i’m here at coffee residence with kaleyge, a journalist and man of words (and word). if he says he’ll be there at 8.00am, he’ll be waiting for you at a quarter to.

before we start on the food, let me tell you that three hours before we arrived at the cafe, i received a text from him, reminding me that we had a lunch date today. and fifteen minutes prior, he told me he was on his way.

i recall hearing something about gen-x-er’s that being ‘the forgotten generation’, they’re always scared that you may forget about their existence entirely. so, they are forced to remind you of the fact more frequently than any other group.

maybe that’s one way of looking at kaleyge’s near-constant communication. but he’s also a severely anxious man. so, we get along just fine.

and i must say, when kaleyge and i were walking behind nasandhura towards the petrol shed, male was lit again in the silvery light of a hazy noon. i’ve always had this near-mystical feeling in this light, it’s like being in a dream and dreaming about the real world. and i had an unshakeable sense that something miraculous was just about to happen.

of course, i don’t tell kaleyge this because he might think it’s stupid. not one for mysticism, he.

and here we are, awaiting our meals – kaleyge his sri lankan chicken fried rice and i a ‘maldivian’ chicken curry with rice. because they don’t make sri lankan chicken curry and rice here, which is a bit odd.

‘man,’ i begin. ‘i kinda feel like i have to do the things i wanna do right here and now or i’d never get them done.’

‘there’s a drive isn’t there?’ says kaleyge.

‘did you feel the same?’ i ask him. kaleyge is about a decade my senior.

‘i did, but i got a lot of things out of my system while i was young,’ he responds.

‘i don’t wanna climb everest or anything,’ i tell him. ‘but i wanna go to tibet.’

‘what’s stopping you?’

‘i don’t know. just waiting for the right time, i guess.’

‘but you just said you have an urge to do things right now.’

‘yeah,’ i say, trying to make sense. ‘it’s kind of complicated.’

our orders arrive and my god – my curry is a champ’s champ. its charming, home-cooked feel reminds me of seagull’s chicken curry – only seagull’s meat is more succulent. but this will obviously be priced less.

or so i think before seeing the bill – it’s almost 250 for two and we took just one drink. dear god. that’s how much it cost for two to dine at SHELL BEANS in 2022.

‘it’s because we’re getting double-taxed,’ explains kaleyge, rather relieved i think because i am footing the bill. ‘these guys buy stuff that’s taxed and they pass that tax on to us on top of the increased gst. all on the customer.’

goddammit. i walk home with kaleyge in silence, or maybe kaleyge is talking but none of it registers for i am thinking i cannot afford to continue this path if tibet is to be reality. reality right now seems taxes and death though. so, i must bore through both to get to the light, and i can only hope it’s silvery and contains the possibility of a miracle.