It’s easy for establishments in Indonesia, like my favorite spa, to scream sketchy.
Anyway, the twenty-something-year-old working behind the counter took my U. dollars, 7 total, and proceeded to tell me how much each individual bill was worth.
I’d slip a 20k into the tip box, and Geday would shrug. I rode my scooter to the beach so I locked my things up in the storage space beneath the seat.
I knew he was either the guy who steals your bag while you’re swimming at the beach, or he was the guy who goes after the guy who steals your bag. So the first time I met Geday, I didn’t buy a drink from his tiny wooden bar on the beach. I knew then that I had made the right choice to trust him. I tried to give him a 20,000 Rupiah note, but he just shook his head and waved it away.
The straw between his lips told me he was busy hydrating. Mind you, we hadn’t exchanged a single word despite having seen each other at the hotel at least four times a day for the past four days.
To be honest, like Geday, he wasn’t the approachable type.
The upstairs room is long and narrow, dark and drab.
There is just enough light I can read the words in my lap.