Glittering Gallows

Chapter 21

141 C Chapter 21 hen South Africa Airways Boeing 747-400 flight 605 approached Johannesburg shortly before the crack of dawn and circled the city once, presumably the pilots acting on instructions from the control tower, Heidi Gaynor had an appreciation of what to expect in the sprawling major city she hoped to frequent from Pretoria. As the plane circled, a middle-aged African passenger sitting next to her, a woman in her mid-forties she had befriended; pointed at a huddle of distant lights. “That’s Pretoria were you’re going. Below us is Johannesburg. Joburg is popularly known as Egoli–the City of Gold.” “The cities look splendid from the sky,” she said with forced excitement. She was tired, having sat on three interconnecting planes for a total of seventeen hours. The notice to travel from London had been short and inconveniencing. Within the two-day time frame she was suppose to fly, Mr Scott Randall, now her agent, failed to book her on a direct flight to Johannesburg. Much of her baggage on a different plane heading to her destination but via Tel Aviv, British Airways took her to a Cairo airport bustling with jubilant tourists, where, after loitering and squatting for four hours in a terminal, a QANTAS flight took her to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Three hours after landing and a forlorn occupation of nail-polishing and reflection, SAA flight 605, en route to South Africa from Mumbai, had a vacant seat urgently arranged for her by a South African diplomat stationed in Addis Ababa according to the briefing of a very apologetic air hostess specially assigned to see that she was comfortable. “Those lights down there are the West Rand towns of Krugersdorp and Roodepoort,” the woman was saying. “The other side, that’s the East Rand towns of Germiston, Boksburg, Springs and Benoni.” “It appears Joburg is highly urbanised.” W 142 “It’s the gold capital of the world, my dear,” she said pompously. “Why is there no airport in Pretoria?” “There are a number of small airports for domestic flights. Pretoria is the administrative centre of South Africa. It’s a mere fifty kilometres from Johannesburg.” From the sky, it seemed a mere shanghai-shot separated Pretoria and Johannesburg. The plane touched down at Johannesburg International Airport and surrendered its cargo and passengers to the rituals of SA’s Department of Migration and Taxes. The airport was pristine; its tiled floors smelled of disinfectant, the walls were hyacinth-blue; railings were scum-free, windows sparkling-clean and the airport personnel immaculate in their navy-blue uniforms. Armed policemen milled about. The atmosphere was secure and professional and the baggage reclamation system efficient. Who said clumsy baboons manned offices and civil amenities in Africa? Her passport stamped, she hugged the woman who had felt obliged to be her free flight tour guide. The woman wished her good health and prosperity. She was motherly and a far-cry from the surly, conservative personalities of Britain. “You look shocked,” the woman remarked, smiling. “Yea,” Heidi said quietly. “I come from a reserved society.” She cast her eyes down. “I grew up unwanted. I was abused as a child. It feels weird when someone expresses love and concern towards me.” She raised her head like someone coming to her senses. “Oh, my God! I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. Never mind, ma’am.” The woman put a reassuring hand on Heidi’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. Take it as a phase you’d to go through in life. Whatever you went through made you wiser. I wish you happiness, my girl.” Heidi shed some tears. “You’re very kind.” The woman hugged her again and wiped Heidi’s tears with tissue paper from her purse. Moments later the woman’s tears splattered on the tiles between them. “I was also abused in my childhood. A close relative stole my innocence. We live among rogues and perverts.” She wiped her own tears. 143 For some minutes, they talked about their lives, God and hope, exchanged some email addresses, hugged again and walked hand-inhand like mother and daughter, both dragging wheeled traveller’s bags with their free hands. In the terminal’s foyer, where porters and taxi drivers formed a barrier as their jostled for customers, they emphasised the need to keep in touch and parted ways when Heidi spotted...