“In my mind’s eye, I travel along with the pastor, through these roads, watching him plead the blood and come against the already camped enemy. My mind wanders, at a point, back to my graduation portrait: blue sky, blue gown. I think about how amenable portraits are, especially those with blue backgrounds, to the inclusion of a white cross. For a brief moment, the thought terrifies me. In my vision, he keeps on taking each stretch of the road, making sure not to miss any kilometer. “

“Morning comes and the cock crows again, your father’s alarm clock blares, the kettle whistles in the kitchen, the television comes on soon after, your mother belts out a Christian tune, the neighbours honk at their gatemen and, holding your head in your hands, you let out a long scream. You wonder why the world is always so eager to set up orchestras of the cliché. As you expect, your parents rush into the room, and ask what the matter is. Your mother asks with palpable concern and you can sense she is close to tears. You tell her you feel like Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, when he discovered everything was vanity. That you have only just made an extra realization that everything is also cliché.”