every day is a gift

this afternoon, like many other afternoons, i was sitting in coffee bean with naima, revising. but this afternoon was special. because this afternoon could have never happened.

has it ever occurred to you that every small thing that happens in your life, is only but standing on the brink of not happening? every moment, be it bad or good, becomes so special if you remind yourself that you were fortunate enough to be presented with an extra day, an extra hour, a minute, a second. someone else might not have been as lucky.

it felt really good sitting opposite naima, it felt good hugging bindiya and getting to feel that she's physically here, still here. it felt amazing laughing when i flicked pen caps at naima, and it felt even better to see that smile on her face. it was such a pleasant surprise to turn around to find ms. tan (the maths teacher) sitting at the table behind us, and see that familiar kind smile on her face. it warmed my heart to see a young man pat a Labrador sitting outside starbucks with his owner, and that look in the young man's eyes told me he saw the dog not as a dog, but much more than that. it was great hearing wei ling's voice on the phone. it made me smile seeing a mother come in carrying a baby, and as she goo-goo-ga-gad to the baby, naima laughed. and then suddenly you just understand that, as people die, new babies are born. people come, and people go. no one can stay forever.

bindiya, i didn't know what to say to you, i've never experienced the pain of losing a friend. i know why you're asking, "why do people have to die?", ''why him?", because i asked the same questions when my dog passed away a few years ago. she meant the whole world to me. i have no answer, but i can tell you that you can live for your friend. all of you, his friends, his family, anyone who had known him, live for him by living your life to the fullest. as long as his memory lives in you, he's still here.

i went for an evening walk with my dad after dinner. i stretched out my arms as i walked, and felt the wind on my fingertips. i breathed in, very deeply. how could i have forgotten how good the wind feels on your skin? and how the air smells like grass, and heat, and.. life.
it's so simple. it's too beautiful. everything around us, every day, is a gift.

we're alive.