Farewell | Allan Au Ka-lun
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
There is a time to meet, and there is a time to say goodbye. During these times, the farewells of Hongkongers all came suddenly; Every time I look up, I find that certain people and things have disappeared suddenly; perhaps everything was predicted, but a moment of grief is still inevitable. It is just like the love of your life, or a job that you have devoted yourself into, from this minute on, no longer needs you.
The anchors of Cable News received the notice of layoffs. You were ready for the next segment of news reporting, but now you are no longer needed. You do not even have the chance to say goodbye to your audience, and you have to leave; New Lancet’s senior investigator was fired. His last memory of Cable News was packing up his own things as he leaves the door of the company, downhearted. That became a headline photo. He said, even if he had not accomplished anything too spectacular, he did put in hard work, and never thought his ending would be as such.
The world is a cold place. You can at least bid a light farewell to friends immigrating to the U.K. under the gathering ban; seeing the photo of Nathan Law and Ted Hui meeting up in London, I recalled the last time I met those two was at the LegCo primary election debate forum co-organized by Apple Daily and online media. I was the host. The time of recording was probably just a couple of hours before Nathan Law went into exile. I remembered he was a little drab, and his expression was strange; Nathan Law and Ted Hui were running in the same electoral district. During the questioning session of the debate, they picked each other to asked questions. They refused to get into internal bickering, and discussed politics in peace. The gentlest and the most disciplined person is the one in the most danger. There are some partings that do not allow for hugs, nor public announcements; since that day, the next meet-up was already at the ends of the earth, and both have no date of return.
What was hardest to imagine was that saying goodbye to a bank account could bring about a little sadness. When I was about to give up on this bank, I remembered holding onto my passbook as a child to save every penny. The numbers on a passbook could really make one look forward to the future; a piggy bank from the bank to lure little children, and to remind you of an attitude to life. Subtly and over time, the name of a bank can also cultivate intimacy. However, there is a time to embrace, and a time to abandon. The most valuable asset for a bank is the trust of its customers. One betrayal could lead to a divorce. The only thing to be grateful for is that at least this farewell is my own choice to make.
My own alma mater has also changed. On graduation day, the school calls the police to arrest its own students, and turned the school security into a powerful department. On the same day, New Asia College Student Canteen also closed down due to the epidemic, and bid farewell to the campus; the last iced red bean drink was packed with all the good, romantic memories. Storing them away, we can set off again; yesterday is bygone, and one cannot stay in the past. To avoid melancholy and sadness, please do not mention it again.
There is a time to live, and a time to pass; there is a time to plant, and a time to harvest. This is an era of goodbyes. We must gently say thank you for the goodness of the past, and embrace the unpredictable future without looking back. We bid farewell to the past, and also bid farewell to your own future which you have once imagined, the comfortable and worry-free rest of your life that you thought you would have. Or even, bid farewell to many of the values you had once believed in, rid yourself of the baggage, and fly against the wind.
(Allan Au Ka-lun, veteran journalist)
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