More than a driver

"I think we're the same age..." his voice trailing off at the end, as if unsure of the implicit point he wanted to make.

I studied the profile of the soft-spoken driver and wondered how to proceed past the sudden awkward bump. He was only supposed to drive me to and from the hotel while I was on the project, but had kindly offered to drive me out for lunch due to the miserable dearth of dining options within a walkable distance.

Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to an area full of eateries. As he killed the engines and I alighted, he merely settled back into the seat.

"Are you going elsewhere for lunch?" I enquired.

"Oh no, " he smiled with a tiny shake of his head, "I wait you here until you finish lunch."

"What. No way, you're joining me for lunch!" I insisted. No lunch? Unacceptable.

Over a simple lunch of mee mamak, noodles stir fried in ketchup with bits of egg, onion, and a chopped up drumstick, he was curious about my life trajectory.

"When did you start working? When did you leave school? What did you study? When did you take your O levels?"

And as I answered and asked in return, he seemed slightly embarrassed.

"I working for six years...I left school because I had to help support my family and my parents cannot cope." In halting English, he shared about his five other siblings, how he picked up English from a client he used to chauffeur, and his previous jobs.

What struck me most was his belief in education being critical for his progress. He plans to take the O Levels at the end of this year. "Because if I don't take, then very hard for me to find job next time." After some probing about his study plans, he revealed, with a hint of wistfulness, "I like geography. I like to know about the volcanoes and mountains...maybe visit them."

It's been a year since. I don't know how he's doing but I sure as hell hope things are working out for him.