Rings & Knots

Iti

Cheta heaved a long sigh as he slowly made his way through the narrow footpath laced with grasses.

His sandals had been sewn numerous times because his mother had not been able to provide money for a new one. His classmates found his feet a constant source of amusement and named him Frankenstein on that accord.

Giving him ridiculous nicknames was their forte and he had accumulated a long list of them over the years. To some he was ezi, to others he was iti, and his newest addition was Frankenstein.

Cheta looked at his ashy feet that became slower as he marched along. He could almost hear his own heart pounding and often feared that it would burst out of his chest before he arrived at the school premises.

He never enjoyed school like his sisters did and no one at home understood his predicament. He was the odd one out. The only one who had his teachers questioning his blood relationship with his sisters. "His siblings had a hot brain" They would always point out but his was frozen with no teaching method strong enough to thaw it.

He had tried running away from school several times and had feigned sickness on numerous occasions but they only brought him steeper consequences.

He could hardly forget when his mother had inserted her cooking pepper into his eyes because he had run away from school. She never understood how alone he felt there and how the children always got him into trouble. He had no friends and was always avoided like a plague.

Cheta's eyes met a short blue-winged bird perching effortlessly on the trees. It made him think of his father and how enthralled he was by the flying creatures. His father always had a tale about each bird he encountered and admired their freedom. This was the only thing he craved most that morning. The freedom to take charge of his affairs and stop school.

He was 12 years old but had repeated the same class twice and the teachers barely paid attention to him anymore. Cheta was never brave enough to ask questions after a lesson because they were always backed up by laughter from his classmates.

Cheta made it to the school gate and his hands began to tremble as he approached the assembly ground.

His sisters had gone to school before him and he stalled so much that his mother had to show him her cane.

Cheta placed his bag on the ground beside a heap of bags owned by other students. His eyes traced the long line of boys till he found his class and walked towards them. He was rather stunted for his age and always stood behind the third boy in their line. The school assembly lines were formed based on gender and height.

They sang hymns which he usually mouthed because he could not read the words off the pages. He never learned how to read properly and his sisters were never patient enough to teach him.

The prayers were made by the headmistress who reminded the children to maintain decorum at all times lest her cane comes wandering into their classrooms.

Everyone understood that the words were not advice but a threat that was always carried out.
"Yes Ma!" thundered in the air and the headmistress nodded with pleasure.

The Children began to March to their various classrooms singing the marching song that had been raised.

Cheta came back to the assembly ground to pick up his bag after a brief detour to his classroom.

No one noticed him as he walked in and settled at the back where he was designated to sit. The back seats in the classroom had been reserved for the dunce since time immemorial.