海角大神

Solly is our security guard. He moved in the day after we did, and so my son, Sam, thought he belonged to us.

鈥淚鈥檝e met our guard,鈥� Sam said, on Day 3 in our new home. 鈥淗e鈥檚 very nice. He鈥檚, um, light brown.鈥�

I met Solly the next evening.聽 He was also very tall and very thin and very serious. Months later we would catch him smiling 鈥� when he thought no one was looking.

Solly hadn鈥檛 always been so thin. He鈥檇 been out of work for a year, supporting an extended family. 鈥淢y wife says I must buy new clothes,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y church clothes are falling off me. But I told her, 鈥楧on鈥檛 worry. I鈥檒l get fat again. Now I have a job.鈥� 鈥�

This news kept our family buzzing through quite a few mealtimes. 鈥淒o you mean he hasn鈥檛 had enough money to buy himself food?鈥�

鈥淒o you mean he鈥檚 been slowly starving to death?鈥�

鈥淐an鈥檛 we do something to fatten him up?鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 going to bake for him every day,鈥� my daughter announced.

And so every evening my husband and children began delivering a foil-wrapped treat to Solly. They鈥檇 step out of our apartment and along the dirty corridors to the mesh entrance gate where Solly sat each night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., guarding our block. When we gave him the first package, the corners of his mouth twitched.聽

Just outside our gate, all down Jabu Ndlovu Street, as the day begins to fade, security guards take their places. The in-town villas of colonial farmers that once lined our formerly plush street have become offices. Every office has a security guard.

They鈥檙e cheerful; they鈥檙e chubby. And they sleep right through their shifts 鈥� from 6 to 6. No one expects a security guard to stay awake.

That鈥檚 why the whole street knew Solly. He not only stayed awake, he patrolled the block. He picked up litter. He waved his hands at cars that drove past without lights. He knocked on doors and asked residents to turn their music down.聽

鈥淚 want to tell him there are more important things to worry about than litter,鈥� my husband said. South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world. But for Solly, breaking a little rule was like breaking a big one.

Then one night, a car went through a red light on the corner of Jabu Ndlovu just as a motorbike came through the green one. Solly saw the crash. He saw the driver get out of his car. Then he saw him get back in his car and drive away. For two hours, Solly helped the rider, the police, and the ambulance personnel.

The next day, some residents complained: Solly wasn鈥檛 at the gate last night. Solly wasn鈥檛 doing his job. We need a proper security company, someone said. Not just Solly.聽

A meeting was called. Solly stoically said he could always do gardening, or clean, or fix roofs. My husband said he鈥檇 go to the meeting.聽

The creases around Solly鈥檚 mouth grew more pronounced.

After the whole story came out, Solly kept his job. Even after hearing he wouldn鈥檛 be let go, he kept his serious face.聽

After a month of scrutinizing Solly, my children announced: He鈥檚 not getting any fatter. We started adding to his treats 鈥� pork sausages, boiled eggs, toasted cheese sandwiches. With every addition, his mouth turned up a bit more. But still his pale blue uniform hung from his shoulders.

Then my husband had an idea: Solly earned 3,000 rand (about $225) per month 鈥� the minimum wage for security guards here. But he lived in a township far from the city. His taxi ride to work each day cost him one-third of his salary. 鈥淚鈥檒l ask Good-rides to get him a bike.鈥�

Goodrides is a nonprofit group here that subsidizes bikes for people who need them 鈥� laborers who must wake up at 4 a.m. to walk to work, students who risk being mugged walking to university, or security guards who spend their fattening-up money on taxis.聽

We asked Solly if he鈥檇 like a bike.

鈥淵es, please,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut nothing fancy. Just an old one.鈥� We got him a used Sedona, a single speed. It was silver and black 鈥� serious, like Solly.

鈥淎 hundred and fifty rand,鈥� my husband said, showing Solly the bike. Solly鈥檚 eyes twinkled. His wrinkles deepened. But he wouldn鈥檛 take it until he鈥檇 saved the money (about $11).

A few weeks later he fetched the bike. 鈥淢y wife thinks I鈥檓 joking 鈥� a bike for this price,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檒l ride home and surprise her.鈥� I wondered if his wife would smile.

I didn鈥檛 see Solly leaving that day on his bike. But I did see him a week later. We were walking in the city when Sam suddenly shouted, 鈥淟ook! There鈥檚 Solly on his new bicycle!鈥澛�

From far down the road he came, wind tousling his normally neat hair, yellow T-shirt flapping on his still thin torso. But as he sped around the corner, I saw on his face, dividing it in half, a smile.