It was about 5.30am when Jasper appeared. It was a little strange to see a young man clad in army uniform walk towards me in the wee hours of the morning, maybe somewhat like Antonio Exupery seeing the little prince in the sahara desert. It was way past bedtime and it felt a little dreamlike.
Jasper approached me and identified himself as Junsheng's buddy in most parts of his NS days. He even went together with him to Australia for pilot training, got axed at the same time and took the same flight back to Singapore. It was only recently that they went separate ways. He later told me that Junsheng was one of the four guys who got posted to a new unit.
He paid his respects and we sat down and talked more. There was no one else around, just him and me, and of course I would need to entertain him. He knows one of the two SAF guys around, who eventually fell asleep, I think. He was a good looking boy, a little porcelain-faced in fact. Surprising for a 21-year old who is serving the army. And when he talks about the times he shared with Junsheng, his eyes lit up, somewhat in excitement, and somewhat like he is reliving the moments as he is retelling them.
He is a good story teller. He spoke for about one to one and a half hour. He spoke of how Junsheng is the more active of the two and would always encourage him to train harder. He spoke of how he and Junsheng are on good terms with the Encik and are always well taken care by him. He said Junsheng is an audio-fanatic, who would spend more of his time and money on accumulating audio equipment, and how he would always benefit from this because he is Junsheng's buddy. He said Junsheng was a good friend and would go all the way out to help him on IT matters.
There was never a moment of sadness when he related all these. It was as though he was relishing the happy moments shared rather than pining for a lost friend. He only said that he knew that Junsheng had so much things he had wanted to do after he ORD-ed and it was a pity that these could not be fulfilled now.
As I listen to his animated young man relate all his stories about Junsheng, I feel as though I was getting to know my cousin, only through someone else's eyes. It was a very strange experience, but I was very glad that I was there when Jasper came. It was close to 7am and Jasper said he had to leave to book into camp. He bid goodbye and left. It seemed almost pre-destined that I should hear about my cousin from this very dear friend of his and I am glad that I was allowed to enter his world, albeit only for a very short while.
