Flood Days by May Teng

Flood Days by May Teng

Kayu Putih, Northeast Jakarta I wake up on New Year’s Day to a world underwater. Or at least it feels that way: the neighborhood has sunken overnight in an opaque brown liquid dotted with moving heads. Two women move their arms in a breaststroke motion, chest-deep, one holding a Ziploc bag with her phone above her head. The neighborhood bakso seller floats by on his rickshaw, elbows splayed out beneath his head like he’s lounging in a lazy river…