Prematurely, thanks for the memories
"Through the morning cacophony of a school canteen, I caught up with a familiar face from one of the courses attended last year, 'How have you been?...'
The conversation flowed easily and floated around various topics relevant to these 2 years. Out of the blue he mentioned that he was from a certain school. It has become second nature to me to find a topic of common interest, and I could not resist asking if he knew XXX, thereby opening up another avenue of conversation. At that moment of mutual recognition, the sound of a shrill whistle broke the joviality and we parted abruptly. What followed was a collective flurry; the canteen cleared of its users who in lightning speed had formed up in neat, precise rows in the parade square outside.
At this point I found myself seated comfortably against a wall, detached from the proceedings with an omniscient viewpoint. Agents of command, whose primary role was to enforce the novel concept of 'discipline', had descended upon their fearful prey like hawks upon frigid mice. This was not all too unfamiliar, as I was joined by a buddy in recognizing the faces: there was the one with a monosyllabic name on his uniform (Bill), there was the one adept at 180 degree changes in emotion and tone of voice (Ou), goofing around with the unassuming one whose name was spelt 'Jye'... . My buddy and I reminisced the lighthearted moments, having been fortunate to share the trails and tribulations together from one school to the next.
Amongst them an unfamiliar figure emerged. The man looked almost satirical, an air of arrogance hung about him as he trod around with slow, calculated steps. Seniority was evident, not just from his greying mop - the front of his shirt crowded with glistening badges and pins of the highest merit. All it took was a fleeting glance from him before my buddy and I anxiously roused Jin, snoozing nearby. After all, civilians we may be but we were ever-respectful of dignified ceremonies and glorifying parades, having stood in those boots before ; )"
I awoke at 0530, the dream still vivid in my mind. While I still have some weeks to go before my prescribed 22 months come to a conclusion, I find myself prematurely recollecting the memories of these many months past. Not saying that the others do not matter as much, but to those aforementioned characters, you sure made an impact to be representative of each phase of my service, and I thank you for the memories.
The conversation flowed easily and floated around various topics relevant to these 2 years. Out of the blue he mentioned that he was from a certain school. It has become second nature to me to find a topic of common interest, and I could not resist asking if he knew XXX, thereby opening up another avenue of conversation. At that moment of mutual recognition, the sound of a shrill whistle broke the joviality and we parted abruptly. What followed was a collective flurry; the canteen cleared of its users who in lightning speed had formed up in neat, precise rows in the parade square outside.
At this point I found myself seated comfortably against a wall, detached from the proceedings with an omniscient viewpoint. Agents of command, whose primary role was to enforce the novel concept of 'discipline', had descended upon their fearful prey like hawks upon frigid mice. This was not all too unfamiliar, as I was joined by a buddy in recognizing the faces: there was the one with a monosyllabic name on his uniform (Bill), there was the one adept at 180 degree changes in emotion and tone of voice (Ou), goofing around with the unassuming one whose name was spelt 'Jye'... . My buddy and I reminisced the lighthearted moments, having been fortunate to share the trails and tribulations together from one school to the next.
Amongst them an unfamiliar figure emerged. The man looked almost satirical, an air of arrogance hung about him as he trod around with slow, calculated steps. Seniority was evident, not just from his greying mop - the front of his shirt crowded with glistening badges and pins of the highest merit. All it took was a fleeting glance from him before my buddy and I anxiously roused Jin, snoozing nearby. After all, civilians we may be but we were ever-respectful of dignified ceremonies and glorifying parades, having stood in those boots before ; )"
I awoke at 0530, the dream still vivid in my mind. While I still have some weeks to go before my prescribed 22 months come to a conclusion, I find myself prematurely recollecting the memories of these many months past. Not saying that the others do not matter as much, but to those aforementioned characters, you sure made an impact to be representative of each phase of my service, and I thank you for the memories.
a moment in time 5:18 pm
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