Kelvin sensed that something was wrong.
Albert had said that he knew Gewen well. 'Hmm, Gewen's really quite a secretive person. But I think I know him well enough.' What Albert knew about Gewen, however, wasn't congruent with what Kelvin knew.
When Kelvin mentioned this in passing to Gewen, the latter replied, 'you probably know me better than he knows me.' As they chatted over the phone - really, Kelvin was just looking for an excuse to avoid his lab reports, not ideas for a psych thesis or anything - Kelvin realised that he paradoxically knew more about Albert than Gewen did.
It was all very disconcerting, considering that he had just known Albert and that he wasn't really all that close with Gewen too. He really didn't know both of them well; he just knew them better than they knew each other.
Shouldn't they - Albert and Gewen - know each other better? They were ex-classmates after all.
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The mysteries of human relations. What we think we know, aren't really what we know.
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Time isn't an apt measure of a friendship's warmth.
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When he mentioned this dichotomy to his cousin in a Bali-inspired cottage, he heard an answer that resonated.
'Maybe you're both right. He knows the social front that your other friend presents to the world. And you know his more well-hidden nature. Probably, you two are talking about different aspects. That's why you felt confused.'
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The different selves. The superficial facade and the inner disposition. Two sides of a coin, but still its faces.
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