COMING SOON

JOSIE - A NOVEL BY LEGODILE SEGANABENG

On February 14^th, Josephine carried a bouquet of flowers to Alfred’s home, hoping to resuscitate the love they once had. They had not spoken in a long time. When she arrived, Alfred had just finished taking a bath. He smelled of aftershave. 

“What do you want?” he barked. He was standing by the door and didn’t invite her into the house. “You shouldn’t just drop in unannounced!”  

“I brought you some flowers,” she said, standing on the porch. She thrust the bouquet of flowers into his hands. Alfred slammed them to the floor between them, scattering individual flowers in all directions. The flowers swayed like little pendulums from the forceful throw, their brilliant red petals contrasted with the white tiles of the floor. She looked at him, teary eyed and filled with contempt.  

“What the fuck are these? Do these look like roses to you?” he quipped. “These are damn fake! You can’t even tell the difference between genuine and counterfeit. You bought these moulded plastics from the Chinese outlets, didn’t you?” She was shocked and did not respond.  

Josie remained rooted to the spot like a pylon. Her hands were shaking – perhaps from anger, perhaps from shame, maybe from fear, she couldn’t tell which. Her face seemed devoid of emotion, possibly in an attempt to act strong, but a closer look into her eyes revealed she was a woman about to break down. 

“These are tomb flowers,” Alfred continued, his bloodshot eyes bearing down on her. “I know that’s all you can afford with your National Service stipend. But these, young lady, are flowers for the dead!”

“

Please don’t say that. You’re hurting me,” she spoke in a weak, vulnerable voice. Tears spilled from her eyes. He shook his head and stormed into the house, banging the door so hard that the air it vacuumed outside ruffled the plastic flowers. For a long time she stood there, staring blankly at the closed door...

(an extract)