ikhaya lam

Proloog Werk Oorwin Alles Ek lê in my witgeverfde kleindogtertjiebed met die blink, goue randjie rondom die gladde houtkopstuk. Dis seker nie rêrige hout nie, eerder 'n soort plastiekhout, die oppervlak veels te glad om eg te wees. Die dik winterlaken met sy fyn blou blommetjies voel growwerig onder my ken en teen my nek. Dis handgewas en ruik effens na Omo. Ek is nege jaar oud en lê laataand wakker in my winterpajamas onder wolkomberse, voor die tyd van duvets. Die omringende lig moet die maan wees want die huisligte is lankal af. Dis plaasstil. Ek wens ek kon huil, maar ek kan aan niks dink wat trane regverdig nie. Ek weet net dat daar iets met my verkeerd is. Ander mense het iets goeds en moois wat ek nie het nie. In my is daar iets leliks. Dis deel van my. Ek ís die gebrek; die gebrek is ek.  Dit was nog altyd so. In die alleenheid word 'n idee gebore: as ek belowe om van nou af niks verkeerd te doen nie, as ek alles reg kan doen, sal die oordeel my verbygaan? ...

The Road to Our House For the two of us here in the mountains, there's not much difference between "self-isolation" and what we usually do. We prefer to live with our furry friends, both tame and wild. We know the leopard tortoises by name. To come across one, or sometimes all of them, at the end of a day is like meeting a friend on the road. The black eagle pair still soars above our house. The other day we surprised a brown buzzard on a Cape spurfowl carcass. The kill wasn't fresh - he'd been feasting on it for at least a day. There's a new-ish, very wild Cape Grysbok in the reserve. Even the baboons visited the other day after a long absence. Okay, some housemates are more welcome than others... So we carry on doing our thing, keeping trips to town to the bare minimum and carrying F10 veterinary disinfectant wipes in the bakkie. Yes, people, vet shops still have "hand sanitiser". When you ...