A Scar in My Life

A scar is a mark that is left after a certain incident. When you get
a cut on your hand, it might eventually leave a scar on your hand even
after the wound itself is healed. Sometimes the scar is very small, and
it fades as time passes and soon it will finally be gone, and
forgotten. But at times you get cut very deeply. In times like that the
wound will still heal, only that the scar stays forever.

I have many scars all over my body. Big ones and small ones on my arms,
hands, legs, and even my face. I was very naughty and playful as a
little lass. Scars were left on my face when I happily climbed trees
and scratched my face unknowingly. There is one that looks like a
crescent on my left forehead. This is one that I got because I climbed
up on a tall cupboard and hurt myself on the sharp edges of the
cupboard when fell off it. I 'collected' a lot of scars on different
parts of my body as I continued to be clumsy and careless while I grew
up.

All these scars are not significant to me. Even as a girl, I do not
really mind about the scars, even those on my face. I am not too
concerned about my exterior looks. You can see that I am a very sloppy
person by the way I dress myself. I think that each scar carries a
sweet, sour or bitter memory. However, the scar that is really
significant to me does not lie on any parts of my own physical
body.

I was still studying in university a few years ago when something
happened and caused this significant scar. I was in my final year. I
was one of the few who was still single among my friends of the same
age. Even though I was active in a lot of the school activities and met
many different interesting people everyday, my heart was not stirred by
anyone of the guys.

It was June. The new semester started. A group of Korean students came
to the university where I was studying for the Student Exchange
Program. A few of them were in the same class that I took - South East
Asia Studies. They were all very friendly and nice people. Three guys
and two girls, eager to learn about Malaysian culture while they were
here. I spent a lot of time with them that semester. I took them round
the campus on the first day I met them and eventually the whole Island
of Penang throughout the semester. We had a lot of outdoor activities
together and we even attended the same church.

These few Korean students spoke reasonably good English so language was
never our barrier for communication. Even in the first few weeks of the
five months we were together, we built a very strong bond among us even
though we were from different nations. I think it was the same vision
and common interests that we shared in life that brought us together.
We treasured the time being together, learning from each other and
having good times together.

It was then that my heart was stirred. Ken-Yang was the shiest guy
among the three, also the gentlest. I remembered him as the one who
always apologized. "Sorry we are late, something happened&;#8230;",
"I'm sorry, I can't understand&;#8230;.", "I'm sorry&;#8230;" for
this and that. I felt his sincerity. He was the one who kept quiet and
listened patiently to me fret when I overworked in school projects. I
did not know how it happened. I guess my feelings for him slowly
changed as I got to know him better day after day.

It was October. The semester almost ended and it was time for the
Korean students to return to their homeland. I felt really sad as I
learned to love these foreign friends of mine so dearly. On top of
that, the feelings that I had for Ken-Yang were almost killing me that
I wanted to avoid him each time.

We were having a barbecue dinner to wish them farewell. We had fun
together as always. When it was time to go, I saw Ken-Yang looking at
me with an expression that I had never seen before. I felt scared as to
what was going to happen and did not want to face it. So I said good
bye and hurried off.

Walking out of the apartment, I was having all sort of feelings in my
heart. I felt so messy in my head that I did not bother to look to the
left or right when I attempted to cross the road to get to my car.
Suddenly a loud honk gave me a shock. I looked up and I saw a big
Pajero coming my way. I was too shocked and stunned at the middle of
the road.

Out of nowhere, I felt a hand grab and pull me to the side of the road.
It happened so fast that I could not really describe the actual scene
precisely. As I fell down by the roadside because of the force I saw
Ken-Yang fall together with me. His right arm fell on a can that
somebody had carelessly thrown by the roadside. As the can was newly
cut and was still sharp, it cut through Ken-Yang's arm deeply as he
fell hard on it. His arm was bleeding like a small stream and I was
crying because of the shock.

His left hand was still holding my hand and would not let it go. At
that moment he confessed his love for me and asked if I would wait for
him. I was still crying and did not give him any answer but took him to
my car and rushed to the nearby clinic.

That incident caused me to really think through the relationship
between Ken-Yang and I. I had sleepless nights reminiscing all the
times we spent together as a group and sometimes alone me in the past
months. All the big and little things he had done for me in the past
few months had left footprints in my heart. I suddenly realized how
much he really meant to me in my life. I made a decision that night
even though I knew it meant having a long distance relationship and I
could foresee the real difficulties that we would have to go
through.

Two years have past and we kept our relationship going up till today
and we are happy. We are still apart because we each have different
duties to fulfill in our own homeland. We keep in touch by emails,
letters and phone calls. It is difficult because we miss each other
terribly. We overcome the difficulties together by compromising and
trusting each other. We also believe that when the right time comes we
will finally be together.

Ken-Yang came to see me a few times and I went to Korea a few times to
see him and his family, too. Each time I see him I can see the scar
left on his arm because of the cut by the can. I feel sorry for him
whenever I see it. It would not have happened if I did not try to run
away from him that day. But Ken-Yang said that it is a symbol of his
love for me. May be the scar would slowly fade and be gone from
Ken-Yang's arm after many years pass by, but I know it will remain on
my mind and heart...forever