It all started when Yee Lin texted me one night saying that Ming Qiu was in Manchester and did I want to join them for lunch the next day? It came as a shock because I hadn’t put a face to that name in years, my best friend in nursery and later, kindergarten, whom the last time I saw was when we were both 13 years old in SP, eight years ago.
And so I said yes, of course.
The moment I first saw her was as climactic as I’d expected, a flurry of hugs and “how are you”s in high-pitched incredulous tones because it truly had been so long since I’d seen Ming Qiu, and likewise, judging by the way she said that no one pronounced her name the way I used to anymore — “Meeng-kiew”.
We had brunch at a quaint café called The Pen and Pencil at Northern Quarter, where there was a lot of pulling up ancient photos of kindergarten days from Facebook and reminiscing toddler antics that felt like light years away, and then spending the whole day in city centre together with Yee Lin and Evelyn shopping and then having milkshakes on the way home.
It felt magical and no less wonderful, to be able to meet an old friend after so many years (in Manchester of all places!) and still pick up where we’d left off, like there hadn’t been a glitch in the timeline of our friendship in the first place. Here’s to many more years, and many more reunions in the future.
michelle teoh 