“Life is unfair, while others eat nice food at restaurants, some of us have to eat the same meal every day,” said Thabiso while going through his Facebook account looking at the picture of Naledi, the daughter of the famous and rich local businessmen Mr Mashaba.

“Come eat and stop comparing our lives with that of the Mashaba’s, those people are rich and you know all we can afford is cabbage and pap,” said Thabiso’s brother Katlego, who was dishing up food he worked so hard to buy.

“Be grateful for the little you receive, there are families that go to bed without eating anything and our food compared to them is a decent meal,” he continued while giving Thabiso cabbage that was prepared with love.

Thabiso’s older brother Katlego knew they could not afford expensive food, but he always prepared food with love and that was what mattered. Oh! and of course, he would use different spices to add a different taste to that of yesterday.

“We can’t live like this; we need to come up with a plan to make money, so we can be like the Mashaba’s,” he looked at the food and barely touched it.

“We need to eat proper food like proper human beings,” murmured the ungrateful Thabiso who did not appreciate the food made for him with love.

Thabiso dropped out of Sol Plaatje University due to financial constraints, since his mother passed away when he was young, he has not been himself and his older brother Katlego supported him until he finished matric. Recycling brought enough money for food and that is what mattered to Katlego, who would wake up every morning to go look for plastics, bottles and metals to sell at the nearby scrapyard.

As for their father. Well, Katlego’s father died when he was young. Thabiso never found out who his father really was or where he came from. When their mother was alive, she would often dismiss the topic when bought up by Thabiso, as if it was something that was not important. Every child deserves to know his father. The pain of not even knowing whether his father died or is alive was too much to bare.

“I think I should go to Mr Mashaba and ask for a job, he probably needs an extra gardener or I could work at his shisa nyama,” said Thabiso with an overwhelming confidence.

Mr Mashaba seemed to have the perfect life according to Thabiso, there was no denying that Mr Mashaba drove nice cars and gave his children, Naledi and Boitshepo, the best life they could imagine. They were the only children in the hood who attended the best private schools with special transport. To Thabiso, Mr Mashaba was like a God, a perfect example of black excellence.

Katlego immediately finished his food and took Thabiso’s food, took his plate then covered Thabiso’s food with his plate, “I do not like your idea of going to Mr Mashaba and asking for a job, but if it’s going to help us, go ahead, plus we need the extra money,” reiterated Katlego.

On a summer Monday morning, Thabiso woke up early. He thought to himself, “Rich people wake up early, no wonder they make so much money.”

It is highly understandable why Thabiso woke up so early, if you wanted to have a conversation with Mr Mashaba you needed to catch him early when he was heading to work, otherwise during the day you will not get an opportunity to see him, since he was a busy man.

“Mr Mashaba! Mr Mashaba”! screamed Thabiso when he saw Mr Mashaba get in his car.

Finally, Mr Mashaba paused to see the boy who was calling his name. Thabiso also paused to catch some breath after running so fast to catch Mr Mashaba outside his big mansion.

“How can I help you,” asked the anxious Mr Mashaba.

“Good morning sir! My name is… My name is Thabiso, sir I came to ask if you have a job for me. I can do anything even if its gardening, it’s still alright. I have my CV with me.”

Mr Mashaba looked at him and said the following, “There is work for you here but I need people I can trust in my house…I don’t just hire anyone; I hire the best but what’s important to me is loyalty.”

Thabiso interjected “Trust me sir, I can be a loyal employee and I can do whatever task you ask me to do with integrity and commitment.”

Mr Mashaba looked at Thabiso took his CV and said, “Come tomorrow to work!”

“Does it mean I’m hired sir?” Thabiso was excited that finally he found a job, now he could start eating the food of his choice.

Tell us: Was this a breakthrough for this desperate family, or the beginning of chaos?