The Wall

28

Hlaudi gazed out of the car at the white guy. He was dressed in all black. Faded short-sleeved shirt with epaulettes. Obviously sewn on. His skinny legs stuck out of wide shorts with thick pockets. His face was haggard. He looked like someone who’d smoked way too much over the years.

“Almost caught him!” the white man said.

Almost caught means didn’t catch, Hlaudi thought.

“Doesn’t always work out!” he said. “Next time.” He barely managed to keep from grinning.

“The bastard was really fast!”

“Young. I saw him running.”

“Twenty or so.”

“Uh-huh.”

Hlaudi watched as the white guy shifted his rubber club from one hand to the other and then back again. He looked like someone who didn’t have a job and was doing this for fun. There was no way he could afford a home in here. How much did they cost in here anyway, he wondered. Regardless, more than he could afford. Much more.

“Hello!” a voice came from behind them. “Hello!”

In his rearview mirror, Hlaudi watched an old woman in blue pants and a white t-shirt slowly approach them. The white guy beside him propped his hands on his hips, and the woman finally reached the car. She looked back and forth between the two of them before turning to the white man.

“…can’t believe it… in front of my door… suddenly… and fell down… ran off…” The white guy kept nodding. The woman once again glanced at one man and then the other. She paused. “Which of you is…”

“He is!” The white guy pointed his club at Hlaudi.

“…responsible?” the woman finished. “Then…”

“The boy ran off?” Hlaudi asked.

“Yes, like I just said,” the woman said. Hlaudi could see that she was gradually calming down.

“How did he get in here in the first place?” she asked. “Aren’t you supposed to make sure nothing like this happens?” She shook her head so emphatically, Hlaudi was concerned she might sprain something.

“No, we’re not,” he answered. “But we’ll catch him.”

More movement in the rearview mirror. This time it was an old white man who was walking up to the car. Brown suit pants, white shirt. Earlier government employee, Hlaudi guessed. Much earlier from when the system had been completely different. Only, he didn’t look as relaxed as most whites did when out walking their dogs. He waved at them.

Or only at the white woman. Or at both whites. Or at him perhaps because he was sitting in a security vehicle. Hlaudi couldn’t tell.

“Break-in.” That was all the man said when he reached them. He had stubby white hair and was gasping for breath. “They were in my house.” He pulled a perfectly folded white handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed his forehead with it.

“Oh no, my dear…” the woman said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Nobbie was all alone in the house.” He pointed at the dog that Hlaudi could no longer see from where he was sitting in the car. “I noticed right away that something wasn’t right.” He hesitated, clearly expecting to be asked a question.

“Is anything broken?” Hlaudi asked.

“The lock was funny. I immediately noticed that something wasn’t okay with it.”

“And what’s missing?”

“My money’s gone,” he said. “And some jewelry.”

He started to cry. The white guy with the club handed him a tissue.