My side job is not just any job. This work is sought by friends who fled from their land, the land of war, the civil war of two countries and the inner war witnessed the helplessness of changing the situation. I worked from 6 am and finished before the restaurant opened at 10.30 when the English stopped at the restaurant for brunch or just sipped their first Earl Gray tea that day. My job is a cleaner.
There is one figure of my workmate, whom my other friend said, is a former soldier who fled from the civil war field in his country. I hesitate to ask these things directly to him, like what his last rank or whether the war has subsided. Nor did it occur to me to gossip about his cowardice because of course he had his own judgment.
I have no right to judge other people's past. I myself am not a warrior who once held a weapon. I also do not understand the essence of war and become a soldier - one screw from a big plan. While he is a young man who has dared to plunge into the battlefield, until the right to get the title 'soldier', regardless he managed to bring his troops to win or just be a group of names that are easily forgotten. To be clear, I know he's reconciled with his past. From his mouth, I never heard about war or hatred.
Saturday and Sunday are two of the toughest days each week because Friday and Saturday nights are the times when diners are booming. Plus, the restaurant also has a multipurpose room upstairs that is usually rented for birthday celebrations. I do not always get shifts in those two days, but when I get a shift with Samuel, the job feels lighter. Occasionally he asked me about my studies. I also asked him about the life choices he took, such as why he chose to move to England and how he finally settled in this city, Manchester. Chats can continue on more personal matters, such as family, customs, and romance. He is a sensitive and humorous figure. "He will make a great spouse," I thought.
He once told me that his father was a heavy drunkard. The sustained civil war between Eritrea and Ethiopia left the economy devastated. But still people in his hometown, on the outskirts of Asmara, can spend his money on gambling tables and for drinks. Drunken days, child-wife violence, tobacco smoke and verbal abuse. He realized his father was not a good father because he often beat his mother. But he was happy too when his father won gambling, where his father turned into a loving husband and father. However, it makes him a cautious person in starting a marriage. For him, being a father is something very heavy.
He sees marriage far ahead: about fulfilling the obligation and raising the child is difficult, because he realizes he is not yet ready to be an example. He did not want to pretend that he was comfortable to be a good person. "I still do bad habits, my friend," he said. As for me ... I want to get married soon because I want to get the peace of mind and get the place to devote all the attention with the allowed path of religion.
Though she found it difficult to start a serious relationship, she was still dating. Failed one then search again. But until the last time we met, he had not found his one love to be serious.
He once told a story about a widow of a child he had not known for a long time. Iba heart when he knew that the widow was left by her lover because the man ran to another city. After several meetings with the woman, it occurred to her to marry her. But instantly become a father? He was upset.
I remember exactly, one Saturday, a few days after she told me about the widow of a child, she came in the morning with a disheveled face, red eyes, and a smelly body yet bathing. Dull. I do not want to joke about what he has not showered, afraid he'll be embarrassed. That morning he got the wet swab job and I mopped dry afterwards. After a long silence, finally he started the story, "Do you know if the pain spread around the back is usually because of what?" Long story short, he was diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases by doctors. His face changed frantically. Never did I see the humorous figure being that shrunken. Several times he denied the diagnosis, I encouraged him, "Maybe the pain was due to diet and lack of exercise." Reduce your cigarette and alcohol first.
The truth is, the confusion is not for a moment. Two weeks he suffered to imagine his future before finally undergoing scanning with state-of-the-art tools at a government hospital for free. However, despite the fact that British people are often judged unkind by immigrants from tropical countries like me and Samuel-thehe are rather cold-I still can not figure out why a doctor even indulges his patient's worries. He takes advantage of his annual leave for the scanning process. I had not heard the news about the illness, he was rewarded with a long vacation by the company.
It's been spring by calendar. But Manchester weather no one can guess. The truth is, hail is down at the end of April. Miraculously, not long before the hail, the scorching sun lit up the rest of the afternoon in this city. Samuel once said, "We'll never understand the weather of this city. We just have to accept. "Well, for two weeks the name Samuel is not on the weekly cleaner schedule. That means I have not been in contact with him for two weeks.
Familiarity between workers is enough during the duty only. After we finished our work, we split up to run their own lives: some went straight home, some went to work elsewhere for family income, some went to college, and there were English courses. I did not even think of saving the HP numbers of my colleagues except Samuel. But instead of kagok, I try to continue to agree no contact after working hours.
At any rate, we occasionally passed in the downtown area. One day I saw Samuel enter one of the soccer gambling outlets. Just for information, this country facilitates gambling, ranging from gambling game football to horse racing gambling. There are many gambling outlets scattered throughout the city. Seeing him enter one of the dominant gambling and lottery outlets in red, I lost my passion for him. "Hard work really even gambling," I thought.
"Samuel's out of work here," my manager said. I am surprised. No wonder he can not schedule entry in our weekly rota, it's almost a month. "He's won the lottery, 50 thousand pounds," added Mr. Manager.
The average salary of a worker in a restaurant where I work part time as a cleaner is 300-550 pounds a month, or the equivalent of 6-11 million rupiah. So the prize money is equivalent to his salary for 4 years. No wonder he chose to stop working.
The story of the fate that God wrote is unexpected. However, what he faces is certainly the accumulation of the life choices he takes. Once we berguyon, "Gambling is selfish, man ...." But, still he pairs of money for the lottery. Looks like he can not help himself to this pleasure, a small effort with big profit expectations. Simply, he did not dare to invest.
He who had been at the lowest point of his life: was diagnosed with a deadly disease. Then the Lord lifted him far into the clouds, 'rewarding' his unexpected grace. But every gift is essentially delicious wrapped exam is not it?
I no longer heard about her until I stopped working at the restaurant because of the increased rhythm of college. Not about his illness, nor about whether he married the widow of a child. Purna had this runaway figure in my eyes, he jumped from one place to another. It does not matter that he leaves a gaping longing without a story. I can only wish you, if not the infectious disease, the easy money pleasure that will undermine the world. So he's conscious.