I follow a white T-shirt with a purple butterfly print, down Central station’s endless overpass tunnel. The tiled floor and ceilings bounce snippets of conversation from earphones, mouthes and buskers. And if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, the iridescent lights burn holes into your retinas, as people glance at you with the same look of being flashed for a mug-shot.

I pop in my AirPods. “It’s a beautiful day,” my dad had said.

“Don’t you enjoy hearing the birds sing?”

Remembering this comment, I begrudgedly take them out again.

My newest ‘thing’ was trying to stay present.

Wearing AirPods every moment I wasn’t at work was probably the reason I couldn’t seem to focus lately. My mind seemed to be stuck back in Tokyo- lost on 5 different trains I couldn’t seem to catch.

After a while I noticed the butterfly shirt had disappeared as a crowd of people flooded the exit.

It’s nice taking the train, I can’t remember the last time I had.

When you live in the city and everything is one bus-ride away, it’s just easy to stay there.

In my early 20’s, things were the complete opposite. My best-friend and I would take the train one hour every Friday and Sunday night to dance at some nightclub in the city, only to travel one hour back and run all the way home with an ice-cream in our hands. Was enjoying convenience over excitement the epitome of getting old? Possibly… I will be 26 in 4 days time.

I meet dad at the station. A thick bubble tea scent coats the walls and I take a big inhale as it smells the same as my high-school days.

We attack some wraps and he buys me some birthday cake- as he then instructs me to leave my wallet with him or I will blow all my money on something sparkly in Zara.

I tell dad I have to buy some new underwear and he slowly hands back my wallet, while reminiscing about us going to Myer for my first bra.

“Little did I know, I wouldn’t wear a bra as an adult. So we could have avoided that whole uncomfortable encounter… “

“ Well you should start wearing one,” he tells me.

“ Why? I have nothing there. ”

“ Well you did when you were younger and chubby. “

“ Yeah because you were feeding me like a human sacrifice.” He chuckles and I can feel myself relax.

My brother calls and dad and I take turns talking to him. He has the day off so he’s more chatty than usual.
It feels good to know dad will be close to one of us next year, even if it won’t be me.

I take my underwear to the counter as dad continues chatting to Alex near the entry and then we continue our stroll.

I like how with dad nothing is off-limits. We have all these (lightly traumatic) ‘coming-of-age’ experiences that other fathers and daughters vetoed. And because of that, he can discuss the aftermath of his prostate surgery and I can take him underwear shopping.

We wander into another shop and I immediately take back my last thoughts as dad tries to get me to buy something I hate.

“I have tops dad, I don’t need any more.”

“Do you have tops or do you have crop tops? Because they aren’t tops.”

“Yes they are.”

“No they’re not.”

“Yes they are.”

“ What do you think?” He asks the shop assistant.

“Ummmmm…” she says.

“Dad, I will have a bachelor of fashion in 2 months time- I think I can decide what clothes I wear.” And with that golden point, the pair of them looked defeated.

As we leave the store empty-handed, my dad adds “Right, well I guess dickheads never get old.”

We shuffle into Starbucks and dad gets stuck on a call. I watch thick lines form across his forehead and his eyes stare firmly on the table between us. It’s weird to think he’s spend the last 30 years as this person, and in 3 years he’ll have to retire and become someone else.

I peer out the window to the arcade, where my friends and I use to run up and down in our rolled-up skirts and blazers. I like how familiar this world is to me- Sydney.

It’s quite dawnting, even just thinking about leaving it all behind. But then again- everything has to change sometime, right?

And it seems me leaving to go abroad has brought up dad’s timeline too- with his move back to Queensland also on the table.

All these familiar places and people that make the week so much sweeter… a home that I made with my meows, hilarious neighbours and a comfortable workplace…. all of it will vanish.

And I’ll be trading it for a life I have no idea what it will look like- where I will live- and with the only people I know being several cousins I have barely spoken to…

To say I had butterflies was an understatement – however my recent trip to Tokyo had reminded me of how exciting adventure was. And how travel wakes you up to wanting more And that’s what this move was about.

So arriving home, I realised this year was all about tying up loose ends and finding ways to thank the people I love most. (It’s also why I’ve gone a little over the top with birthdays thus far…)

As they say: Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet.