L and I started our life in Paarl, on his parents farm where they ran a Nursery (Kwekery in Afrikaans). A huge farm with three sections: the one with the house and the office, then the nursery itself where the trees, flowers and other plants were growing, and the last bit was not occupied by anything: lots of space and a dam where, occasionally, Jack Russel Dylan had a swim. Such a big change from a city lifestyle to a farm lifestyle was strange because it was both exciting and scary. Exciting because I have always loved vast spaces, nature, animals. And here I was – I landed on a huge farm with dogs, lots of fruit trees and birds singing all day long, mountains lit up with pink sunlight late in the afternoon. There were no cars all over the place, no children screaming 24 hours, no drunk people under the window arguing with other drunks. Now I had freedom and peace.Or did I?

Paarl is a town located in the province of Western Cape. Literally the name means “pearl”. It is, indeed, a pearl of the Cape, with tranquil wine yards surrounded by mountains. Numerous farms where people live have fences and some places have electric fences. L’s parents’ house, no matter how spacious and beautiful it was, also had metal bars on windows and metal bar gate at every entrance. When you enter a house, first, you unlock the door gate, then you unlock the door itself. Such gates and bars were installed for security reasons as house break-ins were and still are very common in South Africa. It all looked to me as a prison. And what kind of freedom does one have in a prison? What made me feel more trapped, was the fact that there was no public transport in the area, and I could not just leave the farm alone, have a walk outside and enjoy the stroll. I would be asking for a big trouble.  Unfortunately for me back then I did not have driver’s license, so every time I needed to go somewhere, I could only rely on L or his parents. For me it did  not equal freedom.

One beautiful Sunday when everyone was gone to the shops, I stayed on the farm alone. The temptation to explore the premises in details took over my fears. I decided to walk around and feel the atmosphere of the farm. It was weekend, so all the workers who helped out in the Nursery were home, having rest and getting ready for a new week. I left the house and headed towards the plants. Having gone through the reception area and the till, I continued my way to see what else was there. Not surprisingly, I found huge greenhouses with various plants, open spaces with fruit trees still growing in pots, getting ready to find their home in somebody’s garden.  At that very moment I did not think that I myself had a green thumb, that talent of mine I discovered much, much later.

In the next second, long rows of young trees and flowerbeds captured  my attention. I think I had never seen such a variety of flowers that bloom with all the possible colours.  Each type had a tag with the Latin name on it. Nature’s ability to colour everything in a perfect harmony is admirable. Without a doubt, nature is our first art teacher. As time went by, and the day became hotter, the idea of going to the dam became extremely appealing to me. One more lock to open, one more gate to enter, and I was standing next to the water with Dylan and Roxy running around. Such a peaceful place, so tranquil and relaxing. I am really in Africa? I turned my head and saw a small elongated old building that was stuffed with numerous garden tools and other items. It was apparently used as a storage room, but with time and a bit of work could become a decent place to host guests. Amazing farm, a lot of work had been done, a lot of work to be done.

As I was walking back from the dam through the Nursery towards the house, I saw a couple of black South Africans having a stroll along the fence. Where they were heading to, I did not know. It did worry me a bit, as I had heard so much about house break-ins. I was alone on the whole farm, what would I do in case something happened? I made a decision not to look at those people, pretending I was busy with something else. I suppose it was a good strategy, as they passed by and nothing happened. However, I had a feeling I must be alert all the time.

The family came back home. Important things were done, it was time to forget about the business for a while, have a cool drink, and spend some time  together. There was a lot to think about and talk about. There was no point in raising all my questions there, at the dam, where we all were sitting on stubs, drinking Appletizer and looking at the majestic Drakenstein Mountains lit pink by the setting sun…