PUBLISHED ONMay 10, 2024 3:14 AMByDrima ChakrabortyHe wished to see his exchange students together in Tokyo again, and Sharon Au granted it to him.
The former Singaporean actress, who currently lives in Paris, went on exchange to Sakuragaoka Senior High School when she was in junior college (JC) 32 years ago along with two other schoolmates named Corrinne and Swee Hong.
After all these years, Sharon's lifelong bond with their host during the exchange, whom she calls her "Japanese dad", has persisted.
The 48-year-old wrote in an Instagram post on May 8: "My Japanese dad T-san (whose grandmother had founded the school in 1924) often told me his one fervent wish was to be able to see all of us together in Tokyo again, including the two mentors Christine and Pingting who took care of us during the programme in the winter of 1992.
"Alas, life moves on, too quickly. We never came together again."
Until March 11 for T-san's 79th birthday, that is.
Sharon shared a video where she brings T-san into a private room at a restaurant, and inside were her old schoolmates and mentors who yelled: "Surprise!"
Sharon added in the caption that she had set up a WhatsApp group chat a year ago "asking for the almost impossible", as she lives in Paris with Corrinne in Hong Kong, Ping Ting in South Carolina and Swee Hong and Christine in Singapore.
"'Everything has changed but nothing has changed'," she continued.
"Thank you everyone and your families for making this grandest reunion after 32 years possible. It was so good to see everyone again."
Sharon wrote that T-san had turned to her at the end of the night and said: "Was that a dream? I don't want to wake up. If I die now it is absolutely okay", and that she had no more regrets.
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The Instagram post warmed the hearts of Sharon's fans as well as her showbiz buddies including actresses Lin Meijiao, Jacelyn Tay and Chen Xiuhuan.
Chantalle Ng commented: "I ugly cried" and even sent Sharon a video of herself doing so as proof.
Sharon previously shared with Shin Min Daily News that T-san was like a real dad to her after she stayed with his family for two months during the school exchange.
"We often kept in touch by letter, and then I graduated and became a flight attendant, so as long as the flight on duty was to Tokyo, I would meet my dad and his family," she said.
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When Sharon later went to Waseda University for studies, she also lived with T-san and his family.
Sharon shared that T-san had even wanted to officially adopt her due to her parents' divorce when she was a child, but faced legal difficulties in doing so.
"Although the procedure could not be completed, it didn't matter to me. He was already my father in my heart, and there was no need for legal procedures," she said.
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drimac@asiaone.com
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