By the time Manolis reached the station, he felt dehydrated and quenched his thirst from an outdoor tap. The water tasted hard and metallic and probably wasn’t fit for human consumption, but he drank until his stomach groaned. His sweaty, transparent shirt clung to his chest and back, revealing thick ringlets of matted black hair.

The station was secured with its trio of heavy locks. No sign of life. Manolis sat on the step, rested, began talking to himself in Greek, thinking out loud, processing. He stopped when two young Aboriginal men walked past, staring at him like he was mad. Maybe he was.

Needing to move on, he decided to take his chances back aboard the rolling deathtrap. A drive would clear his head and help him properly scout the scene.

Driving along the main drag, he was overtaken by speeding utes flying Australian flags and bearded bikies on rumbling choppers. Groups of shirtless men – all black or all white – roamed the filthy streets. Some loitered under pockets of shade, while others appeared to be walking with a clear direction and intent. The end of sobriety was nigh. Did I really come from this place? Manolis asked himself. And yet, the air in his lungs tasted sweet and felt right.

He again came across the abandoned takeaway shop, which was once his father’s bustling milk bar. Stopping, he walked over and pressed his face against the grubby glass to peer inside. Even with bright sunlight, the shop’s interior was dark, but Manolis could still make out the long counter running almost the entire length. The counter was where customers had paid their bill, often to Manolis’s mother who had stood in a starched white uniform and hat behind a shiny cash register. It was where they sat on chrome swivel stools slurping his father’s vanilla milkshakes and eating his home cooking. Manolis’s aunt had been there too, matching white uniform. She was Con’s unmarried sister who had come out from Greece, supposedly to find a husband, but returned after only a short while. Manolis’s memories of her were hazy but he did remember she used to pinch his plump youthful cheeks to bursting.