Before he flew to Frankfurt, Matthew called. It was a Friday and he has just sent his mother off to the airport. She’s spending Christmas and the new year’s holiday in New York. He said. Steve and Tio were next to him in the train. I vividly remembered Matthew saying, come to Singapore for New Year’s Eve. Let’s spend it together. The video call ended.
It was in the afternoon when I got to speak to Matthew again. He just landed in Frankfurt and looks tired. It was -7°c. He shivered a little at the first puff of cigarette. I haven’t seen a face so beautifully lit in a while. I’m off to New York to surprise my mom tomorrow for Christmas. She has no clue I’m coming.
Come to Singapore. I’ll send you my schedule so you know which dates to book your flights. He said. You need some cash? You know I’m here for you if you need anything right? Matthew added. It’s ok. I’ll talk to dad and ask if he can pay for the flight there. Then I’ll probably take a bus or the train back to KL. We’ll decide later when I’m in Singapore. I reassured him there was nothing to be worried of. I’ll be fine. See you soon. Can’t wait.
When I finally landed in Singapore, I had the best welcome ever. Nope. Matthew wasn’t there. But the rest of the crew was.
Hey babe! I’ve missed you. Steve cried out loud as we hugged and kissed. I miss you too. I turned around to Josh and another cute boy I recognised as Bran, Josh’s boyfriend. Finally!! We’ve met. Felt like I’ve known you for so long and never met. I told Josh.
Steve helped carry my luggage and we all started walking. Seeing the airport after so many years gave me a strange feeling. Like a stranger in a new city. There’s people everywhere. More than when I was in KL or in Bali. Are you hungry? What do you feel like eating? Steve asked. Anything. I’m so hungry I can eat anything. They lead me to a restaurant saying Penang Culture. How funny, I flew in from Penang and now I’m having Penang food for lunch. Late lunch.
Matthew got back the next day. And we still haven’t had anything planned. Literally nothing. Everyone kept asking me, Justin what do you feel like doing? Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? Celebrate New Year’s Eve indoors or outdoors?? My answer as always. Anything.
Before I could come up with any answer, drama happened. Well, drama is always bound to happen. Long story short, Matthew turned single. But that’s a story for another time. Me and Josh decided it’s best to spend the last night of 2017 with lots and lots of alcohol involved. For Mathew’s sake, some place with crowd too. I told Josh. We ended up going to a countdown event in Suntec Exhibition Hall. I barely made it in for the countdown.Â
The drag queen/emcee shouted into the microphone. 3… 2… 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Matthew, Bran, Steve, Josh and I hugged each other tightly. That moment everything seemed unimportant. What mattered most was we were there, together. Jumping on the podium. We danced all night till the wee hours of the morning and crashed till noon the next day.
R A I L W A Y K I D 