Meeting Up with My Old Friends

Thoughts, being rejuvenated, after a get-together with a group of old friends, reconnected, once more, translated…

I’d, set up the treat slices for my old dog, Yellow, told him, “Okay now, mommy’s out!”, and he’d not done as he normally would, immediately came for the treats, tilting his head at me, from his lips that were moving, I’d read, “have fun”.

Quickly enough, I’d, arrived at the station, gotten into the trains, there wasn’t that much of a jostle as the train started moving, but, I’d, heard that knock inside of me, “I’m off then!”, starting out from Taipei, after the train sped through the underpass, there would, normally be the scenes of the greens outside the windows that flashed by, but that day, the darkness from the outside seemed to, extend.  And finally, I saw the houses, the oads, the fields, running the opposite directions, and, what’s more than fitting, for my upbeat mood was, a hot cup of coffee, and I’d not seen the trays being wheeled, it was still, far away, in the distances from me, so, I’d hollered aloud, “Can you give me a cup of coffee please?”, then, I saw that woman, with her hand on the stroller, looking confused, and that was when it’d, dawned on me, that it wasn’t the food carts, but a stroller instead.  As she’d pushed her stroller past me, I’d, mumbled aloud, “I’m sorry!”, and, she’d, looked back, smiling in acknowledgement, I’d, smiled back at her the same way, then, added the gestures of making her baby laugh, and, the infant’s not knowing the awkwardness of our encounter had, somehow, soothed me awkwardness.

illustration from the papers online

Forty-two years was enough to span across half a lifetime, I’d, ridden, from that distant past of mine, all the way, to the seat of an elegant seat of a window in a café in the city of the southern parts.  With three cups of coffee, sat there on the wooden tables, “I always have my coffee black,”  “I loved the lattes with the milk added in.”  “I’m used to the lightly roasted beans, with that slight acidity”.  And, we’d, started off from that, and gotten into a deeper sort of conversations, and, just like the poem by the T’ang poet, the years didn’t change our accents, but, I’d watched my two old friends’ facial expressions change with the words they were, speaking, with the tone of voice that stayed the same, I’d, compared to my memories of them from years ago, and, that scent of familiarity, I’d, found once more.  The three of us, walked closer and closer to one another, with the passing of the years, the sunlight was still a ray of gold out, and, there’s, not any more distances between us now, whatever that was going on, we’d, traded away, with the words, we’d, walked in and out, of our pasts, intertwined into one another’s lives, looking at the highs and lows we’d all, walked through in life, walked through that land that’s, yellowed, then greened again.

As we trekked along, the riverbeds were sometimes, widened, sometimes, narrower, the flow of water, quick, and slow at times; as we hiked up to the peaks, we’d felt, amazing, and yet, as we, hiked back down, we’d become, somewhat, confused, and, as we entered a brand new season of our lives, things started, looking, very different from before…we’d, traded our own alibis, the sourness of life, shared the memories of our youths shared together, held tight, as six hands were, grabbing a hold on tightly, to the youthfulness, to offer one another encouragements for our long, or short life that followed.

like this???  Photo from online

The sun bid its, finally farewell to all of us with its last rays, the sun set, at the bottom of those three coffee cups, the remains of the ground coffee made three different shapes.  As we got up to leave, nobody fought for the bills, because, that connectedness is, within all of us, we are, destined to meet back up again, not too long from now.

As I’d, returned home, entered into my house, seeing how upbeat I was, Yellow came towards me, with all his muscles, no longer firm, wagging its tail hard at me, with all his might, and, I bent down, looked at him, and saw a brand new expression on his lips, “I knew it!”

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, it’s, such a blessing, to be with, my old friends again.

So, having friends, it’s a must of our lives, because, they give us that shot of brand new sense of energy, they’d, made us feel comfortable, and, sometimes, after awhile, we’d, lost touch with one another, but, as we’d, called one another up again, it’s like, no time had, ever passed between us, since the last time we were together!  That, is what being old friends is all about.