Anuka stood there next to the wall and observed the patterns that the peeling blue paint made in contrast with the reddish-brown brick wall. The house was small and reminded him of his own home back in Colombo. The old paint that screamed to be repainted and the floor that begged for it to be scrubbed, resembled his home that was on the edge of shanty town, belonging neither to the shanty that was on the left side nor the luxury that was on the right side. 

Once he looked closed up into the wall it looked like a piece of art. Like an expensive abstract painting finished by a skilled artist. Anuka had a habit of getting lost in all things beautiful. Therefore he watched the wall with such an inters that Kanagaraj had to call out his name to grab his attention. 

Anuka! Hurry up! We gotta go."

Mr. Kanagaraj spoke in broken Sinhala with English words thrown into it. Despite his thick Tamil accent, Anuka could clearly understand what he was saying.

Mr. Kanagaraj was a man whom Anuka assumed to be in his late fifties. He had a balding head with a layer of thin white hair going around the edge, making it look like an "Appayak" that his wife sold in the university cafeteria. If the mostly white and sometimes yellow middle of the "Appa" was replaced with a big black middle and a small white crust.

He was short and stout and always wore a button up shirt to cover up his protruding pot belly. But since most of the buttons of his worn out shirt had fallen out Anuka could see in to his hairy chest through the huge gaps that those missing buttons made.

He had a habit of folding his sarong in half and securing the ends of it like a villain in Tamil movies that Anuka's father watched all the time. And to add in to this already somewhat intimidating look his mouth was always ruby red with the beetle leaves he chewed day and night, despite where he was and what he was doing.

And speaking of beetle leaves Mr. Kanagaraj spat out a good amount of it on to the floor as Anuka slowly made his way towards him as if he was unsure of what he was about to do.

"Where exactly are we going?"

Even though he himself was the one who asked Mr. Kanagaraj for a place to work in, he had no idea where he was being taken to. A part of him wanted to go back to the university hostel and rest as tomorrow was a big day. Their first official day in the university as university students!

But another part, a massive one in that case, wanted him to stay and see what Mr. Kanagaraj had to offer. Because money is a must have and he was short on it. He knew his parents would not be able to afford his expenses in university. The housing in Nuwara Eliya was expensive and so were everything else. And even though the students were given free food and free rooms if the bullying from the seniors became too unbearable, he must have money in his hands to move out.

And since he knew as clear as crystal that he had to have money, a lot of that in his pockets to afford even a single room he was desperate to find a job.

"Come wimmie. We're going to da place where there is dis man. I know him. He asked me to find some boizz and gurlz to work..."

Mr. Kanagaraj spoke mixing all three languages, Sinhala Tamil and English this time, as he walked down the stairs that were made out of mud that was cut down in order to form the steps.

" Oh. Okay. "

Anuka said as if he understood what was about to happen. Even though he understood what he said he was still clueless of what was going to happen next.

Mr. Kanagaraj stopped at a three-wheeler that was parked on the side of the road after walking for less than a minute.

"Hay Vijay!"

He spoke cheerfully at the driver with one of his hands waving in the air. He spat out another mouth full of red beetle juice on to the muddy road before getting on to it. The old three wheeler shook from side to side with his every single move.

"Hurry up boy! We are running late. Sir got things to do. He is a very busy man you know!"

He announced.

"Ah, ah okay"

Anuka said with a hesitant voice contemplating whether to get in or not.

But thinking that anything is better than nothing, he got on to it.

Even though Anuka himself was a very skinny boy that was all skin and bones, he was crushed to the left corner of the three-wheeler seat because of how fat Mr. Kanagaraj was. He could even smell the beetle leaves he was munching.

"How old are you boy?"

He asked in Sinhala.

"Twenty"

Anuka answered.

"A big boy aren't you?"

He asked looking pleased with Anuka's answer.

"I also had a son..." He began saying and paused to spit out another mouthful of beetle juice.

"He left To COLOMBO." He emphasized the end of the sentence making Anuka think that he was not pleased about his son being in Colombo.

"He went there when he was your age? Been twenty three years for this this year after he left. Not a word heard from him."

There was a mixture of emotions encapsulated in his words. Remorse, guilt, regret and misery.

"I'm the one who dropped him to the train station! Do you remember Ayya?. I remember everything clearly. How many years did you wait for him to write back to you?" the three wheel driver, Vijay also joined the conversation.

Anuka had that sickening feeling in his stomach as he sat there cornered in the three-wheeler. He felt uncomfortable whenever strangers opened up to him about their saddening pasts or memories.

He felt uncomfortable because he was not in a place of power where he could help them.

So he shot a pitying smile at Mr. Kanagaraj who was talking to Vijay about his son and what he might be doing in Colombo.

According to them he must have settled in there. Married and happy with his family. But Anuka doubted that.

So he pressed his cheek against the wooden board that was flaking off, even thought the pointy flaky bits of wood pricked his cheeks. Even though the handful of pimples that were scattered around his cheek were irritated by that.

Here are some picture of NUWARA ELIYA , Sri Lanka 

which is where the story is set in . 

( This is Ella train route not Nuwara Elia but they are close :)

( This is Nuwara Elia)