Her Story – Part 1

We sat there under the typical Singapore sun. Sweating, complaining but chatting non-stop. I don’t quite remember if there were chairs or we just stood the entire time. What I do remember is that the que outside the American Embassy was long, and she was pregnant. 

This was not my first meeting with Priyanka. But it was our first real interaction. We had so many things to talk about. To complain about. To bond over. From being married not long ago to moving countries and feeling displaced to missing home. The conversations flowed freely, wrapped with giggles, hearty laughs, stories and shared emotions. 

Although we hit off really well, it was not really an ‘every morning let’s have coffee’ kinda friendship. Even today, 10+ years later, we meet infrequently. Yet it is a very special relationship. Whenever we speak, we pick up from the last left thread and immediately weave together the time gap. 

“Summer had just started in Vancouver at that time. On my way back after picking my daughter, we both indulged in lemon slush. After sipping on that, I vomited,” she narrated, when we met after a gap of one year.

(to be continued…)