Many people in South Africa were always pedantic of how our country might end up, it just kept changing, every minute and every second. So much had happened and so much had changed.

In January 2044 a life of young Nontsikelelo Mdlalose became very difficult when it was time for her to start schooling in Secondary School. Since our rand had lost its value, everything became so expensive that rich people could not afford some of the things they used to. The Mdlalose family lived in a shanty town called Mkhukhu Land, which simply means ‘the land of shacks’. Ntsiki was the first and last born of her parents and they were the only family she had.

Nontsikelelo was only 16 years old; she was very clever and talented in drawing. Months went by and her life did not see any change because her parents could not pay her school fees. Nothing was for free, technology was everything; our lives became automatic. Everything became technical.

In April that year the country had a new president from overseas because South Africa had a majority of people who were lazy, uneducated and were drug and alcohol addicts. So no one qualified to rule and manage the country. The new government closed down the grant money for everyone. Life became more difficult for the Mdlalose family. A month later Ntsiki became a prostitute and unfortunately she got pregnant. She did not know who had impregnated her because she was selling her body to make money.

Her family did not have much to support Ntsiki and her child. They decided to chase her out of the house, thinking that they were punishing her. She took her son and went away with him. They live under the village’s largest bridge for two weeks. They had nothing to eat. Ntsiki realised that the life that they were living was not good for the child so she went everywhere to hunt for a job but she did not get hired.

No business wanted to hire someone with no Matric and university qualification. Even if you tried to apply for the job of being a domestic worker, the owner of the house would want to see your certificates first. Ntsiki’s life became useless and she got addicted to drugs and alcohol.

One day her father got worried of what his daughter and his grandchild might be going through; sleeping on an empty stomach, with no roof over their head, while he slept like a baby and had a roof over his head. He went out and never told his wife that he was going to look for Ntsiki.

He arrived at Blue Space, where dirty and homeless people are mostly found and started searching for her. As he was searching for her, he saw a group of people surrounding someone then he went closer to see who it was, only to find out that it was Ntsiki. She was high and drunk.

Her father tried to take her back home but she refused because drugs were controlling her mind. Her father tried to force her but she cried and the people who were surrounding her, threatened to beat Mr Mdlalose. He went back home and he was so hurt to see that his daughter had turned into a drug and alcohol addict. When he reached his gate he got a heart attack and died.

When Mrs Mdlalose was on her way out to the tuck shop to buy airtime so that she can call Mr Mdlalose, she found him lying down next to the gate. She tried to wake him up but it was too late because he was already dead. She was bereaved and did not have money to bury him. She tried to get the money from donations to bury him but it took her two weeks to cover that money.

She found the money and she buried him with nobody assisting her. The same night that Mr Mdlalose was buried, Ntsiki’s son Lindokuhle passed away. He was killed by hunger. His mother had not fed him for nine days. All she cared about was her buzz and drugs. Ntsiki cried the whole night.

The next morning she took the body of her son and went back home. When she got there she found her mother sitting alone crying. All she was hoping was to find her parents sitting together then ask for forgiveness from them. Then ask her father to help her bury Lindokuhle because he was the breadwinner of their family. But unfortunately her mother told her that Mr Mdlalose passed away two weeks ago and was buried yesterday. She cried and also told her mother that Lindokule died yesterday.

They buried Lindokuhle inside their yard because they did not have money. Months went by and they suffered. In September Ntsiki decided that they cannot be suffering while God had given her the most precious gift of being talented in drawing, which can make them a lot of money.

She then started drawing pictures of animals and tourists from different countries bought them. They were so happy to see a young South African using her talent in a good way. One of the tourists, Freddy from Brazil, got inspired and helped her to start her own company of artists. She made a lot of money from the business and she bought a house for her and her mother.

Her mother was so proud of Ntsiki. She was happy to see her long lasting dream come true. Ntsiki became famous. By November she owned five companies internationally. She then went to back to school while her mother was taking care of the business. Their lives became a success after the obstacles that they had faced in their lives.