“We often have to suffer in love
I see the gate to paradise is awfully narrow
Meeting you was the most beautiful surprise of my life
At last, all my questions have found their answers”
Being single is about 80% fun. The other 20%? Those are the afternoons when you tilt your head up to gaze at the blue sky, the fluffy white clouds drifting by, and a giant question looms: where’s my other half?
That means, out of 24 hours, subtract eight for sleep, and you’re left with 16. Of those, a little over three hours are spent wondering about that missing half—where they’re floating off to in this vast world. Sometimes, just catching feelings for someone brings a burst of joy. Even if it doesn’t work out, sitting there, chewing on that vague, wandering longing, somehow feels good too.
But there are moments when you wish it’d just vanish quick, so your head doesn’t have to ache over something that’s not going anywhere.
Funny thing is, when it finally does slip out of your mind, there’s this hollow pang. Because you’re still stuck chasing that same old question: “Where’s my other half?”
A song comes to mind, tied to an old college friend who’s now married. Back in the day, she’d quote this piece on Facebook all the time—right up until she tied the knot and posted it again. Like it was fate, full circle. It’s from that Hong Kong movie, Turn Left, Turn Right. The lead, Takeshi Kaneshiro, plays a broke, sickly artist—nothing like the young, dashing heartthrob he was in Chungking Express.
I keep saying single life’s pretty great, don’t I? But being all alone can feel a bit bleak. All these thoughts are just a bit of self-soothing, a pep talk to keep my spirits high while I race toward goals stacked with specifics and numbers.
Saigon today is basking in gorgeous sunshine. Makes me think of all those big sisters up in Hanoi. The ones who’ve settled down always say, “Live it up while you can!”
I’ve heard the sound of winter passing by
Since when did I suddenly wake up?
I think, I wait, I hope
The future can’t just be set in stone like this
A gloomy afternoon outside the car window
There’ll be someone standing there, waiting
Looking left, looking right, then straight ahead
Only after countless trials do you glimpse love
Who’s the one who can share this with me?
Where’s the person I’ve been waiting for?
I hear the wind blowing through the sea of people, from the subway
I hold my little sign of love and stand in line, waiting
I soar forward through the sea of time
We often have to suffer in love
I see the gate to paradise is awfully narrow
Meeting you was the most beautiful surprise of my life
At last, all my questions have found their answers