25 Minutes

Isn't it baffling, the fact how we humans always seem to associate people with objects from the prosaic side of life? Especially those that has left a significant impact on oneself, bitter or sweet.

I have come across those that fondly remember special places, where monumental moments was spent with their loved ones. So much so, that whenever he/she passes by that place, unknowingly, their mind allows itself to relive those moments. Often to the extent where they can almost see themselves mimicking those frolicking actions of lost times...wishing, that their other half was there.

Then there are those that remember people by their favourite food, colour of clothes, and even the reeking scent of their favourite perfume. It wasn't too long ago that a good friend of mine reminisced to me how he knew his then girlfriend was close by solely by the whiff of one Gucci Rush. Now that they are no longer an item, he still frets about like an eager sparrow when he catches that Gucci Rush smell in the air, hoping to see his ex girlfriend pop out from the crowd.

I prefer to remember people through songs. I find it utterly amusing how the same lyrics could mean different things to different people. There's this particular number from Michael Learns to Rock titled 25 Minutes where the lyrics conveyed a man's lost cause to salvage the love of his life. For me, that song has an unconventional meaning attached.

You see back in my schooling days, though not important, Music was one of the examinable subjects in our course of study. For one of the tests, us students had to memorise a popular song at that time and sing it to the class. Anyone caught referring to written down lyrics would fail the subject instantaneously. The song was '25 Minutes'.

Without the luxury of the Internet, it was always tedious trying to memorise that song. I for one got sick of listening to it after the fourth time, whilst trying to pen down its lyrics word for word. Thinking that I could procrastinate this somewhat unimportant task, I did everything but trying to get that song drilled into my head.

The days passed and the Music test was just one weekend away. In a desperate attempt to save myself, I approached one of the girls from my class, Isabella to pen down the lyrics onto my notebook. Expecting her to rebuff my request, astonishingly she obliged ever so willingly. She wrote it all down within a mere 5 minutes, in the neatest handwriting I've ever seen and I was ready to take this test.

The months passed and before long, we were already busy preparing for our final exams. Thankfully, Music was not one of the subjects tested. It was during that time when the school vice-principal walked into our classroom one morning with downcast eyes.

Isabella had met with a serious accident the day before. It was a hit and run affair that left poor Isabella in a coma. Doctors predicted that even if she was ever going to come out of that coma, she'd be paralysed.

Isabella eventually passed on after battling with her life for a few days. The students, especially those from our class took the news badly. Life had to go on however and before long, Isabella remains just but a name printed on one of the pages in our precious yearbook.

It didn't occur to me all these years but when the song '25 Minutes' was played over the radio recently, I instantly pictured Isabella writing down those lyrics in my exercise book. And forever, I shall always associate this beautiful song with an equally beautiful soul that once helped a lazy boy.

I, the writer achieved an A grade for my Music test in 1996. I have always been a music lover and will always be one.