All The Way Down: Part Two
The celebrations had gone on well into the night, but the village rose early as there was water to be fetched and work to be done. The woman smiled weakly at the distant sound of the blue crane, the quiet and graceful national bird whose infrequent call cheered her heart. He must have heard the news too, she thought. The woman was weak but her three beautiful girls, her three remaining girls, did not neglect her. The day was still young and they had already made her breakfast and brushed up and collected everything she needed for the day. Then they had that long walk to school.
They were good children, the sort that would care for their mother when she was very old and dying. The woman was not old; she had only lived for forty years but the virus was eating away at her bit by bit, breath by breath and she was dying.
She was unsure if she’d make it to forty-one.
Yesterday’s news had brought great joy to everyone but she knew exactly what it meant for people like her. The whole village had gathered together and crowded around Kagiso Molotsi’s television set, which her eldest son had found, fixed and wired up to a power supply. The reason for all this fuss was so that the village could watch the announcement of which country would be hosting the World Cup of Football in 2010. The woman, confined to her sickbed, craned her neck so that she could hear the television or at least hear the reaction of her fellow villagers when the announcement came. She had never much liked football. For her it was a silly game that young men played for a lot of money. They get paid to just chase a ball around but in the villages of their forefathers, so many people work so hard and yet still struggle to survive. It made her empty stomach turn over. But it would be a proud and momentous occasion for the great nation of South Africa to hold such a large event.
The village erupted when the television passed on the news that it was indeed their country, their still troubled country, which would host the football tournament in six years time. There was a buoyant atmosphere in the place, people forgetting their hunger to rejoice and thank God for this blessing. The woman cried confused tears as her children relayed the news to her in their own lively way. She was happy for her people, her South African brothers and sisters and it was a step forward for the country. But she was frightened and scared that this would distract the Government from their promises. Would people with the virus would be forgotten, just left behind? Any hope she had of treatment would get weaker with every rand they spent on football. And football won’t cure the disease.
The disease which stole three of her babies and was gradually taking her own heartbeat.
****************
He swore loudly as he slammed the car door and screeched out of the studio car park. How could Todd Anderton be dropped like that? Conqueror of Hollywood. Triple Oscar nominated, twice Golden Globe winning Todd Anderton. A little respect would have been nice.
The highway was all but empty and he put his foot down. “Aaargh!” he screamed, the tightening knot of anger releasing slightly. Breathing out slowly he weighed up his options.
There weren’t too many.
It had been an awful year. After two flops in the summer, two hastily made glossy action movies, his reputation had plummeted considerably and the work just wasn’t there. His life had been a mess since she left, but the drinking and the late nights that had never impacted so much on his career until now. And didn’t the press like to remind him, every week a new headline, a new boozy photo. He was becoming a joke. His own family had seen enough him; they couldn’t forgive him for cheating on ‘the one’. They loved her just as much as he did. Over the last year he’d slept with a different woman every night and now love meant nothing to him. He knew he wasn’t ‘it’ anymore, the top dog or whatever but he missed those days like anything. He had money, he had fame, he was loved by America and he had something that he always regretted losing; his fiance Rachel. Now though, he had nowhere to turn and was depressed by what he was, who he had become. What he needed was a change, a new direction. What he needed was a stiff drink.
He drove off the highway towards a town without many residents. There were plenty of places like that in Pennsylvania. He needed some time to himself for a few days. Away from New York and the people in it.
By 11 o’clock the following evening, he’d cleared his head. He’d arranged a PR makeover with the very best and would be flying to London the next day.
Todd Anderton would regain his crown in spectacular fashion.
******************
I hoped it would be a fresh start.
I moved when I was twenty-five, a few weeks after graduating. The job came straight away and I snatched at the chance to live in London. I felt a connection with the city, an affinity if you like and a place of my own was just what I needed. I found this flat and loved it. It’s just close enough to the office, a nice size and I’ve always wanted a balcony. I would sit out here, red wine in hand and watch the stars twinkle away. They aren’t as bright as they were in Oxford but my uni digs didn’t have a window never mind a balcony. The first few weeks were difficult here, I went around with a juggernaut brow trying to keep to deadlines, and my Oxford first added a certain degree of expectation. If you’d excuse the pun.
Hard work is what kept me going through those horrible times but I was determined that my life could get better, would get better. I was twenty five and working for the top law firm in the country but had never had a boyfriend. I hoped London would help me find confidence in myself, in my sexuality.
And it did.
Then today happened.
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IMAGE: Botanical Garden (Sterographic) by Martin_Heigan
2 Comments – Postiwch sylw
Faymondo:)
Rhoddwyd sylw 67 mis yn ôl - 20th October 2010 - 17:09pm
Chilling....this is really good! There's loads of detail and I like the fact that there's three plot-lines, it makes for a really interesting story:)
CeefaxOfLife
Rhoddwyd sylw 67 mis yn ôl - 20th October 2010 - 17:23pm