A friend in need is a friend indeed?

Where did that expression come from?

There is this young guy who works at my gym who is sooooo sweet. I have a soft spot for him because he is pretty young (22) and still studying and working part time. The reason i like him is because although everyone at the gym always says hi and makes small talk with me, he always seems to WANT to chat to me. Like an eager child, waiting his turn :) He has the cutest face and every now and then he'll tell me about whats going on and what he's been up to. I enjoy listening to him, I think he's one of those people who are under estimated because he's got quite a different personality to some of the other trainers (jocks) at the gym. If you catch my drift. If you don't (he doesn't love himself!)

Whenever i see him he has a big smile on his face and i always run up to him and give him a cuddle (he's massive and tall). Anyway lately he seems down talking about his mum being ill and his facebook status is always something a little sad or emotional and i never really get the opportunity to talk to him. I always sense that he wants to talk to me but kinda, never wants to bother me.

He wrote a 'note' in FB about having to move back to Sabah and in it wrote the following:

i'll be leaving for good this may...i dont know if i can ever see few friends in this club..uni..geez..i became bit emotional this morning..i met my good friend a.k.a member in my club..*bubs..she damn nice till everytime she see me she will say.."hey my brother, how are you" and throw some hug. she also might be leavin to london for good..and i belive thats the best for her....

I had no idea that i was THAT significant in his life that he would even mention me like that. I felt so touched.

This morning I saw him after my run as I was waiting for my trainer to turn up (who didn't, and annoyed me somewhat) and I thought what an excellent oppotrunity to give HIM the opportunity to talk to me (if he wants to) so i turned to him and said "oh Hafiz, how on earth am i going to become a size Zero if my trainer keeps cancelling on me hu? hehe" (cheeky smile) and he said, "oh, I'm free, shall i show you some new ab exercises?" so of course i said "really? you wouldn't mind? I'm so unmotivated these days" (wink to myself for my plan working).

So we went over to a quiet corner and started doing ab work for about ten mins and then without me pushing, promting, hinting, suggesting he opened his heart for about 45 mins and told me all that was going on and all these problems he was having. In a nutshell, he has been offered a scholarship to take his masters which includes a year and a half in either America or Australia (amazing hu?) I was thrilled for him but the problem is his Mum who cries down the phone to him begging him not to leave and claiming that she fears she will die and he will not be there to take care of her. She is apparently ill, but i didn't pry as to ill with what.

Hafiz is tied, on one hand he is desperate to do "something more" with his life than return to Sabah where he feels in his degree there is nothing for him and on the other, he has loyalties to his Mother. I gave him some open advice on ways to approach things and told him that i understood entirely. He eventually told me that he admired me and wished he could be like me and that his Mum would "let him go" like my mum had. Of course that led onto a whole other convo of me explaining how things aren't always as they seem and of Western/ Asian family morals and differences which is far to deep to get into. He said yes but you are so brave and always smiling - his innocence made me smile more.

Eventually after about an hour, I had to get going so we finished chatting and i told him that if anytime he wanted to chat just to text me and we can go makan. And i meant it, he has a heart of gold and i can see the pain he is experiencing, having been there myself - live your life for someone else, or live your life for yourself?

After I left he sent wrote a further note on facebook:

u such an angel to me *bubs...nice and very please! eheh tanx for being such a caring person...p/s: *bubs is a feeling detector...she can know how i feel by just looking at my face..ehehhe love u babe.

How lovely. I guess what I'm getting at in this blog is that, I am so glad I could touch someone's heart just by listening. We don't need to be told by our friends when we have helped them with something, usually it is an unsaid knowledge between two people. That's what makes you good friends - understanding one another on a level that other people can't reach. But when you don't even realise you have done and someone thanks you, well, it's even more touching :)