My Sisters Keeper

22

Coming home was maybe a bad idea. The looks I keep getting from my mum are just funny and uncomfortable some times. Bontle is starting her exams soon and it seems the laptop came right in time. I need to get her a router though cause right now she has to hotspot the laptop using her phone data just to access the internet and sometimes the network sucks.

After my mum left in the morning I decided to spring clean the house. I started in the kitchen and took out all the dishes and plates from the cupboard and just scrubbed everything down. After that I went to the bedrooms. I started in Bontles room then went to my mums. I decided to rearrange her wardrobe and just pack everything nicely and neat.

I too the clothes out and threw them on the bed. I found a box hidden on the bottom of the wardrobe on the far end, it was like it was hidden. Being the nosy person that I am I took it out and sat down on the floor and opened it. I felt tears sting the back of my eyes when I came face to face with my degree. I took it out and looked at it and I felt an avalanche of emotions going through every part of my body.

I left home for this piece of paper. This was my motivation for a better life for me and my family. This little piece of paper was the one thing I wanted more than anything in the world. And I got it. I should be proud. I should be happy. Heck I should beat my chest and celebrate cause i got what I've always wanted. But I'll never get to use it ever again. Right now it's just another piece of paper tucked away in a box. My criminal record now holds more weight than this degree.

I wiped my tears and put the degree aside and went through the contents of the box. At the bottom I found a letter from the bank. I opened it and again it was something else that served as a reminder that I had failed. The letter was a notice from the bank letting me know that they will be repossessing the land I bought.

The only thing that the Mashile name guaranteed was to open doors that usually would have been shut in my face. At twenty one years old I was able to secure a bond with the bank with no qualms whatsoever. I bought a little piece of land to build my mother a house. The foundation was laid a few months later. The plan was incredible. Strangely enough I had drawn it myself and just had an architect friend I was in school with refine it and make it more presentable. It would have been a perfect five bedroom home with an open plan kitchen, lounge and dining area. It was meant to be a surprise for her birthday the following year. Unfortunately for me by the time her birthday came I was languishing behind bars.

Seeing this letter felt like a stab through my heart. I was so close to giving my mother everything she's ever wanted but I failed. Life neh. I found some old pictures of my graduation and some of Bontle's baby pictures. She looked so cute and chubby.

I put everything back in the box and put it back where I found it then continued with my cleaning. I finished and decided to take a walk to the school to get my mum. It was almost time for her to come back anyway. I found her talking to the other women who also sell here. I wasnt ready for the many questions that would come. I greeted and started packing mums stuff. And just like I had thought the questions came. I tried to keep the answers short and sweet but people in this place love gossip. Mum had to remind them to mind their own business real quick. I was reminded of why I like being indoors. I took mums stuff and carried them home.

Since she was busy gossiping about BabMfundisi and his shenanigans with the church ladies I decided to leave her. I got home and made some lunch for her so she can eat when she gets back. I knew Bontle would be back late. Mum came back a few minutes after me and I dished up for her. We sat down and I could feel her eyes boring into mine with every bite. And then she would make some weird sounds, honestly it was getting uncomfortable.

"Ma please just say whatever it is that is bothering you instead of these stares."
"I dont have anything bothering me."
"Really? So what's with the weird stares?"
"I dont know what you're talking about." I swear this woman should have been in the CIA. Somehow she is able to make me feel guilty without even saying anything at all. She finished eating and went to take a nap.