A vendor enters the carriage from the left as the train leaves the station. Immediately he gets the attention of the commuters.
“Fresh from the fountain in the mountain,” he says in a raised voice.
“Tien ran’… tien ran’… Hurry, hurry, is ’n bargain. Daa is nog klom’ waa’ die vanaa’ kom,” he brags as he swags down the aisle.
“Is die regte goed?” a lady asks, almost shouting in surprise.
“Kyk self,” the vendor chirps as he slips the 500 millilitre bottle into her hand.
With an expression between excitement and anxiety she quickly checks the bottle and the seal. “Lyk genuine,” she says to the commuter next to her. He shakes his head in approval.
“Tien ran’; djy moet enjoy baby-girl,” the vendor reminds her as he extends an open hand ignoring the bottle completely. Her purse opens in a flash. A twenty rand note jumps into his hand and without thinking twice he suggests: “Vat die grootman somma een. Return net haa tien ran’ as ie ou nie mind nie, of wat praat ek alles?” he asks with a polite expression and gesture.
The middle-aged guy looks at him with a stern face. Suddenly he smiles and says: “Ok fine; djy het my,” and reaches for his wallet.
“Nog te bietere; koep ’ie ou somma haa bottel of wat sê djy baby-girl?” the vendor suggests turning his eyes towards the middle-aged guy and the lady, who are both smiling politely.
“Djy kry my alwee,” the middle-aged guy says, still smiling.
“Djy kan maa ophou,” Baby-girl adds to the conversation.
“Ek mean ma… Julle sit soe droeg hiesa,” the vendor quips while he balances his produce in one hand and steadies the cooler box between his legs.
“Koellek soelang julle gel. Ek kap ’n paal net hie. Ek het net tien oo,’” he informs the commuters.
A twenty rand appears from the middle-aged guy’s purse.
“It’s fine baby-girl,” he says to the lady next to him.
“You didn’t need to, but thanks anyway,” she responds smiling back at him.
“You’re welcome,” he whispers as the vendor returns her money.
“Baby-girl djy moerit enjoy.”
“Wats jou naam nou wee?” Fonnie quickly asks in the same breath.
She looks at him for a moment, smiles says, “Claire, …en by the way, wat wil djy met my naam maak?” she enquires.
“Aweh, will it virrie laanie langs jou gie baby-girl,” he replies almost without thinking. She blushes and looks down. Her hair falls forward almost covering her face.
“Hi Claire, I’m Giovanni. Cheers on that,” the middle-aged guy introduces himself while he cracks the seal of the bottle. She opens hers shyly and looks up.
“Pleased to meet you; cheers,” she adds with a shy smile.
“Pity Fonnie kannie cheers ’ie. Stocks are limited but tomorrow is another day,” the vendor says with a twinkle in his eyes.
As he bows down to grab the coolerbox Claire quips, “Lekke dag. Djy het nou ôs altwie gekry.”
“Enjoy baby-girl. Julle het somma mekaa gekry, of wat praat ek alles?” the vendor shoots, shrugging his shoulders and winking at her and Giovanni.
“Hoe lyk hulle hie?” he asks as he turns around facing the commuters. “Aweh, julle het somma die gel reg my ma se kinnes,” he says in a happy voice, seeing a guy paying with five ten rands collecting the bottles and dishing them out to the commuters seated next to him.
“Wiet djy hoe lank wag ôs,” the guy protests while opening his bottle.
“Djy het mos ees ’n wedding gehou,” he mumbles moments before the bottle touches his lips.
“Djy wiet hoe garrit, maa net ou Fonnie se personal touch,” the vendor answers shrugging his shoulders again.
The train reduces speed.
Fonnie holds onto the support pillar glancing over to Claire and Giovanni.
“I work in town but due to circumstances, junk status, etc. I decided to give Metrorail a try,” she explains to Giovanni.
“I travel by train and never saw you,” Giovanni says.
“This is my first week but so far so good,” she replies smiling.”
“Maybe I’m the lucky one. You might need a guardian angel; you never know,” Giovanni whispers to her as he takes a sip from the bottle, hiding his smile.
“You never know,” she replies.
Their smiling eyes meet as he lowers the bottle.
“Aweh, Fonnie het mos magic potion sê ek nog altyd.”
Claire’s giggle is just about audible.
A full smile appears on Giovanni’s face. “Daa kry djy my alwee,” he says.
Meanwhile Fonnie makes his way towards the door.
“Moen nettie van Fonnie vegiettie. Nooi vi my oek,” he shouts over his shoulder.
The train is almost at a standstill. Giovanni and Claire’s eyes are now fixed on him. Their eyes are saying, “waavan praat djy?”
“Ôs praat wee. Ek bring môre wee van daai. Allie pad van Ceres af, specially vi julle twie. Soes julle wiet is hie niks waate innie kaap ’ie.”
The train comes to a halt.
“Safe journey guys; hou maa die tien rante reg,” Fonnie greets as he exits the carriage.
***
Urban Dictionary
ran’ – Pronounced “run”, it is the Afrikaaps version of “rand” which is our South African currency.
klom – The Afrikaaps version of “kom” which is an Afrikaans word for “many”.
Vanaa’ – The Afrikaaps version of “vandaan” which in Afrikaans means “from”.
bietere – The Afrikaaps term for “meer beter” which in Afrikaans means “more better / even better”.
koep – The Afrikaaps word for “koop” which is the Afrikaans word for “buy”.
twie – The Afrikaaps word for “twee” which is the Afrikaans word for “two”.
droeg – The Afrikaaps word for “droog” which is the Afrikaans word for “dry”.
hiesa – The Afrikaaps word for “hierso” which is the Afrikaans word for “over here / right here”.
koellek – The Afrikaaps term for the English word “collect”.
soelang – The Afrikaans word for “solank” which is the Afrikaans word for “meanwhile / in the mean time”.
gel – The Afrikaaps word for “geld” which is the Afrikaans word for “money”.
moerit – The Afrikaaps term for “moet dit” which when translated from English to Afikaans “moet = must” and “dit = it” would then each be placed either side of a verb. “moerit enjoy” = “must enjoy it”
virrie – The Afrikaaps word for “vir die” which in Afrikaans means“for the”.
laanie – The Afrikaaps word for “boss” and often used to refer to white people but also as in this case used to refer to someone who appears well-off.
garret – The Afrikaaps word for “gaan dit” which in Afrikaans means“(how) it goes / (how) things are” .
vegiettie – The Afrikaaps word for “vergeet nie” which in Afrikaans means“forget not”.
waate – The Afrikaaps word for “water” which is spelled the same way in both Afrikaans and English.