Soul mates

                I felt a thrill in my heart . I looked at him as he mouthed the words “after school”. I smiled and nodded.

There was something mysterious about Alfred that fascinated me . He was very good in all his studies and axcellent in sports . Yet, no one knew anything about him. His nickname was ‘Alien’ . Some of the girls passed the word about that he had come from another planet. No one knew where he lived , or who his parents were , or even what he did after school. When asked he always said something funny and changed the subject. Somehow I had become drawn to him and we had become the best of friends. This was a breakthrough for him as he was generally shy with girls . I had been pestering him for days about his background. As his best friend I believed I had a right to know . Earlier that day, during recess , I had told him that our friendship was over unless he ‘came clean’ about everything. I was vindicated ; he was going to tell me all.

when i met after school, he jerked his head to indicate that i should follow him.

he walked very fast and i hurried after him. he was silent as we waited at the bus stop.

I touched his arm to tell him that i was there.

That made him start, as apparently his mind was far away.

we took the bus to its terminus at tampines and got off. I wondered why he lived so far from school and why he did not go to a school nearby.

as he was so quiet, I decided not to interrupt his thoughts again and waited for him to tell me. anyway, I was sure the mystery would be solved that day.

I walked with him as he walked through the block. I though he was taking me to his apartment.  Then he stopped in front of a temple. I was stunned. He led the way and i followed. I climbed the stairs till the top floor. He pointed to a nun sitting in deep meditation. Suddenly i realised where i was. I was at an orphanage. I heard sobbing and turned to see alfred in tears. Just then the nun opened her eyes and got up to hug him. She looked over his shoulders at me and to the question in my eyes replied in a barely audible whisper, “ both his parents died in an air crash when he was three,” alfred sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. I felt miserable and empty within.

Later  when we were seated in the lounge drinking tea, I reached out and put my arms arround him. He looked long and deep into my eyes. I realised that he felt about me the same way I felt about him. I felt a warmth crawling all over me. I had found what I was looking for. I reached forward and kissed him gently. “you are not a orphan anymore,” I whispered, I will be everyting-father,mother,sister,,brother and girlfrend-to you”

                That was the end of our friendship and the beginning of a lifelong romance 

BELAHAN JIWA

 Aku merasakan suatu getaran di dalam jantung ku. Aku melihat dia ketika mengucapkan kata-kata itu

 " setelah sekolah". Aku tersenyum dan mengangguk.

Ada sesuatu  yang misterius sekitar Alfred Yang mempesona aku. Ia sangat baik dalam semua studi nya dan dia ahli dalam bidang sports. Namun , tak seorangpun mengenal segalanya tentang dia. Nama julukan nya adalah “Mahluk asing”. Sebagian dari para wanita yang lulus mengatakan tentang itu ia telah datang dari planet lain. Tak seorangpun mengetahui dimana ia bertempat tinggal, atau siapa orang tuanya , atau bahkan apa yang ia lakukan setelah sekolah. Ketika ditanya ia selalu berkata sesuatu  yang lucu dan mengubah pokok materi. Bagaimanapun juga aku telah tertarik kepadanya dan kita telah menjadi yang teman terbaik . Ini adalah suatu terobosan untuknya ketika ia biasanya malu dengan anak-anak perempuan. Aku tengah mengganggu nya setiap hari belakangan ini . Sebagai teman terbaik nya yang dipercaya aku berhak untuk mengetahuinya. Hari yang lebih awal , selama istirahat , aku telah menceritakan kepadanya bahwa persahabatan kami selesai kecuali jika ia  mengakui  sekitar tentang dirinya . Aku telah mempertahankan diri ; ia akan menceritakan semuanya.

ketika saya bertemu sepulang sekolah, ia menyentakkan kepalanya untuk menunjukkan bahwa saya harus mengikutinya. ia berjalan sangat cepat dan saya bergegas mengejarnya. ia terdiam saat kami menunggu di halte bus. Aku menyentuh lengannya untuk memberitahu bahwa saya ada di sana. Yang membuatnya mulai, karena ternyata pikirannya jauh.
kita naik bus ke terminal yang di Tampines dan turun. Aku bertanya-tanya mengapa ia hidup begitu jauh dari sekolah dan mengapa ia tidak pergi ke sekolah terdekat. karena ia begitu tenang, saya memutuskan untuk tidak lagi mengganggu pikiran dan menunggu untuk menceritakan. Lagi pula, aku yakin misteri akan diselesaikan hari ini.

Aku berjalan dengannya ia berjalan melewati blok itu. meskipun demikian  ia membawa aku ke apartemen nya. Kemudian ia menghentikan di depan suatu kuil. Aku  kebingungan.  Ia memimpin dan aku  mengikuti. Aku menaiki tangga itu hingga tingkat rumah paling atas . Ia menunjuk suatu biarawati yang duduk meditasi dalam. tiba-tiba saya menyadari dimana saya berada . Aku ada di suatu rumah yatim piatu. Aku mendengar suara tangisan dan aku melihat alfred sambil menangis. Kemudian biarawati membuka mata nya dan mencapai pelukan dia. Dia memeriksa bahu nya kepadaku dan kepada pertanyaan di dalam mata ku menjawab suatu bisikan yang dapat didengar," kedua orang tua nya meninggal saat suatu udara roboh/hancur ketika ia bertiga," Alfred menangis,  menangis dan menangis. Aku merasa sedih dan kosong di dalam.

kemudian ketika kita telah duduk di ruang bersantai  yang mabuk teh, aku mencari ke luar dan menaruh lenganku disekelilingnya . Ia melihat kerinduan di dalam mata ku. Aku menyadari bahwa ia meraba-raba aku dan sama seperti aku meraba-raba dia. Aku merasakan suatu kehangatan yang merayap di sekitar aku. Aku telah menemukan apa yang aku  cari. Aku mencapai pemain depan dan mencium dia dengan lemah-lembut. " kamu bukanlah suatu yatim piatu lagi," Aku berbisik, aku akan jadi seperti-ayah , ibu, saudara perempuan, saudara laki-laki dan pacarmu"

 Itu adalah ujung persahabatan kami dan permulaan suatu kehidupan romansa yang panjang .