Part 1: Death of Baldr Chapter two
While skulking on the beach, Aruna sees his childhood friend Kasun walking hand-in-hand with a white woman. Kasun notices Aruna and runs up to him to greet him warmly with a hug.
Kasun: “Arunaaaaaaaaaaa Machang! How have you been?”
Aruna: “Yeah it’s been good”
Kasun: “So how is university? Hope you’re not getting ragged haha!”
Aruna: “It’s not bad”.
Kasun: “This is Sabrina by the way. She’s just come from Germany to escape the big winter there”.
Sabrina: “Hi!”
Aruna: “Hello”.
Kasun: “Sabrina and I are heading back to her place for drinks. Wanna come with?”
Aruna hesitates for a second.
Kasun: “Come on man. I haven’t seen you in ages”.
Aruna: “Ok. Sure”
Kasun: “Alright!”
Aruna feels conflicted as he walks with Kasun and Sabrina to the beach house. On one hand, he’s happy to see his old friend and catch up on old times, but on the other hand, he’s disgusted how Kasun has turned into a regular ‘beach boy’.
As they walk, Aruna studies Sabrina. She is tall and slender, with long, curly hair and bright blue eyes. Aruna can see the African influence in her features, but he also recognises that she is undeniably beautiful.
As they reach the beach house, Aruna is surprised to find that it is actually quite luxurious. The house is large and airy, with psychedelic decor and wicker furniture. Sabrina offers them drinks, and they sit down in the living room to chat.
As Kasun and Sabrina talk about their travels, Aruna can’t help but feel out of place. Although he had lived his entire life Down South, he had never mixed with hippy foreigners before. He sips his drink, feeling uneasy.
Sabrina notices Aruna’s discomfort and asks him what’s wrong. Aruna hesitates, not wanting to offend his friend or his friend’s guest, but he eventually speaks up.
“I just can’t believe the contrast,” he says, gesturing towards the poverty outside the beach house. “How can there be so much wealth in one place and so much poverty in another?”
Sabrina nods, her face serious. “It’s not right,” she says. “But it’s the way the world works.”
Aruna can sense that there’s more to Sabrina’s words than meets the eye, but he doesn’t push it. Instead, he asks Kasun how he’s been doing.
Kasun grins, his eyes brightening. “I’ve been doing great,” he says. “I’ve got a lot of clients these days. And Sabrina here has been helping me out too.”
Aruna raises his eyebrows, suddenly feeling wary. “What kind of clients?” he asks.
Kasun shrugs. “Tourists,” he says. “People who want to see the real Sri Lanka. I show them the best spots, the hidden beaches, the local bars. They pay me well.”
Aruna feels a knot form in his stomach. He knows what kind of “tours” Kasun is offering. He’s heard the stories from other locals, how these beach boys exploit tourists for money, drugs, and sex.
But he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he finishes his drink and makes his excuses to leave. He can’t stand to be around Kasun anymore, not after what he’s just heard.
As he walks home, Aruna can’t stop thinking about the contrast between the poverty outside the beach house and the wealth inside it. He wonders if there’s anything he can do to change things, to make the world a more just place.
But for now, all he can do is go home, help his family move, and try to make the best of a difficult situation.
As Aruna walks back to his home after dark he sees a burly British man harassing a tuk-tuk driver.
Aruna feels his blood boil at the sound of the racial insults hurled by the British man. Without a second thought, he rushes forward and lands a hard punch on the man’s face. The tuk-tuk driver joins in, and together they manage to subdue the British man.
As the man lies moaning on the ground, Aruna and the driver exchange worried looks. They know that the police will not be sympathetic to their side of the story, and that they could be charged with assault if they are caught. The driver suggests that they should leave the scene quickly, and Aruna reluctantly agrees.
They help the British man to his feet and move him to the side of the road. Aruna notices that the man’s nose is bleeding heavily, but he feels no remorse for what he has done. In fact, he feels a sense of satisfaction at having stood up to someone who was clearly using his privilege to bully others.
“Serves this para sudda right,” the tuk-tuk driver smirks and pulls Aruna into his vehicle to make a gateway.
As they speed away on the tuk-tuk, Aruna reflects on the incident. He knows that his actions could have serious consequences, but he feels that he did the right thing. The tuk-tuk driver nods in agreement, and they share a sense of camaraderie over what they have just experienced.
Aruna catches his breath and turns to the tuktuk driver, who looks shaken and frightened. “You okay?” he asks.
The driver nods, his hands gripping the handlebars tightly. “Thank you, mahattaya,” he says in a trembling voice. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t intervened.”
Aruna nods, looking back at the British man who is now nursing his injuries. “It’s not safe out here, especially for people like us,” he says grimly.
The driver looks at Aruna questioningly. “What do you mean, people like us?”
“Working class, poor,” Aruna explains. “These suddas are coming in droves and driving up the cost of living. Our homes, our neighbourhoods, they’re all being taken over by these wealthy foreigners. They think they can just come here and push us out of our own land and they are using the cold weather as an excuse.
Remember how difficult it is for us to travel to their countries? They are using this disaster to barge in here”.
The driver nods, his eyes widening. “I’ve seen it happen,” he says. “My village used to be a peaceful place, but now it’s overrun with hotels and suddo. We can barely afford to live there anymore.”
“That’s gentrification for you,” Aruna says, his voice bitter. “It’s happening all over the world, not just here. These wealthy migrants come in and take over, pushing out the locals and destroying our way of life.”
The driver nods, his expression thoughtful. “What can we do about it?” he asks.
Aruna smiles faintly. “We can educate ourselves, organize, and fight back,” he says. “We have to stand up for our rights and demand a fair share of the wealth that’s being generated here. We can’t let these migrants take over everything and leave us with nothing.”
The driver nods again, his eyes brightening with newfound hope. “Mahattaya University eken da?” (Are you from the university sir?) he asks in Sinhala.
Aruna ignores, his eyes scanning the darkened streets. “Be careful out here,” he warns. “It’s a dangerous world, especially for those who are vulnerable.”
The driver nods and speeds off into the night, his tuktuk leaving a trail of exhaust behind him. Aruna watches him go, his mind already turning to the next battle in the war against gentrification.
To be continued
‘As the snowflakes melted’ Sci-fi has been realized by Jonathan Frank in collaboration with Chat GPT.