Unspoken Words

Roaring thunder that made one wonder if they were the target, stagnant shadows that made one feel watched, unknown corridors with closed numbered doors, screaming heartbeat that resembles the clock, provoking lightning, uncomfortable beds, unpacked boxes... and never-ending thoughts. All these, were a harsh reminder of the unfamiliar place and unknown future.

Having come from a big family, Tumi had opted not to stay at an institutional accommodation. All she wanted was to get the quietness she longed for when at home, all she longed for was for people not to eat her leftovers in the fridge, all she ever wanted was a fresh start. Growing up, she had envied to attend a boarding high school, something to allow her to be legally away from home. Although it was too late for that, being admitted into varsity gave her the opportunity to be away from home, once again.

Tumi started pre school at the age of 2, she would walk alone for not more that 300 meters whereby upon arrival she will buy a 50 cents cylindrical lollipop at the entrance for lunch break. Everyone on the streets to school knew her family, as they owned a shebeen. It was for this reason that she excelled in math and finance. Well, besides the fact that she would spend a lot of time next door with an elderly couple that longed for grandchildren, where she was taught math and reading the clock way ahead of time by Mmansana; a woman whose real name she doesn't know to date.

A few years later she was sent off to a boarding preschool, where she lived until returning home to attend first grade in a less toxic environment. Tumi acquired her development learning and core values during her boarding days. She lived a routine life, she knew what she would eat on each day of the week for breakfast, knew where she'd climb off the taxi with her aunt, when the weekend ended and it was time to go back home, the only place she ever felt she belonged to.

This experience most probably influenced wanting to go back to a boarding school 7 years later. She would literally sit in a corner alone every time she was at her granny's house, which was home. The shebeen had quieted down but it was still a business house, the family needed to survive one way or the other. This habit of isolation manifested into one of her characteristics as to her, "she was around strangers."

She didn't end up going to boarding school for the second time, because her primary school principal had secured her space at the "academically best school around town," Fields College. To make matters worse she didn't like the school beforehand nor did she enjoy it even when she tried. She was ready to forget all about it and only take from it the friends she had made, lessons she had learnt and start over.

This was her chance, she was all alone, none of her close friends were around, her boyfriend of almost 2 years was also miles away. She had arrived first at her commune house to settle in and prepare for school the upcoming week. Just a few days away from the big family and all the noise. It all sounded like a good plan but WHO WAS GOING TO SWITCH OFF ALL THE LIGHTS NOW THAT IT WAS TIME TO SLEEP?!