that their paths would take them here again.

At first, as there was only a small gap between each roads, they still talked and laughed. Gradually the gap became wider. Shrubs and trees appeared in that gap, and soon both of them could only catch glimpses of each other. There for a moment, gone the next. They still continued chatting, but it was getting harder to talk. For what talk can there be if you can't even see the person you are talking to? Finally, they could no longer hear nor see each other.

And the boy continued the journey down his road. He saw new things and made new friends, but he never forgot.

Many years on, the boy, now a man, returned to the fork in the road. It had changed much. It was now a bustling road, many vehicles zoom pass everyday. And the young tree had grown into a big tree, towering over the boy.

He made his way to the tree, smiling as he stroke the trunk. Then, a frown. Then a frantic search. The names were gone. No matter how hard he looked, he could no longer find the mark they had made that faithful day. And he knelt to his knees in frustration and closed his eyes.

The carvings didnt last through the harsh conditions, didnt last forever. Who knows, maybe the tree had been uprooted and replaced, and this was a totally different tree. Maybe the mark was never there at all. And did the other come back at all?

He opened his eyes. And he saw it. Near the bottom of the tree, there were two words etched, two fresh-cut words.

"I remembered."

He felt it disbelievingly. So fresh. He whipped his head around, and who he saw next brought tears to his eyes.



Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.
And we are never, ever the same.

Let's hope it lasts forever, no matter our paths ahead.