In Langkawi,
Time Forgot to Hurry

Langkawi, Malaysia — Jun and Mark arrived in Langkawi carrying that particular exhaustion of people who are good at their lives and tired from proving it. And yet, this quaint island did not ask them to explain themselves. I simply invited them to a slow-living kampung retreat with me. They were handed a slower clock than they were used to and were allowed to figure out on their own how to hold it. We waded in waterfalls and lounged by rice fields with nowhere urgent to be. Patient, unbothered and indifferent to time. I watched two people who usually sprint through their days remember how to be still next to someone they love. There was no itinerary worth rushing and no permission needed to simply exist. I want them to remember what it’s like to be unhurried in each other’s company.