-- If u think u are the worst... read on --

"He's one of the finest men i've ever met.
Humorous, generous, caring and very well learnt...."

As she procceeded on to tell me things about him, my heart ached like hell.

She was a carefree young lass. Nicely pampered... came frm a pretty good family background, never met any setbacks in life, never took up any part-time jobs during her sch days, and perhaps the only adventurous thing she ever participated in was being leader in Girls' scouts.

"我是温室里的一朵花，" she said.

She came out into the society to work, had a pretty stable job and she met this guy of her life.

Someone she has always dreamt of -
Matured, humorous, well learnt, caring and meticulous.

Very soon, they grew close and were engaged. They dreamt abt their future, discussed what their wedding will be like, named their children......

Someday, the man had to go America for some business trip.

"Go with me," he told her.

Becos of her job, she wasnt able to leave. And so, she stayed.

One month passed...... Two months.....

Everynight, they chatted online with their webcams. They wrote letters and exchanged long distance phonecalls.

Everything, was perfect.

One night, the girl waited before the computer. But he didnt log on.

She waited.

She called him. Nobody answered.

Somehow, she got this sixth sense that something was wrong.

In the middle of the night, someone called.

"He's in the hospital right now. He met with an accident."

Her mind went blank.

Almost immediately, calmly... She booked an air ticket and packed her luggage.

"He'll be alright." She assured herself.

The long flight hours strangled her heart. her mind.

She couldn't think and she didnt want to think.

During the wait for transit, she waited in the lobby staring into space.

This was the FIRST TIME in her whole life, that she took such a long flight.

Alone.

"But i wasn't scared. I just want to see him."

When she reached there, it was winter time.

She stayed in the hospital, by his bedside, all day and night.

She knew he was in immense pain. She wanted to give him strength.

"When i talk and there was movement in his eyelids ... I knew, he was listening."
She smiled as she recalled the incident.

8 months passed.

The guy never woke up. Twice, his life nearly slipped away. But, he hanged on.

Within that 8 months, the girl showered in the hospital, arranged for his parents to fly over, struggled in the cold foreign city, seeked everywhere for help, had little savings, and the worst:

She had to fight away those wild thoughts that kept flowing in.

Finally, it was decided that the guy will be transferred back to spore for an operation.

"His face was swollen. He couldn't even open his eyes. I know he's in pain, but... he is very brave. The bravest man i've ever seen."

A few weeks after his return, the guy passed away.

"He wanted to come back to his growing up place and die here. I understand him." The girl told me, with that smile never once leaving her face. Though her eyes were already wet.

"It has been one year since he left. But it's like he never left my side. It's like he's still here." The girl opened her purse and inside, was a picture of their happy beaming faces.

"The day i removed this ring, will be the day i can moved on and forget..." She said as she played with that silver band around her third finger.

"It was really an experience. In that cold foreign city, i was forced to grow up in a night. It was him who helped me see the world."

I was speechless.........

And up till today, as she talked about him, the sparks in her eyes never left.

It's as if he's still alive and breathing. As if he never ever left. As if he's still around her, protecting her and painting her life with colours.

"It's the memories......." her voice trailed away as her eyes brimmed with stubborn tears that wont fall.

Yes. It's the memories that kept us breathing alive.

The happy & unhappy times that make us believe we'll be stronger and we can live much better....

Everytime u think u met the worst,

think again.

Some people, they just never get the second chance again.