The headlights lit up a small area of pavement as white flashes of paint flew past us. Struggling with every incline and speeding with every decline. Besides the constant rumble of the ground beneath, it felt as though we drove through space. There it was, viewed from a crest, in the distance, beautiful flickering lights diffusing in the vertical. Sydney was only minutes away now. It was time to focus on navigating through the atmospheric outskirts and into the heart where our beds were waiting. We got lucky and chose the right of eight highway options. We arrived and inhaled a deep breathe of Bondi Beach air. Home at last, at least for a few days.
Cold beer was in order. So Kyle and I sat and drank. Fresh from the barracks, proud of our upgraded quarters. The truck sat on the road in bitter jealousy. A window left cracked open to dry it out. No air conditioning with the windows up on a long car ride in the summer. It’s all there in the fine print. And so it was as how it was before.
Breakfast was eaten with dignity and grace. Surely, porridge and fruit offsets the amount of poison I drank the night before. So the tradition continued every morning at the same cafe where we pretended to have our shit together. We briefed on plans for the day and set out. These missions carried out with only just over a weeks time until our platoon would split up. Upon setting foot in downtown, we felt small. Mere ants to the buildings above, sparkling with enticing light, employees exchanging time for money. Our path was led the other way, towards the Sydney Opera House. Seeing it in real life was a lot different than seeing it in the movies, especially with all the people walking around it. Our deed of tourism was surely recognized. It was mostly a day of walking in the park, it’s as easy as every one says it is. Use your feet and legs to walk through a reserve of nature and listen to where you are.
I was the first to leave Sydney. I had made arrangements to see an old friend of mine I met back home, working at the golf course. He picked me up from the train station and we drove to Canberra a few hours away. Again I was driving, or being driven, but it was different. We talked about the small things, but with ease and genuine curiosity. Rhys is a calm, cool, and collected person. I could tell this tangent trip would give me time to relax and reflect. Supporting this conviction was the picnic Rhys and his girlfriend Bella shared with me in Commonwealth Park. A grassy hillside mirroring the parliament buildings. Chicken, tomato, avocado, paleo spouted sunflower bread, veggie chips, dates, and a warm breeze. I was so comfortable I forgot I was in another hemisphere.
I said goodbye and shortly found myself in some terminal. I was early to my flight and had to kill time. It’s a good thing I always have some photos to edit. Soon they would announce boarding and I would be on my way to Melbourne, flying through and above smoke that started choking the city. It is as if this is a very chilled out version of and action and adventure film. And just like predicted a voice rang out on the intercom and I was sitting on an airplane. I had practiced travelling on my own no more than this and felt a great sense of accomplishment come over me. Looking over Australian landscapes from thirty thousand feet above them, I felt like I finally had some kind of dominance over it. This land was no different than the soil back home in that I could do whatever I wanted. I will take that into consideration when I’m thirty thousand feet over British Columbia. Then the plane landed. I was ready to find a mattress and rest my body from a long day of sitting.
