The Script of Evil

04 - The solving of the puzzle

She is mildly surprised when she sees him waiting for her at the circle. The devil must have run like the wind because he lives at the far side of the park. She gets the feeling Billy is super fit. He has a t-shirt on and sneakers on his feet. She wonders what is hidden under the t-shirt. They take the Brickmaker's Cliff path and walks down to where it meets the Valley road.

Kadin is a little afraid to ask but eventually musters her courage. "Billy, I see it's only you and your mother on your profile photo?"

"We were in a car accident when I was fourteen. My mother and I survived but my father didn't make it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry; that is horrible."

"My mother works extremely hard and I seldom see her. She wants to save money to send me to university and to stay in that house of ours. She quite enjoys her work as a marketing manager at an international firm and earns a good salary but she must travel a lot and is frequently out of town. So, I see you are also the only child like me."

"Yes, I am and my parents also work very hard to earn money for my university studies and I also feel guilty."

"I don't have a choice; I must simply do my part."

"My friends waste their time with boys but I don't have time for such nonsense."

"Same here. Some of my friends are always in competition and try to impress one another. I don't like it when they talk about girls as if they are pieces of meat. It's disgusting and immature."

Kadin smiles happily. "You are really cool, Billy Shaw. I hope I don't bother you in your school work."

"We'll be home before dark. Enough time for our school tasks, don't you think?

"Yep."

They stop at the front side of the Hindu temple in the Upper Valley road. Kadin thinks back about the research she did about this temple. One of the basic doctrines of the Hindu is that they should not stay at a place where there is no temple and that's why it was their first priority when they landed here in Algoa Bay in 1890. The Indian Church bought this piece of land in the Baakens River Valley on 27 November 1891. Construction of the temple complex began in 1896 and it was inaugurated in 1901. It was the first Hindu temple in the whole of the Eastern and Western Cape.

They find the main gate open and descend along the steps until they reach the courtyard in the centre of the complex. There is a beautiful, blue statue of a strange man on a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Actually, Kadin notices, there are two temples and on the nearest one above the door, the words Shri Krishna are immured.

Billy looks around, fascinated by the place. "What a strange place with a strange atmosphere, it feels as if we are moving into a strange land here in the heart of Port Elizabeth. We used to go to church on Sundays, but this place has a different ambience. It's stranger and weirder."

"It is. I also get this strange feeling. My parents aren't religious people, so I have never experienced a religious place before. My father studied philosophy, but my parents don't adhere to any religion?"

Billy frowns at Kadin. "That also doesn't make sense to me."

"Meaning ...?"

"Look at the world; how is God perfect, but his creation is imperfect. There is so much suffering. There is so much imperfection for a 'perfect creator'."

"Don't you think we are the cause of our own suffering and imperfection?"

"If people get cancer, is that their fault? Or, if a lorry breaks down and runs over a car and leave your family alone and they must fend for themselves without you, is it your fault?"