I handed him the last slice of toast and a cup of tea with his vitamin. “Here’s breakfast.”
My dad took it with reluctance. “Have you and Lexi eaten yet?”
Oh, Dad. Always worried about us.
“Yes, we have. We’re running low on supplies, though. I’ll see if I can get more after work.”
He nodded, fishing in his pockets. “Here. I got paid yesterday. Buy as much food as you can. It’s the last.”
He handed me the notes. It was a pitiful amount, the few hundred rands now meaningless in the face of the growing economic crisis.
“What do you mean last?” I took in his rumpled appearance for the first time. “Aren’t you going to work today?”
“The mine’s closed, Ava.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair. The news had hit him hard. “They ran us off yesterday. Told us to get off the property. They even had the police there. People were screaming, fighting…”
“God, why didn’t you say something earlier?”
He shrugged and looked away. “I’ll look for another job.”
My father would never find another one. We both knew that. Unemployment had skyrocketed. This was a massive blow for us, but I didn’t want to rub it in any further. “It’s okay, Dad. We’ll be fine, you’ll see. I’ve still got my job.”
“Yes, but I worry about you, Ava. Working in the pharmacy is dangerous. What if someone who’s got the sickness goes there? What if you get infected?” His eyes fixed on mine, concern showing in every tired line of his face.
Lexi followed the conversation without saying a word, her honey-brown eyes flicking back and forth between Dad and me like it was a tennis match.
“I won’t, Dad. I’m careful. We all are.” I pulled a set of gloves and a face mask out of my handbag and waved them at him. “Besides, I can’t quit. We need the money. Now more than ever.” To tell the truth, I was terrified I’d get infected. But we had to eat.
He nodded. “I know, but I still worry.”
This I knew all too well. Ever since my mom died in a car accident two years ago, he clung to us with desperate intensity. My dreams of going to University quickly faded in the face of his need, and Lexi was so young; she needed me to look after her.
“It’ll be okay, Dad. You’ll see,” Lexi piped in with the optimism of youth.
I looked at her and remembered what we had talked about earlier. “I’d be more worried about Lexi if I were you. She shouldn’t still be going to school. It’s too dangerous.”
“I don’t want her to stop going unless there’s no choice, Ava. She needs the routine, a sense of normalcy. We all do. Besides, the Principal assured me they’re taking precautions.”
I wasn’t so sure of that. What would a principal know? Hundreds of millions of people across the world were dead, with more dying each day as the disease progressed. Asia and most of Europe were in flames, America had closed its borders, while Africa was a bloodbath. The only thing that had saved our asses thus far was an airport strike over wages. It had prevented the Black Tide from spreading here before the WHO could issue a global alert.
Still, it had spread to our central cities, sneaking a ride in on the backs of refugees entering the country illegally. Hospitals and clinics had distributed antiretrovirals from stores initially meant for HIV positives. While it couldn’t cure the disease, it did slow it down at first. Until the virus became resistant. Now it was speeding up. How much longer did we have before it showed up in our town? A week? Two weeks?
“But Dad,” Lexi whined.
“I don’t think…” I began.
“We’ll see how it goes, for now, okay?” He held up a hand to forestall any further objections, and we reluctantly subsided. He could be very stubborn when he felt like it, a trait he had passed on to both of us in spades.
“Fine. If you say so,” I replied, not bothering to hide my irritation. “Let’s go, Lexi. Have you got your jacket? It’s freezing outside.”
“Got it,” she replied.
She kissed Dad goodbye, but I walked out after giving him a nod, annoyance fueling my actions. Why did he have to be so stubborn? I ignored the twinge of guilt I felt at the defeated look on his face and stepped outside.
Our feet crunched over the grass, frost glittering in the early morning sun. I hurried to my car, a rust bucket as old as the hills. The doors creaked as we got in, and I suppressed a grin at the look on Lexi’s face.
“Why does your car have to be so old? The other kids at school laugh at me.”
“You can always walk. A second class drive is better than a first class walk.”
Lexi rolled her eyes at that but refrained from saying anything. I loved these moments. Moments when we could act normally. Like the Black Tide had never happened and we were just two sisters, bickering and teasing each other.
I turned the key in the ignition. The old girl groaned loudly but refused to start. It took several more tries before she caught, and a cloud of white smoke billowed from the exhaust, much to Lexi’s disgust.
The petrol tank was low, and I smothered a sigh of despair. Fuel cost a fortune, but I needed it to get to work. It was too dangerous to walk nowadays.
The cold cut like a knife, so I cranked up the heat. Our breath puffed out in little clouds of mist, and my fingers felt like ice, the knuckles raw and chapped. Winter was never my favorite time of year.
A look in the mirror confirmed that I looked as bad as I felt. The recent rationing had whittled down my heart-shaped face to a sharp point; the cheekbones were prominent and my skin as white as snow. Dark green eyes gazed back without their usual vigor,
