When he first left England he was a young man with no particular destination. He found himself months later in the hills of Cambodia, squatting by a cook fire and sharing millet from a single bowl with three strangers, the act of eating their only common language.
His name was acquired perhaps in Tibet or Nepal. By this time, the identity of the British boy had long since disappeared, along with any trace of accent. He hardly spoke anyway, mistrusting words, preferring the transient solidity of gesture.
She had found him at last, this long-ago sister who begged him to return.
Wonderful sense of place and character in this. I wonder what he will do.
Mysterious piece. Why and how? Well done.
Beautiful
To loose oneself in the world like this… I truly wonder if he ever wanted to be found.
Really great.
I like the phrase ‘long ago sister’, I don’t think she will get him to return, but at least she knows that he is alright in his own way.
Sounds like a hippy who “dropped out” completely.
My kind of guy. Could see the fire, the people.
Wonderful that someone did not give up on him!
That is a committed sister! Considering his going from place to place and the fact she found him “at last”, she must have been searching a long time. Wonder if she’ll join him and not return herself!
Sounds like he found where he wanted to be. I doubt she’ll get him back but good that she cares enough to make sure he’s alright
Dear J Hardy,
Wonderfully written. I really want to know where he goes from there.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Dear J Hardy,
Beautifully written. You left me wondering where his life will go from there.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Interesting…wonder if he will talk to his sister. My gut says no, but maybe he’d eventually give in so as to make her happy.
My mother speaks of her uncle who disappeared from his home in Scotland sometime in the early 1900s. He was only a teenager, and the prevailing theory was that he’d joined the crew of a ship and possibly finished up in Australia, where, strangely, we now live. Your story made me think about this lost relative and wonder. Very evocative storytelling.
I enjoyed this piece. You gave us a fully realised character. I really liked the idea of the ‘common language’ and the ‘transient solidity of gesture’.