Many have wondered, and asked, how Wuan and I met. It is archived here. However, that is several links deep and not many have ventured that far. I have written that long before this blog existed. I am reproducing the account below:

When the night is thick in darkness, look up into the infinite void. Therein lies our destiny. Each and every twinkling star above holds our past, present and future. For they say, “It is all written in the stars.”

Resist as we might, yet we eventually have to surrender to those divine edicts that govern our journey through life. Thus, it was written in the stars that Wuan and I met in ways we both never anticipated, and developed into a relationship we never intended.

Ours is a friendship conceived in an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel one night in early December 1998. What began as chatting about the stock market progressed into other subjects of mutual interests. We discovered that we shared similar hobbies. We love good food, appreciate beautiful music, are fond of gardening, are crazy about durians and have a keen fascination in feng shui.

It was a strictly platonic relationship then as I already have a girlfriend. Wuan and I agreed never to let our friendship go beyond that. We became very good friends though. However, things between my girlfriend and me fell apart a few months later. She had been working overseas for a few years now and the strain of the long distance relationship finally took its toll.

It was a blow to me as we had been together for 12 years. We had known each other since our schooling days. Depressed, jaded and looking for some diversion, I made the biggest decision of my life at the spur of the moment. I decided to fly to Kuala Lumpur, unaccompanied, to meet some of my IRC buddies.

At the same time, I wanted to meet Wuan. I wanted to meet this enthralling woman who spent many evenings patiently listening to me pouring my heart out. I wanted to see for myself if this woman is as angelic as I had envisioned.

I had never travelled alone after my accident. That, perhaps, was the greatest challenge I ever faced. I was unsure if I could cope getting into the aircraft and getting around in an unfamiliar environment on a wheelchair all by myself. William, Cynthia and Eric, my IRC buddies, came to pick me up at the airport. We had lunch and they helped me check-in at the hotel. We promised to meet up later.

Wuan was caught up in her work and arrived late for our dinner date. The first moment we laid eyes on each other, there was an eerie sense of d�j� vu. It was as if we had met before. It was as if we had known each other forever. And yes, she was as angelic as I have envisioned, even more. Our dinner date evolved into long conversations into the wee hours of the morning.

We spent the rest of my stay in Kuala Lumpur together - window shopping, eating, and generally enjoying each other’s company. I did not get to meet my IRC buddies again that trip. The four days that Wuan and I had together were ephemeral. There was so much more that we had yet to share. We wished we had more time.

That was how it all began for Wuan and me - a fortuitous encounter of two unlikely individuals in the chaotic mishmash of the Internet. In cyberspace, distance is virtual, emotions bland. Yet, from it spawned a union so passionate that it seemed almost illusory. In the real world, we would spend hours travelling just to be together. Each meeting is much treasured and cherished.

We wish we can dispense with the travelling, but we have our own commitments. One day in the future perhaps. If indeed it were written in the stars, we would not want it any differently. The stars have been very benevolent to Wuan and me. For now, we shall let destiny run its course. For now, we shall continue our journey together in real life and in cyberspace.

Looked out the window and saw smoke rising from Block A and heard the humming of the fogging machine. The fumes were pungent. Woe betide those whose laundry are still hanging in the wash area. Clothes and everything else would be reeking of insecticide.

This is a beautiful morning. I woke up to a cool breeze. The sun has not gotten too harsh yet. It is all bright and cheery and so difficult not to be infected by the good spirits that is prevailing. It is such a stark contrast against the gloom that had hung over me yesterday. I thought about yesterday and the events that had unfolded since I left Dr. Liong’s clinic came rushing back in an unending torrent of despair.

What could I have done so wrong within those six months that could have caused my creatinine level to leapfrog to such a critical level? I have been cautious with my diet, counting the portions and all. Yes, there were times that I indulged but that was far and few in between. I have to keep a strict diet from now on. Indulgences will have to become a thing of the past.

Again, thoughts of death clung on to me, infusing into every cell in my body. I am not afraid of death itself but the process of dying. I fear the suffering, not of my own but the people who have to suffer along with me. I can fully relate to seeing death slowly eating away a loved one. I can relate to the feeling of helplessness and futility. The impotence of those moments was an absolutely traumatic experience.

I have been thinking about all the things that I have yet to accomplish. My time here is getting shorter by the day. I thought about Wuan and I wept. We had promised to grow old together. We had promised to still be holding each other�s hand and still be as loving even when we are into our sixties and seventies. I had promised to look after her to the best of my abilities. She had devoted so much of her life to me. She had made my life so much more meaningful and made those depressing moments easier to bear. She had been patient, understanding, and most of all, a faithful companion beyond compare. Of all things, I worry most for her.

I pray that God give her strength as He had always given me for us to surmount this uncertain period together. She had been really worried since I broke the news to her but Wuan being Wuan did only what she knows best � to cheer me up despite her own anxieties. She had always been concerned for my well-being and took the trouble to learn about my problems and adapted her lifestyle to accommodate me. God has truly blessed me with an angel of a friend. And I pray that He will continue to bless us and allow us to spend a little more time together than He had intended.