The House on the Cliff
YOU South Africa|23 April 2020
She’d dreamt of owning that house ever since she was little and nothing was going to stand in her way
BERNADETTE JAMES
The House on the Cliff

THERE’S a house on a clifftop near my childhood home that I ’d always believed to be mine. It hangs above the cliff edge as though it would like to take flight but can’t, anchored as it is by its granite foundations. Instead it gazes out to the sea and the sky above it with its square glass eyes, watching the seagulls whirling and the fishing boats bobbing on the white-capped waves.

The reasons why I believed that this was my house are numerous.

I’d known it since I was a child, from the outside at least, and had coveted it. We went to the beach below the house on most days in the summer, but I never saw anyone enter or leave. Other children were reluctant to go home from the beach, with backwards glances at half-finished sandcastles or the lure of one last dip. My wistful look was always to the house.

I loved its stature, the way it stood on the promontory as though it were in charge of its surroundings. It seemed to ignore the little people on the beach and the cliff paths, knowing that they’d come and go while the house would remain. It was almost arrogant in its posture.

No one else, at least among my family and friends, appeared to even notice it was there, much less comment on it or desire it. I didn’t dare to draw their attention to it – what if they took note of it the way I had and saw its charms for the first time? But I did once, when I was a little older, ask a friend what he thought of the house.

“That old thing?” he said. “It’ll be cold and draughty, probably end up in the sea before too long.”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 23 April 2020 من YOU South Africa.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 23 April 2020 من YOU South Africa.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من YOU SOUTH AFRICA مشاهدة الكل
BALLON IN THE BAG
YOU South Africa

BALLON IN THE BAG

Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
IT WAS ALL A LIE
YOU South Africa

IT WAS ALL A LIE

A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
YOU South Africa

'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'

After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country

time-read
10+ mins  |
14 November 2024
AGREE TO DISAGREE
YOU South Africa

AGREE TO DISAGREE

Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
PAUSE THE CLOCK
YOU South Africa

PAUSE THE CLOCK

Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
MPOOMY ON TOP
YOU South Africa

MPOOMY ON TOP

We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
YOU South Africa

MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME

Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
MATT THE RECLUSE
YOU South Africa

MATT THE RECLUSE

A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
A LEAP OF FAITH
YOU South Africa

A LEAP OF FAITH

After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
YOU South Africa

THEY'RE MY KIDS!

This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024