It was five years ago when I went to Australia for a working holiday. Since I have not been able to decide which city to go first, I just booked a one-way ticket to the centre of Australia: Uluru.

I left my job on March 27th, departed Japan on March 30th, and then arrived at Sydney on the late afternoon on March 31st. The next day I flew to Uluru. On April 1st 2014, I was at the lookout of Ayers Rock Resort to see the sunset.

Looking back from now, I think it was probably the happiest moment in my life. Even though I had no plan for the future, I was not worried. I was alone, but I was not feeling lonely. I was rather enjoying being all by myself in an unfamiliar place among strangers. I felt so free.

All I could see was the earth and the sky. There was a huge rock lit up by the sinking sun. It was a magnificent view.

All I could hear was the buzz of flies. I inhaled the air. It was dry and sandy.

All I could do was to be amazed by the sheer beauty of nature.

Little did I know I was about to meet someone special there, to fall in love, to live together with him only to break up after four years. I am not going to write about it here. It’s just another unrequited love story.

As I recall the day I met him, I can’t help thinking about the mystery of providence. What if I visited another city first? What if I didn’t go to the lookout on that particular afternoon? What if I wasn’t taking a selfie at that very moment? He offered to take a picture of me as he saw I was trying to make a selfie. That was how we met.

If I had not been there that evening, I would have lived somewhere else in Australia. I could have met someone else. Who knows? In another universe, I might be having a happily-married life with three kids now. If only I hadn’t been there.

But I wanted to see the sunset that day. So I went… to the lookout.