A virtual prison…

"Love is a furnace, but it will not cook the stew..." - Spanish proverb

Being a grown-up is daunting on the best of days. If I detach myself, I get to witness some really amazing things happening surrounding my life…

I had lunch at the Lanai with a lady friend. A friend I met when I used to frequent my BKE club. We used to chat and exchange news in the sauna and the steam rooms. We used to soak in the Japanese bath for hours, just the two of us. From the little time we had at the club, I thought I knew her well and envied her life-style. I was surprised when today she told me “Nong, stop calling me Datin, I don’t have that title anymore. I am divorced…”. For now the ex allowed her to stay in the condo and use the BMW. She is keeping the two beautiful Persian cats too. And she has been warned, once she’s married to another, all will be taken. But he may be kind enough to spare her the cats.

Watching her telling her sad stories, I quickly find myself not envying her anymore. Her lifelong desire to heal at odds with the lifestyles of the newly rich and not-necessarily famous with weekends spent at the spas and invitations to art exhibitions, hi-tea parties make my life pale in comparison. She was seduced into a new lifestyle, complete with a plush apartment and a hot new car and short of an heir-to-a-fortune hubby. From the start I initially revel in her quick jaunt up the social ladder, but now I realize that things on the fast lane are rarely as great as they seem.

I told her that it’s never too late to be who she might have been. She still has time to make changes that enable her to get out of her own way. She's still young, pretty and smart. If she plays her card right, she can have the world in her hand…