As I was sitting on the bus yesterday, half dozing off, half not, all these glimpses of peoples faces that I encountered over the past many years came back. These were people that I very much remember for their distinct personalities and the very heartwarming conversations we had for a short little while.
Some people think I'm weird for talking to strangers but when you really do take the time to talk to some, your life changes forever.
Coincidentally, most of these experiences were with elderly people... with the occasional young'ns.
1) I remember during my trip to China in 2007, there was this retired couple who then, and I suppose, currently are traveling the world. I remember getting along so well with them, so much so that after my trip was over, they gave me their number to stay in contact with them, maybe go for "yum cha" before I would return to Canada.
I didn't call them. There are many days where I wonder what if I called them and had that brunch date... would we still be friends? I wonder how they're doing now.
2) My most memorable experience was during my trip to Luoyang. I met the most amazing kids - orphans - and yet their situation never brought them down. It was the most humbling experience and it became more than a volunteer-orphan relationship. We became friends ... I promised I'd write them and I'd keep in touch with them.
I haven't done so. It's been two and a half years and everyday I wonder where they are now, some are already grown up (the adults have to leave the orphange). I wonder if they had followed their dreams that they shared with me years ago. I wonder if I still write to them now if they would still remember me, would they forgive me for neglecting them for so long?
3) I met this lady on the subway TTC. It was a very short and sweet conversation and very much reminded me of what a loving grandmother would be.
Her compliments and her smile made my day and I wish I could return the favour each and every day.
4) I took the Via Rail one time and it had stalled for an extra two hours due to some complications on the track. An elderly couple who sat behind me had no idea what to do and needed to call home. I simply just lent them my phone so that they could assure their relatives that they were okay. I thought nothing of it as I would expect any other person to do the same. For some reason, they were so grateful that they wanted me to call them. They gave me their business card and wished for me to call them the next day so they could thank me again.
They called my cell phone (it was saved on their relatives' call id), but I never picked up.
I really wish I did pick up. Maybe we would be friends. Maybe they'd teach me things about life I would never learn. Maybe I'd keep them young.
5) This girl that sat beside me on the Greyhound and I randomly started talking. Talking so much that we pretty much annoyed everyone on the bus, including the bus driver. We talked like we had known each other for years and knew the ins and outs of our situations and stories.
And again, I wonder what it would be life if we had kept in touch.
***
I always hate saying good-bye. I always stuck to the fact that once you're in my life, there is no way out. It's not that I am dissatisfied with having the few good people I do have in my life; I just maybe, grow attached to people so easily that their impact on me never seems to subside...
