Aliefka

« back to overview

Blog

Archive for October, 2010

Winners and losers

published on: 30.10.2010 in: All entries

I worried I might not recognize him. Silly me. He was unchanged. The same compact posture, the narrow and rounded shoulders that sagged down over a neglected, apple-shaped, body. I was his opponent back then. He was mister top-lawyer at a competing firmevery won almost every court case. Anytime I saw him, his eyes would […]

more

To be alone

published on: 28.10.2010 in: All entries

To be alone means to be released of a part of you, the part you don't like. The one that shows it's ugly head once the others get to know you better. You can be pretty for a day, happy for two, sociable for three. And the new others will love you for all that. […]

more

To bang, to poke, or to fuck.

published on: 21.10.2010 in: All entries

Have you ever “fucked” an American? Or as a woman, been “poked” by one? Out comes the racist in me, you may well be thinking. Think as you please, but the fact of the matter is: there are cultural differences in how we engage in and perceive sex. And I have been quite candidly reminded […]

more

Interfering with fate

published on: 19.10.2010 in: All entries

She is a brunette. She has a short fringe and bobbed hair. Her cheekbones rise high above her nose. The cheeks themselves are dented inwards, the way one would look when sucking one’s cheeks in to look sexier. But she has all that, naturally. She has the dark, deep set eyes. It’s a pity her […]

more

To be privileged

published on: 15.10.2010 in: All entries

“I spoke with Bhutanya a lot back then,” said Karmiet.Bhutanya and Anne. Two girls who blocked the stairways at school kissing. “I never knew you were friends?”I said. “What Bhutanya did back then was brave. Her parents were really strict, Muslim.” How come Karmiet knew these things about Bhutanya and I didn’t? And how come […]

more

Stop feeling what she feels.

published on: 13.10.2010 in: All entries

The problem with depression is nobody likes it. It ranks high on the scale of most unattractive traits. The depressed person hates it too. And dislikes herself through the eyes of the world. But she has forgotten which came first. “How are you?”“Fine,” she says. Because she once tried saying, “maybe not so good.” It […]

more

Concentrated stroke

published on: 12.10.2010 in: All entries

She has strong features: high cheekbones, powerful jaw. She is tall and has an athletic build. She sits in front of the piece she is working on. It is too big for an easel so she has pinned it to the wall, next to another unfinished piece. Her back is turned to the door, where […]

more

The personal risk

published on: 11.10.2010 in: All entries

What, I wondered, makes this pianist so good? I closed my eyes and listened to the music, without feeling particularly sad or touched or happy. In fact, nothing of the sort. Still, the music that left her fingers had me engaged. I was entirely absorbed while listening.At one stage a voice in my mind whispered, […]

more

My world and yours

published on: 08.10.2010 in: All entries

A 5-year old girl crosses the street. She wears a school uniform: a black tunic and purple vest. In the country I live, nobody wears school uniforms. Only kids that go to a private, British school.She does not speak our language. But we speak hers. The children her age don’t though. Should I pity her? […]

more

Rainy day

published on: 06.10.2010 in: All entries

A big window separates me from a street I used to walk through, every morning. And no longer do. It rains on the other side. Shades of grey. A fat woman exits that street. She wears black. Black leggings that leave only a short piece of skin between her calf and her sneakers uncovered. Black […]

more