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RELATIONSHIPS are not always positive, whether familial, platonic, or romantic. Sometimes you do end up meeting the right person, but not at the right moment. Time plays a strong role, and because of it, it is no surprise that people eventually go their own separate ways despite having a strong one.

1. Anonymous, 26, Langkawi

“I was 16 when I first met him. Everyone liked him, including me. My best friend invited me to join her and her boyfriend so we could study together. I said yes, and that afternoon, after we were done with our school session that morning, we went straight to the library. I didn’t know that her boyfriend would bring his best friend too, so I was a bit flustered when I saw him in the library.

My best friend knew I had a tiny crush on him, and she told her boyfriend about it, asking him if they should try to set us up. Eventually, my friend introduced us to each other, and she told me that ‘N’ (my crush) is brilliant in Mathematics and I can ask him anything since I’m weak at it.

I remember how hard it was for me to even look at his face at that time. But N was so good at making the people around him comfortable. Slowly but surely, I began to feel less awkward around him, and I could be myself in front of him.

The study group continues. My friendship with and feelings for him grew as I fell harder for him. Our friends thought that their plan went well and that it was just a matter of time before we got together. But it did not.

It was a month before SPM, and we were having our last study group session. I was determined to confess to him that day. Then, the dreaded time came. As we were packing our stuff, I pulled him to the side. I told him I had something to tell him. He agreed to follow me out of the library.

So we stood there, outside the library door. I clenched my fists as I tried to gather every ounce of courage that I had in me. And I said it. I confessed to him. His expressions were unreadable. He didn’t say anything and instead, left.

I was shocked. My best friend came to me and asked me if I was okay. I was speechless. She took me by the hand and led me home. I can feel my tears start to burn my eyes. And I cried. I should’ve expected rejection, but it didn’t hurt any less. That was the last day we interacted with each other, as he became more and more busy with his studies.

10 years passed, and we reunited at my best friend’s wedding. She got married to her high school sweetheart, and I just graduated from my studies. I’ve long forgotten the pain that I felt at that time, but when I met him again there, it almost felt like he never left my heart. He was still the same as I remembered.

He told me he got a job at an overseas company and is going to make his move there soon. We tried to catch up as much as we could, and it almost felt like the confession incident never happened. He either didn’t remember it or was too embarrassed to talk about it. But what is clear is that, no matter how long it’s been since we last saw each other, that feeling I have for him has never left.

We didn’t exchange numbers, and I won’t ask for them. I’m too scared to get my heart broken again, and I just think that if we’re meant to be together, maybe we’ll meet again. I wish him all the best for his future, and I hope he’ll do well in his life.”

2. Alia Lina, 21, Kelantan

“My parents work in the education field, so it’s more convenient for me to study at my mom’s school. This means that if she switches schools, I’ll also have to move and change schools. As a result, I haven’t had a constant ‘best friend’ because I keep making new acquaintances at each new school until my mom’s job requires us to relocate again.

Due to frequent travel and strict parenting when I was growing up, I haven’t had many friends to hang out with. I couldn’t go outside to play, so I always wished for my friends to visit me at home. During critical times like when I had important exams, I couldn’t use my phone, and now my number doesn’t work anymore because I haven’t used it for a while.

Fortunately, with the availability of various communication applications, I can now stay in touch with friends more easily. Recently, some of my old school friends reached out to me, and it was delightful to reconnect with them. We shared updates on our lives and discovered that we had chosen different universities within the same state for further studies.

It’s heartening to know that despite attending different universities, we can still plan outings and spend time together. Despite the challenges of staying connected, I’m grateful that there are still friends who value our friendship.

To those friends, if they happen to read this, I want to express my gratitude for reaching out and attempting to reconnect. It truly means a lot to me. I hope that when you return, we can hang out and enjoy each other’s company once again.”

3. Anonymous, 23, Johor

“I have this one friend that is also my niece because her mother and I are cousins. We always play together, as she is also my age. People always call us twins because we always stick like gum to each other. She went to the same school with me until high school. During high school, at the age of 13, we fought because of a little misunderstanding, and it made me feel betrayed, so we both decided to ignore each other until we were both 17.

When I said she was my niece, of course her family would come to my house when we had a special occasion. It actually became awkward because we couldn’t be like before, and the whole family knew it. At the age of 16, I decided to talk to her to make amends for the misunderstandings that we had, all because of a third party that got jealous of our friendship.

She wanted us to be far from each other, and we never spoke to her again after that. We keep saying sorry and crying because we wasted several years trying to be friends again. After those events, we always communicate if there is something that we’re not happy with to make things clear so that we never fight again. She became one of my best friends and my best family until now and forever.”

4. Anonymous, 30, Selangor

“We go way back, him and I. From my own personal experience, I do think that love, at first sight, is more of a sell than reality, but friendship at first sight? It’s definitely a real thing. He was my first, my first genuine friend, my ‘We go way back, him and I.’ From my own personal experience, I do think that love at first sight is more of a sell than reality, but friendship at first sight? It’s definitely a real thing. He was my first genuine friend, my first best friend, and my first friend that I genuinely thought of as family.

We did everything together, and because of him, I truly did a lot of things for the first time. It’s not like I was sheltered or something, but I just never felt like I wanted to do any of those things until I met him.

We got along great. Our tastes in anything were mostly different, but we always had something to talk about. The chemistry was like any other I ever experienced. It felt like everything was perfect, until it wasn’t.

The friendship was fast, so the feelings surrounding it were also rushed and unhealthy. We became unhealthy. From a healthy relationship, it went toxic real quick. If I were to reflect, there were a lot of things that went wrong with us, with me being the problem early on, which I regretted.

But then he also had his faults, which I don’t think I’ll get over. We fought so many times and made up a few times. It was both a relief and a concern to see how we would always bounce back and talk like it was nothing, like the last time we talked was only yesterday, but the reality would be close to five years.

I still remember the last time we talked to each other; it was over something mundane and unimportant. Jokes were thrown, unresolved feelings were in the air, and just like that, we stopped talking.

I was alright with it because, by then, I was numbed by everything—by us and by my other problems. I also knew for a fact that he had other things going on, so maybe it was meant to be. Maybe we just didn’t need each other anymore. Maybe it was time to move on, and when I saw how he actively avoided me, I closed that chapter of my life.

Or so I thought. five years go by, and I’m a better version of myself now, and from what little I know of him (that I didn’t see out) from our mutual friends, he also changed, but perhaps because of biassed sources, I thought he changed for the worse, as that was what I thought of him during our last years.

I saw him again, which was completely coincidental. It was while we were on the street, going our own ways, but I saw him first. I didn’t know what to do but just stared at him. He looked older, sure, as did I, but he looked the same. He looked like the guy I used to love, filled with the same quirks and habits, and I felt fond of him.

Not knowing how to deal with the sudden situation, I walked past him and crossed the street. A street away, I stopped and looked back, seeing him as the same person that I first met years ago. I gripped the phone in my hand and begrudgingly called him.

He answered, his tone of voice as familiar as it used to be. Then, we just continued talking, catching up on the small things and where we were at in life. Then we started texting each other again.

To be honest, I’m a bit wary of the development, but maybe it’s time to just give it a chance and see how it goes.”

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