Green Eyes of the Suburb

S1E5

Janie gave Tama a look. Conversation’s over. Tama nodded and grabbed the filled gallon.

“Thanks,” he said.

Somehow when Tama walked out of the store, he felt a bit different when he dragged, and then carried the filled gallon.

Everything felt like an ease. Unlike usual, Tama didn’t feel burdened. It’s like the same weight as empty gallon he carried before. And he walked, while the sun was scorching hot, with the sticky air typical of the tropics.

But Tama has yet breaking a sweat. Not stopping every five steps to complain or take a breather. No cramps, no nausea, no dizziness. Even at the time when the bike still there, where he didn’t carry it only with his feet, he still feel it a little combination of three stuff mentioned before. Should walking be way worse than that?

Was he always this strong?

Unfortunately…No. This was new, suspiciously new.

In this hour, Mom had already gone to work, as she didn’t appear anywhere in the house. So, Tama was being left alone now.

As soon as he stepped inside the house, Tama swapped out the empty gallon for the full one without splashing water everywhere, unlike usual.

After that, something flashes into the boy’s mind.

The dusty mirror on the hallway that made the reflections blur, even if it was just a ‘dream’ as his mind keep told him as.

He then checked the hallway mirror. It was a bit blurry, but not as blurry what Tama saw in his ‘dream’. Oh never mind, wherever it’s real or not, it’s still need to be cleaned.

Now it made Tama wonder. He is never diligent on doing house chores. Quickly, Tama’s brown eyes scanned the whole house. Be it the kitchen, bedrooms, living room, and bathroom condition.

The floor felt rough due to dust, an encrustation on the bathroom floor, the trash was full, clothes and there was thick dust on the sides of the cabinets and on top of the mattress.

Suddenly, for reasons unclear, Tama found himself the urge to do massive cleaning, and not just a lazy sweep.

Tama changed the furniture arrangement of his room, got both his and her mother bed sheets changed, even a quick sweep under the bed.

It didn’t stop there.

Tama continued to clean the entire house. To the point turned up the washing machine after he put the dirty clothes and detergent on, then ironed the dried clothes, put it back to the shelves.

Scrubbing the bathroom crust until there’s no more. Taking out the trash. Wiping off whatever that sticky substance on every single corner expect for the wall.

All of that, without him drinking a single drop of water. No rest. No complaining. Just silent, productive chaos.

By evening, his mother came back from the small store she ran in town. She saw the living room sparkling, and froze like someone who just witnessed a glitch in the matrix right after she opened the door.

“Oh wow, so clean. Did you do all of this, Tama?” She asked her son who was sitting on the couch, who was reading the phone.

Tama glanced at his mother, and answered, “Yes.”

“Great job, unusual for you though.”

That compliment made Tama think what kind of future he would grip in the future.

That night, Tama sat at his barely-used desk, paper and pen in hand. The gears in his mind spun with an idea: Cleaning service. A great daily help for busy people, or elderly ones who couldn’t do it all themselves.

He scribbled down a rough plan, thinking of what to charge. Definitely not too expensive, as he wasn’t aiming for profit empire as a starter.

The main focus of the future savings is to repair the motorcycle, buy food he wanted to taste, maybe save enough for something dumb later like going to night market to waste and play.

Thus the few days after, Tama hit the neighborhood.

No, he did it quietly. He didn’t straight up yell at everyone that he sell service, but he gave trust.

One condition at a time in a public spaces: be it neighborhood, small stores, schools, markets; he offered help where needed. Some people gave him tips, others just appreciated the effort. His body still didn’t feel tired despite no water, only after long hours, then he felt the weight. But it was a good exhaustion, he didn’t get aches in his limbs.

That boy didn’t question further why. He overjoyed with bunch of cash he gained.

Until,

“Tama, can you help me with the chores?”

Sir Yana called for his service in the afternoon of some day through the house landline.

As far as Tama remember, Yana is a middle aged man, a decade older than his mother, whose Tama recognized in the neighborhood through his half grey hairs on his roots. He lived alone, no partner or no kids his whole life.

“Sure,” Tama nodded.

“My house had a bird cage outside, you can see it from the street,” he clarified.

Tama agreed. He walked his way to Yana’s house, though it need several time to dig his own memories of the house, as he rarely pass the street the house resided on.

“So, Tama” Yana said, sipping tea like he wasn’t about to ruin Tama’s sense of peace to wipe the floor. Tama already worked for few hours when Yana asked. “You don’t bring out your motorcycle?”

“It got wrecked, Sir,” Tama said. “I can’t use it anymore.”

“When does that happen?”

“Several days ago.”

“How did that happen?”

“It crashed. By another motorcycle. It won’t turn on.”

“It’s a good luck that you are okay with it now. How’s your head? Have you ever go to the hospital right after?”

He definitely asked for the skull condition.

“Not yet Sir, I’m completely fine. Thank you for asking.”

“You didn’t wear a helmet that day, did you?”

Tama gulped.

How the heck do I explain that?