They went to WITS using one of UJ's
mini-buses. When they got there the coach said they had an hour to walk around
and check the campus out before having to return to the courts. Since none of
them really knew WITS the five of them walked together. They walked from the
tennis courts to a place they had driven passed, they saw people there and
Melissa had thought to ask them where to go, but since she didn't even know
what to ask for so she kept quiet. The main reason she decided to keep quiet,
though, was her shyness. She had always been terribly shy and introverted and
for the most part she was content with it but there were times, like now, where
she wished she had more confidence. They kept walking aimlessly until they came
to a flight of stairs next to a basketball court, they decided to climb it and
see what waited for them at the top. When they reached the top of the stairs they
saw what looked like a cafeteria with a building to their left and a pool to
their right. It was afternoon already so the place was a bit empty but there
were a group of people around one table wearing WITS-branded tracksuits, she
assumed they were the tennis players. Before they could even decide what to do
one of the boys wearing a WITS tracksuit walked up to them. He was tall and
well built, obviously a gymmer. He had light skin, dark hair and his eyes were
a piercing blue. Melissa couldn't help but get lost in them. He went around
introducing himself to the five UJ students. Eventually he caught her staring
and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Paul, Paul Peters". At first she
didn't know what to do, but his smile was so comforting that she shook his hand
and returned the smile, "Hi, I'm Melissa"
When she opened her eyes
she was back in front of the audience. They all stared at her blankly. In the
first row she saw his mother, Mary, and his younger sister Kayla. Paul didn't
talk about his father often, all Melissa really knew was that he died not long
after Kayla was born. This was another reason she felt so guilty, Paul was the
only male in the house and now his mother and sister were left alone, because
of her. Of course they didn't look at it like that. Mary was too kind to think
like that and Kayla is too young to think like that. Melissa knew, logically,
that it wasn't her fault but she still felt guilty. She was back at the funeral
again, after a few minutes of standing there all she managed to say was "Paul".
She knew that she would have to say something soon. She saw her father, John,
stand up but shook her head and he sat down. I have to do this alone, she
thought. John was a very stern man and more often than not didn't even like
boys looking at his daughter but had become quite fond of Paul. Paul was very
friendly and was liked almost everywhere he went and by almost everyone he met,
which made it even harder to accept that he was gone. Melissa looked at her
mom, Elizabeth, who was sitting next to John. Elizabeth was an easy-going woman
and, like John, was very fond of Paul. A smile crept on her face, a sort of
reassuring smile, to let Melissa know that "it's ok, take all the time you
need"
Melissa looked down. She sniffed, "I'm the last to speak today,
and everything that should have been said was already said. So that means the
only thing I can tell you is how Paul inspired good in people, because he was
such a positive person. Firstly, those of you who know me will know that before
Paul I was very introverted and shy but then I met him and he literally guided
me out of my shell and helped me become the type of person who can deliver
speeches in front of hundreds of people. Secondly, one of his friends, who has
asked me not to mention his name, was facing problems at home and had developed
a serious drug addiction. When Paul found out he practically spent every second
with the boy, helping him with his problems at home and helping him stay away
from drugs by introducing him to tennis. Today that boy is one of the best
tennis players I've seen and has a shot at playing at tournaments like
Wimbledon and Roland Garros one day. I could go on and on, but then I would
keep you here much longer...” she stared out into the crowd and started having
another flashback. It was her birthday and Paul had taken her to Ocean Basket
at Clearwater Mall for supper. They arrived early in the evening but when they
left it was late, they had a habit of sitting and talking for hours, getting
lost in each other’s company. Before they went to the car they went for a walk
around the mall. It was empty except for a few couples they passed and the few
security guards still on duty.
After making their way around the mall they
started walking toward the parking lot. Paul gave the parking ticket and some
change to Melissa so she could pay while he fetched the car. The parking lot,
like the mall, was deserted, just a few lone cars in sight. It was a cold night
and Melissa could see the steam in front of her every time she exhaled. While
she was paying she felt warm breath on her neck and, since there seemed to be
no one else in the parking lot, she had assumed it was Paul. Then she felt a
blade against her neck and the person behind her covered her mouth. She knew it
wasn't Paul. She had taken a few self-defence MMA classes with Paul and knew
exactly what to do in this situation, or so she thought. In that moment she
realised that no amount of training can prepare you for the moment you are
attacked. She used her right palm to grab and push the blade away from her
neck, cutting herself a bit in the process, and once she thought it was a safe
distance away she slammed the back of her head into her attackers face, hoping
to stun him/her, even if just for a moment. It worked, the attacker stepped back
and Melissa turned around and saw it was a man. He was taller than her and was
skinny.
He wore a big black hoodie so his face was covered. She used the moment
and punched the guy in the neck as hard as she could, a technique she learned
in a self-defence class, and the man then clutched his chest tightly, gasping
for air. Then Paul pulled up and jumped out of the car and ran towards the man.
Melissa grabbed the ticket from the machine and shouted out, "Let's go! I
have the ticket, let's go!” Paul ignored her and punched the man hard in the
face, his nose started bleeding. "You think you're strong because you can
rob girls?!" he shouted out, Melissa could hear the anger in his voice.
She knew that this was his ego acting out; the right thing to do would have
been to drive away. He punched the attacker a few more times and then kicked
him hard in the rib cage. The man fell down, seemingly unconscious, and Paul
stood over him. "How strong are you now?" just as he spoke he heard
Melissa scream and turned around to see why. As he turned around a powerful
fist, which seemed to have come from nowhere knocked him. The force was so
strong it pushed him back a few steps and left him momentarily stunned. When he
became fully conscious again he saw that there were two more attackers, one was
holding Melissa back and the other, the one who punched him, was standing in
front of him.
He tasted blood in his mouth and spat it out. Then he raised his
fists, protecting his face like he was taught in the self-defence class. The
second attacker simply laughed and pulled out a gun. He pointed it directly at
Pauls head. Melissa managed to bite her retainers hand let out a scream
"NO!” Paul looked at her and let out a smile. It was the type of smile
that you share with someone you love on a warm sunny day, not on a cold night
when you have a gun pointed at your face. Melissa started into his deep
piercing blue eyes and got lost in them one last time, imagining that it really
was a warm sunny day. The sound that came next was deafening, and it brought
her back to reality. The man had pulled the trigger and the bullet had hit Paul
on the right side of his head, he fell down instantly. Blood poured out of the
wound and ran down his face. He still had his warm, loving smile for a short
moment. Melissa screamed out as loud as she could but her restrainer slapped
her and then they left, in Paul’s car, taking the first attacker with them. She
ran towards Paul’s body and checked if he had a pulse, he didn't. She had to
reach into his pocket to get his phone because they had taken her bag and she
called an ambulance. When she put the phone down she looked up and saw three
guards coming towards her but all she could do was close her eyes and scream.
When she opened them again she was at the funeral. Her father was now holding
her and she realised that she had been screaming. With tears streaming down her
face she turned towards the mic and all that came out was "I'm
sorry..."
By
Mohamed Zayyan Variawa
opinions welcome at zv0344@gmail.com
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