A big van slid past the gate of the hardware. I was able to see just a blur vision of the driver. I assumed it was Mr Botha.
And soon afterwards, Fatso came.
He was breathless. From now onwards, I had to be careful with Fatso.
“I want you to come in the hardware before I lock up. There’s a small room at the back. You can sleep there,” Fatso said. I was startled.
“ Why can’t I go with you at your room where you’re living?”
I said.
“It’s complicated, maybe I’ll tell you one day,” Fatso said.
I looked closely at him. I thought maybe I was wrong. Was he going to tell me more about Sekai?
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“Where exactly did you say you saw Sekai?” I said.
If I was not watching him carefully I could have missed the sudden shifting of his eyes sideways. He could not look me in the eyes.
“I saw her in town,” he said. He continued with his lie. I was now certain that he had not been honest with me about Sekai.
Why was he not telling me that he was working with Sekai? At this moment, I wanted to call out his bluff but I thought better of it.
How was I going to see Sekai without Fatso knowing?
I followed Fatso to the back of the hardware. A heavy silence engulfed us. His back was stiff. The room was just slightly bigger than a toilet. There was a single mattress and two blankets.
Someone had left some sliced pieces of bread.
“Whatever happens during the night, don’t go out of this room. Once I depart, lock yourself in. There will be a night guard patrolling outside ,” Fatso said.
I nodded my head. The room was warm enough.
“I’ll let you out in the morning,” Fatso said.
As he turned around to leave, I said, “What about the job? What did your boss say?”
I caught him off balance. He was not prepared for the question, but he recovered too quickly.
“He’s not employing at the moment, that’s what he said,” Fatso said. And then he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him without even looking once back at me. That’s when I realised that Fatso had changed , despite his generosity.
I could not depend anymore on him. I had to find a job and be independent.
I had to see Sekai without Fatso's knowledge.
Did Sekai know that I was around?
I sat on the edge of the mattress and listened. The room smelled of dust, old blankets and machine oil. Somewhere beyond the thin walls, metal creaked as it cooled in the night. The day's heat still clung to the room, trapped beneath the corrugated iron roof.
I picked up a slice of bread. It was dry and slightly sour. The crumbs scratched the back of my throat as I chewed. Hunger left little room for complaints.
I wrapped one of the blankets around my shoulders and lay down. Through a crack near the roof, a thin blade of moonlight cut across the floor. Dust floated through it like tiny insects.
Sleep refused to come.
Each time I closed my eyes, I saw the Limpopo River. I saw the woman screaming for her child. I saw Sekai's face on the granite rock above the riverbank.
Why had Fatso lied?
Outside, the wind stirred. Dry leaves scraped across the yard with a sound like whispered voices. Somewhere in the distance, a train horn wailed through the darkness.
I turned onto my side.
Then I heard it. Footsteps. Soft. Measured. Not the heavy stride of a night guard. The footsteps drew closer.
A shadow passed beneath the door.
My mouth went dry.
The footsteps stopped. Silence pressed against the room.
Then came three gentle taps.
Tap! Tap! Tap! I held my breath.
A woman's voice drifted through the darkness.
“Is there anyone in the room?”
I held my breathe.
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