Adi thought about the different relationships he had with the people he knew and was close to. “Yes, each person, each conversation brings a different kind of richness. It’s as if a fresh part of me is linked to that person, and the understanding we create together enriches us both.” He paused and then added, “It is real too, like the shadow in the wayang kulit is real.”
“You don’t think you might like to settle in Australia?” Pak Bambang asked.
“I can’t. One day soon I will be asked to leave.”
“You haven’t found a nice Muslim girl here to settle down with then?”
They both laughed and Adi said, “Ah, is that what I should have been doing instead of messing around with paint all this time?”
On the train back to the city, Adi thought about how Pak Bambang and Bu Wafa were like family to
