I was at Makhaya with my family. My siblings and I were told to fetch water from the river. We picked up our bucket and towels. Everyone was talking about school. Everyone except my older brother and me – we were talking about who we were first going to pour water on because it was so hot.

The two of us ran on ahead to the river. We fetched water in our buckets and then hid in the bush so the others wouldn’t see us. They got to the river and started filling their pails. Only then they noticed we weren’t there. “Where are Thobile and Maphele?” Akhona asked.

We just came out of nowhere and we poured water on them. Then we all decided to swim because the sun was burning. My oldest brother taught us to dive. We even forgot we were sent to the river for water.