Scenes from an Evening Ride

Maghrib, 18:03, July 25th, 2018

Hello Pak Nur.
"To Bintaro Mall, right?"
"Yep."
"Hop on."
Pak Nur gave me a green helmet, branded with the company he works for. A 20-minute ride, a customer, a point, a chance for a better earning this month.

Neighborhood
A cat is sitting on top of a fence of a dark house. Her white fur is contrasted by the black necklace she wears. Her slender body sits still and watches the motorbike riders passing by. No light can be seen from the house. No parked car either. Despite the obvious ribs printed along her thin skin, the cat has a solemn look.

The streets are empty, with the exception of few riders with no helmet on.

Kampung
A closed nasi uduk stall.
A little mosque where few people pray - all men.
A kopiah-wearing man in his 50s holding his daughter's hands.
A little boy, riding his red bicycle with a look you can find in the eyes of every athlete wishing to be the first to reach the finish line.
A young boy is reading whatsapp texts on his phone, while a little kitten is soundly sleeping next to him with its ginger-white body curled.
A woman-only barber shop - two female staffs can be seen sitting resting their cheeks on their palms. You can almost hear their sigh and the dread boredom coming from a no-customer day.
An empty field overgrown with few thistle but countless long grass. A little hut can be seen among the grass, which look blue-ish under the light of an early evening moon.
Not far from there, a long-haired young woman is ordering nasi goreng from a small stall while her friend is waiting on the motorcycle. The cook is a young man,  probably also in his mid 20s. He gives you the nervous i've-got-to-make-a-tasty-nasi-goreng-dish-for-this-woman kind of look while the young woman looks at the cook with the i'm-so-hungry-i-can't-wait-for-the-nasi-goreng-to-be-wrapped kind of look.

Pak Nur is flying fast on his motorcycle, but somehow he maintains a calm demeanor, like the moon who's coldly staring at us up above.

Main Road
On Left and Right.
BCA.
Pasar Modern Bintaro.
Maxx Coffee.
A 7-11 used-to-be.
Mandiri.
Mandiri Syariah.
Suzuki: Jual Murah.
COURTS.
Chatime.
Permata Bank.
Oto Dealer Mobil.

Underpass
[Muffled] "Where should I drop you?"
"Just by the traffic light near the train station, please."
"Alright."

On the Right
Gold's Gym.
Burger King.
Starbucks Coffee.

Epilogue
A pack of cars and motorcycles, waiting or trying to pass.
A traffic light and a zebra cross heading towards a big mall where pedestrians try to walk.
Dozens of people looking at their smartphones, trying to find "their" driver.
Drivers looking at their smartphones, trying to find "their" client.

Pak Nur stops and drops me off.
"Thanks, Sir."
"Welcome."

A 20-minute, 25-cent, 5-km trip.
A 50% discount.
A 5-star rating.
A struggle between 2500 and 5000 IDR tip.
A no-signal icon.
A few seconds....
A click.
An order completed.

An Idea.
Aloof.
Away.

Tanah Abang Station, 19:03