Shades of the town is changing

The town is getting hotter. Heat rises up from the ground and burning the soles of people walking on it. Every corner that was once landscaped with lustrous green turned to infertile soil brown. Construction workers banging their hammers on concrete, the sound of electrical saw and metal scraping against metal-even the area around my house is changing. The sky turned crimson at dusk and sparrows flutter their wings, flying in groups, perching shortly on the tree in front of the neighbor's house. Stray dogs wagging their tails and sprawling lazily on the pavement. This part of the town has not changed. But as the sky dons on its night gown, the stars are never clearly visible with the naked eye anymore, nor with the telescope as the magnificence of celestial objects are shied away by murky clouds. A pity, a loss that would never be recovered. Shrimps can be found in the wet market with a significantly less regularity, so are the crabs and some species of fish. This town as a seafood paradise is losing its relevance. Famous restaurants and eateries no longer live up to the praises they once deserved. Instead, more and more cafes and dining places with modern furnishing, offering foreign culinary are replacing the traditional coffee shops and food stalls. Sandakan is changing its face gradually, insidiously introducing a new facade, which I could no longer trace back to the salt-smell air that I had once familiarize with.