we went back to our site. its miller time again. it was still as prevailing and prominent as before, but not nearly as romantic as i had made out in my imagination. it seemed dirtier and more run-down. more litter and the intense stench of rotting rats. i noticed the sky – so blue and clouds so wispy and high. the wind was blowing quickly.
the council had begun the clean-up but seemed to be running on african time. we were not convinced that they would finish on time.
children gathered to play – the skeleton animated into a jungle gym. they turned everything into a game. climbing, hanging, summersaults, down, climbing, balancing, hanging… younger children brought their kites to the open tract of land on the east. they were homemade: black bags, dowel sticks and a huge ball of knotted-together-bits-of-twine and wool rolled around a pencil crayon. the wind was perfect. the kites clapped and swooshed across the sky, occasionally crashing into the burnt earth giving rise to a little poof of dust.
the gymnasts braved our group. they said they wanted a swimming pool in the building! they “jived” for us and afterwards we left for johannesburg.
