Friday night.

I'm listening to Willi's gentle snoring, as he hugs his blue shark in bed. Not a pillow, just a blue soft toy shark. He breathes dreamlessly, effortlessly, and I'm watching him on Skype like a rerun of Friends that I don't want to see the credits rolling for. The sun is up in Hawaii, while it's midnight here in Malaysia. Video chat meant I could hear the crickets in Hilo for the first time tonight, he could hear the squeaky chair in my bedroom - and I think to myself that it's so amazing that our paths crossed in this endless world and time stopped for two heartbeats long enough for us to fall in love.



As the sunlight paints a triangle on the side of his face, I remember how utterly afraid I was to dip my toes in this pool of water I couldn't see past the surface of - this long-distance relationship. I remember the pain of realising how much we could connect with each other, how much he understood me, how he wasn't like just any guy, and at the same time knowing the distance between us meant there would be such a challenging road ahead.

But this man - and his strength - intrigues me, inspires me, makes me smile, makes me want to be a better person. He said, "A little bit of sacrifice now for a future of happiness, to me, is worth it." Being with him makes me start to believe in love again, to open my heart enough to give happiness a fighting chance - and not condemning romance to be a frivolous exercise propagated by fairy tales and commercialised pop culture. If everything happens for a reason, if paths cross against all odds - if technology could bring together a 29-year-old Hawaiian island boy and a 23-year-old Malaysian suburban girl - I'd like to see the rest of the journey the vehicle of life wants to take us, instead of force-jumping out of the car and trying to fight against fate.

So here goes nothing - dear blog, meet Willi. :)