EVERYONE! I'M BACKKKK!
Yes! I am very excited to be back home after a short long week at my sister in law's place. Oh, how much fun I had despite not even wanting to go. Just shows how much of a complainer I am, haha.
Well, where to start? There's not really a start, every day was a repeat but it was fun all the same. My family were the first to come, and then were followed by the rest of the crew, lols. All week we played many card games, YouTube-d, had 'dnm' conversations (deep 'n meaningful), watched horror movies (which included the 1986 Witchboard 1+2, Halloween, and the remake of The Last House on the Left) and ate to our heart's desire.
It was interesting for me up there when I found out it was us kids that had to cook. We rolled our own spring rolls, made our wontons and rice paper rolls, and prepared our own breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was extremely fun, as I learned how to sorta roll spring rolls (yes, I can't roll them lmfao), and make this dish we Vietnamese people call Banh bot loc or something idk lols. We use tapioca starch and form a dough with it, roll small bits in to a flat disc, place a tiny prawn in the middle, and then press the edges together to create a semi circle. They're really chewy, you have no iea how difficult it was for me to chew- my teeth act like they're so fake, I can't bite in to chewy things =.=
During the week there was one significant conversation we all had. Our family friend (won't name them) confessed that he had depression since he was a teenager. He's 24 now. None of us knew; he was excellent at hiding his sadness with all his smiling and coming round to hang with us and all. It was Thursday when he let it all out- we were at late night up at MacArthur Square. X was sad and we didn't know what was bothering him. When we went to the arcade he kinda just blew up, his tears he tried so hard to hold back spilling. It was a worrying sight, since X was always happy and all. We decided to go home shorty after. He was so angry and he wouldn't tell us why, no matter how much we asked him to tell us. He punched the glass wall of a shop, scaring my sister shitless because his fist was so close to her head. She shook, crying from fear. He said sorry of course, and it was obvious it made him feel extremely bad.
When we got home, we all sat outside in the back veranda, and he confessed. From the beginning of when things went wrong, till even know. The abuse, the bullying, the pills, the therapy, none of it helped. He's tried suicide 3 times, the though always going through his head. His story was sad, it made me cry. I felt sympathetic, and I felt empathetic. Why didn't he tell us before? He was scared we wouldn't accept who he was and push him away, like every other person who he told did. But no, we all stood by him, comforting him and telling him we would always be with him, no matter what, because we are all like family. And that's just it, you know. This bond we all have- accepting a person for who they are, for what they do, no matter what they do- is great, even better when we're not tied by blood. Blood is thicker than water for sure, but when it comes down to true friends, can't water be more pure than blood? Just true friendship can mean so much more than being blood related. None of us, after hearing the story, hated him. We all had tears in our eyes, sorry for not ever noticing his sadness before.
So when we went back inside, we all made a wish on a woven bracelet we bought from the shop Tree of Life. The 7 or so beads were the colours of the rainbow, which symbolised friendship. It came in handy; Cathy had bought a few and she decided to give him one with our wishes for him in it. We tied it around his wrist, a symbol of never parting. When the bracelet falls off, our wishes for him will come true. I teared up again, this action so symbolic it touched me. We hugged him, and he almost cried, but being the strong person he was he didn't.
See, things like this, can make one feel so much better. Knowing that there are people who are looking after you can bring the light to one's darkness.
His story, I cried not only because it was sad, but I felt as though I could relate to a minor degree. Sure, I deny that I'm depressed allllll the time, but after this, X made me think twice. Should I really hide my sadness? Should I talk to someone I trust? I don't know, because there's not really a person I could trust. I'm scared of betrayal, I'm scared of help, I'm scared of the truth.
x
