SANDSTONE STEPPES

The thorny Karoo veld begins to change as one enters the southern Free State. The land opens into wide steppe-like plains, bleak at first glance, but full of small presences for anyone patient enough to stand still and look closely.

Nimbus had been following me throughout the day. She twisted and rebuilt herself constantly, sometimes breaking apart into black fragments, only to gather again in new formations across the sky. The landscape below remained open and exposed, waiting for whatever she would become next.

By evening the setting sun softened her violence with gold, and the clouds slowly began to pull westward, leaving pale trails behind them. It was New Year’s Eve, and the sky itself seemed to be preparing its own celebration.