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Friday, September 12, 2008

The Soothing Gravity

When I went on my bike trek in jogja last week, I made a promise to a friend that I would stop by at her house before heading home. So after four hours of biking, I change my course to her place. It was the visit I have always looking forward to do whenever I'm home.

She and I were highschool buddies. There were five of us altogether. We went to different faculties, studied different things, she got married while I moved to Jakarta. And despite the fact that I've grown from a nerd into this talkative person and a hardworking mule and she went from this pessimistic person into a positive mother of two with a husband faraway in Japan, still, everytime we see each other, it was us.

And after all these years, she's still my best girl. She still knows how to kick me on the right places and soothe my agony. And I still made her laugh her ass off and left her mouth hanging open for the things that I said mindlessly.

As we sat there the other day, she told me about a highschool friend of ours,
"Edo asked me if it was really me on my friendster picture."
"Ha ha .. he asked me before if it was really your friendster."

We laughed. My bestfriend who is now wearing a long hijab was barely unrecognizeable in that particular photo.

"People still associated us," I said after munching a free lunch.
"I don't see the fallacy. We're still hanging out together ... at my house that is. When you're here."
"Yeah."
"Why is that? Why do we still hang out together? It's been I dunno .. twelve years?"
"Thirteen."
"Yeah, why?"
"Hmm .. Dani and I have this theory," I mentioned my other best buddy for fourteen years, "It's because we practically grew up together."
"Hmm .."
"Just listen, teen age is one the the most crucial part of one's personality building process. You know, the brain development and the whole emotional thingy. The people you hang out with, the things that happenned, I think those things sort of scarred you for life. It helped to shape who you are. And since we hung out together, you know, you, me, Dani, and everybody else ... we're sort of similar that way. And similar birds flock together."

She looked at me and had one of those semi mouth-gaping moment, before finally saying,
"My sister still hangs out with her old highschool buddies too. Maybe that's true. Yeah. More of that satay?"
"No, thanks. I'm full."
"So how's your love life?"
"Sick as usual. Can't shake the last one."
"Still?" she sighed, but then shook her head, " Nevermind, I've been there."

I stared at her for a moment before recalling a bunch of her old love memories. Then we laughed again.

We said our goodbyes with her standing, peeking behind her frontdoor as I walked my bike out of her gate.
"Still can't believe you've rode that bike around town," she said.
"Still can't believe you'd move to Japan next year," I replied.

We've grown far from who we were in our highschool days. I realized later on that it was not only the similarities that brought me to her door from time to time. Being with someone you grew up with will remind you of who you are, before things got complicated. And that gave me a sense of soothing gravity.

. at 12:24 PM

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