WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TWO OLD FRIENDS MEET AGAIN?

This is what I like about living - seeing split second miracles! 

And this is why I am also desperate to learn other languages - so I won’t need translators if ever I want to butt in or eavesdrop in a conversation. I know eavesdropping is not good, but if I could learn something about it and if it can lighten up my mood, then try and stop me!

So, this morning while I was taking a walk with two little girls and two other teachers, an old man with an average height walked past us. It was a normal scene; you would normally see old people walking around here, sometimes they're exercising or stretching, if you're lucky you can even see people doing Tai Chi!

I can't remember if I was walking behind or ahead of the group, all I remember was seeing another old man trying to yell something (in Chinese). According to the translation of our Chinese colleague, this second man is calling out the first man we saw. The second man is taller than the first one who walked past us~ and it seems like half of his body is paralyzed~ he can walk but he can hardly run. I just kept looking at the man who is struggling to walk and then again to my companions who were now chasing the averaged-height old man. Apparently, the second man asked for help calling out the first man. I had no idea what was going on. I was thinking maybe the first man dropped something and this second man just wanted to return it - but I was wrong!

When the first man stopped and turned around, the second man finally caught up with him. Again, according to the translation, the second man asked the first man "Do you still remember me?"

I have no idea what the response of the shorter man was; all I remember is that the Chinese teacher was telling me that apparently, these two men used to work together in a hospital when they were still young.

They haven't seen each other for about 20 years or so...I don't have exact details, I'm sorry. I don't even know their names, their ages and whether or not they are doctors. I'm just ecstatic about the fact that I was a witness their reunion, so, I started taking pictures of them. I saw the smile on their faces and I FELT their joy. It looks like they have so much to catch up on but looking at them, it’s like they’re just picking up where they left off. I just find it hard to believe that it is possible for them not to see each other for a long time in this tiny city. What happened to all those years that they haven’t seen each other? I wanted to know their story. I was tempted to stalk them and be more amazed about their stories from the last time they have seen each other up to this moment. How many children and grandchildren do they have now?

I was so moved by this incident. Somehow, it seems like the world is not that big after all and it's possible for friends to be reunited in an unexpected way!

(This part above was written way back November 21, 2014 when I was still in Tieling City, China.)

Current life: 

Early this year, pretty much the same thing happened to me. I was about to walk inside a mall at my hometown when a familiar face walked out of the exit door. We just happened to look at each other at the exact same time. The next thing I knew, he was walking towards me and I somehow walked towards him too. He was wearing a jersey; seems like he just got off a basketball practice or something. His face was almost the same, but he's taller, much taller! He looked away for a moment, probably surprised about our sudden meeting after TWO DECADES. Then, he continued walking towards me. He reached out for my hand (to shake it) and asked "How have you been?"

It was my fourth grade crush! Haha! We went to the same school for two years, we used to be in the same club (dance club) and same classes. I'm not sure if he remembers but we used to talk during breaks before; he used to ask me why I'm always alone and why I'm not sitting with the other girls from our class. And at some point he knew back then that I had a crush on him. Who knew that 20 years after he would finally hold my hand?! Haha! It was so cool running into him like that. We were able to talk but it was cut short because he was about to leave and it seemed like his friend was waiting for him. And I was about to have lunch with my cousins, so, I had to get inside the mall. He's been my Facebook friend prior to that unexpected meeting, so, I somehow know about his whereabouts, unlike those two old men from China who really had no idea about each other's lives for a long time.

How about you? When was the last time you ran into an old friend that you haven't seen in years?