Dada 19

‘For over four thousand years that the Chinese have poured over the Sunda and you say the world has misunderstood the world of the Dayaks  and pirates. I say we must maintain our Malay identity. It is the only curse left to us ‘

‘Everything gets eaten or beaten here,’ the Dada  would say . He was very different from my father.

 His laugh would brighten a room, as great as the stars in heaven or  grains of sand on the shore. I wasn’t afraid of the Indonesians. Some might have said they were only poor immigrants but fuck it, I would have killed them if they moved against  us. The girl’s brother in his flowered shirt melted away in the silence. 

 No sun hovered in the sky now, only two hours since it had cast anchor in an ocean of molten metal did the ship start to move away from the port. Towards the horizon the small cargo boat passed on its way and I could see its dark smudge across the South China Sea.

 ‘Do the deal with Shabela and we’ll get going’ I said to Iskra. He seemed relieved and nodded.