The sun set with an orange sparkle, … slowly… majestically and where it sank into the sea the wind and clouds played like little kids, newly dressed and ready for a party, colourful and in style. The sea seemed to glow with energy as it met the sun in a panoramic display of orange.
The end of this day was as beautiful as ever and John, standing on the balcony of his old sailor’s house, could see the whole of Mosselbay in all its sunset glory.
In the harbour small fishing boats bobbed around and the people there looked no bigger than small puppets in a show.
The new Waterfront Mall that was finished a few months ago seemed very inviting as the lights of the harbour tavern came on.
John swallowed hard at the thought of an ice-cold beer in his hands. In his mind he can see the frost running down his glass as he takes his first swallow to drown the depression that he felt welling up inside his chest.
“ Should I go?” he asked himself.
He turned around, away from the invitation and saw the highway on the other side of Mosselbay. It seemed to slither through the mountainous area like a huge snake.
John missed Johannesburg where he came from or rather, fled from. Being hijacked once and having your house emptied twice while you are fast asleep in bed is not funny anymore. He sold his house and everything that he had left. Mosselbay was where he stopped after visiting a few other towns and decided that this was were he was going to write his big novel. His life long dream of fame and letting people know that he could also reach the top of the stars.
Here was peace and tranquillity around him and that is what he needed right now.
All John ever wanted to do was write. Moving from one job to another didn’t help much and he was not happy with his way of life. Finally at the age of 40 he decided to give up everything and let the world know that he was a writer. If he could get it done, that is. Feeling positive all the time was a hard job but he knew that if he allowed his feelings to get the better of him he would finally go down the drain. Without realizing the one big dream of his life.
Feeling down when he struggles and missing his family became part of his life. He sometimes played waiter at a restaurant just to be able to pay rent.
“Maybe I should go back and look for a job again.” He said aloud.
He sat down on an old bamboo chair while putting down his manuscript on a table.
He stared at the tavern again and shook his head. The highway seemed to be the answer to his misery and there was a longing in his eyes.
“ What’s wrong with you?” a strong voice suddenly said right next to him.
Startled Josi couldn’t move an inch. That sounded like his main character in the story that he was struggling with. The story that caused this feeling of depression within him. The story that wanted to make him give up and end it all.
“Yes, that’s right. It is me!”
“But…but….!” This is damn silly John thought.
“No buts and no silliness man. It really is me!”
John looked down at his manuscript and touched it with a shaking hand.
“Yes, John. Touch me. I am real. You created me and now you want to abandon me! Now that you are halfway through!”
“I … uu … don’t know if I can finish the story.” John said with hesitation. It felt strange talking to you own creation.
“ How do you think I should feel if you abandon me now. It took you three years to get this far and now you just want to give up.”
“ No, it’s not that I want to give up. It’s….”
“ Yes,….say it! You always give up in the middle don’t you?”
“Three years…is it really that long?” John said as if in a dream.
It shocked him to think that time has gone past him so quick.
“ It seems like yesterday, doesn’t it? Your imagination created me, and now, you want to go and drink out your sorrows.”
John looked at the manuscript in despair. He seemed to sit there like a little child that was lost in the woods. In reality he was lost. Lost in the dark grey woods of his mind. The ugly woods of the past and the unknown, undiscovered woods of the future.
“ Do you want to flee again? Run away from the road that you must take. The road that is your destiny in life.”
“ If you run now, how am I ever going to know where my life will end? How am I ever going to know if I will ever find love again? “
John shrugged his shoulders as he heard these words from Peter.
I created him. How can I abandon him now? How can I run away again like I have been doing all my life?
John sat down on the bamboo chair next to him and put his head in his hands. He felt as if he could pull all his hair out from despair.
From somewhere a soft gentle voice came to him and broke through the dark mist in his mind.
“ Come on, John. You created me to send me into the world. You created me because I am part of you…body and soul. The things you let me go through are you as well. It is the part of you that wants to fight and stand up against life. To tell all that you have won the battle.”
The hair in John’s neck seemed to stand as he looked up. In front of him was Peter. Just as he created him in the story.
He could feel the gooseflesh on his whole body and realized that he was facing his other-half.
“ Don’t you see…I can’t!” John shouted at him.
He picked up the manuscript and held it over the balcony. The wind was not to gentle and would have taken it from John’s fingers if Peter did not shout.
John gripped the manuscript tighter and as if in a trance he looked at the Tavern down in the bay. He turned and looked at the highway with its vehicles humming on the tar.
“ John…”
He looked at the apparition in front of him.
“ Yes, Peter.”
“ I lost the love of my life and became an alcoholic for nothing. Now that it is changing don’t give up on me….please.” The gentleness in his voice seemed to create an electric current between them. Startled at this John gave a step backwards and almost bumped the chair over.
A tear rolled down John’s eyes, another followed, landing on the manuscript in his hand. He embraced it with both hands and held it to his chest with love and tenderness.
John turned around and walked into the lounge where his computer was standing on a small wooden table.
“Thank you, Peter.” He said as he started banging away at the keyboard with a smile on his face.
Peter looked at his creator and smiled then he was no more.
Sias Bothma
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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