Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Day 294 of 365 · Week 43
✍️ Riaan M. Odendaal
The woman in my phone says I have arrived.
I am beside a fence.
On the other side is the building I want, which supports her position to a degree. There is no gate.
She has nothing further to add.
For the past twenty minutes, our relationship has been quite close. She knew about the traffic. She warned me which lane to use. When I missed a turn, she adjusted without bringing it up again.
I appreciated that.
Now, at the moment when local knowledge would be most useful, she considers the matter concluded.
I drive a little further.
There is an entrance marked DELIVERIES ONLY.
Beyond that, a gate marked NO ENTRY.
The building is becoming increasingly familiar from several sides.
Eventually, I telephone the person I am visiting.
“Where are you?”
“At your building.”
“Which side?”
A reasonable question, although by now I could offer a small selection.
They tell me to come around to the front.
The front turns out to be in a road with a different name. There is a tree, a parked bakkie and somebody waving.
I pull in.
“You found us.”
Her record still shows a successful journey.
