{4}

Solid streams of headlights roared past in both directions.  Danny looked to where the hitch he had hiked, dropped him off.  The car waited momentarily, then its glittering tail-lights accelerated, merging into the rushing gleam of glowing rubies:  electric-sanguine robot-blood.  Crimson against the grey starless sky.

Crossing the road when the traffic momentarily pauses, he holds out his thumb a little nervously, knowing the uncertainty of being fourteen-years-old, , , alone, , , and free in the turbulent South African night.  The evening roadside busies itself with a symphony of grinding engines and flashing lights:  White, orange, yellow and red.  Velvet-smooth, the night oozes;  thick with mood:   Fear.

Relief.  Three familiar figures, trapse along the other side of the road, their faces periodically obscured by the speed of flashing cars, passing fast -

Spook, , , Marvin, , , Leon, , ,

Danny tries to wave, but they do not see him, and cannot hear him either, amongst the growling of hard metal, and harsh burning head-light.  He walks parallel to the three figures;  four lanes of 120 km/h traffic dividing them with a constant noise of speed. . .

chaotic
pounds the
plunder of cacophonic
thunder

One face looks up momentarily from his marching boots, and notices him.  The passengers in the vehicles move between them at such pace as to be gone the instant they are visible.  Danny smiles through the flashing anonymity of mannequined grimace - and finally sees the smile returned back.

Crossing at an intersection, he then meets up with them.  Paul (a.k.a. Spook), Leon (With a cigarette), and Marvin The Falcon.  All about the same age.  The mark of government school, imprinted on their heads in the form of extremely short hair-cuts.

“Where you goin' ?” drawls Spook with his lurid white complexion and silver-white hair, short, but spiked as usual.  Bright eyes stand out sharply, striking their gaze through Danny like a blizzard.

“Visit the birds.”

Spook ponders for a moment, then coolly boasts “We're goin' to the ghetto.”

“To blow a smoke?”

“Yea-eah. . . a good greeeen smoke. . .”, his teeth grinning broadly as he exaggerates the word ‘greeeen’. 

“You wanna come?”  His laugh is confident and haughty.  Nonchalant.

Danny glances at the others:  Leon is looking around nervously cupping his cigarette, inhaling it in long deep drags, his nostrils streaming smoke out into the wind.

Marvin The Falcon has his hands in his pockets, and looks like he is leaning against an invisible pole. 

Danny pauses, then feels the echo of the sting of the daily whipping on his backside, still ice-warm and humiliating.  He remembers seeing Spook's backside covered in thick bleeding welts, cut open from lashings inflicted by the police.  Those cuts still had scabs an inch wide three months later.  If they are caught Breaking the Law of Apartheid, it will happen again.

Regardless - it will happen again.  And if the Law of Apartheid don’t catch us, the tsotsi-gangs might. 

He sharply inhales a chilly  breath of the African evening, trying to pinpoint just exactly what it is that makes it virtually impossible to look deeply into Spook’s eyes eyes for too long.

“Sure. . . OK”

They make their way past several blocks of infurious traffic, then stop for a cigarette and a discussion of the best approach.  Across from the broken rubbled block on which they stand, is a busy road, then a badly kept rugby field with crooked posts, a railway line;  and then finally the ghetto, all run down and lived in.  Forbidden.

Suddenly they all turn at the sudden sound of high-powered engine, and see a mighty military juggernaut rumbling its angry way along a dirt-road, leaving the dusty township behind it in its wake.  Pausing first, it then claws its way onto the crumbling asphalt, forcing its bulk into the traffic.  The enormity of its tires hopelessly outsize the civilian vehicles, which keep a safe distance from it.

As the traffic passes, in its uneven evening parade, automatic rifles (R4's) and the helmets of twenty troopers are visible above the back of the vehicle.  The barrels of their weapons aim skywards in neat rows.  Terrifying, with insect threats.  Its many pointed stings poised in readiness.

“That will be us in four years. . . or sooner if we drop-out of school. . .”

Danny interrupts, “maybe for you whiteys, but I’m partly Indian.”

“Ya pilluck” says Leon, “you’ve got blue eyes and blonde hair.”

“Hey the Indian part is really diluted, OK?  Its like: I’m part Gypsy, and the Gypsies originated in India, and the ones I’m descended from went to Europe in about 1000 AD.  So that makes me Indian by one part in just over a million million.”

Marvin looks at him oddly “But there is only a few thousand million people around today, and there never has even been anything vaguely like a million million people.  Ever.”

“You know what that means?”, Danny hangs his question out in the air, trying to draw out the anticipation.

?

?

Spook humours Danny, relieving the pained expressions on everyone’s faces:  “What does it mean Dan?”

“That in the short space of 40 generations, the whole population of the planet will. . . sort of become related to each other, even if it is only partially.  For instance a small band of wandering gypsies, descended from the Aryan races of India, could slightly dilute virtually the entire European population within a few hundred years.”

“So we’re all Indians.” grins Spook with the irony that is always present in the face of an albino.  Especially an albino with one green eye, and one blue eye.  “I wonder if that means we can get out of the army?”

Marvin snorts “But that would mean that the whole lily white South African Defence Force is part Indian?  And, just because of a few gypsies a thousand years ago, the whole army should actually be fighting Apartheid against itself?”

Leon looks up from his cigarette “No way that doesn’t add up.  How can we all be related in forty generations if we are part of a race that consists of billions?”

Danny takes a long breath:  “Lets say that a one hundred year span, consists of four generations, that means the age of the average parent is 25 years.  So after 100 years I have 16 ancestors, OK?”

Spook and Marvin nod, while Leon stares at the ground.

“After 200 years, that’s 16 multiplied by 16 which is... ... ...256 ancestors.  after 300 years we have about 4000 ancestors. For each 100 years we simply multiply by 16.  After 400 years we have 4000 x 16 =  64 000.  And after 500 years about a million potential ancestors.  If each 500 years we have a million potential ancestors, then after a thousand years we have a million million.  Of course over one thousand years there is a lot of ‘inbreeding’ and not all groups have reproductive contact.  Some are more secular and incestuous.  But the numbers show you how quickly things can happen.”

Their gape-eyed stares are interrupted by the grinding of two more behemothic tank-like monstrosities, which beligerate their way in the same direction that the first one went a bit earlier.  A little bit later, a  yellow squadron of an half-dozen angry police vans buzz excitedly after them.

Marvin gestures at them, speaking to Danny. “I would like to see you try and convince that bunch of heroes that actually their great-great-great-grand wotsit was shagging a coolie dressed as a gypsy, one horny spring morning in a Romanian meadow.”

Spook snorts. 

Leon sucks his cigarette.

They wait.

And wait.

Wait... wait...... wait............ wait........................ . . . . . . . . . . .     .    .    .    .    .    .          .          !                 

The traffic dies down.  All seems normal.  Now is their chance:  four young (apparently) white kids with government regulation crew-cuts, trying to make that one single part in a million million stand out as much as possible.

Marvin grabs onto Leon’s arm tightly, and hisses “Wait!”, and quickly drops to his knees.  The others instinctively mimic his move...

As they watch, a fourth MILITARY-BEAST-FROM-HELL struggles up the side of the road and grinds its way after the others of its ilk.  Its tires take a couple of deep bites out of the road as it scrambles up the embankment.  Then it speeds after the others;  fretfully as if something were watching it from the shadows.

Leon whispers to Danny " I don’t know what’s more scary, the Army, the tsotsi-gangs, or how Marvin the Falcon keeps having premonitions before the pigs turn up."

Still crouching, Danny looks at Leon.  Then he picks up a couple of handy sized stones, and slips them into his pocket.  One of them fits easily into his fist, the jagged end of the stone protruding out between his fingers like a zap-sign.

They cross the road, and dart quickly away from the brightness of the streetlights, following a footpath around the rugby field.  Across the railway line;  then safely between the shacks and the comfort of water-logged, muddy-worn pathways.  Rickety fences.  Here it doesn't seem to matter whose walls are whose, everyone crosses everyone else's territory all the time anyway.

About half a box of smokes have been bummed, before they are guided by some youths to somebody’s kaya.  (Cigarettes can get you anywhere here.)

They enter into a small candle-lit room with a single bed, and with walls made of paper and cardboard.  Plastic roof.  Politely, they are offered the bed to sit on, and so all sit in a row across it, leaning their backs against the wall of soft damp newspaper.  As they sit down, a latch shuts loudly and suddenly across the door from outside.

About six youths of the same age as the four intrepid travellers crowd the floor, and before long their is a soft knock.  The latch is opened and at least another half dozen gleaming black faces enter the room.  The more youthful ones are sent off with the ready money to buy the good stuff.   To fix the bad stuff.

{5}

As the first sweet puffs of Marijuana evaporate into the darkness of the heavens, the conversation becomes warmer and friendlier - though Marvin is looking a shade greener than the herb that he puffs.  The talk is of football, and the black-white crossover band Juluka.  It is contentiously agreed that the best smoke is Lexington.  Danny notices Marvin's eyes roll, tongue loll, , , lips droll - “Just now, one of us is going to say something stupid - like Kaffir - ?”

The room drops into silence.

{6}

Row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon row upon line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of line of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of legion of soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers

soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers soldiers all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall fall down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and

die.

{7}

A sudden look of shock crosses the white-boys’ faces, at the absurd mutterings of Marvin the Falcon, (the word ‘Kaffir’ ringing in everyone’s ears still). Danny feels the stone bristle between his fingers, deep in the pocket of his jacket. 

An eternity hung in a moment of suspense

Everyone unsure what will happen next.

Instinctively, Danny relaxes as a beautiful grinning set of teeth, and sniggering-brown set of eyes, offer the marijuana-joint to him out of the darkness.

Majola feels huge waves of laughter rising up inside him.  He tries to hold the smoke in his lungs, whilst trying to hold the laugh in his belly.  The result is that he chugs along like a train, little bits of smoke escaping his nostrils (and ears?) in the slip-stream of his chuckles.  The result of which cracks up Bongani completely, who falls over, literally rolling on the floor in his mirth, pointing at Majola’s distracting explosion.  The shack rocks with tears and peels of laughter.  Spook, Leon and Danny can’t help their grins melting into the joyous relief that encompasses them.

Marvin just buries his head in his hands, a snicker escaping out the side “I can’t believe I said that.  I’m such an idiot.”

Danny tries a small toke, then takes a long tug on the reefer.  The sweet-sacred aroma, a combination of cinnamon, butter, honey, ice-cream, caramel, chocolate, spring-water, laughter, and freshly cut lawn, penetrating his thoughts.

A wooooosh of awareness uplifts him, and he exhales as he has just been shown:  Out through the nostrils and not the mouth, in the manner of a normal cycle of breathing.

He feels a tingling in his nose, as the night comes alive.

What previously had just seemed to be a shanty-town, is now a community of togetherness, peace and belonging.  Of laughter and song.  Of the most ancient form of compassionate understanding, and always of forgiveness.

Of humour.

Buzzing spirit.

Under the brightest display of the nearby milky-way, an old guitar ke-chanked the night away, echoing the epistle of Robert Nestor Marley.  In the distance, chorused the angry howl-barking of hound-dogs, ‘midst the gentle hub-hub of rocking township sway.  I feel Irie Today.

.