Dipa Dhanuredja

For a split second Dipa notices that his voyeurism has been uncovered. Without any notice, Katerina Hartono turns her head and her gaze meets his. They are both caught in the act, and for one full second that feels like forever, they look at each other right in the eyes.

Clearing his throat, Dipa casually plays with an empty beer bottle. He drifts his gaze away and asks the bartender for another one.

Dipa Dhanuredja wonders if it is a coincidence meeting Katerina Hartono tonight. He clearly remembers how he felt after the meeting at Kat’s office. The intellectual orgasm he hadn’t felt for a long time. It was so satisfying that he started to feel the rush building up inside now that he thinks about it.

Dipa reaches into his bag and pulls out a small white dusty book. He flips a few pages and the book let out familiar smell; a mix of coffee, old library book, and fresh Bostonian air in the Spring 2004.

Maybe Katerina Hartono can use a bit of light reading… and a bit of a challenge, Dipa thinks to himself.

He asks for the bill and while the bartender is receiving the payments, Dipa gathers his belongings while keeping the dusty white book in his hand. With a smile and graceful nod to the bartender, he walks confidently towards the corner table.

This is an excerpt from “Urup”. As we go through the final editing, I will share work in progress (even though my editor would probably kill me :)) and the tiny jumps of joy and despair (!) that I experience along the process with you.

Let me know what you think, review, or simply green-heart it. I would be humbled to receive valuable feedback from you.