Hemelvaart

Ascension
Carina Diedericks

Dit is weer een van daardie dae op Stellenbosch. Dit reën so ‘n mens sou sweer die gode
tjank soos sepiesterre. Anna Retief stap vining deur die reën en probeer sover moontlik
die enorme modderplasse vermy. Flippit. Sy wens juffrou Bekker wil net chillax.
Wanneer moet sy kans kry om orrel te oefen as die onderwysers heeltemal ballistic
gaan as hulle huiswerk uitdeel? En dis nou nie asof die kerk langs die skool is nie. Hallo!
Sy moet stap. Ver.
This is one of those days in Stellenbosch again. It rains so one would swear the gods
are crying like soap stars. Anna Retief walks through the rain and tries to avoid the
enormous mud puddles as far as possible. Goodness. She wishes Miss Bekker just wants
to chillax. When must she practice on the organ if the teachers go completely ballistic
when they hand out homework? And it's not as if the church is next to the school.
Hallo! She must walk. Far.

By die groot houtdeur van die kerk skud sy eers die reën van haar af. Sy druk haar koue
hand in haar skoolbaadjie se sak en haal die sleutel uit. Dit gaan ‘n lang winter wees. Dis
sulke dae wat sy net warm sjokolade wil drink en Amy Winehouse oor en oor op haar
iPod luister. In die bed. Onder die duvet.
At the big wooden door of the church she shakes off the rain first. She puts her cold
hand in her school blazer and take out the key. It's going to be a long winter. It's such
days she just wants to drink hot chocolate and listen to Amy Winehouse over and over
on her iPod. In bed. Under the duvet.

Anna steek die sleutel in die slot, maar die slutel wil nie draai nie. Die deur is reeds oop.
Great. Dit is seker tannie Marie wat vir daardie troue kom orrel oefen het wat die deur
laat oopstaan het. Tannie Marie doen dit elke keer en elke keer vra Dominee vir háár
hoekom sy nie die deur gesluit het nie. Asof sy kan help Dominee deel die kerk se
sleutels so left, right and centre uit. Dis regtig nie haar werk nie. Werk Dominee nie
eintlik net een dag per week én ry ‘n Merc nie?
Anna put the key in the lock, but the key doesn’t want to turn. The door is already open.
Great. It is probably auntie Marie who came to practice on the organ for the wedding
that opened the door. Aunt Marie does this every time and Dominee asks her why she
hasn't locked the door every time. As if she can help if Dominee gives the church's
keys out left, right and centre. It's not really her job. Doesn't Dominee work just one
day a week and drive a Merc?

Sy sug. Miskien moet sy nie so krities op Dominee wees nie. Sleutels en whatever is die
laaste ding waaraan hy nou dink. Shame. Dominee-hulle gaan seker deur ‘n moeilike tyd.
Francois loop soos ‘n lyk by die skool rond. Niemand praat met hom nie en hy sit elke
pouse in die bib. Asof dit nie al erg genoeg is dat hy die dominee se seun is nie, moet hy
nou koes vir rumours dat sy pa met daardie blonde Malan-seun gelol het. Dis so ‘n messy

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storie. Obviously gaan mense begin skinder as ‘n jong ou elke dag kerk toe gaan om met
Dominee te praat. Hoe lank kan jy nou regtig gesels oor jou ma-hulle wat skei?
She sighs. Maybe she shouldn't be so critical of the Dominee. Keys and whatever is the
last thing he thinks of now. Shame. Dominee them - they are probably going through a
difficult time. Francois walks around like a corpse at school. Nobody speaks to him and
he sits in the library every break. As if it wasn't bad enough that he is the Dominee’s
son, he has to hide from rumours about his father touching the blond Malan-boy. It's
such a messy story. Obviously, people will start gossiping if a young guy goes to church
every day to talk to the pastor. How long can you really talk about your parents who is
getting a divorce?

Ingedagte blaas Anna op haar yskoue hande. Sy moet sommer nou kyk of sy nie haar
handskoene hier iewers laat lê het nie. As haar hande so koud is, oefen sy vrek moeilik.
Dan klink dit soos ‘n klomp kleuters wat op die orrel speel. Haar ma gaan uitfreak as sy
hoor sy het nóg ‘n paar handskoene verloor en sy gaan beslis nie met haar sakgeld iets
dofs soos handskoene koop nie. Elke flippen sent moet sy spaar vir Oppikoppi. Sy bly
wraggies nie weer hierdie keer by die huis nie.
Anxious Anna blows on her freezing hands. She must look for her gloves somewhere in
church, while she is here. If her hands are this cold, she struggles to exercise. Then it
sounds like a lot of toddlers is playing on the organ. Her mother is going to freak out
when she hears that she has lost another pair of gloves and she is not going to buy
something like gloves with her pocket money. She must save every cent for Oppikoppi.
She is not going to stay at home this time.

Sy druk die swaar deure oop en stap in. Waar het sy nou weer haar handskoene gelos? ‘n
Beweging voor by die kansel vang haar oog. Die kerk is donkerig en sy kan nie so lekker
sien nie. Eintlik kan sy glad nie meer so lekker sien nie, maar sy weier om ‘n bril te dra.
Boys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses. Dit lyk amper soos iemand wat daar
staan.
She opens the heavy doors and walk in. Where did she leave her gloves again? A
movement ahead of the pulpit catches her eye. The church is dark, and she can't see
that much. She can't see so much anymore, but she refuses to wear glasses. Boys don't
make passes at girls who wear glasses. It almost looks like someone is standing there.

“Dominee?” roep Anna terwyl sy nader stap.

"Dominee?" Anna calls as she approaches.

Sy kry geen antwoord nie, maar sy kan vaagweg die silhoeët van ‘n persoon uitmaak. Dalk
is dit tannie Marie.
She gets no answer, but she can vaguely make up the silhouette of a person. Maybe it's
auntie Marie.

“Tannie Marie? Gaan Tannie nou oefen?”

“Aunt Marie? Are you going to practice now?”

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Die persoon antwoord nie. Daar waai ‘n koue wind deur die kerk. Sy ril en knoop haar
skoolbaadjie toe. Sy stap in die lang paadjie af na die kansel en kyk onder die banke of
sy nie die handskoene sien nie. Die figuur voor in die kerk wieg ritmies heen en weer. Sy
trek haar oë op skrefies, maar kan steeds nie uitmaak wat aangaan nie.
The person does not answer. There is a cold wind that blows through the church. She
shakes and fastens the button of her school blazer. She walks down the long path to
the pulpit and looks under the benches to see the gloves. The figure in front of the
church rocks rhythmically back and forth. She shrugs her eyes, but still can’t figure
out what's going on.

Oor een van die banke lê ‘n baadjie. O, natuurlik! Sy herken die baadjie. Sy sal daardie
awesome baadjie enige plek herken. Sy kon maar geweet het dat sy hom op so ‘n dag
soos vandag hier sou kry. Nie haar keuse vir ‘n uithangplek nie, maar wat verwag jy?
Over one of the benches lies a jacket. Oh, of course! She recognizes the jacket. She'll
recognize that awesome jacket anywhere. She could have known that she would find
him here on a day like this. Not her choice for a hangout, but what do you expect?

Anna stap vining nader. By die voorste banke vang iets blou haar oog. Die handskoene!
Sy gaan op haar knieë en tel die handskoene op. Sy prop dit sommer in haar sak. Sy is
bly hier is nou iemand, want die kerk kan flippen scary raak as ‘n mens alleen hier is. En
dit reën. En dis donker. Dit voel asof mens in ‘n Stephen King-gedoente vasgevang is.
Anna steps closer. At the front benches, something blue catches her eye. The gloves!
She goes on her knees and picks up the gloves. She just put it in her pocket. She is
happy here is someone now, because the church can be scary if one is alone here. And it
is raining. And it's dark. It feels as if one is trapped in a Stephen King story

“Jislaaik! Dis darem koud en nat vandag. Ek moet eintlik orrel oefen, maar ek is so lus
vir iets om te drink. My hande moet in elk geval eers ontdooi voor ek die orrel pak. As
ek nou gaan orrel speel, gaan dit klink soos dooies wat praat!” Gesels Anna terwyl sy
hande-viervoet onder die bank uitkruip en orent kom.
"Jeepers! It's cold and wet today. I must practice organ, but I would love for
something to drink. My hands must first thaw before I start with the organ. If I'm
going to play organ now, it'll sound like dead people talking!” Anna says as she crawls out
under the bench and stands up.

“Hoe gaan dit met … O, hemel!”

"How is ... Oh, heaven!"

Sy sak terug op haar knieë. Van die balk skuins bokant die kansel hang ‘n tou. Die tou
het die verstarde gesig in ‘n wurggreep.
She sinks back on her knees. A rope hangs from the beam diagonally above the pulpit.
The rope has the stiffened face in a stranglehold.

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 Inligting oor die skrywer
Information about the author

Carina Diedericks is in 1977 in Johannesburg gebore en het grootgeword in Pretoria en

Kaapstad. Ná matriek aan Herschel Girls’ School in Kaapstad studeer sy aan die
Universiteit van Stellenbosch en behaal die grade BA (Internasionale Studies),
Honneurs Afrikaans en Nederlands (cum laude) en MPhil (Joernalistiek). Sy is die
skrywer van o.a. die Thomas@-reeks wat te sien is as ‘n TV-reeks op kykNET, en
Permanente ink wat die naaswenner was in ‘n jeugromankompetisie in 2011. Sy is al
benoem vir die Sanlamprys vir Jeuglektuur en die M.E.R.-prys en het die ATKV-
Kinderboekprys reeds ses maal gewen. Carina put haar inspirasie uit boeke, haar drie
katte, bling-bling, Villiera Tradition Brut, sjokoladekoek sonder versiersuiker, kwaito en
Sondae op haar stoep.
Carina Diedericks was born in Johannesburg in 1977 and grew up in Pretoria and Cape
Town. After matriculation at Herschel Girls' School in Cape Town she studied at the
University of Stellenbosch and obtained the degrees BA (International Studies),
Honours Afrikaans and Dutch (cum laude) and MPhil (Journalism). She is the author of
i.e. the Thomas @ series that is a TV series on kykNET, and Permanente ink which was
the runner-up in a youth romance competition in 2011. She has been nominated for the
Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature and the MER prize and has won the ATKV -
Children's Book Prize six times. Carina draws her inspiration from books, her three
cats, bling-bling, Villiera Tradition Brut, chocolate cake without icing sugar, kwaito and
Sundays on her veranda.

Inleiding tot die kortverhaal

Introduction to the short story

“Hemelvaart” is ‘n boeiende spanningsverhaal met ‘n tienermeisie, Anna Retief, as

hoofkarakter. Anna stap op ‘n reënerige dag in Stellenbosch ná skool na die kerk toe
waar sy moet gaan orrel oefen. Haar hande is gevries en sy soek haar handskoene wat
sy vermoedelik ‘n vorige keer in die kerk vergeet het. Die kerk is donker en sy kan nie
goed sien nie, maar kan vaagweg ‘n figuur voor by die kansel uitmaak.
"Hemelvaart" is a fascinating tension story about a teenage girl, Anna Retief, as the
main character. Anna walks on a rainy day in Stellenbosch after school to the church
where she must go and practice organ. Her hands were frozen and she was looking for
her gloves which she presumably had forgotten in church last time. The church is dark
and she cannot see well, but can vaguely make up a figure at the pulpit.

Sy is oortuig dit moet die dominee of tannie Marie, die orrelis, wees, want die deur was
nie gesluit toe sy by die kerk aankom nie. Sy gesels voort asof sy met hulle praat, maar
niemand antwoord terug nie.
She is convinced it has to be the dominee or aunt Marie, the organist, because the door
was not closed when she arrived at church. She chatted as if she were talking to them,
but no one answered back.

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Met die verwysing na die trietsige weersomstandighede en oortuigende beskrywing van
die ruimte en omstandighede waarin Anna haar bevind, slaag die skrywer daarin om ‘n
onheilspellende atmosfeer te skep wat deurgaans bydra tot die spanning.
With reference to the dismal weather conditions and convincing description of the
space and circumstances in which Anna finds herself, the author succeeds in creating
an ominous atmosphere that continually contributes to the tension.

In die slot van die verhaal bereik die spanning ‘n hoogtepunt wanneer Anna besef wat sy
voorin die kerk gesien het.
At the end of the story, the tension reached a peak when Anna realizes what she sees
in front of the church.

Literêre aspekte
Literary aspects

‘n Spanningsvolle atmosfeer word reeds van die begin van die verhaal geskep met die
verwysings na die droewige weersomstandighede.
A thrilling atmosphere has already been created from the beginning of the story with
references to the sad weather.

Die verhaal word vertel deur ‘n derdepersoonsverteller, vanuit die perspektief van die
tiener Anna Retief. Die leser kry dus haar siening van die omgewing en van ander
karakters. Deur die gebruik van tipiese tienertaal in die innerlike handeling (die
hoofkarakter se gedagtes), slaag die skrywer daarin om ‘n geloofwaardige karakter te
skep.
The story is told by a third-person narrator, from the perspective of teenager Anna
Retief. The reader thus gets her view of the environment and of other characters.
Using typical teen language in the inner act (the main character's thoughts), the author
succeeds in creating a credible character.

Met die kerk as ruimte sluit die inhoud aan by die Christelike verwysing in die titel.
Volgens die Christelik geloof is Hemelvaart die opvaart van Jesus Christus van die
aarde na die hemel ná sy opstanding uit die dood. Die titel van die verhaal verwys
waarskynlik na die persoon wat selfmoord gepleeg het en figuurlik hemel toe is.
With the church as a space, the content adheres to the Christian reference in the
title. According to Christian faith, Ascension is the ascent of Jesus Christ from earth
to heaven after His resurrection from the dead. The title of the story probably refers
to the person who committed suicide and figuratively went to heaven.

Maar dit beklemtoon ook die kontras tussen die gebeure en dit wat verwag word van
wat in ‘n kerk gebeur of waarmee predikante geassosieer moet word.
But it also emphasizes the contrast between events and what is expected of what
happens in a church or with what preachers should be associated with.

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Uit die grusame toneel in die kerk waarop Anna afkom in die slot van die verhaal, kan die
leser aflei dat die “messy storie” waarna sy vroeër in die verhaal verwys nie afstuur op
‘n goeie uiteinde nie. Dit word duidelik dat die tema verband hou met die resultaat wat
(onskuldige) skinderstories kan hê. Ander mense se boeke is duister om te lees en as jy
iemand beskinder, kan dit drastiese gevolge hê.
From the gruesome scene in the church where Anna comes to the conclusion of the
story, the reader can conclude that the "messy story" she referred to earlier in the
story does not go down to a good end. It becomes clear that the theme is related to
the result that (innocent) gossip can have. Other people's books are dark to read, and
if you gossip about someone, it can have drastic consequences.

Die verhaal eindig met die klimaks en het ‘n oop slot vir die leser om self te bespiegel
wie Anna aan die tou sien hang. Daar is ‘n moontlikheid dat dit Francois, die dominee se
seun, kan wees, of meer waarskynlik, die Malan-seun wat met hierdie daad vir die
gemeente wys watter soort mens hulle dominee is. Dit kan selfs die dominee self wees.
The story ends with the climax and has an open lock for the reader to speculate who
Anna sees on the rope. There is a possibility that it could be Francois, the dominee's
son, or more likely, the Malan boy who, with this act, shows the congregation what kind
of person the dominee is. It can even be the dominee himself.

Die onsekerheid dra verder by tot die spanning in die verhaal en betrek die leser om
self die raaisel op te los en die verhaal te voltooi.
The uncertainty further adds to the tension in the story and involves the reader to
solve the mystery and complete the story.