I get message from one parent: “Your daughter dey hang around Weespertrekvaart.” I ask, “Which bridge?” She reply, “The rust-brown one.” Before evening, we bike go there. The whole water full of students.
For my own youth, we no dey go near open water. If you jump for Rhine for my town Arnhem, you go straight to doctor for injection. The fish wey dey there na dead, you almost dead too.
Sometimes we go swim for Lathum. That place na combination of mud and algae. We take mud bath for one excavation site. One of us sink inside quicksand. They pull am out with rope just for time. The rest of us get sores from metal particles.
My papa, wey work for water management, predict black future. He say things go worse, we no go fit swim for open water again. River water go too polluted to freeze. But the last Elfstedentocht happen on his birthday. He see am as nature’s bad joke.
He just start early retirement. His successor dey tease am during toast. My papa tell me before he die: “I suppose just slap am.” We dream together how e go be if he do am. Too bad he no want cremation, else he go scatter his ash for IJssel, his favourite river. He want asphalt the banks, but they no allow. When they call am bicycle path, they allow.
Now my daughter swim with half her class for Weespertrekvaart. Na living proof say my papa wrong. Every scream of joy na long nose wey dem dey show am. Too bad dem never meet.
Another grandpa dey there, dey shout for granddaughter: “Go douche immediately or you go sick.” Nobody take am serious.
