By Lim Yi Tean (4D 2009)

 For some memories, they give you the warmest piece of pleasure, which no pen or ink can describe whenever you think of them. Some other memories, they are simply too insignificant and unimportant to remember, and human beings are usually too gaga to forget. Some memories, they give you the excruciating pain right at the core of your heart every single time they emerge from your thoughts. The day I got to know her was probably the best moments I am capable of racking them out of my memories, and the days she was with me were the happiest days of my life.

Her name is Gwendoline, and people normally call her ‘Gwen’ for short as her name is somewhat a mouthful. Gwen was my neighbour, and also my closest childhood friend. Around our area, she has always been known as ‘the pretty and vivacious girl’, obviously, because of her angelic and genuine liveliness. Any girl who wants to stand next to her must be either born with the ultimate courage or is a narcissist who thinks herself as a beauty queen, for she will definitely look ordinary in comparison. Gwen is certainly no girl who merely has the good looks, as she has the brains as well. Guess what? She is also the top student of her year in school! When face and brains go together, that makes her nearly flawless. There is no wonder on why she is so idolized by many girls and courted by three quarters of boys in school.

      If you would like to know about the mentioned ‘probably the best day of my life’, I guess, I shall bring you back to when it was the December of 1999. My parents had bought a new house, and almost logically, our entire family moved here. Being a kid at that time, almost everything on earth could capture my curiosity, and I was a little too eager to come and discover every single bit about the house I was going to live in in future. Come to think about it----that actually did not exclude the children who lived in the neighbourhood. It had been so long ago from the current time and I hope you will forgive me for not being able to tell you the details. The next thing I am able to recall is when we simply bumped into each other, said ‘hi’, and we seemed to be able to click right from the very beginning.

      Gwen has a passion for music, and almost naturally, she has learned how to play the piano, violin and electric guitar. During her free time, she also beats the drums. I know merely ‘doing it’ itself it not enough to convince you that she is superior, and I hereby tell you that she plays those musical instruments so well that you will not believe that you are actually witnessing a solo performance if you happen to be around when she is having a great time with them. What more is, Gwen scored a ‘merit’ grade for her Grade 8 piano examination! I did not quite like playing the piano initially, and most of the time, I simply thought that I was ‘forced to do it’. It was probably under her influence that I have started to take a liking to playing the piano, but of course, I am not as brilliant as Gwen. Now, I would like to share a quote said by Gwen that was absolutely related to music ‘Learning is like playing the piano. At first, you play according to the rules. Many of us struggle through every single bar when learning how to play a difficult piece, and only a small fraction of us manage to reach the last note. After mastering the skills, you should allow your heart to guide you throughout the entire piece. Do remember that music, it is all about capturing the hearts and souls of human beings. Nonetheless, it should be done by mere accident.’

      Many of my schoolmates know that I have a tendency to get frustrated easily. For example, when I keep asking the very same question but the replies I get are all confusing, the volcano in me will just do its first nature. When tension rises in me, it will look like on one can manage to alleviate it. However, Gwen was capable of doing so. Her words were always so soothing and they never failed to calm me down. She simply knew what was the right thing to do or say when I was (as my friends like to say) freaking out. Moreover, Gwen is definitely no problematic kind of teenager. She knows perfectly well on what is right and what is wrong, though occasionally, she will break a couple of rules without meaning to, just like any other human on earth.

      Being a typical crapehanger, I virtually spent every single minute sighing and groaning in defeat about life. Almost miraculously, having to listen to my constant grumbles, she did not mind a single bit! Although Gwen is not sanguine, she is not pessimistic too. Well, she is right between the two of it. Queering, right? Yes, I do agree that it is kind of peculiar, but I must also say that it is all right. Gwen is always so matter-of-fact. If things are bad, she will not be less candid just to console or calm things down. She is definitely one of the kind of people who calls a spade a spade.

      Sadly, Gwen and I had to part last March as she was going to Australia to enter Melbourne High School . We were both unwilling to let go of each other, but at the same time, we knew that we had to face reality. On the morning she was going to leave, I went over to her house to catch a last glimpse of her. Before she slid into the car, we bear hugged and bade each other adieu while holding back the tears that were about to spill. I reckon, that was the last time I met her.