|
Short story:
A sight not to remember
Don Dayapala Wijewardana
For weeks after that fateful Boxing Day, when an angry sea
ferociously invaded the land bringing untold devastation to the country,
our phone was ringing hot. That was because we lived near the sea and
relatives and friends were deeply concerned. But the sea seems to have
chosen its destructive path discriminately.
Where we lived, just 500 metres from the beach, flood level inside
the house was only knee deep. Apart from some of our furniture and our
cat Jessie’s feeding bowl that floated away there was no other damage.
But a kilometer down the road the story was different. There was
complete ruin leaving only the foundations where houses stood before.
The difference was apparently because of the coral reef and the sand
dunes that were intact in some places to absorb the intensity of the
waves. We were also spared the agony of the emotional calamity that hit
the nation as none of our close relatives or friends had perished.
 But that was until I received that ominous telephone call.
“Are you Mr Perera?”
The caller went on “I was ringing on the off chance that you may know
a German couple Hans and Ida Schroder who lived in Hikkaduwa”.
I was surprised as I did know the Schroders. I knew they were
residing in Hikkaduwa, a prime holiday town in southern Sri Lanka
popular with overseas tourists. I also knew they came there every year.
“Thank god I found you at last”, he blurted out in glee. “I have been
telephoning all the Pereras in the telephone book. Mind you the list
runs into six pages. I have been on the phone for hours looking for the
one who knew the Schroders. I am so glad I found you”.
I was intrigued. He went on. “My name is Anura and I am a taxi driver
living here in Hikkaduwa. They have used my taxi on so many occasions,
mostly to get to the railway station on way to Colombo. I could vaguely
recall them mentioning of their friend Mr Perera in Colombo they were
going to see. They were such a nice couple”.
I explained my closeness to Schroders, still inquisitive as to why he
had been looking for me so desperately.
“Well, I am sorry I have bad news Mr Perera. Mr and Mrs Schroder have
been caught up in the tsunami. Mr Schroder’s body has been found but Mrs
Schroder’s has not been. No one here has any contact for them. That’s
why I thought you might be able to help”.
I arranged with Anura to meet him at Hikkaduwa as soon as I could get
there. It hit home to me then for the first time what thousands of
people who had lost a loved one were really feeling. Schroders came to
me five years ago when they wanted legal advice on building a place of
their own in Hikkaduwa which they loved.
They came as clients. But since then we had become close friends. For
them Hikkaduwa was ‘love at first sight’. They were determined to come
every year during the northern summer, and every year they did. Hans and
Ida also had made friends with a number of locals closest of them was
Edin Silva and his wife Soma.
Silva’s used to host them for Si Lankan meals and accompany them on
tours. They did not ask any money for these favours and never accepted
whatever the Schroders offered. Eventually their friendship was so close
Edin and Soma were given a free holiday in Germany.
It was Edin’s suggestion that instead of spending large amount of
money for a three month stay in the Coral Gardens Hotel where they
always stayed they should buy a piece of land and build a house. Edin
was there to look after the place while the Schroders were away.
This idea made a lot of sense given that land values as well as
building costs in Sri Lanka were only a fraction of what they were in
Germany. In fact according to their calculations the whole thing could
be done for the cost of spending two holidays in the hotel.
Hans jumped at the idea. But at Ida’s insistence they came to seek my
advice. I too saw it as a logical thing to do. But when looking at
legislation the 100 percent land tax for foreigners made the economics
of the project less attractive. Schroders were sad. But they went away
accepting the situation.
But they were back the following week with a new proposal. “We have
discussed the idea with Edin and we all agreed on a new proposal that we
buy the land under Edin’s name. Once we build the house, of course, they
can live there while we were away and could even earn some money by
renting out their own house during that time,” Hans explained the new
idea.
“The other advantage is then we don’t need to keep a watcher to look
after the house when we are away. So two problems solved,” Ida added
triumphantly. The Schroders were jubilant with their new scheme.
But as their solicitor and friend I could not agree to the proposal.
My advice was that either pay the extra tax and buy the land in their
name or continue the current arrangement of staying in a hotel. Hans and
Ida were not convinced by my advice but they accepted it grudgingly.
After that I did not hear from them for a long time.
But the following year the jubilant Schroders visited me. They
apologized for not taking my advice but they went ahead and built a nice
house and were now living there quite happily. I thought it was their
money and they could spend anyway they wanted. But I reiterated my
earlier objection.
Like clockwork the following April Hans and Ida were back in Sri
Lanka. But the moment they stepped in to my house I realized something
was bothering them.
“Hans, what’s the matter?”
“Rex, I know you will not have any sympathy for the story that I am
going to tell. But anyway since you are our closest friend here I’ll
tell you. A few weeks before leaving Bonn I wrote to Edin advising of
the date of our arrival so that he had enough time to move out. But we
did not get any reply which he usually sent promptly.
Anyway we thought he may have been busy. Then on the day we arrived
we thought he’ll collect us as he usually did: it was always like a
family reunion. But he was not there. We thought he may be sick or
something and took a taxi. When we got home he was there hail and
hearty. I asked whether he got my letter. He said yes. Then I asked
whether his home was not vacant that you are still here. With a straight
face he told me that was his house and asked why he should move out.
We tried to explain in a friendly way how the house came to be built
but it was to no avail. Eventually Ida and I moved to the hotel and now
we are staying there.
I knew there was nothing to gain by saying “I told you so”. We
considered all the options they had and agreed there was nothing much
that could be done. But we decided to file a case hoping a sympathetic
judge will rule in favour of the Schroders for there was hardly any
evidence that could be brought against Edin.
After another year the case was heard and the judge reserved his
judgment. On the day it was to be delivered December 18, 2004 I had a
commitment in Colombo and asked Hans to ring me immediately once he had
any news.
Hans rang that afternoon. “Rex, the judge ruled against us. The judge
was sympathetic but he noted the law was on Edin’s side. Ida and I have
accepted it. We learnt a good lesson not to mix friendship with
business. But we are not bitter. We have made at least one family
happy”. Ida continued, “We love Sri Lanka and we love Hikkaduwa. We’ll
continue to return for holidays in the future too”.
“We knew it was a long shot Hans. You have my sympathy” I told him.
That was the last conversation I had with Hans.
Anura was waiting for me when I arrived in Hikkaduwa four hours later
– a trip that normally takes just over an hour. We went straight to
where the dead bodies were stored. With hundreds of bodies of people of
all ages and myriads of wailing relatives it was a sight that I did not
want to remember but I knew I’ll never forget.
Eventually we found the body of Hans. Even in death his friendliness
was written all over the face. But it was not a time or place to wait
and reminisce. With a standing brief chant muttered under my breath
Anura and I got out.
It was a great relief. That was all the last rites we could perform
until we heard from his family. Going through Schroder’s file I was able
to trace the phone number of his daughter in Bonn. She received the news
calmly.
But my mission was not over yet. The final thing I wanted to do
before leaving Hikkaduwa was to see the house Schroders built that gave
them so much grief, and to see the family occupying it now. That would
also be my homage to a dear friend. Anura knew the place and we drove
there.
With some difficulty eventually Anura was able to find the place.
There was only the foundation that was left. |
