Ruben Kapimbi

Simon stepped into the fried-potatoes-smelling shop and grabbed a few yellow bags painted with a red ‘S’ in the centre. Soon, he played cat and mouse with the security’s bush pigskin whip, before knocking down a chuckling girl in a wheelchair. The bashing lash chased him into the grass-choked footpath.

Thereafter, he stitched the sunflower-coloured bags into hoops of shoestrings. Then, he twisted the loops and knotted a nylon made-up belt. Later, he galloped to the swimming pool, but the guard poked a gun-like finger at his missing buttons shirt.

“How much?” Simon asked. “One blue tiger,” the guard yelled. “Get swimming clothes,” the guard said, gnashing his knife-sharp teeth. Simon sat on his cracked heels and peered through the diamond-shaped fence. He spotted bare-chested teens nose-diving and sticking their lollipop-stained blue tongues at him.

Soon he ‘jived’ to the Olympia Swimming Pool. This time, a guard escorted by ear-flapping dogs ordered him to pay ‘50 bucks’.

“You can’t swim like this,” the guard giggled, tearing his threadbare grey shorts. Simon tipped over, but the guard pinched his nose, after picking the urine-stinking breath blowing out of his mouth.

“My underwear has many spotlights,” Simon said. “What?” the guard said brandishing a horsewhip.

Thereafter, Simon hitchhiked to the Brakwater Dam. He pinched his nose at the smell of toilet-flush water, and snubbed the brick-size poo floating on the water. Soon he removed his blue shirt and stepped on a grey rock springboard. Instantly, he free-fell into the murky water. He backstroked and then paddled in the greenish pool. Later, he jumped out of the poo-perfumed water.

For days, he tapped the ‘No trespassing’ planks hooked at the entrance. One day, he strolled next to the Katutura Swimming Pool but stumbled upon a sniffling aunty.

“My son is drowning,” she said, choking on her sobs. Immediately, Simon burnt the rubber of his scruffy black shoes and knocked the guard out of his path. He dived into the corkscrewing water. For seconds, he disappeared under the water, gripping the panting boy by his twisted arms.

Afterward, he carried him over his back towards the handclapping and feet-stomping onlookers. In the end, the ear-splitting alarm bell from the ambulance tickled the syringe-frightened boy to breathe normally, and Simon received a heroic ticket to the Olympic team of 2030.