Yaathreegan (a.k.a The Journeyman)

CHAPTER 4

Kuah, Langkawi, The Next Day

"You should've listened to me, kutti payya. You should've let me do the talking." ranted kezhava with full fury dedicated to me. Kezhava ranted at me the whole journey from the ferry to Kuah. I don't blame him but it was me, who messed up the whole scenario. I judged Gaurav to be just a small fish Hawala but only later did I know the guy owned half of Kuah. Damn, I've never lost my cool, AT ALL. Why did I lose my cool? Was I scared that I'd turn out like kezhava. Just trying to stay alive, without anyone to lean on, just alone, traveling the world, doing odd jobs? Would this be my fate? Or Even worse, would I lose all emotion.

"Dei, kutti payya, DEI" shouted kezhava in my ear which startled me and brought me out of the pensive wreck I was in.

"Yes?"

"Dei, were you even listening to me?"

"Uh sorry, I was just contemplating my mistakes and the reason why I lost my cool"

"I get you, kutti payya, I get you. I know what you're going through. You feel empty inside, right?"

"Yeah, like I don't know what I'm living for at all"

"There is only one cure for this, its called love"

"Love, seriously? You're getting corny kezhava"

"I also used to think like that at one point in time when survival wasn't the priority. But that's when I saw her......"

Just when kezhava was gonna start narrating his romance life, a beep sound came from his pager.

It said EAGLE SQUARE, RED CAP

"Well Gaurav has a way of choosing places. Lets go" motioned kezhava.

The Eagle Square, known for its 40-foot tall eagle statue mounted on a huge star-shaped concrete platform. It was the symbol for Langkawi. Lang means Eagle in Malay and Kawi means 'reddish brown' apparently but it also means the same thing in Tamil. One could see the grandeur of such a big statue, this is a symbol of the people here, it reflects their spirit and way of life.

I had seen many such symbols over the past 7 years and after seeing so many such symbols, one could get bored but I never did. It was symbols like these that showcased the true spirit of the working class.

This Eagle Square apparently was a popular photo spot. One could see couples, teenagers, families clicking photographs or posing for them indifferent to the troubles of the world and with no knowledge of people like us. Kezhava nudged me to remind my objective, 'Find the red cap'

It was very hard to even see a red cap due to the people around. We needed high ground there was none. It was sprawling 19 acres of flat land with the statue as the only elevation.

"Hey, kezhava, what do we do now? There's no way we can find a red cap in this big crowd"

"Wait, kutti payya, They need us as much as we need them, So don't lose your cool just yet"

After a few minutes of admiring the ocean and the surrounding fountains, came another beep from kezhava's pager.

DAYANG BUNTING, LAGENDA PARK, RED CAP

Okay that's a five-minute walk. Lagenda Park a.k.a The Park of Legends, built in 1996 by the Malaysian Authorities in hopes of keeping the local folklore alive. The entrance fee was 5 ringgits. Kezhava and I made our way into Gondowan hall and into the arched pathway, a romantic spot for couples.