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CHAPTER ONE

The house was set in a section of the city referred to as Whitetown, sandwiched between two other houses that were as unpainted as it was. The vicinity of the house in general was dirty, with dirt of all kinds being strewn all over, far and yon, serving as playground for all sorts of infectious organisms. Huge breeds of flies were always feasting on the dirt, seeming to get fatter and fatter in the process, as a result of which they became more fertile and so produced more offspring, which came in the form of maggots. The maggots were in turn always struggling to survive the scorching sun. The flies were not the only visible living occupants of the dirt, but rats as well; huge rats that succeeded in keeping cowardly kids from rummaging through the dirt in search of any handy instrument with which to play and pass time. Legend had it that some years back a dead human body was found putrefying within the rubble of dirt, and was later confirmed to be a result of abortion. Most of the houses around the area were not fenced. They had never been fenced, thanks to the poverty that reigned in the area. Most of the people that lived in the area were unemployed, with some turning to petty crime or menial jobs for survival. Few of the houses had electricity and so most of the people living in the area relied either on candles or hurricane lamps. Many a time a fire had broken out after someone forgot to blow off the candle on returning from a night of heavy drinking, which explained why a few of the people that lived in the area had scars on different parts of the body; that as well as regular fighting. Due to the cheap type of alcohol most of the residents of this area had to resort to, they more often than not ended up locked up in brawls.
The house was, just like most in that area, a three roomed one that had been standing there for years, defying the hand of ageing. It consisted of two bedrooms and a sitting room which also served as a kitchen whenever the weather was too bad to do the cooking outside on an open fire. It also served as food storage, the storage being empty most of the time except during the summer, when the storage would be stocked up with sacks upon sacks of Mophane worms. One of the bedrooms contained a dilapidated single bed which creaked well enough to wake up whoever was sleeping in it. Just next to that bed was a thin mattress, which had now become in essence a collection of wire with limited cushioning. Just above the bed was a window which let in air at all times since it had lost its capacity to serve as a real window when it got broken years back, and was never replaced due to lack of money. Just behind the door to the room was a closet whose doors could not stay closed anymore due to old age.
In the other bedroom, strewn on the floor, were two mattresses lying next to each other. Simple mattresses that were salvaged from some waste disposal area some months back. They were both covered in some sort of homemade blankets that were adorned with all sorts of colours one can think of.
The sitting room was not very well furnished either. Three cheap, old couches set against the walls, a very old coffee table at the centre of the room, and a cupboard somewhere in the corner. On the coffee table was a cheap radio which was bought from a Chinese shop. The radio was in serious need of new batteries. On the coffee table was a candle burning itself out. It was burning itself out at a rate rather faster than normal on account of the wind which was seeping its way through the broken window. The wax was flowing down its sides, to collect on the saucer that served as candle holder. Some strange insects which found light very fascinating were busy playing around the flame of the candle, playing with each other games which they only understood. Some of them had to give up the games because they unexpectedly found themselves trapped in the hot liquid wax, with death following shortly, leaving their colleagues playing on as if nothing had happened. The atmosphere within the house was that of utmost solemnity as its four occupants sat on the couches, readying themselves for the letter which one of them was setting to read. Gloria, most commonly referred to as Mma Shoko, was sitting on the couch on her own, whereas Ndebeleki shared the couch with his younger sister Tebogo who had on her lap Nkemi, her child. All of them were quiet, except for Ndebeleki who was reading the letter for all:

Mma Shoko
P O Box 2999303
Gaborone

Dear family

Greetings to you all, how are you all doing? I hope you're all doing well? I know you may be wondering why I haven't come home since I began here at the university, but I'm sure that by the time you finish reading this letter you won't be wondering anymore. Well, as you know, I came here to study Social Sciences. I was disappointed when I got here because things didn't prove to be as easy as I had hoped. I started off OK, without any problems. But then there came this time when I woke up with this feeling of emptiness. I knew people hated me for whatever reason. I had this urge to cry and I didn't feel like attending lectures. So I spent the whole day in bed hoping that things would have improved by the following day. Well, the following day didn't bring me anything better. In fact, I got worse in the subsequent day, and I felt people hated me even more. I had this feeling that I was being bewitched. One morning I woke up, but I couldn't move. I opened my eyes to see somebody sitting on my chest, trying to strangle me apparently. I tried to throw the person off me, but my muscles failed me; I just couldn't move. I tried to scream, but I just couldn't. Finally I managed to move in time to find my roommate just leaving the room. I was convinced he was the one bewitching me, so I related my suspicions to him and he got angry. So we remained at loggerheads forever. I knew people were out to persecute me, so I missed even more lectures. I couldn't study either. So it didn't come as a surprise that I failed all my exams. One day I found my roommate with a whole group of people, singing and praying in my room, with some sitting on my bed. I got really angry, so I started fighting with him. He then reported me to the warden, and as a result I was moved to a different room, with a new roommate. No sooner had I moved in there did I start realize that my new roommate was after my life. Then one day we fought, and I stabbed him with a screwdriver. I ended up with the police that night. That affected me further. So much that I was the least surprised when I failed the exams completely, and had to discontinue. A friend of mine, Daniel, agreed to accommodate me for a while so I could look for some kind of job. I worked for a while, but had to give up due to sickness. I'm so broke, but I've to take a kombi to move from one area of the city to another in search of a job. Daniel used to help me out with money, but he says he cannot afford any more. So, Mother, if you could help me with whatever money you might have, I'll give it back as soon as I start working? I'm really suffering and I need your help.

Yours,
Shoko

Silence followed the reading of the letter. All were contemplating, except for Nkemi who was yet too young to understand the goings on of the world, and so was asleep in Tebogo's arms. She was snoring loudly, quite unaffected by the goings on of this world.

 

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