63-65 Hennessy

I just got off the phone with my sister, I asked her, “When are you moving out?”

“I already did!” she says.

This is the intersection going to her house. I spent many nights in her tiny apartment. It’s probably smaller than my room in Manila but I love it. We went home to that tiny place after many adventures. I can’t believe that the next time I cross this walk, I won’t end up walking toward the little drug store on the left. 

This photo of Sue is one of the first photos I took with my then new camera. I remember this night because I wore new flats that needed to be worn down to fit right. My feet hurt so bad that I wished dinner wouldn’t end so that I needn’t stand again.

We were talking about how Sue is vegetarian and her love for outdoorsy things like 100km trail runs and hiking. We also talked about new things, like her trip to France, the Sunday after that dinner and her move to Singapore the week after she gets back.

In my book then, Sue and Cris were my sister’s new friends. I had only met them the night prior to this one. And that night would probably be the last few nights they’d be seeing each other before they have to say good bye.

They noticed something amazing in the sky so they all looked up! I probably wanted to remember that moment forever — that’s why I have a photo of it right here. The light turned green but we stayed a little while before actually going. 

Maggie and I talk about how Hong Kong is one big airport — all the time — that people really do come and go faster than we think — fast enough for us to notice. And we’re saying good bye before we even know it.

Good byes are always a little blurry, until we get our bearings back.

I think this was the second to the last time I saw Sue (the last one was when they all went to Manila – she lives in Singapore now) I always feel a little sad about good byes — yes even if we had just met. But I guess what’s important is that we remember the blurry moment of embrace before the parting of ways.

That was fourteen months ago, today my sister will begin her new adventure – in a outdoorsy job based in Sai Kung, I’m sure she had her blurry moment of embrace with the city before she left. It’s an exciting chapter of her life taking shape in a new place. But I’m pretty sure she’ll be missing the yellow crossings as much as I will.