Courier Services

The following are three short stories I've compiled in my dear time writing about the events of my Courier Services thing I am trying to establish. This is written off of a story teller's yarn more than it is a socio-economic thesis. Enjoy! - Based on true events.

Conman 

Fri 28 Jul 2023

A week ago I received a service call to deposit for and collect a parcel worth $60. My client phoned from a far out of town location so I offered to pay $60 out of my own savings and we agreed they'd reimburse me upon parcel delivery, plus a Courier fee of $5. I then rode into the city, met with the parcel dispatcher at the 9th Ave and Mainstreet traffic lights where I paid $60 without any hurdles of having to look around the block, he was right there waiting on my arrival, making my job much easier. I wooshed to Cowdraypark TM-Pic'n'Pay where my client had said he would be, I phoned countless times on arrival without an answer until it ran to voice-mail. He didn't say he worked at Pic'n'Pay but somehow over the phone I caught the impression that he worked there, so I asked around the shop for a Melusi whose surname I didn't know, they didn't know of a Melusi there. At this point my throat got very busy, I was swallowing without eating or drinking, I kept swallowing air. I was unsettled. 

The parcel was a seal-tape wrapped box with some quiet weight, obviously you'd think it were valuables. I don't usually enquire on or assess the contents, I always just trust they aren't illicit goods. So I thought to myself maybe something went wrong, they will get back to me, I waited a bit longer. About ten minutes in waiting my phone rang, finally! A female voice with a thick English accent spoke and requested for a service, I avoided sounding disappointed and assured her that I would attend to her as soon as I was through carrying out a service, she was fine with that and hung up. Now I was delaying another client's request, trusting the man would show up. Twenty minutes dragged by without a show, his phone remained on voice-mail, I thought why would they abandon $60 worth of goods? It didn't make sense, the box sat pretty in my carrier I actually wondered what was in it. I got fed-up with waiting and head back into the city like a shot. I was disgruntled because Cowdraypark is quite a stretch, I am quite fit but that's a lot of effort for nothing still. I then served my next client paying for their Masca successfully without issues, and with the previous client's box in my carrier still, hoping they would phone for collection. Little did I know all the while this was over and done with.

On my way back into the city from delivering Masca receipts it occurred to me that I could have be scammed but I quickly sent that suspicion to sleep because it was just too bad to be true, I was in denial but the thought inevitably dawned from the back of my scalp to my forehead, and, my heart picked a pace. I parked my bike by the Total Garage on 12th Ave, looked at the box, slipped my phone out and made another call, it went on voice-mail still! I couldn't investigate this number any further it was an 071.

I turned sideways in disbelief of what I was suspecting and held my head like a distraught mother. I took my shades off, held the box up and unwrapped it to find lots of plastics and below was a 2l Sta-Soft bottle with water and a brick, I felt a sharp and spicy itch in my underarms. I am at an age where I can no longer throw a tantrum or shed a tear even if I tried. I just burped a chuckle, leaned my limbs on my bicycle and hung my head down into the carrier for a minute. I rode back home without saying a word, sat on my bed and folded my arms and only then did I accept that I had really been conned!

From then on a part of me has remained in denial, as though there will be a plot twist, but life still goes on as though you weren't just shattered. This encounter took me back to a night I got mugged badly on my way home from work in the yesteryear. Four jitas bleksem'd me, they took my bicycle my phone and the money I'd worked for that day selling. Luckily they didn't stab me, only my forehead was lacerated from the impact and I had soft tissue injuries from the stomping and kicking over my body, nothing critical. It was the longest winter night of my life walking 7km back home barefooted. Nonetheless life went on and on without an angel appearing from the heavens to console the ordeal. 

The world is a tough arena, cut throat! So many injustices of which some are unspeakable and alienating. I've heard of big businesses shutting down, big people losing big money/assets to theft/fraud, and it even trickles down to an informal micro enterprise losing money to a conman. The truth is you are just never ready, we live in the most un-empathetic times, so God help us. 

The Extra Mile. 

Tue 01 Aug 2023

The other day a lady requested for a Courier service to buy a bucket of Nyawuti (Grains) for her in Mahatshula and deliver to Killarney. I had three more services to attend to after that so I quickly rode to her workplace in Mahatshula, collected the money for the grains and proceeded to the seller where I found a middle aged lady just starting to gather her grains and other wares out of her scorch-cart into her small stall covered with black plastic and with four logs holding up the structure. I requested for a bucket of Nyawuti but she only had a dish much, she'd left the bucket at home as not a lot of people buy that quantity. Now I am in a rush to attend to other services but I am not the person to mention it lest I sound rude, and besides, having calculated her sloth and the situation at large, gripping wasn't going to help either. So, I ask "how far is home and is there anyone there so I can quickly ride and collect", she says she can't leave her stall unattended to so she will make a call to someone to come and guard it and we'll go together, this to me only sent the impression that home is a bit of a distance and nobody is there. So I waited for a boring while thinking about aborting the mission and attending to it later, then just when my patience was about to break the last string it hung on, a young pregnant lady appeared. Mind you, this seller is a bit obese so she struggles to walk let alone trod fast, I wondered how she pushed a loaded scorch-cart there and thought to myself she may have paid some boys peanuts to push. Anyways, the seller then says to the pregnant lady, look I won't be able to walk back home fast so take this guy with and pour him a bucket, this was a relief for me because otherwise we were going to snail to her place. We then take off with me following behind the prego girl pushing my bike. The whole way, apart from the extra mile annoyance, I was thinking "oh my God what if her water breaks right now? Where on the face of the earth will I begin? Please God I am just a young fella for this development and it's just not the right time!" I mentally prepared myself nonetheless for a worst case scenario, my mind was on autopilot brainstorming possible solutions in face of danger, pregnant women give me so much anxiety man. Now I am a very quiet guy, not chit-chatty at all so we walked a whole kilometer and a half listening to clip-clopping or rather crash-crunching footsteps on gravel, and, at some point on passing a group of people I felt framed in a typical rural African image of a husband following behind his pregnant wife pushing a wheelbarrow, and it crossed my mind that by their stares it was what those people may have assumed. It wasn't that deep though so the thought slipped away as fast as we passed them and all I subsequently thought was how far I could've been by now if my client had already ordered their stuff instead of putting me through an extra mile. We took a couple turns before arriving at their place where I realized the sack my client had given me was actually torn on both sides so the Nyawuthi grains were spilling through the holes in their small particles, I thought to myself this is just the devil at work because really what is this? From problem to problem! I then got a tax-bag to put the sack into and loaded it onto my bike and took off. Now, it was really windy that morning but on my way to Mahatshula I was striding pretty fast by the tailwinds' push, however on my way back? Haa my friend, all I could hear were headwinds whistling and laughing like "Oh, you again". Mind you I had 20kg's of grains in my carrier, that weight coupled with wind resistance did a number on me at some point I suspected my rear wheel had punctured but the thing was full on 120PSi. The wind resistance wasn't constant though, by the regular turns I was taking navigating to my client's home I was having a bit of crosswinds advantage, although my nose really got painfully dry as I've got flue, I've never wished for a mask. So, through dust and winds, I finally make it to my client's home where her husband then initiates a talk about life, how he used to ride a motorcycle and the perks yada yada, it was a good lecture and advise to work towards a 150cc motorcycle but damn I was late! Now to say "I am really late Sir I've got to run" was a bit of a seeming inconvenience especially with old people, so I just listened for a while before my phone rang and I took off like a shot.

The Womanizer

Thur 03 Aug 2023

I received a service call this morning whilst carrying out a service. This guy requested for Hunters Dry ciders to be bought for him, I assured him I'd be with him as as soon as I'm through in forty minutes, he exclaimed questionably "forty minutes?!?!" and sucked it up, what alternative choice do you have my man? I delayed service to him by ten minutes and he gave me a "where you at" ring just as I was landing by his gate and I asked him to come outside. In my mind I was thinking yeah sure I am late but what's with the rushed attitude today? Usually he's patient until I make a call but today he's different. He gives me the money, I rush then to buy his ciders dumpy wondering what's the story today, now I had a change crisis by the shops so I gave him a call to say "they won't change me $0,50c so can I buy cigarettes as usual?" this guy says to me "no, buy the Pascal chocolate". I tilted my head by surprise and did as instructed, but this guy is a typical traditional beer (Chibuku) and cigarettes guy, what's the story today? On returning with his order I asked if he was hosting and he said "yah obvious, you know the story" and I had a laugh and said "I figured, have a nice time".