Fairy lights reflected on the wine glass half-filled with Chardonnay. It was the last dinner of 2020 and the island was bright and merry. My plate was filled with seafood I have not tasted for almost a year: salmon, crabs, prawns, and lobster. I devoured the food like I’ve never tasted food before. I was grateful to be able to eat something exceptional just before the blurry 2020 leaves. And with the sumptuous meal in front of me, I tried to forget that I’ve been eating boiled eggs daily for the last eight months for breakfast. Continue reading “Nothing New, Just the Year”
Category: Expat Life
A Mellow Goodbye to November
Five minutes outdoor and my thin white cotton uniform was already soaked in sweat. My mask was no different. ‘It is so humid today,’ said the American-Asian journalist that we sent off this morning. The wind might have protested. Not a single leaf moved. Not the slightest of waves disturbed the sleeping shore. The sun was relentless. I thought an egg could be soft-boiled on my head.
A Man. An Island.
My mind is like a sketch of lots of chaotic circles on top of each other with some irregular lines here and there and some random shapes inserted in between. My heart is like an airplane amidst turbulence. I missed flying too, even though I’m not a travel freak. I missed looking down to Earth and see things from the Sky’s perspective as for now, I’ve only been looking upwards most of the time, seeing things from the Earth’s perspective. Continue reading “A Man. An Island.”
Turtles Don’t Rescue Us
Turtles rescue drowning human beings and bring them back to the shore. Their shells were hard enough to protect humans from the razor-sharp shark teeth. I used to believe that story from my mother when I was a kid. And I found comfort at the thought that if I accidentally fall off a ship, a turtle will come to my rescue. I grew up near the mountains, far away from the sea so I believed in this all my life until I found my way to an island. Continue reading “Turtles Don’t Rescue Us”
Sleepless
Sleep eluded me for two straight evenings. My body temperature rose as I tossed and turned and tossed and turned between my blanket and mattress, I thought I could already ignite a fire. Continue reading “Sleepless”
What Makes Us Feel Better
The forehead splitting headache started on a supposedly sweet sunset cruise on Saturday evening. The catastrophe seemed like a combination of an hour on the cruise, a glass of Italian sparkling wine, a canapé composed of a frozen shrimp with cream cheese and brown toast topped with lime that gave me nausea and that monthly women’s issue that came without warning on a light, breezy afternoon when I felt elated enough to wear all white. Continue reading “What Makes Us Feel Better”
The Case of The Forgotten
It’s not that I forget birthdays. Not that I remember everyone’s. But there are few that I know by heart. My family’s and my high school friends’.
Two days ago, facebook reminded me of one of my friend’s birthday. Not that I did not remember, I just lost count of the days. Continue reading “The Case of The Forgotten”
Our Little Fears
There is this green parakeet that was raised by my neighbor, Sihu, who lives two doors away from me. Sihu gained the nickname ‘Dhunya (bird) Appa (Father)’ because, of the obvious reason. Continue reading “Our Little Fears”
Some Days Are Good
I went out of my room wearing my black rash guard and my old blue swimming shorts heading out for my afternoon swim.
Two colleagues were sitting by the smoking area and one of them told me that I need to buy bigger swimming clothes.
A Summer of Late Night Instant Noodles and Endless Coffee
Friendship starts with a simple ‘hi,’ or ‘can I join your table?’ in one of the lunches or ‘can I help you?’ just in time when you needed someone to hold the sack where you’d shove in the sand that you dug. Continue reading “A Summer of Late Night Instant Noodles and Endless Coffee”
