“Hey! It’s Nikolai, right?”

The scruffy young man turns from the reception counter at The Eco Hostel. Possessing a slight frame weighed down by a scuffed up backpack, he could almost be said to be going for Ghandi-esque. This comparison is further supported by his complexion: he’s well-tanned from head to toe, an observation that can be taken literally, owing to the fact that he’s barefoot. By choice. The sun pouring in through the full length window, however, ruins his Indian savior look since it filters through and highlights his curly beard and equally wild hair (barely tamed by a small tie in the back). With this fuzzy halo he’ll have to settle for the Jesus look instead.

His face is relaxed, unperturbed by waiting for the receptionist to see if they have any free beds available. His green eyes, a staple of his Austrian heritage, slip from the young woman to find a similarly-bearded backpacker standing on the stairwell, and a smile emerges from behind a parting of the impressive curtain of hair. “Yes!” He searches his memory. “…Matt?”

“Yeah! How’ve you been? I haven’t seen you since Hanoi.” Matt takes the last few steps to the ground floor. “You ever sell that bike?”

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“Hey, I nearly forgot,” Matt says handing over a cardboard tube duct-taped on both ends. “This is for you.”

Nikolai looks up from the small table set up in the driveway-stairway combo front of The Eco Hostel. He accepts the gift and returns the greeting before getting back to his beer and conversation with a young woman seated next to him. In twenty, maybe thirty minutes he would open it to discover an origami koi, a ‘thank-you’ for sharing his story.

Matt turns onto the street to catch up with his dinner group. Hugh and Carlijn lead the way to the destination they’d read about online, their respective English and Dutch accents still audible though their words are lost to the city’s evening honks and revving engines. Behind them and last in the group is a fellow American named Suarez. He looks up and lifts his chin to Matt in recognition.

The two of them had met the night before as Matt was picking up the details of Nikolai’s story.

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