When my own life decision also affected my friend's life decision

It may sound as if I'm overestimating the story here, but I'm not: one of the major decisions that affected my entire life...affected my friend's life too.

It always sounds funny when I think about it, but my decision in not continuing my education in Singapore had also affected Sis R's decision on her life.

There I was, visiting her home in Denpasar in early February 2007.

I was scheduled to go back to Singapore in mid-February 2007 and that time I was still largely undecided whether I should proceed in going to Singapore or waiting for an American education instead for an indefinite time being.

Coincidentally, on the same week she was scheduled to stay in Singapore in the long run too. She was to take a short training programme in Ngee Ann Polytechnic for six months and there might also be a possibility that she's going to continue her Master's degree in NUS.

In Singapore, Sis R was about to stay in her cousin's apartment block in an area not so far from the hostel I planned to stay in, which sounded very nice.

We discussed the whole "moving to Singapore together and living close to each other" for an entire day at her home, and we ended up with me finally deciding that going to Singapore would be for the best for both of us.

I'd be having my own 'sister' living in a same city outside Indonesia, at last!

I left Bali for Jakarta just a week before mid-February 2007, when I changed my mind into not going back to Singapore after all.

I phoned her Singapore number on the day she arrived there. Of course by making little whit lies that I was already "too late" to take a further scholarship application there.

She was unduly disappointed seeing that I was no longer eligible to continue my education there.

Despite the fact that there was aplenty of opportunities for her to continue her Master's study and take that short training programme and look for a nice-paying part-time work, she didn't last staying there for more than two weeks.

I asked her for the reason why she left Singapore and she answered,

"I couldn't stand staying with my cousin's family there, Toshi... They're always brawling all the time, I couldn't stand it! Moreover, do you know how disappointed I am in you? I had imagined how much fun we could have had together there, yet you were that dumb in being late for that scholarship education!" she jeered.

"So basically... You decided in not living in Singapore... it's because I'm not living there anymore?"

"Yep, that's one of the two major reasons", she admitted.

I don't know whether I was supposed to be flattered or disappointed by her decision.

How stupid or incredulous it may sound, it really did happen to her and it was me who had made her thought twice in not staying in Singapore.

However, it dawned upon me that time that... Sis R had decided against studying and working in Singapore just because I didn't keep my promise of staying close with her in that country.

If only I had decided differently back then, she may not be working in Bali right now!

Hahaha... how funny life could turn out, eh?