when the heavens opened

5.30 am, the alarm goes off. I toss and switch it off, give myself another 5 minutes and snuggle close to hubby. Then I am up in the dark,swagger to the bathroom and flick on the light. As I vigoriously brush my teeth, the lights go off and I am wide awake. The threatened loadshedding? I strike a match and light two of my fat white candles in the bathroom and get dressed.

I look out of the balcony. Buildings in the far off suburb are lit. There is a strange navy blue hue all around. I rush to watch the eastern sky. It's getting purplish, and then I see a flash of light. Magic. The white curtains in the house glowed with a bluish reflection. I pulled them open and saw my entire house bathed in a shimmery blue. The white floor became the sky. I sat and watched my plants and thought they smiled at me.

Another flash struck beyond the hills. It was lightning! A very light rumble. I wait for that flash of beauty again. A strange calm settles in as dawn decides to break. I watch the sky let out slivers of silvery light through purple grey clouds. A rooster crows far off and breaks the silence. I am glad it survived the suspected bird flu massacre.

Suddenly the lights come on and it's a bright new day. Magic lingers for a while and then quietly slips away. I sigh and head to the gym. That's when the heavens opened and the rains came pouring down. The smell of dust hit me. I danced in joy, along with the palm trees. When I walked out of the gym, it was a squeaky clean day and with fresh blossoms and the most refreshingly green trees. I revelled in the power of the heavens, to simply bring in so much beauty. For no reason at all.

On an afterthought, there was a reason. Hubby's friend, a young man full of life was very sick last night. Severe stomach pain landed him in hospital. But with the city's doctors on strike, he was unattended and left helpless. Not much later, the heavens opened up to welcome him.