His story

He was born out of wedlock. To protect his identity I will call him Ananda, and yes, he does have an Indian name, though he is not himself Indian, at least not his mother. The identity of his father is unknown, at least to himself. While still pregnant, his mother left Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong) in southern Taiwan, and traveled to Sydney, Australia, where he was born. A European couple who practiced the same Indian religion as his mother (though they have since abandoned that religion) adopted him, and then moved to northern New Zealand. That is where he grew up.

I met him in this very hostel, where he is currently residing. He is here to find his mom, at least to understand his own story, and to discover the identity of his father, whether he was Indian or Spanish.

Under the guidance of the proprietress here, he sent an email to the office of the president, which subsequently informed the various lower offices that comprise the government--central from one perspective, provincial from another. Now, scouts are searching the urban and rural landscape for any leads that might solve the puzzle, the enigma of his birth.

Yesterday, one piece was set in place. Earlier, he showed me his mother's name, romanized. I took a stab at it; it seemed fortunate, but I couldn't really know. I had imagined he would have to call every person by that name in the phonebook. However, yesterday he went to the office of foreign affairs, and lo and behold, they provided him with the name of his mother--I was correct about the personal name but wrong about the family name--and were able to call her sister, who said she was in India.

Then, today somehow the proprietress here was able to talk to a friend of his mother, who said she is in America. More clues leading to more mystery, and more discovery. Stay tuned!