Who's One Stranger You Still Remember?

 I extremely love this Youtuber named Thoraya Maronesy who interviews people on the street about different topics on her channel. 

One of my favorite videos of hers is when she asked strangers 'Who's One Stranger You Still Remember?'. 

And since there's no possibility I could be interviewed by her, I will just answer this question here.

Who's One Stranger You Still Remember?

I once encountered a middle-aged student whose profile ID name was Mani. And when our class started I greeted him just the same way I greet my students every day, "Hi, welcome to our class. My name is Marianie. I am happy to have you here today, Mani." 

"Hello," he replied, "nice to meet you Marianie, but actually my name is not Mani. I'm Kazu."

I was thinking at that time, oh here we are again, another family using only one account even if it's against the rules. 

But I smiled and said, "So, who is Mani? Your son?" 

"No, not my son." 

"Your wife?" I insisted.

With a resigned but radiant smile he answered me, "Ok, here's the thing. Mani is not my wife and to save you time it's also not my nickname. Actually, Mani is my brother but he's not here anymore. I mean, he died 30 years ago. He died from a disease. And you are probably thinking why am I using his name. There's no specific reason. I just like it. I use his name on all my social media accounts. It's my way of showing my affection for him. He hasn't been on Earth for 3 decades but I still remember him."

And I teared up. 

I'm a crier so it's normal, but this story hits me through my core. I have four other siblings, and God knows I love them so much, even if how weird to say it here now because we don't say that to each other. 

Well, Asians don't. 

This guy grew up in a very conservative culture, but the way he expressed himself about an extremely personal subject astounded me. 

He didn't tell me the story with a mournful face and longing in his voice. 

Instead, he was narrating his brother's life with so much love and tenderness.

I met him a year ago, I neither remember his face nor his real name but I still remember his story. 

How about you? Who's one stranger you still remember? 

Comment down below!