Fiji stories, Labasa, South Pacific culture, family, migration, Australia/Fiji relationship
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Night Phone Calls
from Peceli
Night phone calls
Awakened from sleep
It is 11.30 p.m.
Mike from Melbourne says
How are you? What?
Can you give me a phone number?
A phone number in Fiji?
The top police man in Fiji. What?
They’ll all be asleep in Fiji now.
It’s 1.30 a.m. over there.
Mike sounds a bit drunk.
Please, give me the Suva number.
You can only ring in the daytime.
What’s the problem anyway?
I have a friend sitting here
who wants to talk with him.
Then I heard the word, ‘Taki!’
Anyway, I scrabble around to find the book
In the dark, the light won’t work
I open the book, without my glasses.
Find the number after a few minutes.
Hello Mike. No answer.
Mike has gone.
The phone rings loudly
I am awakened suddenly, worried
As it is 4.30 a.m. only!
A woman’s voice.
Hello, how are you?
She’s bright, it’s 6.30 a.m. to her in Suva.
A long distant call.
She said she tried to contact us
Many times. Oh, the dial-up!
We were on the internet.
She’s from Nabalebale village.
She tells me her father has had a stroke,
Is in Suva hospital
Brought down from Labasa.
She talks of other things
And the suitcase we sent
By the Captain Cook three months ago.
Where is it?
I search for another phone number in Suva,
Find it, while she waits.
I read out the number,
Goodbye, and good luck.
Gee, Peceli, in a lot of places they charge for "information" calls.
ReplyDelete;^)
Hello, everyone we offers international loans. With the capital used for long-term loans etc, also we give out loans at 2% interest rate so if yes you are really serious in need of a loan to pay off your bills or settle your debt please contact us at our company email address: johnleoloancompany@gmail.com or whatsApp number: +1(571)-489-7172
ReplyDelete