Strangers I Know

Stranger #85:

(Tell me about your greatest fear.)

Stranger #84:

(What is her greatest wish?)

Just as she was about to capture the garden before her, she caught a glimpse of the most beautiful sparrow she had ever laid her eyes upon as it flew by. 

 She then had the most absurd thought: “If only I could be as free as a bird, fly as high as a bird and to travel around the world through the eyes of a bird. Oh how cool will that be!” 

 As the sparrow flew out of sight, she put down the phone and smiled gleefully to herself. “I know what I want to be in the future now!” she proudly exclaimed, and returned to her parents with the good news. 

 Maybe it wasn’t so absurd after all.

Story Continued by Lee Jing Wei (17).

Stranger #83:

(When did he last laugh, and what at?)

i am not alone today. there are bodies surrounding me, but where are you? why are we here? 

love. it may not be enough, but it is the basis for sentience. for joy, for direction, for a future, a past, even the deepest of antipathies. 

my feet carry me to this bench every now and then. it is therapeutic, curative, almost, to gaze at folks passing by. we are the earth, moulded into cold creatures. warped as i may be, i’d like to commit to memory our shared humanity. 

we used to come here. now, i. i can’t remember the last time i laughed because every time i think of you, of us, i let out a little laugh. a little sigh. love feels more fragile than life; joy and sorrow are ephemeral. from here on in, i am conditioned to accept conditional love— the only kind i know exists. 

i am about to get up and move again. i, a trudger. landscapes will change, memories will be distorted, but the past has been set in stone, and will always remain.

Story Continued by Pin Han Lim (20).

Stranger #81: 

(What is her favourite color, and why?)

Someone once asked me what my favourite colour is and as I stood, waiting for my bus, waiting for dreams that never seemed to deliver, as I clutched the drink from the Golden Arcs, clutched the cancer that seemed already coursing through my flesh, as I swallowed another sip of heavenly poison, swallowed yet another dose of mundane reality, I knew.

Red, I’d brag. Like the colour my blood once was. My favourite colour that reminded me of the colour of Lunar New Year decorations that arced over my house doors, often over-staying its welcome as everyone seemed overwhelmed with their own sultry foot steps to work.

Yellow, I’d whisper. Like the colour my skin was, when I first came out of the hospital, clutched within the arms of my grandmother. Jaundice, they assured, the yellow is normal. But I lost my mother to the yellow plastered on my cup.

Red, I’d insist. Like the colour my eyes were, when I stayed up the first time my daughter cried through the night. I rocked her in my own arms that entire night, but now she prefers the arms of boys who make her think Red and Yellow are the most romantic tints in your food.

Yellow, I’d scream. Like the pigments on my teeth, yellow was filthy, yellow was plague, yellow chased boys away from me when I tried to kiss them when I was 17. They always preferred Red and Yellow. Yellow brought a façade of joy.

Red. Yellow. Red. Yellow. Red! Yellow!

White! I’d cry. Like the colour my soul was before I swallowed.

I sip while waiting for the bus.

Story Continued by Jolene Gina Abelarde (17).

Stranger #80:

My first week in Singapore:

My first week in Singapore was so much fun! From the minute I left the airport it felt like I was in a different world. never had I seen such a busy city, that is so clean and filled with vegetation! Every day I was discovering new things and creating memories that would stay with me forever. Like going in the Singapore flyer or eating at a food court for the first time. I was never bored and still to this day I find that I love Singapore and I am always discovering new things. Although I was sad to leave France which is my home country I soon realised that Singapore is so much fun and I look forward to every new day!

Story Continued by Strangers We Know.

Stranger #79:

Hi I am Long Jing. I was born in Singapore. I was born on 1st May 1997. I was born with loving and wealthy parents but I also have two elder siblings, it kinda sucks to be the youngest to me because I always got teased by my siblings all the time when I was young. When I was a young kid I am always a shy and quiet person. When I went into primary 1 I was so scared of my own classmates because I don’t even know them and can’t really communicate much. I had not much friends back then and lonely as years [passed] I was slightly more open to people. In primary 5 I had 3 good friends who were always with me in school. But when I graduated from primary school, my 3 good friends all went their separate ways. It was time to move on to secondary school. It was back to square one again. In sec 1 I was quiet and shy once again with no friends. When I was sec 2 that year was the year that my life changed forever! I was surfing the Internet [when] I discovered this new song by LMFAO called the Party Rock Anthem. I was inspired by the dance they did. It was called “shuffle”. I never ever thought of myself to become a dancer but I tried learning it anyways. It was hard to learn at first but I managed and as months passed I got better and better. Nothing [else] made me feel alive. Thanks to this dance I met people who has the same interest and made many new friends and amazing people. I would really like to thank this dance for changing my life. It made me more open to people I made me feel like myself. I would just like to say life will get better if we choose to make it better.

Story Continued by Strangers We Know

And just like this, after 8 months and 22 days, 15 strangers continuing the story for 15 other strangers, the SIK X SK subseries ends quietly under the pitter patter of Farisya Farid's nifty fingers. A really thoughtful piece about memories, putting deftly into words how we easily feel so melancholic when alone and lost in our own thoughts. Really intriguing a thought, how memories are but what makes our souls heavier, a weight that us silly humans seem to always want to chase back even when they volunteer to leave.

A huge shoutout and thank you to all the that were part of this:

1. Jaya Khidir (18) 2. Katie Emmanuelle Yeo (17) 3. Abigail Chui (18) 4. Andrew Goh (18) 5. K. Z. Arifa (19) 6. Karissa Sim (18) 7. Josiah Ng (26) 8. Sara Lau (19) 9. Naomi Yeo (20) 10. Naomi Yeo (20) 11. Tal Shahar Frieden (17) 12. Sarveen Chester (22) 13. Jeeray Tham (19) 14. Wendy Zhang (21) 15. Farisya Farid (19)

You guys have all played a big part in these little pictures, with each of you continuing a path that is imprinted with the footsteps of another wanderer.

And for many, that little number in the brackets has since then +1, so hopefully when you are reading this, your day/night would become a little more meaningful, and that this would become a memory that would make you feel that much lighter, a memory that you would want to keep for real.

A post Jenson Gabriel Tan shared yesterday about Obscured.sg caught my eye and whilst exploring I went onto the homepage of the tumblr, and had one of the most amazing surprises: someone submitted Strangers I Know into the collection! (#noob: I was so surprised I even clicked back into the previous page thinking that the page auto submits the visitor's tumblr or something... ) 

Stranger #78:

And there it was, just in the name of change…that was how it ended. Thinking back, it has been a month since she left. Why is it that I can remember the exact things that happened on that day but I can’t even recall the last time I changed these sheets.At the same time though, how cruel can memories be. I wish this veranda would burn down and vanish.I wish memories did not exist. I wish there wasn't anything I could look back to and miss so much over.Memories, a noun, in plural form, how cruel can you be. Why do you only exist to remind me of the better times, of how things were like before I changed? But that really isn't what I need right now. I don’t want to be reminded of who I was because I know that there is no way I can be that again.And I blame time for ticking so fast that I stopped realizing things. But it’s amazing how I did find some beauty in oblivion.Memories hold us back. “Leave your things behind cause it’s all going off without you.” -Imogen HeapIt is indeed time to finally let go. I don’t think there’s anything else that I fear when I feel like I've been living in fear itself for the longest time. But I will find beauty in this too.Till then.

Stranger #77:

"Here we go again, time for more change. As if I haven't had enough of that in my life. The people I love are constantly changing, seeking freedom and individuality. That was how she (pause) left me behind. Dad was right about not letting her go. And me? Well, I've been moving around...enough to know what to leave behindSo (pause...) here we go again.May the old go and the new come. Because right now, there's nothing left for me to grieve over."What about you? Which do you fear more. What's coming in life or what's leaving yours.

Stranger #76:

All that I am, all that people see, they see a facade. They don’t see who I see. A heroine who longs freedom, who wishes to end the paper chase. Bound by the expectations of her father, whose expectations forces her into the path of Yonsei (University), something she never wanted for herself. But what does her father know? Image, Wealth, Stability, Honor of the Kim family line; what does he know of his little girl’s desires?

/ A little bird cooped up in her books; 

How she longs to spread her folded wings

Get those little feet moving the tune of music. 

This is truly who I am (Dad),

Life can be truly what you make it to be,

Unchained by the expectations of society

Like the eagle that soars above the city

Have you felt truly this fre-

/

The train arrives. The little bird remains caged. Sigh.

One day.

-

When will my reflection show, who I am inside? - Mulan

Stranger #75:

The price we have paid for expecting to be so much more than our ancestors is a perpetual anxiety that we are far from being all we might be. ***We so often juggle with expectations that I think the biggest problem in standing straight amongst others is our ability to manage our expectations. I left work one day after realising that this was not what I wanted to do. This was not what I signed up for in my pursuit of happiness. The corporate world has become a battle ground of egos and selfish self-interests that I have been thrusted into by the draconian expectations of being in the Kim family. We've always been known to take societal status seriously. But today, I left it all. I went back to my inner desire; curation. Curating art, curating history. Dear 7 year old self, when you grow up (and old) and if you ever find yourself in a situation you don't like to be, move. Remember, you are not a tree. The only resemblance you have is that you are sooted to soar. So run, take off, you are destined for greater things.(This is the backstory for the stranger at the back, but he is speaking to his younger self - the small boy running in the foreground)

Stranger #74:

It’s crazy how tied up we can feel when we’re all alone, connected to the world only by ethernet cables and WiFi hotspots. Whether it be in the office, or late, after everyone’s gone to sleep, it can hit you like a bolt of lightning, in the middle of composing an email to your business contact, and all of a sudden you’re alone in a sea of 1’s and 0’s.

***

After a day of inbox (141)--NYSE--inbox(57)--NASDAQ--inbox (0), I raced to scoop my little one from kindergarten. It was one of the first days of the cold season, where one is hesitant to close one’s top buttons, afraid to acknowledge winter’s inevitability. We jumped on the metro, and sped along beneath the bustling metropolis we call home. Tonight, we were headed to his friend’s birthday party in the park by her family’s high rise. As my young adventurer babbled about his day, I thought about how pleasantly average our new life had become.

Upon our arrival, his friend jumped to greet us. He handed over a small bag with a gift we’d spent hours crafting, and gave Hope a hug. I said hello to her parents, who started asking the type of questions that no child would bother with. I told them how work was going, listened to their grumblings about the economy, contributed my opinions about politics, all the while watching my youngster play with his friends. In watching a game of tag, a young girl blow out some candles, a dog chase its owners, I felt more connected to the earth felt closer to me, more connected, than ever before, even. All this, despite your absence.

Stranger #73: 

"아 빠! 아이스그림주세요!"

(Dad, please give me ice-cream!) 

I looked at my little one. 

Isn’t it strange how your first love comes back to haunt you? 

I found 아기 (Babe) while in my usual hide-out on the 19th November. I had my snacks with me, and it was absolutely freezing. 

Maybe it was too cold, or maybe I was overworked from making my rounds that night, but I fell into a deep slumber, only to awaken by the desperate cries of a baby. 

Instinctively my head cocked towards the direction of its cries, and my feet naturally gravitated towards it. In the darkness, I managed to find her. I picked her up from the cold, damp floor, and wondered to myself how I even landed in a situation such as this. 

But still, in the darkness of the night, the babe’s eyes glistened and she grew silent, perhaps from the new found feeling that is warmth. I couldn’t take my eyes off the babe. She looked just like .. Her. 

I became delusional. But in my delusion, I found Hope, and she became my reason for solace. 

That was the 19th of November, 2020.

I no longer wait for her, nor wish that she’d appear. Turns out she’d never left me, she just waited for the right time to come back to me. 

Maybe I am delusional. But at least, I have Hope. 

"일았어,알았어!" 

(Okay, okay!) 

So I took my little Hope, and we graveled through the busy street. 

Stranger #72:

She and I were deliverymen. We'd make our rounds, gather all our boxes and deliver them door to door.  This spot was where we'd meet after the job was done. I'd usually find her squatting instead of sitting on the curb, and it became our thing. Just squatting right next to the curb and wolfing down our fried snacks with immense satisfaction.  "I'll come back with the snacks this time. Usual place. See you! "  That was the 19th of November, 2000.

Stranger #71:

It’s cold.

I should be used to this by now. In a few months I would have spent 60 years in this country, experiencing the same winter, in the same truck driving by the same sights. Well, at least I get to watch my dramas in the comfort and warmth of the vehicle interior. Technology still befuddles me but if it allows to me to take refuge from my mundane life, then I’ll take it.

My eyes remained transfixed on the small rectangular screen as I watch the lead male character professing his love for the unattainable female lead, a tear running down his face as his voice cracks at her name. Unwittingly I start to tear up as well, my hand unconsciously rising to my face. Oh, I hope they do get together eventually!

Sometimes I ponder the mundanity of my existence. How did I become reduced to crying alone in my truck because of fictional characters in an unrealistic, overdramatized caricature of life? I wish I had a life like that. The endless cycle of living the same routine makes me feel nothing, yet watching these television shows make me feel everything. I swing back and forth between reality and unreality every day. Maybe one day these two worlds will merge, allowing me to feel alive again.

Story Continued by Sara Lau (19) as part of the StrangersIKnow X SouthKorea drama. [EP 8]