IMPUMELELO

Chapter 1

 This sun is too hot, it will be the death of me. Being in the highveld makes the sun hotter than normal, I though they said it will rain today. My cousin and I have been walking for over an hour now, and I am tired my chest is not how it was when I was still teenager. I have gained weight and it shows the way I am breathing loudly just tells me I may need to start exercising a bit more than I am now. I cant believe I am moving to these parts of town, I will have to get used to walking this far I am a recently qualified nurse/midwife and I got a job here in the rural areas. I applied in various parts of the country and I really wanted to work in the city but those places were not hiring for some reason.

I am going to start working in the local clinic in 2 weeks time and I am so excited to start working and earning my own money, I also took this job because I will not be needed to work at night these clinics are for daily operations only which is great for me, and the fact that I specialize mostly in childbirth is amazing having to help women deliver their babies is an amazing feeling, the clinic was in need of an extra midwife and when I applied I was the only one to apply here people are much more interested to work in the city. My grandparents are the ones who told me about this job and I thought why not I will be living for free in my grandparents house I would be saving for the house and car I want.

"Nele I am tired how are we going to clean the church while we are this tired?" My cousin asks. "I really don't know maybe we will have to chill for a while before cleaning." I suggest. My grandfather is a pastor and we as his grandkids have to help them out because before my cousin moved here last year my grandmother and the other older ladies would clean the church till my cousin offered to help and it has been her job since and now I live here I have to help her, I am living for free after all for the next year or two.

Oh shoot I didn't introduce myself how rude of me. My name is Sanele Zulu, yes I have a boy name I don't know what my parents were thinking naming me, they could have chosen Zanele or Anele. Regardless I love my name because I am the last born to both my parents. I am 24 years old and I am a qualified nurse/midwife I have mentioned that before. I am short, curvy or fat as they refer to people who look like me, and I am the mixture of dark skinned and light so I am one those people who are in the middle. I grew up in a township but in that side where they live in bigger houses. My dad is a manager to some trucks company, and my mom well step mom is a nurse which is probably why I chose nursing.

My mom died a few months after I was born so I don't know her I never go the chance to know her, I know I look like her from the pictures, but my family says my personality is exactly like hers that I remind them of my mother. I think that's why my grandparents love me so much, they tried to make me stay with them when I was kid and my dad didn't want me and any of my brothers to be far from him because he made a promise to my mom. So when I was 2 my dad remarried and he married a wonderful woman, she couldn't have kids so I was her child. Now that I think about it all my life I have been sheltered and loved and cared for like I am an egg, I think its because everyone felt sorry for me so they gave me some extra love because I don't know my mom.

We finally made it to church, I am so tired but I am glad we are here finally. We start talking and chatting about our dreams and my cousin is informing me that she aspires to be a house wife, she wants to be a home maker and take care of babies when she gets married and she hopes to marry a man rich enough to take care of his family. She is a qualified engineer and she has been struggling to get a job, she has been applying for almost 3years with no success. I feel bad for her because she has been applying and I can tell its depressing her because she studied for this for 4 years and for her not to get a job must be hard. She has a 2 year old son who is the cutest thing in the world, and her baby daddy is a doctor who wants to marry her but she is not sure yet because she wants to achieve her goals before marrying.