Die Suid-Afrikaanse Ashley Oosthuizen (23) wat op die oomblik in ‘n tronk in Thailand is nadat sy skuldig bevind is op aanklag dat sy dwelms in ontvangs geneem het, het ‘n roerende brief vir haar ma op Valentynsdag geskryf.
Sy vier ook op 3 Maart haar tweede verjaardag agter tralies.
LEES OOK: Geliefdes vier 23ste sonder Ashley
THE VISITING ROOM (PT1)
“It’s the walk that I know so well; I count – one, two, three and four locked doors being opened and letting me through. And this walk, it knows me too – through all the varieties of my footsteps: sometimes weighing down the earth itself; at times awkward from walking out of tune in the string of prisoners and other times, albeit light and easy, still somewhat constrained because of having to refrain from breaking into a run. The short walk brings me to my chair – mine only in the sense that I sit there each time because in no other way can anything in here belong to me. Slightly out of breath, I sit myself down. One meter across from me is an identical chair, or so I assume… I’ve never actually seen it, because of this barrier. The glass window is screened with the worst kind of diamonds: those made of iron, coated in a shade of paint that might have been bright many years ago, now flaking off; framed with thick steel bars, not allowing for any contact with the window in between, except perhaps a finger or two, as though it was their intention to never have it cleaned so that clouds of dust may gather to further obstruct our view.
My gaze stays fixed on the door, with only momentary lapses where my eyes dart to the clock and back. My legs are restless and I fiddle with my hands – all without moving my head. A sense of propriety keeps me in check, but inside my beating heart gallops away; only to come to a sudden halt – for the brief moment – as I’m flushed with emotion in recognition.
She’s here.
I reach out my palm to feel hers and each time I wonder if this will be the day that, with combined power of our hands and our earnest wish for human touch, well be able to somehow break through this barrier… and every day it isn’t. We lift our hands all the same, to pray, to ask for strength, to seek guidance and to give thanks. I open my eyes and I meet those of my first love I’ve ever known:
My Mother.
Happy Valentine’s Day, I hope you are spending this day celebrating love, whatever kind it may be.”
From me to you, with love,
Ashley.
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