Every time I set out from home, be it heading to school, to the wet market, to the hawker centres for a bite or to meet friends in town, I would inevitably end up on the West-bound platform of Tanah Merah MRT station.
"Boon Lay / Yishun train coming in 3 minutes..." the digital display usually reads.
I would be standing on the platform, trying not to perspire, "心静自然凉" as they say, but more often than not resistance against the tropical sun was futile.
Ever since the station was built back in the late 80s, I've watched, even counted, a tidy row of 96 (or is it 97?) saplings steadily growing from the hillside opposite the platform.
(What the picture shows is actually the East-bound side)
Those 96 little buddies always waited with me, be it sun or rain or flashing thunderstorm, seeing me off safely onto the train and waiting for me to come home. Now they tower above me with their stout branches and lush leaves reaching for the sky and almost casting shadows on the station itself.
How many birds, squirrels and little critters have rested beneath the 96 canopies, how many generations of commuters have they seen everyday, waiting for the MRT?
I look forward to seeing you guys soon.
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