“Look at the video; look at it,” Donald kept repeating over speakerphone.
DM found it hard to concentrate on both his elder brother’s voice and also the narration from the YouTuber about the video, which really was unnecessary. The visuals did more than enough, showing the zombie-like state of people – if you could call them that – in the Downtown East Side of Vancouver.
Some people doubled over while standing, moving in place like NPCs in Grand Theft Auto V. There were people vomiting and walking around in really odd ways – double-stepping, pulling one leg along. It was like a zombie apocalypse film come to life, with somewhat apathetic zombies.
“I hope Kayo is okay there,” Donald noted.
“Ah, Kayo is motorbiking around Kerala wearing a lungi and eating triangle veggie samosas,” DM reminded Donald.
“Oh,” Donald said, trying to recollect the faint memory of having heard this somewhere sometime before. “Why?”
It was a question that had been asked by more than a few people that knew Kayo. The man had pulled off the dare double-migration of going to Canada and then coming back to his native land. From LA to London to Melbourne the question had been asked by many acquaintances.
DM had replied to the question several times, and was not in the mood to do so again.
“Simpler life, I guess.”
“How simple can it get?” Donald asked. “My life is so simple. So simple.”
There was silence as both brothers thought about the fact that Donald was on a holiday without his wife and kids in Sydney, while mounting dishes and loan repayment emails awaited him in Melbourne.
“I think I have a call coming, DM said, not lying as the phone buzzed.
The brothers said goodbye as DM walked onto his second floor balcony and stared at the setting sun over Dubai Sport City.
“OMGee did you see that video?” Cher, his cousin screeched into the phone.
“I think with all the videos on the Internet, it’s hard to know exactly which one-“
“Don’t be smart,” Cher retorted. “Every migrant on earth is talking about it. The one from Vancouver.”
“Oh yeah,” DM said, sitting in his wicker couch cushions.
“You know, that’s exactly where Kayo lives.”
“Lived.”
“What?”
“Lived. He doesn’t live there anymore.”
“Did he move to Toronto?” Cher asked.
“No he moved back to Kerala.”
“What?” Cher reacted as if she’d been slapped.
“He wanted to simple life.”
“What do you mean? Like the reality show with Paris Hilton?”
“I don’t think he has a farm but something like that.”
“He’s such a strange one. Probably went mental around all those people in the video. Richmond isn’t like that though. It’s nice and neat; just lots of Chinese people. You and the family really owe us a vis-“
Cher was cut off by the sound of screaming. It was early morning in Vancouver and her unemployed husband had begun his morning by screaming from the balcony.
“I, er, have to go,” Cher said and hung up before DM could properly say bye.
Just as he put his phone on the glass-topped wicker table, it rang. It was his brother, the middle one.
“Hey.”
“Hi. Did you see the video?”
“Yeah, just finished talking to Donald and Cher about it.”
“Weird shit no? It’s similar here in the downtown Sydney area. All just walking and clawing at the air.”
“You should take Donald for sight-seeing there.”
Both brothers laughed, thinking of how Donald would react.
“So, the mortgage just went up by fifteen hundred dollar a month,” Mervin said, completely changing the subject.
“That’s one hell of a bump,” DM said, having a hard time believing the number.
“Damn banks have completely changed their tune this year.”
“What’re you gonna do?”
“I lined up a couple interviews. Just have to get a job that pays more.”
“Did you tell your current job?”
“Fuck no. I go do my interviews and come back and change in the bathroom before I start work.”
Both brothers knew that Mervin did not handle confrontation well.
“Like a fat Superman, changing in a booth?”
“Fuck off. But yeah I guess I should go back to the gym.”
“Listen, Kayo is calling.”
“Okay bye. Try to watch the other video about Philadelphia. That one is worse. Tell Kayo good luck in Vancouver.”
DM did not bother telling him what he’d told Donald and Cher before.
“Yo, this is the time for our scheduled call, right?” Kayo asked.
Some things never changed. A man could be eating vada and chamanthi in the backwaters of Allepey; but Kayo was always on his schedule. It was like the British had implanted some kind of clock inside him during prep school.
“Yep. I was just talking to Donald about this video about Vancouver.”
“Oh shit yeah man. I used to work in that area. People selling painkiller on the street, susu smell everywhere.”
“That’s the one.”
“You know the weird this is they keep opening all these high end restaurants there. How can you eat foie gras while you see a homeless guy taking a shit outside the cafe window?”
“Yuck!”
“I can’t man. You know my sense of smell especially won’t allow that.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Man why do that when I can have my chai and masala dosa with a view of the hills?”
“You heading back there though?”
“Have to for summer man. But till then just here and Philippines. How’s the place in Manila coming along?”
“Just handed over the keys; things are good.”
“Man, can you imagine if you’d instead migrated to Canada or Australia?”
DM looked at the last of the red setting sun in front of him.
“Fuck that shit.”
Rainbow Kandura 