And that's exactly what happened to me in HongKong. I was looking for an escape from my world - and I discovered new things about myself. And I found a kindred spirit.
It's funny how things work out the way they do. I mean, of all places to be in, we happened to be in HongKong at the same time, stayed at the same hostel, and woke up at the same time that day, when everybody was still supposed to be asleep.
We met on the way to the bathroom at 5:00 in the morning. I got up early so I could take my time in the shower, thinking that others are still sleeping (I was using a shared bathroom, it was a budget hostel for backpackers). When I got out, he was there in his sleeping attire, waiting to take a pee.
Who could have predicted that?
Certainly not me. It's like the universe conspired to get us to meet for reasons I have not yet realized as of now.It was a sweet and memorable encounter, short-lived though it was. Too short.
At one point, I told him that what gets to me the most when I travel is when I see couples traveling together, doing the things they love together. It makes me want to find what they have. And in the brief time we had together in HongKong, that's what he gave me - the feeling of being totally in sync with another person.
And the best part was - he gave me respect. This may make me sound like a racist, but I didn't expect that from someone of his culture and background. From all the stories I hear, guys of his background don't operate like that. Which made him all the more endearing.
We spent 2 days together, just being carefree and enjoying each other's company. He was a party person, I was not. But for some reason, he wanted to do my thing. Disneyland, the nature walks, the sunrise at the harbour. It wasn't him, but he actually enjoyed it. I guess I helped him discover new things about himself as well.
Then it was suddenly over. It was time to go.
It was a bittersweet separation, made all the more difficult by the knowledge that we didnt know if and when we'd meet again. We were going on different directions in our lives, we just happened to meet on a crossroad.
He was on a journey - of the world and of himself. He told me his story and I understood how he became a loose ship, and why he needed to find himself again.
I was on my own path of self-discovery since my break-up last year, but I was still anchored to home.
All the time, we knew our encounter was fleeting. We could feel the hours slip away and we held on as long as we could. Until it was time to go.
His flight was earlier than mine. Just before he left, he hugged me tight and I felt the regret washing over me. Regret that we couldn't have met at a better time in our lives. Regret that our worlds were so different that they couldn't merge. Regret that he couldn't be the one.
But I'd never regret having known him. He would always be a part of my life now, a happy memory I'd keep going back to in my old age...
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