by Juoin 10:04 PM 0 comments

   I remembered that rainy night well. The rain was heavy, creating an uneasy symphony of rhythm on the body of the car. The lack of conversation in the car probably added to the forlorn atmosphere, my family has never been one to make small talk because they invariably led to disagreements and fights.

    We were stopped by the roadside beside Plaza Imbi, it was late, and most shops were closed already. I looked out the window at the dark roads outside. The black of the night broken up only by the occasional streetlamp or the illumination from the few shops still open at that time. It was a pretty depressing sight to be honest, the destitute sight of the communities and shops in the area added a sense of hopelessness to my mood.

   It was the day after we had officially broken up. "Officially", because we both knew when and why we would break up weeks before, hence this "official" breakup was purely for show, a reassurance that we've done things the proper way and have said our proper farewells. That didn't lessen the pain however, as a sense of finality sank in. An acknowledgement that all hope was lost, and that this was the reality now, I was now single, alone, and depressed.

   I sat stony faced, most of my family were still oblivious to my breakup. They had, over the course of more than four years, grown to accept her as part of the family already. My grandmother had even proudly exclaimed once to my other relatives that the closeness of the two of us were 风也吹不倒. Something I took special pride in. I sighed, I did not know how to face them now, a feeling of failure crept over me. I had failed everyones' expectations of us.

   I looked down at my phone, eager to talk to someone for the sake of my sanity.I scrolled through my phone contacts as I decided to take a chance by trying to talk to someone I had not talked to for a long time. A name showed up towards the end of my contact's list, my heart skipped a beat. I was not aware I had this person's number. She was, at that time, an acquaintance. She knew who I was, and I knew who she was but beyond that, we knew next to nothing about each other. She seemed like the perfect person to try to start a conversation with I thought. What could possibly go wrong? I was about to find out as I typed out a short hello.