Seeing Is Believing

Chapter One

" Are we there yet, Mamma ?", Vanessa  asked her mother from the backseat of her Grandpa's old station wagon .

Her mother inherited it from Vanessa's  Oupa Jurie three months ago when he died of a heart attack .

Oupa Jurie had been very  old . 

He and her Ouma Lalie had her Mamma when they were both past forty  .

They tried for twenty years to have a child and thought that they will never have the privilege to raise one when Ouma Lalie became pregnant with her Mamma .

A miracle , Oupa Jurie used to say . 

Vanessa wasn't sure about that.  She didn't believe in miracles .

Miracles didn't bring her Pappa back to them when he chose to marry Loutjie's  Mamma .

" No, Vanessa . We still have a few more minutes ."

Vanessa stared out of the window at the passing scenery .

She saw farmland upon farmland .

This part of their new home was full of those .

The world was flat and she could see for miles to the furthest horizon .

Trees were sparse because the farmers cut them down to get more farmland to plant on .

" I need to pee," Vanessa's older sister Nicolette said , pinching her legs together in an attempt to hold it in .

" We'll stop at the garage on Groenwater ," their mother said ," I need to buy something for dinner anyway . If I remember correctly , the garage sells pies  ."

That's right , their mother  visited Groenwater when she was Vanessa's age . It used to be her own Ouma's hometown.

Hopefully the garage still existed and still sold pies .

Vanessa's strongly doubted that .

Nothing ever stayed the same . Towns changed as the times changed .

It wasn't the seventies anymore .

" I want a two litre Coke for myself ," Hannes, Vanessa and Nicolette's younger brother spoke up from where he sat hidden in the boot of the station wagon .

" No, you can't have one," Jurie, named after Oupa Jurie , grouched .

He was the oldest sibling and the grumpiest person Vanessa has ever known .

Then there was Alice ,the youngest and the mouthiest of all five of them .

She was asleep right now  on Vanessa's lap .

" But I want one! ," Hannes cried and Vanessa shushed him immediately.

She'd had enough of Alice's loud mouth for one day .

" We'll see , Hannes," their mother said to keep the peace .

Hannes pouted , but stayed quiet and duck out of sight .

Vanessa continued watching the scenery .

She saw houses now and a river that separated some of the houses from each other , as well as the  main part of town .

They drove  past a green board that welcomed them to Groenwater and asking them to keep the town clean .

Vanessa wondered if the locals followed that instruction .

The sky was already darkening and street lights blinked into existence , but she couldn't see if there were rubbish lying around .

The old Ford Sierra station wagon parked at a garage that reminded Vanessa of an old movie she watched ,when boys wore brail cream in their hair and black  leather jackets , riding Harley Davidsons and girls wore poodle skirts and curled their hair .