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The bus ride through Sumatra was long and uncomfortable; the muddy pot-holed road snaked its way through green hills and simple villages. The driver must have driven this route hundreds of times, but I was still too worried about crashing to sleep, unlike the elderly Indonesian gentleman in the seat beside me, who had fallen asleep on my shoulder and was snoring loudly, showing he had no teeth, and between snores was making sucking noises. I felt a long way from home.
The bus stopped for a food and
toilet break
on the edge of a small village.
Although it
was 3am the food
stalls were still busy as
three buses had arrived at
the same time. Just like back in Australia, I thought. Suddenly, the
old man
next to me woke
up, picked up his small bag and got off the bus. Peace
at last! Maybe
I would be able to get some sleep, I hoped. However, it was not to
be,as then another foreign face got onto the bus. It was a
girl, a beautiful girl.
She walked up the aisle and sat in the empty seat beside me. She
smiled and said, 'Hi. I'm Kate from Brisbane.'
'I'm Jay,' I replied, 'Townsville'.
'Good to meet you Jay, but you look terrible
mate,' she laughed.
'Thanks
a lot!'
I said, 'If you hadn't slept for two nights, you'd look
this bad too.' We both laughed.
Over the next few hours we talked and talked. She seemed to be a kindred spirit, another voyager searching for the truth. Soon it was daybreak and the bus arrived at the ferry terminal on the coast. We were both heading across to Java and then on to Bali. When we finally arrived in the city we found a guesthouse and were given adjoining rooms. As I showered, I could hear Kate in her bathroom; could hear the sound of her squeezing shampoo and body soap from plastic bottles; could hear the water spraying onto her tanned body. I lay on the cheap mattress and let the ceiling fan dry my skin. I was a long way from home, but I was in exactly the right place. By the following morning Kate and I were using the same bathroom.
I stop talking and look around
the room. The room is
filled with people from both our lives. There are friends - old and
new, our families,
workmates
and ex-workmates. All of them here to celebrate our special
day. It is four years since I met Kate on that bus ride and telling the
story of
how we met makes me so emotional.
I look at my lovely bride
sitting next
to me and smile.
Life is full of chance
meetings and coincidences.
If I had
taken another bus, or if the old man had stayed on the bus, I would
never have met Kate. Destiny
is a strange thing thing indeed. We have
so many decisions and turning
points. Sometimes we choose
well,
sometimes we choose badly, but life always moves on. Today, I am a
married man, all because of an empty seat.
Adjectives
pot-holed:
A bad road with many deep holes in it.
tanned:
Having brown skin because of spending time in the sun.
adjoining:
Meaning 'next to each other'.
emotional:
With strong feelings. (Can be good, bad, or mixed).
chance:
Not planned.
Verbs
snake:
Here meaning 'To move in a shape like a snake'.
snore:
To make loud noises when you breathe when you are sleeping.
squeeze:
To press something hard and make it smaller.
spray:
When water comes out from a tube, or through many small holes.
Nouns
Sumatra:
A large island in Indonesia, close to Singapore.
a
break:
Here meaning ' a short time when you stop what you are doing'.
a
food stall:
A small restaurant in the street.
peace:
Here meaning 'a quiet time'.
Brisbane:
The capital city of the state of Queensland in north east Australia.
Townsville:
A town in Queensland to the north of Brisbane.
mate:
A word used in Britain and Australia meaning 'friend'.
a
kindred spirit:
Someone who thinks and feels the same way as you do.
a
voyager:
Another way of saying 'a traveller'. Someone on a long journey.
daybreak:
The time when the sun comes up in the morning and the sky becoming
light.
a
ferry terminal:
A place where you catch a boat to take you to another place.
Java:
A large Indonesian island, to the east of Sumartra.
a
ceiling fan:
A large fan above your head that keeps a room cool.
a
workmate:
Someone you work with and are friends with too.
a
coincidence:
A surprising situation when two things happen at the same time.
destiny:
Future events that are already decided and cannot be changed.
a
turning point:
A time when an important change happens or decision is made.
Expressions
'Thanks
a lot!':
Here used when someone has said something bad to you but you think it
is funny.