Old friends

I believe people are like apples. There's the core, which is shaped by a person's nature, as well as nurture, particularly during childhood. Then there's all the flesh- the substance that's added on as the years go by, influenced by events and experiences unique to each person. Sometimes the flesh is beautiful, sweet and crunchy... almost perfect. Other times, it's sour, soft and powdery... perhaps even rotting. But as long as the rotting flesh does not penetrate to the core, the core's really still the same.

This thought always comes to me when I meet up with old friends. Whenever I meet up with friends whom I've known since primary or secondary school, I head to the meeting place with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. There's always joy and eager anticipation to see friends you've not seen for ages, find out about what's new and current in their lives, laugh over all the silly things that you did together in days gone by. And yet, there's always this tinge of fear. What if you've lost that "bond"? What if your lives have gone in such different directions that you don't have anything to talk about anymore? What if your friends whom you thought you knew have changed so much that you aren't sure you know them anymore?

Well, each time I do meet up with these old friends, I am relieved to discover that my fears are unfounded. That yes, our lives have taken very different paths, but we still share the thick bond of friendship that weathers time and circumstance.

Somehow, old friends who have known you since childhood/schooldays are special. Perhaps we become more shallow people as we go along, or perhaps we succumb to the world's value system, or lack of as we leave the comfort and security of our homes and schools. Such friends know our "core", the people we really are before we are dressed by the flesh. Maybe that's why when we meet, we are able to re-reveal that very pure part of ourselves that's always been there. A bit of that innocence that comes with being a child, being young. And we can rest assured that there are no pretences, no hidden agendas, no "reading between the lines".

To all my friends, especially the ones whom I've met up with or been in contact with in the recent weeks, thanks! - For being just the way you are.