stuck at the red light, looking for the red cross;
It is 1245am, or thereabout;
We on our way to the hospital now, he’s at the back, with the blanket wrapped around him, its a bit cold, the Sunday morning air is biting around us. Its taking long to get there, there’s still that hangover of the festive, a white VW Citi Golf drives past, reckless idiots, there’s a life we trying to save here. They close us in at the traffic lights. We can’t drive past the red light, and he’s screaming again. I tell him, “hold on man, we gonna be there soon”.
They say, when you that close, you see them on the other side. He is calling out for his mother, first thing he’s said all this time, he’s reaching out with his right hand. Dude has always been strong, but the muscles don’t show now, he’s like a little boy again. Fragile.
I’m thinking a thousand thoughts. My sister, she’s nine months, she’s heavy and she’s due anytime now. She could just pop you know, or miscarry. Still-birth? My nephew, he’s eight years old. School is open next week, or is it the other week. His fees gotta get paid, or have they been? She took maternity leave and didn’t take pay. He’s been working hard to keep it together.
I don’t know. Shit, this smoking is bad for me. Haven’t been sleeping well these past few nights. Cheap cigarettes smell bad you know. And I been trying to hide this habit that I picked up through Palesa. I know they know, they’ve smelt the habit.
I’m going back to Cape Town early, Nkanyiso got a two room apartment in Mowbray for us to rent, just off campus, we’ll be having parties every Friday, smoke some blunts and bond. I might even get Zuki to commit, and get her to leave that cheap-ass negro. We connected before exams, we kept in touch over Christmas, she sounded like she was feeling my vibe the last time we spoke. I remember, in class, she touched my hand, let hers linger for a while and she moved it up my arm, then retraced it back down. That was sexy. That was a moment, she was thinking thoughts, I was motivated.
When she came to my room, I was stuck though, we chilled and played some Anita Baker, some Maxwell, and I kept going on about shit. Then the call came, dude asking where she was and shit. I was pissed off, pretended that I didn’t feel nothing though. I walked her out, later, them other niggas must have thought that we had been doing shit, I didn’t mind them thinking that.
The robot turns green. He’s quiet now and I’m wondering if he’s lost consciousness, I shake him, wrap the blanket around him some more and then I say something, like, “hold on brother, we almost there”. We taking too long, and I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.
