Fading Memories

So.. The time for Dover Road's renewal has apparently drawn near. All around, signs of people leaving have become apparent, prevalent. Stores around the surrounding HDB blocks are closed, shuttered. What should have been the thronging hum of voices is notably absent. The market looks gutted.

I was to meet Jocelyn there for lunch, and both of us agreed later that it was a good thing we came that day; good, but also sad. Years of memories were in that place, hours and days of time spent in that area, during out respective secondary school days. We both wanted to eat that char kway teow one last time, but perhaps that chance was far beyond us.

Things change, people change. Perhaps in Singapore, there is little place for a sentimental soul to thrive; the landscape changes at a breakneck pace, things are built, used, closed, torn down, built up again in a never-ending cycle of renewal and progress.

As I've grown older, I think I have become a little sullen at this. I like old. Memories, moments, silly things that have no lasting effect, save their imprint on my soul. Watching a friend gobble down his char kway teow in 2 minutes. Sitting around a table with my band mates, engaged in a strong discussion about our conductor's decision. Glancing over at the nearby table, wondering if that girl noticed me.

And soon, the location's very physical presence would be lost forever. Perhaps, too, my memories, being tied so closely to those walls, would crumble and fade, as time went on.

The ideal, is not to look back and wonder, but to look forward and rejoice; yet I often still hold on.