Of Enormity. Vastness and Omnipresence

My toenails were blue. The last time that happened was on May 9th, my first paper. I developed a notorious reputation after a month of occupancy in LHE. I would bashfully ask Ms. Koh to switch the air-conditioner off whenever I started to consciously shiver. By the time exams ended, she knew my name and prior to any paper, would ask how I was doing.

My back was stiff too. And my bottoms hurt from sitting down on a wooden bench far longer that I had ever been trained to. I wasn't sure how long I have been in the bookstore, but I had read Mitch Albom's Five People You Meet in Heaven finish - non-stop. I was inwardly giving myself the heads-up. I would no longer need to worry about borrowing/buying this book.

While reading, many-a-times I had looked out the glass window and saw the spiraling line at the cineplex. It was Batman Begins' opening day. Another time, another day for Batman and I, I told myself. Oh, I got hungry too. Aunty Anne's heavenly pretzels came popping into my mind everytime Eddie met someone new, but I wasn't willing to give up my seat. It's a no-no to stand and read a 250-page book. Plus the book deserves much more respect that a mind half-preoccupied with other things can give.

Above all, I clung on to the Captain even after meeting the Blue Man, Ruby, Marguerite and Tala. Maybe it was the catch phrase - Nobody Gets Left Behind. But I think it was the idea of making life count - to do something, something that makes a difference, and to do it selflessly.

Eddie had been bitter all his life after serving in the war. He returned home a broken man with an indelible wound on his knee. Overtime, the injured knee came to epitomise everything that didn't happen in his life - moving away from his maintenance job in Ruby Pier, having a child with Marguerite, mending his non-existent relationship with his father……

Imagine being bitter about something your whole entire life only to be told later on your journey to heaven that that knee saved your life. The same person that shot your knee and screwed up your life for you later shows himself to be the one that saves you, your life. The captain was blown by a land mine while he gave the green light before allowing the truck carrying his men to pass through, Eddie included.

Who should forgive who?
Should Eddie forgive the captain for shooting his knee, Or
Should the captain forgive Eddie for having him blown away to pieces, in order to save the team?
Questions like these are mind-boggling, and you can never get answers. Over time, we just learn to accept and move on - as callused as that sounds.

The book has profound meaning, just like life. It's good to be reminded of the enormity and omnipresence of life and all that it stands for.

P.S - Watch out for Tala too. The ritualistic removal of burnt scabs is something worth churning over.

Current music - Gavin Degraw's Chariot.