Max Annas - The Wall

A few steps further, and Meli could see the exit. And the cars that wanted to get out. A garbage truck blocked his view of part of the gate. He saw the guards and lots of police.

Lots of police was okay. Things only got dangerous when they were on their own or in pairs. One time, an officer had taken his day’s earnings, simply because he could. Stopped him, searched him, money, money gone. Just like that. Meli hadn’t even filed a complaint. What good would that have done?

Nobody here would steal his money. Too many eyes. Too much surveillance.

He could already smell the garbage truck. They make more money than I do , he thought. But he was very happy with his yards. Better to take care of the white people’s yards than to haul off their trash. What a horrible smell. However, he also had a sensitive nose. And allergies for the past few years. You can’t do anything about it, the doctor had said.

There was movement up on the garbage truck’s flap. Meli rubbed his eyes. The truck rolled forward a little right then. That’s ridiculous , he thought. Trash is trash, but he looked more closely at it. He almost didn’t see the briefcase.

Brown leather, artificial leather actually. A little shimmer of gold at the handle. And big. Much larger than a typical briefcase.

Meli picked it up. It was heavy. Shook it.

Who’d leave a briefcase out here? Between a wall and a fynbos bush. He looked around. Nobody was watching him. Shook it one more time. There was something metallic inside. Clattered. But also something soft that absorbed the hard edges. Had to be worthless, the contents , he thought. Otherwise, no one would have left it out here. Meli walked on.

By this point, the old ambulance had lined up behind the garbage truck. Would anyone want to look inside the briefcase?

A police officer was inspecting the trunk of a Hyundai. She closed it again, giving the driver a thumb’s up. The gate opened. The Hyundai left The Pines. The gate was wide open. Two officers looked at him. Meli greeted them. They returned his greeting. He looked at the two security guards standing next to the cops and nodded politely. They nodded back in unison. He was out.

A short walk to the road to Abbotsford. A taxi was just speeding by. Every seat taken. He didn’t want to pin his hopes on a taxi. Just figure you have to walk to Abbotsford. That would save him one rand in taxi fare. And he had no hope that someone would give him a lift to Abbotsford. The briefcase had to be worth a couple hundred rand. Maybe a thousand. He just needed to find someone who could pay that much. And first he needed to open it. He didn’t want to break the lock. He’d figure it out.

The garbage truck passed him, stopping at the corner. Meli stared at the open cargo area again. There really was movement up there. He hadn’t just dreamed it. Two people were climbing out of the garbage and scooting to the edge. At the very moment the truck accelerated, they jumped off. After tumbling to the ground, they quickly got to their feet and ran to the street. The woman in white tugged her dress over her thighs. The man in gray brushed off his suit. Where had he seen those two before? The woman stopped the man from dashing across the street. Autos sped by, and then they ran into the neighborhood across the way. He was sure he’d seen the two of them before.

The old ambulance pulled up and stopped next to him at the corner. The young woman at the wheel didn’t look like someone who typically drove an ambulance. Shaved head. Tight t-shirt. Earring. He couldn’t explain it, but for some reason, the woman didn’t belong in there.

The ambulance turned toward Abbotsford. Maybe he should’ve tried to get a ride from her. He still had two kilometers to walk. Meli shook the briefcase again. He was quite curious to see what was inside.

A fire truck with flashing lights raced toward him. Meli watched after it and noticed that somewhere in the gated community, a fire was burning.

He walked on. What a strange day.

My thanks go to Anette Hoffmann, Dirk Lange and Yvonne Weissberg, who read my manuscript and provided feedback. Also, to Dorothee Plass and Martin Baltes who accompanied me during the writing process. To Gary Minkley for so very much. To Saskia Haardt for my image of myself. Last but not least, I am grateful to Paul Weller for “Brand New Day” and to Antje Schuhmann for Paul Weller.

Copyright © Max Annas, 2019.

Translated from the German by Rachel Hildebrandt Reynolds

Copyright © Rachel Hildebrandt Reynolds, 2019

Originally published under the title DIE MAUER.

Copyright @ 2016 by Rowohlt Verlag GmbH, Reinbek bei Hamburg

The translation of this work was supported by a grant from the Goethe-Institut.

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FIRST EDITION

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018964502

ISBN: 978-1-946395-14-6

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