Kevin and
Seline
By
Andrew SevenSeven
The following is a work of fiction, any similarity to an
actual event is purely coincidental
The following first appeared in the Villager newspaper.
Simon Beukes
and Felicia Coetzee sat on the green grass of Zoo Park. There were several
scattered juice bottles his son, Kevin and Felicia’s daughter, Seline had
emptied. Currently the two were off playing on the swings just some meters from
Simon and Felicia, but that didn’t stop him from sneaking a periodic peek at
them every several seconds.
“They grow up so fast don’t they,” said
Felicia with a laugh.
Simon only nodded and looked on quietly.
He was trying to decipher what he actually felt for Felicia. Having recently
moved in next to him, the two have been since getting closer since Simon found
out she was also a single parent and even more so since their children started
really enjoying playing with each other. And since then, Simon was sure there
have definitely been some romantic innuendos made, but he was still not sure
what would develop. He didn’t even know what she did for a living. Not far from
them, four year old Seline’s swing swung a little too high causing her to fall off it
with a plop! Simon was about to get up and help her, but Kevin, only two years
older than Seline jumped off his swing, faster than light and picked her up
gingerly. Seline was going to cry but Simon’s swift act pacified her. Kevin brushed
off the dirt from her legs and got her back up the swing.
“Awwww,” said Felicia. “How cute.”
Simon sat back down and was delightedly
surprised when Felicia rested her head softly on his shoulder. He smiled,
realising that he had been way too worried about nothing. He would let things
develop naturally. Whatever will happen, will happen, he thought.
***
Thirteen years
passed, and not far from where the park was was a high school. A clamour permeated the entire school street like the Friday it was as a throng
of students filed out of the school gate, talking about all the exciting things
they had planned for the weekend. But for two students over by the rugby field,
it did not seem like the final school day of the week. Away from the pitch, a tall
boy leaned on a rock while a girl of a close age sat just down below him.
“So do you know when you’re moving?” the
boy asked, not looking at the girl.
“I already told you, Kevin, we only have a
week left,” Seline replied irritably.
“Where are you moving to? I’ll come visit
you every day,” Kevin said. This time he bent forward to look at her face.
Seline did not want to answer. She and her mother were moving from a good suburb to somewhere in Okuryangava -Kevin would not understand. She had lived in Academia pretty much all her life and
this was tough on her without Kevin being judgemental. Deep down, she knew he
wouldn’t be that, but she did not want to risk it. “I already told you, I don’t
know,” she lied.
“Well, you know I’m like my dad, so I will
do everything to find you,” Kevin joked.
Seline’s nose folded like bad odour had
offended it. She did not want to hear anything about that man. She would never
forgive him for what he had done to her mother. He was partially the reason
they were moving away, and mostly the reason she had been so confused for so
long. Liking a boy who was virtually her brother because their parents were
engaged left her mind a muddle, and it was even more confusing because she knew
Kevin felt the same way she did. She wished he was nothing like his father.
Irritated, Seline got up, flung her bag over her shoulder and began to walk
away. “See you on Monday, Kevin,” she said, glancing back, knowing very well
that that was indeed the last time she would see him.
***
Fourteen years
passed. The spirit of the city remained, for the most part, the same, bar
several multi-storey buildings sprinkled across the capital. The exponential
growth of the mining industry on a global scale profited Windhoek, leading it
to bulge into an aspiring metropolis. In the dead of a cold Friday night, a 33
year old man stood on a tall, newly built bridge overlooking the most
industrious part of the city. Having recently broken up with his eighth
girlfriend this year, he needed a break from it all. The buzz of town would
distract most people from contemplation, but for some reason, Kevin found it
relaxing. He scratched his thick beard, trying to think of why his
relationships haven't gone anywhere. ‘You don’t really love me, Kevin. Maybe
you think you do, but your heart is not with me. It’s lost somewhere out
there,’ Marynsia had said. What did that even mean? He tried all he could to
love her. What more could he do? But somewhere in the depth of his soul, he
knew she was somehow right. It just did not feel quite...right. Not with
Marynsia or Eveline or Helena or any of the countless others before them. He
walked back to his car, parked not too far from the bridge and began to drive
around the city, without trajectory. As he turned left off Independence Avenue,
he hit the clutch and shifted to second, third and fourth gear in quick
succession hoping a little speed thrill would help him forget. But as he did,
he caught a glimpse of...something. A ghost...from his past. He slammed the
break and was immediately relieved there was no other vehicle behind him, and
even more so, a traffic cop, considering he had downed a few beers earlier that
night.
The only
other person in the street was a slim, tall woman wearing a short skirt, heels
and a long leather coat. She noticed the car stop and cautiously walked
over to it.
“Hey, player. Your lady not satisfying you
right? Wanna have real fun tonight?” said the prostitute when Kevin rolled down
his window.
Kevin looked deeply at her. “Get in the
car,” he nodded at the front seat and looked up at the road.
“You’ll have to pay me now, darling,” the
woman said, folding her arms on the window of the car.
“What’s your charge?”
“N$800 for half an hour,” the woman
replied.
Kevin dug into his back pockets for his
wallet and pulled out every dollar note that was there and handed it to her.
She looked at him suspiciously, then buried the money under her bra and got in
the car.
They rode around silently for about 10
minutes before Kevin spoke again. “You really can’t tell who I am?”
Slightly taken aback, the prostitute leaned
back and tried to look at him properly. “You do look a bit familiar. Have I
seen you before?”
“It’s me, Seline. It’s Kevin.” He slowed
down the car and pulled off the road.
Seline looked at him for an eon, it seemed
to Kevin, before she uttered a word. “What are you doing here, Kevin? Why are
you doing this?”
Kevin smiled. Even though he always saw
himself as Seline’s protector, right back to their toddler years when they
first met, Seline has always been protective of him. She always wanted the
best for him, even if it meant the opposite for her. “I should be asking you
that. This is below you.”
“Don’t
judge me, Kevin,” said Seline, sounding less protective of him than she did
seconds ago. “That’s the last thing I need from you, with your expensive car
and family. After all, weren’t you just about to sleep with a prostitute?”
“Fine, but for the record, I wasn’t going
to sleep with you. I only stopped because I recognised you,” Kevin vindicated
himself. “And I have no family.” He paused. “Why did you go away, Seline.
Without a word, you just left.”
“You want to know the whole truth?”
“Yes. I haven’t been able to move on. I
see you in every girl I end up dating. I want closure,” said Kevin irritably.
“Fine. I’ll tell you everything.” Seline
swallowed and began to narrate. “Our parents were dating, but your father did
not know in order to make a living, my mother had to sell her body on the
streets. They broke up when he found out, he was so angry...he beat her. During
that time, she had been diagnosed with cancer and that whole trauma caused a
setback in her recovery. She couldn’t go back on the streets anymore, meaning
we had to move out of Academia. We found a small place in Okuryangava but she
eventually died.” Seline paused. She told the story without emotion in her
voice, like she had recited it a thousand times, but a streak of tears leaked
from her eyes. “I had no one to take care of me really, so I had to leave
school. Things were difficult, but in order to survive I had to do the only
thing I knew. I had to go on the streets...and here I am.”
Kevin did not know what to say, he did not
know what to feel. Only that he was sure more than ever he loved Seline; more
than anything in his life. “I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry. I have a
job opening at my company, it’s yours if you want it.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Kevin.”
“I know I don’t. But I also know you don’t
want to do this a day more. I can see it in your eyes. Let me make up for my
father’s errors. Don’t push me away, Seline. Let me help,” Kevin pleaded with
her.
Seline smiled and nodded, and more tears
dropped from her eyes. Kevin smiled as well as he pulled back onto the road. He
wasn’t going to rush anything, but he was going to make sure he married this
girl. He wasn’t going to let her go ever again.
