The Hands of Time
The small town of
I was alone, lying on a couch in the family room. It was still fairly cool, but
I knew that it was only a matter of weeks before the grey sky would give way to
the kind of days that make
I sighed, my thoughts returning again to Amanda Buthelezi, and all the pain she
put me through. She had been everything I dreamed of, until the day she broke
my heart. I closed my eyes for a while, trying to clear my mind. As I opened
them, I knew exactly who I was. I was Skeelo Khumalo. I was holding a picture of a young woman by the
name of Alicia Williams.
Alicia Williams was a nice girl. We had been in the same class throughout our
school years, and I'd be lying if I said that I had never talked to her. In
Grade 10 she had sat next to me for a year, and we'd even had a few
conversations. But this didn't mean that I spent a lot of time socialising with
her in my spare time. It was not that she was unattractive. Fortunately, she
seemed to have taken after her mother and not her father, but she still was not
exactly what I considered pretty either.
She may have been slender, and I suppose she was quite pretty in a way, but she
still looked kind of, well, plain. That was if or when you noticed her at all.
Alicia didn't care much about outward appearances, because she was always
looking for things like inner beauty, and I suppose that was part of the reason
she looked the way she did.
For as long as I'd known her, she'd worn her hair in a tight bun, almost like a
spinster might, without a trace of make-up on her face.
This, combined with the brown cardigan and plain skirt you always saw her in,
made her look as though she was on her way to a job interview at the library.
We used to think that it was just a phase and that she would eventually outgrow
it, but she never had.
Still, it was not just the way she looked that made her different. It was the
way she acted. Alicia didn't spend any time at the places our crowd went to,
and never seemed to have any fun with other girls, and I knew for a fact that
she'd never had a boyfriend. Her father would probably have had a heart attack
if she did. But even if by some strange turn of events he did allow it, it
still wouldn't have mattered. She carried her Bible with her wherever she went,
and if her looks and Mr Williams hadn't succeeded in keeping the boys away then
the bible would have, that's for sure.
Alicia seemed to enjoy the Bible in a way that was completely foreign to me.
She even read it during her lunch break at school. To my mind that wasn't
normal, even if she was the minister's daughter. To the average teenager like
me, reading Deuteronomy, Numbers and Psalms wasn't nearly as much fun as
flirting. But Alicia didn't stop there.
Because of all her Bible reading or maybe because of her father's influence,
she believed it was important to help others. Like volunteering at the
orphanage and being in charge of one fundraiser or another. She was the kind of
girl who would pull out weeds in someone's garden without being asked or
stopping traffic so that little kids could cross the road. In other words she
was the kind of girl who made the rest of us look bad, and whenever she glanced
my way I couldn't help but feel guilty, even though I hadn't done anything
wrong.
Nor did Alicia limit her good deeds to helping only people. If she came across a
wounded animal she'd try to help it too. Dogs, cats, squirrels, frogs - it
didn't matter to her.
Dr Smith, the vet, would shake his head whenever he saw her walking up to the
door carrying a cardboard box with yet another poor creature inside. He'd take
his glasses off and wipe them with his handkerchief while Alicia explained what
had happened to the latest victim.
"He was hit by a car, Dr Smith. I think it was in the Lord's plan for me
to find him and try to save him. You'll help me, won't you?"
With Alicia everything was in the Lord's plan. She always mentioned His plan
whenever you talked to her, no matter what the subject. Since Amanda Buthelezi
cheated on me, was it the Lord's plan to see me with a heart broken? If Bafana Bafana lost a match, must
it be part of the Lord's plan to let them lose? And if everyone in class fails
a surprise maths test is it His plan to challenge learners? Anyway you get the
picture.
Then of-course there was the whole Mr Williams situation. Being the Minister's
daughter could not have been easy, but Alicia made it seem as though it was the
most natural thing in the world, and that she was lucky to have been blessed in
this way. That was how she used to say it too: "I've been so blessed to
have a father like mine." Whenever she said it, all we could do was shake
our heads and wonder what planet she actually came from.
Holding her picture in my hand, I started to remember the day Alicia stood in
front of the class, helping us with a chemistry lesson. I must admit that I was
not that interested in her teaching us. As she looked around the room, she
stopped and smiled right at me, obviously glad to see that I was in the class.
Anyway, as I said earlier, someone I trusted broke my heart. Amanda was my
first real girlfriend. We went out for two years, until she dumped me for a guy
named Lewis Botha, who was 27 years old and worked as
a mechanic in his father's garage.
His primary attribute, as far as I could tell, was that he had a really nice
car. He always dressed like an American pop star, in designer jeans and wore a
flashy chain around his neck. He'd lean against the hood of his convertible
BMW, saying things like, 'Hey baby' whenever a woman walked by. He was a real
winner, if you know what I mean.
So there I was, alone, thinking that I was a loser. I took another look at the
picture in my hand. Alicia wasn't bad looking, I told myself. And she was
really sweet. If I asked her for a date, she'd probably say yes. I placed the
picture on top of the coffee table. Alicia Williams? The
Minister's daughter? No way. I could just imagine what my friends would
say. They would give me a hard time. Why shouldn't I ask her out though?
I spent the rest of the evening debating the pros and cons of my dilemma, but
in the end the choice was obvious, even to me. I had to ask Alicia Williams to
go out with me. I paced around the room for what seemed like hours, thinking of
the best way to ask her. Say she said 'No'? How would I feel then? I barely
slept that night.
When morning finally came and I had finished my chores I dressed carefully and
set off to visit Alicia. To let off some steam, I suppose, I started running,
which wasn't such a good idea. By the time I reached her home I was perspiring
all over. Taking a second to catch my breath, I knocked. Alicia opened the
door. She was wearing jeans and a pale blue T-shirt, and even though her hair
was still pulled up into a bun, at least she looked a lot more casual than she
usually did. That's when I realised that she could actually be quite cute if
she gave herself the opportunity.
She was obviously surprised to see me, but still greeted me in a friendly
manner. Looking a little uncomfortable, she looked down and shuffled her feet
for a minute, "I'd invite you in, but my father isn't home. He does not
allow boys in the house when he's not around," she said.
I would far rather have been inside the house, but I did not want to break her
father's rules so we sat outside. I wanted to ask her, but wasn't quite ready
yet. So I ended up talking about the weather and lots of other nonsense.
"Skeelo, you did not come here to talk about the
weather, did you?" asked Alicia with a small smile.
She was right. The moment of truth had arrived. I started to explain why I had
come to visit her, but it didn't go quite how I had expected. Alicia was
interested in going out with me, but needed to talk to her father first. But I
noticed that even though she was surprised at first, instead of answering right
away, she looked away for what seemed a long minute. I had a sinking feeling in
my stomach at that stage because I assumed that she was going to say no.
"I'd love to, but on one condition," she replied, a slight smile on
her face.
I steadied myself, hoping it was not something too awful.
"You have to promise that you won't fall in love with me."
I knew she was teasing by the way she laughed, and I couldn't help but breathe
a sight of relief. She even had a good sense of humour. I smiled and gave her
my word.
The day of my date with Alicia was actually quite special for me. I had been
asked to arrive about 30 minutes early because her father wanted to talk to me.
She had only sprung that one on me the previous day. I can't say I was exactly
thrilled by the prospect, because I thought he was going to talk about
temptation and the evil path it could lead us to. I said little prayers all day
long in the hope of avoiding this conversation.
After I had showered, I dressed carefully. At least my dad had let me borrow
the car, which meant that I could pick her up in style. When I arrived at their
front door, 30 minutes early as requested, I knocked and waited until the door
finally creaked open. It wasn't Alicia at the entrance though, but her father.
It was the first time I'd seen him up close, which made me think that he must
have been older than I had thought.
Swallowing my trepidation, I greeted him politely, explaining that I had come
to pick up Alicia. Mr Williams had always looked very formal in church, but
right now, dressed in slacks and a T-shirt, he looked more relaxed. He
took me through to his study and motioned for me to sit, then asked me to tell
him something about myself.
I thought this quite a strange question as he had known my family for a long
time. He had also baptised me and seen me in church every Sunday ever since I
was a baby.
After telling him that I was studying for a degree in Mechanical Engineering at
university, I wasn't sure what else to say. Part of me wanted to pick up a
pencil off the table and start balancing it, but on second thoughts, I didn't
think it such a good idea. Alicia's father looked at me for a long time, as if
thinking about what I was saying.
"Why did you ask my daughter out?" he eventually said.
I was taken aback by his question, and know that it showed. I tried to explain.
His interrogation about my true intentions went on for some time, and I
breathed a big sigh of relief when Alicia came into the room and her father
stopped talking.
She looked quite nice, even though I knew her clothes were not exactly the
latest fashion, and that other girls would have dressed differently. As always,
her hair was pulled up in a bun. I think it would have looked better if she'd
kept it down, but that was the last thing I wanted to say. At least she was not
carrying her Bible. That would have just been too much to live down.
The evening was actually quite fun, and she seemed to like the food and
atmosphere at the restaurant we went to. But even though everything was going
better than I had expected, I couldn't help wondering what I was doing. I
hadn't really wanted to go out with Alicia; I was consoling myself. I felt a
bit depressed for the first hour or so, although she didn't seem to notice.
The first part of the evening was fine. It wasn't until Amanda's boyfriend showed
up that everything went sour. Amanda, in a revealing dress and lots of make-up,
was hanging all over him. It was obvious that she'd had a few drinks and I knew
that she would be out of control after another drink. When I saw her down
another glass of wine I thought it would be wise to keep an eye on her.
Even though she'd dumped me, I didn't want anything bad to happen to her. After
all, she was the first girl I'd ever kissed, and I still had feelings for her.
I was finding it increasingly difficult to listen to Alicia, who was chatting
away about the wonders of Bible classes, while I was watching Amanda out of the
corner of my eye. Unfortunately Lewis saw me looking at her, and reacted
immediately. He grabbed Amanda and dragged her over to the table, giving me one
of those looks that mean business. I could see that he was already tensing up,
as though itching to get into a fight.
"Are you staring at my girl?"
I tried to say something, but Amanda spoke, almost slurring out the words.
"He's my old boyfriend, the one I told you about."
I'm not much of a fighter. Usually I didn't have much trouble staying away from
incidents like this because of my passive nature, and besides, no one ever
messed with me when Goodman, Vusi and Khaya were around. I tried to apologise but Lewis took no
notice. I think he would have hit me right then and there, but all of a sudden
Alicia intervened and managed to calm him down. They finally skulked off.
"Thanks," I mumbled sheepishly, thankful that she had saved me from
possible grievous bodily harm.
Alicia looked at me strangely. "What for?" she asked. When I didn't
exactly spell it out for her, she went right back into her Bible stories, as if
nothing had happened at all. But this time I actually found myself listening to
her. It was the least I could do.
As it happened though, it wasn't the last we saw of either Lewis or Amanda that
evening. The last two glasses of wine Amanda had swallowed had been her
undoing, and I saw her stumbling in the direction of the ladies' room, holding
her hands over her mouth. Being the kind of guy he is, Lewis left in a hurry
when he saw that she was on the verge of being sick, and that was the last I
saw of him.
As fate would have it, Alicia found Amanda in the bathroom, and took immediate
charge of the situation. She even cleaned up the mess on the floor and walls,
while my ex-girlfriend sat slumped in the corner, looking very sorry for herself.
We ended up taking Amanda home. Alicia and I had to try and keep her upright
while we made our way to the car, with Amanda repeatedly asking where Lewis
was, and Alicia telling her not to worry. We managed to bundle Amanda into the
back seat of the car, where she passed out like a light.
When we got to her home, her mother answered the door, took one look at her
daughter and dragged her inside without so much as a word of thanks. I think
she was embarrassed.
By the time we dropped Amanda off, it was almost 23.00, and we drove straight
to Alicia's home. I was really worried when we got there because of the way she
looked and smelled, and said a silent prayer, hoping that her father was not
awake. I did not want to have to go into details. I walked her to the door, and
we stood outside under the verandah light. Alicia
crossed her arms and smiled slightly, looking as though she had just come in
from an evening stroll.
"Please don't tell your father about this," I said.
"I won't," she said. "I had a good time tonight. Thank you for
taking me out."
There she was, clothes dirty and smelling strongly of vomit, thanking me for
the evening. Alicia Williams could really drive a guy crazy sometimes.
A week later I was busy with my assignments in the family room when the phone
rang. I smiled to myself thinking that it was Amanda. Even though she'd been
sick, she was still fun to have around. I thought she was probably calling to
thank me or suggest getting together for a burger or something, but then I
recognised the voice. It wasn't Amanda, but Alicia, and I can't say that I was
happy to hear from her. I almost dropped the phone.
"Are you busy?" she asked.
"Kind of," I replied.
"Oh I see." she said, trailing off. She paused again, and it
took her a few seconds to get the words out. " I just wanted to know if
you wouldn't mind coming by later this afternoon?"
"Coming by?"
"Yes, to my house."
I didn't even try to disguise the surprise in my voice, but Alicia took no
notice and went on talking. I knew that she was not going to let me off the
hook and that we'd end up talking one way or the other.
In the meantime, I was considering various options, wondering which one to
choose: talk to her where my friends would see us or at her house. Though
neither was particularly great, something in the back of my mind reminded me
that she'd helped me and the least I could do was to listen to what she had to
say. I may be irresponsible, but I'm a nice irresponsible guy, even if I say so
myself.
Of-course that didn't mean everyone else had to know about it. We arranged to
meet later that afternoon, and I left home 20 minutes early to give myself
enough time to get there. Alicia answered my knock on the door and a
quick peek inside showed that the minister was not around.
The sun was beginning to set and no one else was on the street. For the first
time since I'd known Alicia she actually looked nervous as she sat with me.
"I don't know if you would mind going with me to the orphanage now."
I didn't know what to say. It was not easy to say no, because she didn't refuse
the day I asked her for a date, so I agreed. Maybe I would learn something more
about life.
It took almost an hour to our destination, and we got there just as it was
getting dark. Alicia had her Bible with her. I thought she probably wanted it
for support, but then again maybe it was just a habit.
On the way back home we were talking about the kind of life that orphans lead,
but after a moment Alicia changed the subject, throwing me off track.
"Do you ever think about the future, Skeelo?"
she asked.
"I suppose so," I answered cautiously.
"Well, what do you want to do with your life?" she asked.
I shrugged, a little wary of where she was going with this. "I don't know
yet. I haven't worked that part out yet. Maybe I'll be sure once I have
completed my degree."
"You will," she said "I've prayed for that too."
When she said that, I thought she was leading into another discussion about the
power of prayer, but Alicia threw yet another curved ball at me.
"If you had money, what would you do with it?"
I shook my head because I didn't know what to say. It was my turn to ask a
question.
"How about you? What do you want to do in the
future?"
Alicia stopped and a far-off look came in her eyes. "I want to get
married," she said quietly, "and when I do, I want my father to walk
me down the aisle, and I want everyone I know to be there. I want the church
bursting with people."
Though not averse to the idea of marriage, it seemed a bit silly to hope for
that as your life's goal. I won't even mention the part about having a big
crowd in the church. It was one thing I couldn't even imagine.
As I was walking her home, she grew quiet, as if thinking of something. I
waited for a while, until she started speaking again.
"What happened to your mother?" she asked.
"My parents were divorced, and my mother went away. My father brought me
up," I replied.
"Do you miss growing up without your mother around?"
"Sometimes," I said.
"I miss my mom too," she said, "even though I never knew
her."
It was the first time I'd ever considered that Alicia and I might have
something in common. Her mother had suffered six miscarriages before Alicia was
born. Sadly though, she died in childbirth, leaving Mr Williams to raise a
daughter on his own. But things were different for me because my mother hadn't
died. She left us when I was seven years old.
"It must be hard for you," I said sincerely. "Even though my
mother is a stranger to me, at least she's still alive."
She looked up at me as we walked, then away again, tugging gently at her hair.
I was beginning to notice that she did that whenever she was nervous, and
started thinking of what she usually said about the Lord's plan. Maybe it was
the Lord's plan that we had something in common.
The next time we met I wanted to know why she was always carrying the Bible. I
had assumed she did this simply because she was the Minister's daughter. But
the one she carried was old, with a cover that was worn and frayed.
Alicia walked a few steps before answering. "It was my mother's."
"Oh." I said, feeling as though I had just squashed someone's pet
tortoise under my shoe.
She looked at me. "It's okay, Skeelo.
How could you have known?"
I felt as though I had to apologise, but she told me that I hadn't mean
anything by asking. Then she started to explain that her mother and father were
given the Bible for their wedding, but her mother had claimed it.
She was so devoted to it that she read it constantly, especially when she was
going through a difficult time in her life. She even had it with her in the
hospital when Alicia was born. When her mother died shortly afterwards,
Alicia's father carried the Bible and Alicia out of the hospital together.
I was surprised by how sorry for her I felt when she told me.
"It just gives me a way to - to be a part of her. Can you understand that?"
she wasn't saying it sadly, but more to let me know the answer to my question.
Somehow that made it worse.
We ended up spending almost two hours together, and it wasn't long before we
got into the habit of meeting every day.
One day Alicia asked if I wouldn't mind collecting the bottles and tins she'd
left in shops and businesses in
I remembered that my friends and I always used to put paperclips and small
stones in her collection boxes when the cashiers were not looking. They sounded
like coins being dropped inside, and we would have a good laugh about it.
Sometimes the way you have behaved in the past can make you wince, which is
exactly what I did then.
Alicia saw the look on my face. "You don't have to do it," she said,
obviously disappointed. "I was just thinking that since Christmas is
coming up so quickly and I don't have a car, it would take too long for me to
collect them all."
"Don't worry," I said cutting her off. "I'll do it."
So that's what I did. Alicia had given me a list of all the places she
had been to, and I set off the following day in my dad's car. By the end of the
first day I realised that it was going to take longer than I thought. I'd only
picked up 40 bottles and tins, and that was just in
At the end of the first day I packed all the change into two large jars, and
carried them up to my room to count. I must say I was disappointed when I saw
that the takings came to only R64,05. That was not a
lot of money, even in 1999, especially when it had to be divided among 52
children. I didn't get discouraged, though. I went out the next day and chatted
with another 20 business owners while I collected the various containers.
This time the amount was a little more, but not much - only R78,30. Which made a not so grand total of R142,35.
It was such a small sum that I felt bad. I was supposed to call Alicia that
night to tell her how much money had been donated, but I just couldn't do it.
She'd told me how she'd want something extra special this year and this wasn't
going to be enough. Instead, I lied to her and told her that I wasn't going to
count the total until the two of us could do it together, because it was her
project, not mine. I promised to bring the money over the following afternoon.
The next day was the 21st December: Christmas was only four days away.
"Skeelo, this is a miracle!" she said after
counting it up.
"How much is there?" I asked, knowing perfectly well how much there
was.
"It comes to R425," she exclaimed joyfully. Mr. Williams was in his
study, writing his sermon for that Sunday, and we had been allowed to sit in
the living room.
Innocently, I asked her if it was as much as she had been hoping for. Tears of
joy ran down her cheeks as she looked at the amount again, not quite believing
what she was seeing. Smiling at me through her tears she told me that the
previous year's takings had come to only R82,70. I
felt good about what I had done and didn't want her to know that I had to put
in my own money to help her achieve her dream.
Being in love with a girl like Alicia Williams wasn't like anything that had
happened to me before. Even though we'd grown up together I had never really
taken much notice of her. But there was also something different in the way my
feelings for her had developed. Unlike Amanda, who I had kissed the first time
I was alone with her, I still hadn't kissed Alicia. I hadn't even taken her to
the movies or done any of the things I normally did
with girls, yet somehow I'd fallen in love.
The only problem was that I still didn't know how she felt about me. I hadn't
missed a few signs though. There was the way she'd looked at me when she'd
closed the door on Christmas Eve, and she'd let me hold her hand on the way
back from the orphanage. To my way of thinking, there was definitely something
there, but I wasn't too sure about the next step.
The following day I walked to her house and the first thing I noticed was that
her father's car wasn't in the driveway. I wouldn't be going inside this time.
When Alicia answered the door I saw that her hair was down and she looked
really pretty.
Don't even ask me how it happened, because I still can't explain it. One minute
I was standing in front of her expecting to walk to the side of the verandah and the next I wasn't. Instead of moving towards
the chair, I took a step closer to her and found myself reaching for her hand.
I took it in mine and looked straight at her, moving a little closer. She
didn't exactly step back but her eyes widened in surprise, and for a second I
thought I'd done the wrong thing. I paused and smiled, tilting my head to the
side and the next thing I saw was that she'd closed her eyes and was tilting
her head too and that our faces were moving closer together.
It didn't last that long and it certainly wasn't the kind of kiss you see in
movies, but it was wonderful in its own way. All I can remember is that when
our lips first touched, I knew that the memory of that moment would last
forever.
"You're the first boy I've ever kissed," she said. It was a few days before
New Year.
"I thought I might have been," I said.
"Why?" she asked innocently. "Did I do it wrong?"
She was actually a great kisser, and that's what I told her, giving her hand a
squeeze.
She nodded; her eyes getting that far-away look again. She'd been doing that a
lot lately. I asked her if she was okay but instead of answering she changed
the subject.
"Have you ever been in love, Skeelo?" she
asked
I gave her one of those looks. "You mean before now?"
Alicia made me feel as though I always going from high to low and back to high
again in less time than it took to swat a mosquito. I wasn't sure if I liked
that part of our relationship yet, though to be honest,
it kept me on my toes.
I was still feeling off-balance as I thought about her question. When I finally said that I had she fell silent. She probably
thought that I was talking about Amanda, but looking back, I realised that what
I'd felt for Amanda was totally different from the way Alicia made me feel.
"How did you know it was love?" she asked me.
I knew it was not a time to pretend it was something that it actually wasn't.
"Well," I said seriously. "You know it's
love when all you want to do is to spend time with that person and you can
sense that the other person feels the same way."
Alicia thought about my answer before smiling faintly.
I wanted Alicia to add something else, but she didn't and I was suddenly aware
of something else. She may not have been all that experienced with boys, but to
tell you the truth, she was playing me like a harp. In the following two days,
for instance, she wore her hair in a bun again.
A few days later, I decided to speak to my father about my feelings for Alicia.
"She's all I can think about, dad," I confessed. "I mean I know
she likes me but I don't know if she feels the same way I do."
When my father asked me if she was aware of how I felt, and whether I had ever
taken her out, I explained that I'd been going to her house every day to visit
her.
"Going to her house is fine, but it's not what a woman would call
romantic. You should do something that will really let her know how you feel
about her," advised my father. "Why not take her out for
dinner?"
I thought that this was a really good idea, and decided to pay Alicia's father
a secret visit. At first he wasn't keen on us going out, but when I told him
that I loved Alicia and was planning a future with her, he agreed. Even so, I
don't think he had liked what I had to say.
On New Year's Eve, I took Alicia out to dinner. It was the first real date
she'd ever been on and I took her to one of the best restaurants in
The dinner was delicious and when the music started up I offered Alicia my
hand. At first we were the only ones dancing and people at the other tables
watched us as we glided around the floor. I think they could see how we felt
about each other and this probably reminded some of the couples of the time
when they were young. I could see them smiling wistfully at us. The lights were
dim and the singer began a slow melody. I held Alicia close to me with my eyes
closed, wondering if anything in my life had been this perfect and knowing at
the same time that it hadn't. I was in love and the feeling was even more
wonderful than I could ever have imagined.
Of-course, spending time with Alicia also meant doing the things she enjoyed. I
wouldn't go to her Bible study class because I didn't want to look like an
idiot in front of her, but we did go back to the orphanage. We kissed again
too, though not every time we were together, and I didn't even think of trying
to go any further. There wasn't any need to. When I kissed her it was more than
nice; it was something gentle and right and that was enough for me. I realised
that Alicia had been misunderstood her whole life, not only by me, by everyone.
Alicia wasn't simply the Minister's daughter, someone who read the Bible and
did her best to help others. She was also an 18-year-old girl with the same
hopes and doubts that I had. At least that's what I assumed until she finally
told me. I'll never forget that day because of how quiet she had been, and I
had a strange feeling all day long that there was something important on her
mind.
"I love you Alicia. You're the best thing that has ever happened to
me." When she heard my words she bent her head and started to cry.
I wrapped my arms around her, wondering what was wrong. I was shocked when I
felt how thin she was, and realised how much weight she must have lost since we
had started going out. She'd hardly touched her food earlier either. She kept
crying, head still against my chest, and I wasn't sure what to think. Perhaps
she didn't feel the same way.
"Please don't say that," she said to me. "Please."
"But I do," I said thinking she didn't believe me. She began to cry
even harder.
"I'm sorry," she whispered through her ragged sobs. "I'm so
sorry."
My throat suddenly went dry. "Why are you sorry?" I asked, suddenly
desperate to understand what was bothering her.
It took her a while to stop crying, then she kissed me
gently and ran her finger over my cheek. "You can't be in love with me, Skeelo," she said. "We can be friends, we can see
each other, but you can't love me."
"Why not?" I shouted hoarsely, not
understanding.
"Because," she finally said softly, "I'm sick, Skeelo. I'm dying of cancer."
Years have passed since that day. I'm 26 now, but she has left something in my
heart that no one can take away. And that is love.
I was with her when she died. She gave me a piece of paper on which she had
written the following: Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous;
love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not
take offence and is not resentful. Love delights in the truth; it is always
ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure
whatever comes.
Alicia was the purest essence of that description. How I wish I could turn back
the hands of time and tell her how I feel.
Skeelo Khumalo
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|
Name |
Comment |
Date |
|
Erna |
A touching story, Skeelo. I appreciate reading a piece of
writing that has no irritating errors of grammar and spelling – thanks! Points 3 – Promising piece of writing |
2008-02-05 |
|
Louis |
The writing is poignant and the
piece passionately written. A lively purple. A coming of age piece that is
apple-sweet, lumped with very real language that
flows well. The overlying theme of love and loss is exceptionally
achieved. Points 3 - Very promising piece of writing |
2008-02-06 |
|
James |
Difficult to crit
a piece that has already been fairly well received in the market. |
2008-02-10 |
|
Ginny |
A very touching love story, held my attention to the last line. Even better
that it didn’t all end happily! Points 3 - Very promising piece of writing |
2008-02-10 |
|
Ntombizonke Mehlomakulu |
I've never read anything as subtle
as this, I must say! You really hit the spot, dear. I praise you: this is
exceptional!!! Points 4 - Pretty close to perfect. I was captivated |
2008-02-14 |