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.