A Good Man

It is strange certain memories can become blurry and be buried but suddenly be resurrected because of certain triggers and reminders. Some people are almost forgotten until someone else mentions his / her name. Notwithstanding the reminders, images of them may still remain blurry and encounters with them seem centuries ago. It is almost as if it belongs to a previous life, to the extent that you wonder if the existence of the person is real or a mere figment of our mind.

He was an ex classmate of mine. I could not even remember how he looked like exactly. Despite being classmates for one year, we had never kept in touch. I reckoned even if we met each other on the road now, we would not have recognized each other or even taken a second look.

There was this sudden jolt of memory mainly because one of my friends mentioned about him recently in our gathering. Then, it started off a few of us saying that we knew this person as one of our classmates and agreeing that he was one of the nicest persons we have ever met. Yes, even till today, I still felt indebted to him and I would raise both hands in support of him if we were to vote for the nicest person around.

We used to end our lessons pretty late, around 7pm. Many of us stayed quite far from the school where the journey home would take at least 1 hour. At around 7 pm, our stomachs would normally be growling in hunger. Normally, I would succumb to their protests and ate my dinner in the coffee shop outside the school. He and another guy would sometimes walk past me en route to the MRT station. They would stop by to chat or they would play their game of chess while I finished my dinner. Both of them did not eat as they were going home to eat home-cooked meals. Then, we would walk to the MRT station together and took train home. They both lived in the east while I stayed in the north, so we could keep each other company for at least half of the journey.

Of course, they never accompanied me all the time. It was perhaps only a couple of times. Although I could not remember the exact details already, their company had made those dinners more enjoyable and less lonesome.

In the second year, I was performing on stage for one of the celebrations. He was one of the photographers. He managed to take a photo of us while we were on stage. Normally, such photos would just go into the school’s newsletter and none of the performers would get a copy of the picture. He has extended a photo to me and refused to accept my payment.

In fact, he was also very nice to any other classmates. Most of those who knew him also remembered his niceties, humbleness and helpfulness fondly.

No longer can I remember his face, nor will we ever try to keep in touch. School days seem ages ago as if it was another century totally. Yet, his helpfulness will always remain as a fond memory of the rather stressful study life.

Though I sincerely hope I have never become any nightmare in his memory. =p