I walk up to the bride, and we improvise a dance in front of everyone. She’s laughing, I’m laughing. It’s surreal and emotional at the same time. I can’t believe something like this is actually happening to me. Around us, people clap, shout, laugh, take photos and record videos.

Then the groom shakes my hand and, with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen, says, “Thank you, special wedding!”

After that, others want to dance with me too. But I’m exhausted, dirty, and drunk. It’s not my party, and I almost feel like I’m stealing the spotlight from the bride and groom. On top of that, I still have to get back to my hostel. I check the time. It’s 11 p.m.

I say goodbye to everyone and try to leave, but it’s not easy. They want me to stay longer.

Eventually, I manage to slip away and get back on the scooter. I’m slightly drunk, and the ride turns out to be more challenging than expected. There are no streetlights, just total darkness. The road is a nightmare of potholes and bumps. An hour and a half through absolute nothingness.

Luckily, my phone still has battery. Without Google Maps, I would’ve been completely lost with all the road signs written in Cambodian.

When I finally get back to the hostel, I’m ready to collapse into bed without thinking twice. But just as I’m about to close my eyes, my phone vibrates. It’s a message from Marion.

I met Marion a few weeks earlier while crossing the Mekong River by boat from Thailand to Laos. But that’s another story, one that deserves to be told separately.

The message says she has a surprise for me: she just arrived in Cambodia. She knew I was in Phnom Penh and decided to come here. What I don’t know yet is that from that moment on, I would start travelling with her. And that one day, she would become my girlfriend.

I think back on the day. I missed the sunset from Phnom Chisor, and my scooter broke down in the middle of nowhere. But then I was saved by a stranger, met his family, got invited to a wedding by another stranger, and even danced with the bride. And none of this would have happened if I hadn’t asked myself the usual question:

Why not, Ricky?