There Was Once A Famous Pomelo Tree

There was once a famous pomelo tree in Section 4. It was tall, it was great, it was quite a magnificent thing to behold. We'd meet at a very young age and we'd go on to become closest of friends. I jest when I said you were like the pomelo tree, never being able to grow taller than you already were. I jest a lot, whenever I can speak fluently without choking over every other word.

It was magnificent that the pomelo tree looked rather tall back then, with those big leaves. Not many leaves, but those still on the tree were big. Another reason why I kept relating the tree to you. But you took me for who I am, as I did for who you are. We made the best of our friendship with however little we had. It seems so that whenever the rain fell and the night felt bleakest, you were there. I know we all have our own problems to deal with and we can't always be there for each other. But the fact that you were always there comforted me.

It was funny now that I recall, I have never seen that pomelo tree bear fruit. It was either that or you never bothered to share the works of your tree with us. We'd sit in a coffee shop with the table full of empty glasses, comparing our dream cars and analyzing our future. We'd often laugh about how super cars are a complete waste to most people because they are either too old or too stupid to drive them like how they should be driven. We'd talk about how it would be like if we were rich, the amount of people we would piss off. And then we always agree that God is fair to keep us at the bottom of the food chain. "Wipe your face, you're sweating."

The good thing about it is that we will always walk from school to that little bus stop and wait for the bus. And we'd stand behind that telephone booth, right in front of the police station, smoking. The good thing about it is that we can sit around all day without having to do anything or spend any money, and still be able to have fun.

The pomelo tree is gone now. It signified your past, it is where you were from. It's passing is not a loss, but progress. You have learnt from what you did and where you came from, and you are preparing for a future that will allow the next generation to do the same. By letting the pomelo tree go, you are turning a new leaf, preparing for the next step in your life.

There was once a famous pomelo tree in Section 4, the tree that was our roots. You are embarking on your next journey now, and the only thing I can hope is that we can still be a part of it. Because this friendship is not of convenience or of similar interest. This is a friendship of deep understanding, and we both would agree that no money in the world can buy this kind of relationship.

I'm glad for what happened, for who I met. I'm glad to have met you, to have met that once famous pomelo tree, to have met everyone else strung around this web of brotherhood.