My friend

My friend from Rajasthan has returned home and that is in Algarve. It was some time till I noticed his absence, I needed a good couple of days back to my daily routine with no guests. The owners of the house where he has been living and working at for months came back for their summer holidays, so his job was moved someplace else. I know my honorary neighbor’s name, where he’s from and how much he misses his family. I also know that he’s afraid of dogs, but he calls mine his friend, like he does with me and my partner since he met him one morning, they were both on the top of big ladders seeing each other working in the distance from the roofs. Maybe he thought he was an Indian worker as well, or perhaps he’s just brave. He was then with another nice guy, they both approached asking for a borrowed pallet and some cigarettes. We gave them some tobacco, papers and filters, but they didn’t know how to roll. It was a whole day till we noticed that they were trying to learn it with online videos and another one for them to give us money to buy them real cigarettes in the next village. Apparently their boss wasn’t coming as soon as promised. That other guy didn’t last long, the boss from Albufeira keeps substituting my friend’s colleagues one after the other, while he always stays. But he was with my friend when he first brought me homemade Indian food, it was chickpeas with tomato sauce, very spicy indeed: I had meant that I miss good Indian food after living for so long in Germany and that maybe we could cook and eat together. Later my friend asked me for pain killers for another worker and he cooked for me once again. Soon enough he was walking on his own again after working hours, he says he has no friends here. He doesn’t like to drink, not like most of his colleagues, and he goes to bed early: they work from 8 to 5 no matter the heat. In India it could be 50 degrees right now, my friend says the earth is dead. 

I got used to him passing by behind the fence when I’m watering the plants. He says hello, my friend, and asks how I am. He always says that he is fine, work, work, walking a little and sleep. When I’m out in the field with the animals he waves. Once the dog was away at home and he sat with me in the garden. We had water and olives. He told me everything about going to India for some months next year, that is the only free time he will have in 5 years, and then maybe he’s trying life in Germany afterwards. I advised him not to, since the whole world is already doing that. He knows what it means regarding hospitality to brown looking migrants. 

It was my friend who told me the watermelon was ready. Once I gave him big ripened tomatoes and cat food for the baby cat they were feeding. The following time he asked for corn: he knew they were ready too. He wasn’t around anymore when my partner finally had the time for another little harvest: unfortunately a bit too late for what was left of the corn. Meanwhile we had melons, carrots, beans, another giant cucumber and many kilos of different kinds of tomatoes. I learned a lot more. Soon we’ll be seeding again as well. I wonder what will be of my friend when the summer’s gone and the neighbor’s house is done.