In response to Slayer's tag... I always go for the book, not the movie. :p

Sappy blog today... but I'm in a sappy mood...

Somewhere only we know...

[lyrics are Somewhere Only We Know, and We Might As Well be Strangers by Keane. Hopes and Fears is a great album. Get it!]

I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand

I met up with a group of friends for my birthday tonight. ( This entire weekend has been devoted to that purpose, but well... ) This particular group of friends, having known each other since sec school [and 1 from pri sch] is the longest running one I have amongst all my friends.

I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete

We grew up with each other in the compound of our secondary school, where we ran around the basketball court everyday, and studied in Macdonald's after school. We hung out in each other's classes and our comic books were interchangeable property between us. For some of us, we interacted with each other more times than we interacted with our classmates.

I don't know your face no more
Or feel the touch that I adore

But paths will diverge over time. Another girl and I went to JC, while the rest to different polys. After the Os, we literally got thrown to the 4 corners of Singapore, though we managed to get together for each other's birthday and whenever possible. We tried to make it a habit to have at least one massive gathering every year. ( Usually held at my house, with pizza delivery for dinner. Now the rest of you know where that came from }

I don't know your face no more
It's just a place I'm looking for

It was clear, however, that we were unable to meet as frequently as we could in sec school, and after that, it became increasingly hard to do so. Some of us had As to study for, while others had other lives altogether in Poly. Common conversation topics dwindled. Our paths would still meet from time to time, but the forks between them became wider and wider.

I don't know your thoughts these days
We're strangers in an empty space

Tonight, as we met again, it struck me on the way home just how wide apart those paths were now. Some are in Australia studying, one stays frequently in KL on business, another has a job that takes up most of her free time, with its unstable schedule. And my tuition at night prevents me from meeting them after office hours.

We might as well be strangers in another town
We might as well be living in another world

Saddening to think of how far apart we have become, from our days in sec sch when we were so close. Split up into 3 different countries, different priorities, different goals in life. The junctions in our life where we meet becoming less and less frequent, and the distances between them wider and wider. Not only that, but because of modern communication, we become more nonchalant of this distance. It's ok if we don't meet, because there's always SMS, MSN, email, phones etc. The thought that we can communicate instantly when we want to somehow decreases the need to keep in contact. We are under the illusion that the other party is actually near to us, when actually she may be in another continent altogether.

We might as well be strangers in another town
We might as well be living in another time
We might as well be strangers

Is this always the case? Maybe in terms of accessibility it is, but in terms of actual relationship building? Since we think that the other party is always within reach, we tend to forget that there is a distance between us. We go through our daily lives, each of us growing and changing in our own way, such that when we finally meet, it's almost astounding that we still recognise each other. Did she always talk like that? Was she always interested in this? Is this the same person I used to know?

And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?

And yet, thankfully, at our age, there is enough of the old spark left to ignite us. A laugh, a hug, and soon enough we are walking down the path together, arm in arm, like we used to do. Like we never left each other in the first place. Perhaps that's the beauty of old friendships. Even after separating for great distances, it doesn't really take much to recreate the same connection again. After all, the knots were never completely untied in the first place. They only became slack for a while. It doesn't take more than one gentle pull to tighten it again.

This could be the end of everything

Thankfully, for now, the pulls that tightened our knots have only been gentle ones. What if one day the ropes are jerked hard? Will it take the injury [or worse] of one of us to realise just what a precious thing it is we have here? That no forms of modern communication can ever take the place of sitting down with that person and watching her glow with her smile, hearing her laugh, and feel the friendly slap of her hand on yours?

So why don't we go

On the first hour of the 24th year of my life on this earth, this piece is dedicated to all the friends I've known before. To the past, the present, and the future ones I have yet to meet. To those still near, to those far away. To those who are about to leave, to those who will always stay. May the ropes that bind us stay firm, may we never lose sight of each other on our individual paths, and may we always be able to laugh together.

Somewhere only we know?