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Farley and Jos lived on the same street and were walking slowly home, high on the satisfaction of a win against their main rival. They joked about how dejected the Colva boys would be for the coming week as they rounded the corner into their street.
A high pitched scream shook them from their reverie.

"That was Mary." Gasped Jos as the boys ran toward the scream.

Mary rushed from the house; she met Jos in the middle of the road amongst cries of anguish -"DADDY IS DEAD! DADDY IS DEAD!" Jos grabbed her shoulders firmly and yelled "WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH DADDY?"

Mary's chest heaved as she fought for breathe. Her words were barely coherent; "Daddy is dead Josheart attack." Mary's words trailed off into a defeated hush.
Jos released Mary and sprinted into the family home, his thoughts racing, Mary must have been mistaken. Daddy was probably just sick, a "heart attack", it seemed impossible for the man who could carry a son on each arm and Mary on his shoulders. He was the solid rock on which the family was built.

As Jos entered the living room his worst fears materialized. His father was lying on the sofa in a way Jos had never seen, arms folded across his chest and his feet raised on a cushion. His mother sat by his side and a man Jos recognized as Dr. De Souza was standing beside them.

Dr. De Souza immediately approached Jos - "Your father suffered a fatal heart attack. We did all we could for him, I'm sorry."
Jos, looked at his mother, life appeared drained from her face, then at his father who was pale and motionless. How could the two people he loved more than anything be reduced to what was before him? Just hours earlier they had wished him luck and beamed with pride as they knew their son was doing what he loved most. How could his father have died of a heart attack? The man could build houses, repair furniture, and fix anything but he could not be repaired, he was dead.
Jos put his arm around his mother's shoulders and placed one hand on his father's chest. He felt himself blending into the scene he had just witnessed, the air was drawn out of his body and his spirit sank - "Mummy" no other words came to Jos.

Several minutes passed before Mrs. Fernandez seemed to breathe, let alone muster the effort to speak. She grabbed Jos's hand and looked into his eyes - "A great man has been taken from us today, there will be no more of his love, his laughter, his encouragement or his advice, and our world will change now. I hope you've been a good listener."

Learn more about this author, Peter Robertson.
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