One Litre of Tears OST
Title: Sunadokei (from One Litre of Tears OST)
Artist: Susumu Ueda
Today I chose this song as the post because I’ve recently finished watching both the film and the TV series (both of which I cried more than a litre of tears after watching them!), and I love the soundtrack to bits. Composed by Susumu Ueda, One Litre of Tears OST helps to portray the journey of Aya Kito, from her day of being diagnosed with a rare genetic and incurable degenerative disease to her death. Her struggles with life and people, he slurring speech and increasingly stiff movements, never fail to bring me to tears. And yet these never dampened her hope to continue to live every single day of her remaining life as if it was her last.
The serenity of this song suits this post a lot 
and so I’ve decided to dedicate it to everyone who is currently reading this entry. Plus, this post is for Aya-chan too - may you rest in peace. Your uplifting spirits has inspired thousands of others, including those who were diagnosed with the same disease as you, to appreciate life and to continue living.
Two weekends ago, my Saturday morning was free so I decided to take a tour around the campus and see if I can take some photos to share with you.
On that misty morning, mist filled the campus, shrouding everything in a cloud of mystery and surprise.
Waking up at 7am, I grabbed the chance of catching the gorgeous morning sun before it gets too fiery. I walked out of my room and along the road, to find that the whole campus was shrouded in mist. I thought I was in a dream - the feel of the morning breeze, the smell of the fresh grass and the serenity and quietness of trafficless lanes… they were too good to be true.
On the bus, on my way around campus.
I hopped on the bus that came right after the previous photo was taken. Unlike the usual school days, the bus was empty except for a few passengers - students heading out of campus (who managed to take every single restraint from pressing the snooze button) and workers. The ride was quiet and peaceful, what I could hear was the soft conversations of the passengers, the muffled voices from the TV and the humming of the well oiled bus engine.
The empty walkway, devoid of human traffic.
I walked pass the corridors and walkways devoid of human traffic - it was so different from the usual noisy walkways that people used to squeeze onto during school days. I have the whole corridor to myself, not needing to worry about bumping into anyone. It just felt so surreal - I was the only human in sight. The loneliness was a little unnerving, I quickened my footsteps.
White flowers bathing in the morning sun.
Arriving outside the empty academic complex, I stumbled upon a bed of flowers in the midst of being tended by the faithful gardener. The sun was just right above the canopy, so the flowers just starting bathing in the morning sun.
Pink flowers on a sun-drenched morning
The sun continues to rise above the canopy, drenching the flower bed with more sunlight. The pink little flower glistened under the rays, still raw from the frosty night.
Of smokey shadows and lights - tracing the shapes of the branches.
I continue to trace my way towards the International Student Centre. Sunlight was filtering through the delicate network of branches, twigs and leaves, while the morning mist lingered to give the radiating rays you see above. A halo formed on the road surface (it wasn’t photoshopped in! It was already there!) from the refracted lights. How quaint!
Tree-lined avenue
The tree-lined avenues of my university looked gorgeous in the morning. Combined with the quietness of the surrounding and the lack of vehicular traffic, it felt like a dream. I thought I was in my own world, all by myself, bathing in the calming atmosphere of Mother Nature.
Before and After - Rise and Shine!
A little photoshop work does magic to the bland photo to the left 
I just color burned the sky with a light blue and colour dodged the cement floor with light yellow. Pumped the contrast and saturation by a small amount - I didn’t want to overdo it. Click on the image above to view the final image.
The final goodbye…
So this is our final farewell to Huilin... sayonara!
Completely unrelated to the previous part of the post, Chongx and I rushed to the Lavender bus depot on Sunday evening to send Huilin off. We nearly couldn’t make it because we were already running late! I guess there must be some divine intervention thank you! So yep we made it in time and managed to send her off! The farewell wasn’t as teary as I’ve expected, probably because I’ve already cried so badly when she left NTU before that (she returned for the Merdeka Night celebration). She was a little sad though, but I hope she’s fine now!
Dear Huilin, thank you for being such a great friend! All the best to your future endeavours in Warwick keep in touch!
20 responses to That misty morning » Leave a response
what a lovely post. You certainly captured the magic of the morning and especially with that haunting tune in the background. Just absolutely fabulous.
lettis last blog post..Friday Night Lights
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Hey Letti thanks for your compliments! I’m not quite there yet actually - I’m yet to capture a lovely sunrise. I shall blame it on the person who invented the snooze button on alarm clocks, heh! Anyway, I love the song too… the tune is a little haunting, definitely.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE. seriously. it kicked me inside. hmm.. pity her (the real person, not the one in the movie)..
abdusfauzis last blog post..Koyot’s Prank on Aju’s Birthday
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Oh you’ve watched it too?
It’s a really meaningful movie and it struck me that not all handicapped people see life in a pessimistic perspective… they are lots of them who are like Aya Kito, who makes good use of every single day and lived it to the fullest. Sometimes I feel ashamed of myself because I complain about life a lot and didn’t appreciate everyday like them.
If I were to watch the One Litre of Tears movie, I am sure I will cry. I am quite an emo person. That is a nice song. I will find the full version of the song.
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I cried
so don’t feel bad about it. It’s a movie so sad that it made me cry nearly a litre of tears! I’m quite an emotional person too, haha! Actually the song is the full version already 
heh!
That’s really a nice movie.
I like that pic of rise and shine.
u must have mastered all the photoshop skills
=)
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Yeap! Have you watched it? And thanks for your compliment! Naw, I didn’t master all the photoshop skills… there are so many more waiting for me to pick up!
Not more cute picture on this blog
Bye Huilin,
I’llwe’ll miss you (and your cute face)NoktahHitams last blog post..Goodbye (I’m Testing Live Writer)
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Yea, how sad! You think she’s cute? She’ll be thrilled to hear your compliment heheh!
thanks anyway! It’s sad to see her leave, but at least there’s still something called MSN Messenger and Facebook so we can still keep in touch!
Beautiful photos as always, Teddy. It must be nice to see your campus and its surroundings in such serenity.
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Oh by the way, i finally read The Devil Wears Prada and caught the movie as well- i know, months after that post you did about it. I have to say i enjoyed the book a lot more than the movie. Thanks for the great recommendation, Teddy- i would never have picked up the book otherwise
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Thank you! Wow I didn’t expect anyone to pick up my recommendation since I thought most of my readers aren’t into chick lits
well I watched the movie and then read the book, and I think both have their good part! Anne Hathaway did a really good job at portraying Andrea (although way less vulgar and violent than the Andrea in the book)… while in the book, Miranda is truly wicked! It’s sad that the film divulged from the book’s content on the Paris fashion show part…
great post and lovely shots..especially the one with the branch silhouette and sun rays below it
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Thanks coussie! That photo is one of my favourite so far! Actually I’ve taken a couple of photos of the same scene but it’s only in this photo where a halo is seen on the tarmac.
Oh my gosh… I cried the whole way through A Litre of Tears. It’s so sad… and the saddest part was that this was based on an actual girl who lived and died through the same disease.
Your pictures never cease to amaze me… I love them, and they always make me feel so peaceful whenever I look at it.
Destinys last blog post..…I Thought I Lost It!
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somebody was telling me about the one litre of tears drama the other day and they said that it’s not like the usual korean drama series. Now that you’ve said that you cried a litre of tears watching that, I have a strong urge to watch it too!
Your campus is so huge( i just have to say it!
) and your pictures looks absolutely amazing i must say! It’s like those type of pictures where you can see in magazines! Oh btw, are there like a holiday now in Singapore or it’s just one of the weekends morning?
Melissas last blog post..Of this and that
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In fact One Litre of Tears in a Japanese drama Princess Melissa
haha! Anyway, it’s a really insightful drama/film on the struggles handicapped people are facing nowadays and watching the drama/film made me more compassionate and considerate those who do not enjoy the same level of physical health as us 
if you’re planning to watch the movie, do prepare lots of lots of tissue!
Anyway yea my campus is in fact pretty big, but if you do compare it with those university campuses overseas, it’s just peanuts! Haha! In university we deprive ourselves of a decent sleep on weekdays so we usually make that up on weekends… so everyone will be waking up very late on weekends!
yea, I’ve watched it and prefer the TV series
WanCings last blog post..Bora - Bora Island
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Lovely post. The 1st photo and the tree-lined avenue reminds me of my secondary school, we had casuarina trees lining along the road from the entrance to the main hall, beautiful! Which campus is this? The scenery… breathtaking! Love the green surrounding….
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