He stayed drug-free for three days.

On the fourth day he boarded a train at Cape Town station and sat in a corner watching the carriage fill up. More people got on at Woodstock station and when the train pulled out of Salt River station the train was jam-packed. Then he caught a whiff of dagga and it set his mind crawling …

“I’ve got to fight this,” he said to himself.

When the train reached Wynberg station he was almost out of his mind. He forced himself out of the train, ran to the nearest telephone booth, and dialed Andrew May’s number.

A woman answered the phone.

“I want to speak to Mr May!” he screamed at her. “Tell him it’s Colin.”

He heard her calling her husband. “Andrew, hurry, I think it’s an emergency.”

“Mr May, hello,” the old man answered.

“Mr May, it’s Colin. I need help!”

“Hold on, just tell me where you are and I’ll pick you up.”

Andrew May found him leaning against the phone booth, the veins in his neck standing out like cables.

A doctor was called to the house. He gave Colin an injection and prescribed some tablets for him that knocked him out completely. When he awoke there was a dim light burning in the room. The Mays were standing at the foot of the bed, and the girl, Lucy, was holding his hand.

“Hey … is this heaven?” he asked hoarsely.

Lucy laughed softly. “He’s awake Pa,” she said.

“You’re serious about kicking the habit, aren’t you?” Andrew asked.

“Yes, but I did not know that it was going to be this bad. It must be worse than dying,” he said.

“No, there’s nothing worse than dying without having made peace with the Lord.”

Colin lay there, staring at them, thinking about his parents, of the time he had spent on death row, of the bitter hatred that almost blew his mind. Then the dam burst and he cried like a baby.

He cried for the boy who went in to prison, and for the rough, tough-as-nails man who had emerged. The tears seemed to cleanse him, and that night he allowed the May family to pray for him.

He kicked the habit ‘cold-turkey’, but it was a long, lonely road strewn with obstacles. At work, he made his own tea and kept to himself – he was rebuilding his life and could not afford to lose his temper. He felt attracted to the girl Angie, the one who had failed to give him tea that first day, but she ignored him. It was as if he were not there. He wasn’t their type …

Once Lucy came into the office and everybody swooned over her, seeking favour with her father. She chatted to them and then went over to Colin’s desk. Angie had almost stopped Lucy from going over to the big Creep’s table.

Colin was busy writing and Lucy put her hand over his to stop him. Angie saw his eyes soften and the lines around his mouth relax when he smiled up at Lucy.

“Hello Lucy. What brings you down here?” he asked softly. Everybody’s eyes were upon them as they looked at each other wordlessly. There was some affinity between them, like they were sharing a secret, and Angie envied them.

***

Tell us what you think: Why does Angie envy them?