FOR THE LOVE OF CHOCOLATE
Scene 1:
FARM IN BRITS, NORTH WEST PROVINCE. INTERIOR. DAYTIME.
It’s a swelteringly hot day – 32 degrees celsius in the shade. It’s also a Saturday, so Minki is enjoying a relaxing, quiet weekend. She walks to the old wardrobe in her room, and extracts a tin from a drawer inside. It is full of money. She walks with the tin to her bay window and sits down to count the money. There is close to R3000 in cash in the tin. She makes a note of this in an A5 diary, and puts the tin away.
Minki returns to the bay window of her room, daydreaming. She is wearing a white tank top and jeans, and is barefoot. She extracts a bulky, folded piece of paper from her jean pocket. It is a brochure for a ski resort in France. Minki’s dream is to make enough money to buy a ticket to France so that she can work on a ski resort in the Alps. She wants to get as far away from her small home town, to travel the big wide world. It is clear that Minki keeps this brochure with her all the time and looks at it regularly.
Outside, the garden boy Sizwe Sithole is working hard. He is wearing a white vest and jeans. Minki catches a glimpse of Sizwe from the corner of her eye. Her face suddenly goes bright red as she blushes. Minki has been attracted to Sizwe ever since he started working on the farm three years ago. It more than just a little crush.
Minki can’t stop staring at Sizwe. She lusts over his bluging muscles. She groans when he stops working for a moment to take off his inhibiting vest. He tucks it into the back pocket of his jeans. Minki blushes again. Her stare is so intense that Sizwe turns around. He looks straight at her, even though he is a few metres away. He smiles back at her. She freezes, looks away and tries to get up as casually as possible. She feels ashamed that she has been caught staring at him. She makes sure that she’s out of sight.
After a moment of standing in her room, not knowing what to do, and hoping that Sizwe is no longer looking her way, she returns to the bay window to draw the curtains. After she has closed them, she just can’t help herself and continues to peer at him from a gap in the thick material.
Scene 2:
THE POTGIETERS FARM IN BRITS. INTERIOR. LATER THAT DAY.
Minki is lying on her stomach on her bed. Her schoolbooks are strewn all over her bed, around her. But she is completely preoccupied. She is absorbed in a small, A5 book that she is doodling in. All over the pages she has written one name over and over again: Sizwe. In between his name, she has drawn little arrows, and red and pink hearts. She is also humming softly to herself, but doesn’t realise that she is doing it.
Dawie enters the house through a back door that leads to the kitchen. He has been walking along the perimeter of the farm, monitoring work progress on the farm. He is hot, bothered, dusty, sweaty, hungry and tired. He looks around the kitchen, confused, as though he expects someone to be there. He stares at his wristwatch – it is half past five.
The kitchen is spotlessly clean – the dishes have been washed and are neaty stacked in the drying racks. He mutters to himself and sighs. He stomps off down the corridor to Minki’s room. His hunger has made him irritable.
The force with which Dawie pushes the door open and bursts into the room gives Minki a huge fright. She quickly closes the A5 diary, and tries to hide it away. Without anything having to be said, Minki jumps up, and looks apologetically at her father and smiles softly. She kisses him on the cheek before rushing to the kitchen. Minki can be heard working in the kitchen – the clamouring of pots and pans and rushing water as she opens the tap. Dawie lingers in the room, looking at the A5 diary on the bed that Minki had so quickly slammed shut. He wants to snoop, but his grumbling stomach gets the better of him and he follows Minki into the kitchen.
He sits at the table, in a feeble attempt to relax himself.
Minki is washing something in the basin, looking out of the window. Outside, the sun is setting. She admires the fading light, day dreaming again. Suddenly she catches sight of Sizwe on his way home. She stares at him, picturing herself in his arms. Outside, Sizwe turns around, as though he senses that someone is looking at him. Their eyes meet. She immediately looks away, shy and ashamed. When she looks up again, Sizwe is smiling at her.
Scene 3:
EXTERIOR OF POTGIETERS FARM AND INTERIOR OF SIZWE’S HOUSE. LATE EVENING.
Sizwe is walking home. His house is not far from the Potgieters farm. His house is a modest, one-bedroomed, brick house – not much more than a shack made out of bricks. His mother greets him at the door with a smile and a hug. He enters the house smiling, and they both chat about their days work. Sizwe’s sisters are skilled at beadwork and make jewellery to sell at the Hartebeespoort Dam craft market. Sizwe is also good at bead work, metal work and fine art. His various artworks are also sold at the craftmarket. Sizwe’s mother holds a bundle of notes in her hand, and offers it to Sizwe. He smiles at her, closes her fingers over the notes, gently pushing her hand back towards her. She smiles shyly, and looks at the floor. He tells his mother to buy herself something nice – she deserves to be spoiled.
The atmosphere is cheery and warm as the family enjoys a home cooked meal together – talking, chattering and laughing.
Scene 4:
THE POTGIETERS FARM. INTERIOR. LATE EVENING – ROUGHLY 8 PM.
Dawie and Minki are sitting at the kitchen table eating supper. It is obvious that they have a strained relationship. Dawie hungrily devours his food without even looking up once. Minki on the other hand is too preoccupid to eat. She is daydreaming about Sizwe again. She sighs dreamily and plays with her food. When her father coughs she jumps back to reality, and takes a bite of food. Then, as though suddenly realising what time it might be, she gets up quickly. She is wearing a uniform with a black apron, and a namebadge. She works at the local pub / restaurant called Die Rondavel. Dawie looks up at his daughter, chews his mouthful of food and wipes his face with a hankerchief. He clears his throat and also gets up to leave.
Dawie then takes Minki to work.
Scene 5:
THE POTGIETERS FARM. EXTERIOR. DAYTIME.
One of the subjects that Minki takes at school is Sotho. Sizwe is Tswana, but as the languages are quite similar, she approaches him in the garden to ask him for some help. She has to study for a big test at school the following week. She cautiously and timidly approaches Sizwe. He is hard at work, hoeing and digging a part of the garden to prepare for flowers to be planted there. He is wearing a white, almost transparent vest, and dirty, torn jeans.
Minki is holding her Sotho schoolbook tightly to her heaving chest. She is nervous. She has spoken to Sizwe on the rare occasion, but doesn’t know that much about him. She doesn’t want him to think that she is a silly, little white girl. She is wearing a low-cut blue shirt and a light and flowy cotton skirt. Her dirty blonde curls bounce around her shoulders as she approaches.
Sizwe suddenly notices Minki in the corner of his eye, and gets a little fright. He looks up to greet her with a smile. She shyly says hello. You can tell by her body language that she is shy and nervous, but that she is really enjoying being in such a close radius to the object of her desire. Sizwe is flattered. He is also somewhat interested in this strange, Afrikaans girl, and very curious about her.
She hands her school book to him and explains that she has to study for a test and needs his help. He accepts the book and pages through it. He nods as he reads through it, saying that he can help her.
Scene 6:
ON THE FARM, IN THE GARDEN. EXTERIOR. LATER ON IN THE AFTERNOON.
It is now almost three hours later, and Sizwe hasn’t gotten any further with the garden work he was supposed to be doing. Instead, Minki and Sizwe are sitting on a bench in the shaded part of the huge garden. They are chatting away and laughing, clearly both are enjoying themselves immensely. Sizwe is teaching Minki how to pronounce words properly, and helping her improve her Sotho vocabulary.
At one point the coversation drifts, and the two sit in silence. It’s not an awkward silence though. Sizwe looks at a tree close by. Something about his mood changes. If you look at the tree close enough, you will notice a small red stain on the bark. It was put there by a criminal, to mark the territory. Sizwe looks down, as though he feels guilty about something and needs to confess. He stares at the ground for awhile, looks at the tree and then finally looks Minki in the eyes. He tells her there is something important she needs to know – the farm is not safe. Two tsotsis in the area have been visiting all the neighbouring farms and marking each one according to how easy it is to break in. He expalins the system to her. He also tells her that they have been interrogating him about Dawie and Minki’s routines, to determine when the best possible time to break into the house would be. His voice and actions become more desperate and anxious, and he pleads with Minki to be careful. He tells her that they are planning to break into their home on Wednesday evening when Minki goes to work.
Minki is absolutely distraught. Sizwe tries to comfort her, as he instantly regrets telling her the bad news. They devise a plan – Sizwe and his brother will hide on the farm and attempt to catch the criminals. They are not murderers, he assures her, they are just desperate men who can’t see any other way out of poverty.
Scene 7:
THE FARM. EXTERIOR. WEDNESDAY. MIDNIGHT.
Dawie and Minki have just arrived home. Minki has made quite a lot of money this evening, but she is not happy. She feels anxious and afraid. As they approach the house they both sense that something is wrong – of course, Minki knows exactly what has happened. The dogs have not come to greet them as they usually do. They can be heard barking in the distance. Dawie whistles loudly to call them home. It takes the three brute-like Ridgebacks a couple of seconds to return.
Minki stays close beside her father. They notice that a window in the lounge has been broken, and Minki fears the worst. Dawie curses under his breath, and sighs loudly. He immediately pulls out his cell phone to call the police. One of the policemen, Klaus Opperman is an old friend of Dawie’s. He is one of the first to arrive on the scene.
Minki huddles in the corner of the lounge, while her father makes a statement. She has just made tea for the two policemen in the house, her father and herself. Suddenly there is some commotion outside and the dogs bark incessantly. Klaus and Dawie jump up to investigate.
Sizwe and his brother have just caught the criminals and are standing outside. Sizwe tries to explain the situation, but Klaus and the other policeman immediately interfere. Klaus is adamant that Sizwe had something to do with the house robbery. All four men are arrested and taken to the police station. Minki immediately jumps in to try to rectify the situation, but she is pushed out of the way. Either way, Klaus tells her, Sizwe was an accomplice to the robbery. Minki is distressed, angry and frustrated.
Scene 8:
THE FARM. INTERIOR. EARLY MORNING, JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Minki is lying in bed. She is tossing and turning, and can’t sleep, as she constantly thinking about what happened. She hopes that Sizwe is okay.
Scene 9:
BRITS POLICE STATION. INTERIOR. EARLY MORNING.
Sizwe and his brother are sitting on the dark concrete floor of the cell they are sharing with ten other people. Most are sullen and quiet. Some are smoking cigarettes. It is cold and dark. Sizwe and his brother are sitting on the floor with their arms wrapped around their legs and their heads on their knees.
Scene 10:
SIZWE’S HOUSE. INTERIOR. EARLY MORNING – ROUGHLY 6AM.
Sizwe’s mother and sisters are worried about him and his brother. They have no idea where they may be.
Scene 11:
THE FARM. INTERIOR. NEXT MORNING.
After making breakfast for herself, Minki goes for a walk. She is familiar with the area, and finds it quite safe to walk around, especially in the day time. Her father has been awake since 6 AM to milk the cows and make sure the daily operations on the farm are running smoothly. She leaves him a note to say that she has gone for a walk, but as she does this regularly, she knows that he will not be concerned.
Minki closes the main gate of the farm behind her, and walks to town. She digs in her pocket to pull out the ski resort brochure again. She tries to smooth out the creases in the paper. Then she sighs heavily, and throws the paper carelessly onto the road. She walks briskly and with determination.
Scene 11:
BRITS POLICE STATION. INTERIOR. LATER THAT DAY.
Sizwe is using a phone at the police station to call his mother to tell her where they are. Midway through the conversation with her, he notices Minki walking through the door. She can’t see him, and soon she disappears out of sight. The policeman, Klaus Opperman, harrasses Sizwe by suddenly ripping the receiver out of his hands and slamming the phone down. Sizwe knows better than to fight back or show any emotion. He silently, sullenly is led back to the cell.
When they get to the cell, another policeman is standing there. He and Klaus talk quietly to each other, glancing at Sizwe every now and then with contempt. The other policeman nods his head towards the front of the police station where Minki is. Klaus can’t belive his ears, but Sizwe is free to go. Minki has paid for his bail, as well as that of his brothers. The amount came up to R3000 exactly.
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