Lexi was one of the top students in Boleu High School. She was the only one who managed to get six distinctions in grade 12, and bursaries were fighting to sponsor her. They knew that their money won’t go to waste. It was only two weeks left for the first years’ to leave for their universities.

A lot of them were moving up and down, some stressed because they can’t find spaces because they applied late. But Lexi was not even worried because she knew that she was going to WITS medical school in Johannesburg. She had a room waiting for her, and her fees were paid in full. On top of that, she had R1000 pocket money waiting for her to spend on good stuff.

But there was one thing that was bothering her, the fact that her father didn’t want her to go to WITS. Her father wanted Lexi’s brother Jama to be the one to further his studies. Her father was still native in that he still believed that girls are to stay at home with their mothers and be taught how to do house chores. Boys were the only ones who were allowed to be bread winners. Jama wasn’t interested in studying medicine – he loved woodwork.

“Papa next week am leaving for university,” said Lexi. Her father didn’t reply and continued to drink his tea. “Papa I said am leaving,” she repeated. With a sharp strong voice her father replied.

“What do you want me to say? I told you a long time ago that I don’t want you to go to university, but you just keep on annoying me. Who will marry a woman who doesn’t know how to cook?”

“But father,” she interrupted.

“You keep quiet when am talking to you, and I don’t want to hear you telling me about your rights, because they won’t get you a husband,” he concluded and walked away. Lexi stood there all alone with mixed emotions. She wished that she was a boy so that she can get the freedom to further her studies. Lexi took a decision that nobody knew nothing about.

Lexi disappeared for seven years. Her parents looked for her everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found. They ended up just leaving everything in God’s hands as they said. Lexi’s father became very ill from the day Lexi left the village. He was blaming himself for Lexi’s disappearance.

It was one sunny Wednesday after seven years when Lexi came home, finding her dad lying on a grass mat under a Morula tree. Lexi stood at the gate for a long time as if she was checking if everything was still the way she left them. But the truth was that she was surprised by the condition of her father.

As she was standing there, she heard a voice that she knew very well. “LEXI!” It was her mother. “Mama!” she replied, running into her mother’s arms like a little girl she was seven years ago.

That same evening, Lexi didn’t waste any time. She called an ambulance from the hospital that she was working at in Johannesburg. Lexi was the one to examine her father and gave him medicine to help him recover.

It was very hard for the old man to accept that women can also be good doctors, but finally he saw that education was the key to success.