In Continuum.

South By South East: Epilogue

As the games were played in the night, the melodies echoed itself through the innards of the guitar, it was evident for all of us that the trip was coming to an end in a few hours. It was Wednesday night, and we were just hanging out in the bedroom and talking over a game of Scrabble. Like everything good, it had to come to an end inevitably. The last night was also Jonathan's birthday, and we secretly ordered a cake to be sent up to our room at midnight as a form of celebration. I played the guitar while the rest sang a birthday song to him, and that was the perfect fullstop to our last night on the island. We were all drained from the kayaking, and certainly from all the digestive work in our stomach that night. But it was a satisfactory trip indeed, and I'm sure we all had fun as we all returned to our rooms to call it a day.

I'm not exactly sure how often we are going to have such overseas trip; if it is going to be something we will do every holiday. To be honest, the destination matters little in relative to who I will be visiting the countries with. On the taxi ride home, Jonathan and I were already planning on going to Changmai this coming December, and I think it'd be another round of great fun with these admirable people as company. Like all good trips, it is always the company that makes the trip rather than the trip itself. It mattered little if we were all conned at the local village with the overpriced hotdogs, or the cheese and ham sandwiches that didn't have cheese and ham. The fact that I was with those people made everything worthwhile, and it has been a great trip in retrospect.

I am thankful to be associated with these people, glad that I am going to be attached to them for the next couple of years. With them, the possibilities seem to be endless, and the unpredictability of everything is something that draws me back every time. I suppose that is the kind of friendship everybody should have, the kind of friendships that makes you feel like you are part of something good, something beautiful. It doesn't matter that by the end of three years, we are all going to take different paths and meet different people along the way. I guess the fact that it happened, is something worth smiling about. I know, it was only a mere trip to Bintan; merely 40 kilometers away from Singapore. But I guess to me, it meant a lot more than a simple trip abroad out of impulse. It was the sense of belonging that I felt, to be the most precious of the trip. More than the experiences and more than the great seafood, the kind of feeling you get only with certain groups of people in your social circle.

The next holiday is still a long time away, and the next semester hasn't even started yet. But here I am, hoping for the next semester to begin as soon as possible. I know it sounds out of character for a person like me, wishing for the school to start. I mean, I was the kind of kid back in high school, wishing for holidays to last forever. I was the kind of soldier who wished for weekends to last for eternity as well, dreading to go back to camp for another week of mental torture. But here I am, telling you that I am actually looking forward for the school the start all over again. I can't say how I am going to do by the end of the semester, or if I am going to score straight As all over again. All I can say is that when I am in the league of these admirable people, nothing is too daunting and nothing is too impossible to achieve. Even if you fall flat on your face, it is always comforting to know that there are people around you who will pick you up, even if you've ran out of strength to do so. Besides, Changmai is waiting at the end of the road. What better motivation is there?

Thanks people, for such a great trip overseas. I am looking out for more of those in the future, and that's for sure. For now, meeting you guys in school shall suffice, because everyday in school with you guys is one more day of adventure worth having. Thank you once more, for being yourselves.