I got a phone call tonight, from someone I hadn’t seen since 1987. At first I thought it was a wrong number, because I didn’t recognize the name the caller was asking for. Then she said she was looking for “小恩”, and I knew it had to be somebody from loooong ago.
It was my parents’ old graduate school (UofWaterloo) friend who lives in Ottawa… her eldest daughter, whom I know as 佳佳姐姐 is getting married in Vaughn on Saturday. And she had just rediscovered my phone number and she was hoping that my parents might be around, and that maybe we could meet up with them. As it turns out, I won’t be going for the wedding banquet. Still, it was nice to talk to her…
*Flashback to 1979 – Kitchener, Ontario*
Two new mothers took a photograph together, each carrying her own baby. To this day, I think of that particular picture as “Face-Off”. My mom and her friend was back-facing each other so that their babies were facing one another. One of the babies was… me…and the other was “Duo Duo” , a baby boy a couple of months older than me. He had the most interesting hairstyle…it was like he was perpetually charged with static electricity. We were practically glaring at each other (no kidding, *glaring*).
*Flashback to 1985 – Ottawa, Ontario*
My parents were in Ottawa for a visit, and we stayed with my parents’ friends. I went along with my mom and her friend to pick up her friend’s eldest daughter from ice-skating lesson. We arrived early, and I watched admiringly as my mom pointed out 佳佳姐姐 (3 years my senior) to me. I watched as she glided and spun gracefully. It was the first time I watched a person ice-skate, and I was fascinated. I thought 佳佳 was brilliant! And for the next few days I drove my mom crazy begging for ice-skating lessons. That was not to be, however, as we returned to Singapore after our short Canadian visit.
*Flashback to 1987 – London, Ontario*
It was May, and winter had turned into spring. 佳佳 and her family visited my family in London Ontario. She had two younger brothers, both closer to me in age. But it was she who I wanted to hang out with. She taught me how to crochet, and we practised our splits, handstands and cartwheels together (we were both taking gymnastic lessons at the time). She could do back walkovers. I was very impressed.
Our families visited Story-Brook Gardens together where we picnicked and jumped rope. We went cherry picking together, and I remember taking lots of pictures with 佳佳姐姐 on top of ladders among the cherry trees. She had the rosiest complexion and the sweetest of smiles.
*Flashback to 2002 – Toronto*
My parents came to attend my convocation. They were making plans to visit their friends in Ottawa, but the plans fell through due to bad weather. Ah well, I remembered thinking it would have been interesting to see how 佳佳 was doing after all these years.
*2005 – Toronto*
She’s getting married the day after tomorrow. Amazing how fast time flies…the same 姐姐 that I tagged along after, who I once admired so much… she’s marrying into a Cantonese family in the G.T.A. It would have been interesting to see her again…but I don’t even know if she still remembers me – that pesky little twit of a girl who wouldn’t let her alone. Ah well…
Journey of the Heart 