It is Sunday and she thought her new parents were at church. But it turns out there is a party, that is why a man in a chef’s uniform is here going up and down the kitchen. There are flowers everywhere too, and people setting up tables and chairs in the backyard.

She can see the whole backyard from her bedroom, including the big round board which reads: “Happy Birthday Thabani.”

Thabani is her father’s name, she heard her mother call him that when she was arguing with her grandmother about who would raise Aphiwe after the wedding.

“It’s time for Thabani to take responsibility,” her mother had said.

It’s her father’s birthday today? She didn’t know that. If she knew she would have woken up very early and hoped to catch him before he left to wish him a happy birthday.

When the housekeeper, Harriet, said the kids must go get ready, Aphiwe didn’t ask what that meant. Back at home she always picked her own clothes and didn’t even have to wear shoes unless it was cold. Her grandmother only ever told her what to wear if it was for a special occasion.

She takes four of her dresses and lines them up on the bed.

The purple one has puffed shoulders, she’s not wearing that. The pink one has a stiff net underneath and she’s always hated it because it scratches her thighs.

The white one with black polka-dots is the one. She’s only worn it once and everyone complemented her. They said she looked like a proper girl.

With just her underwear and vest on, because she doesn’t want to put the dress on yet lest she something spill on it, she goes to stand at the window and watch as the people who were setting up start leaving.

Everything there is beautiful and she can’t help thinking how magical it is that she decided on this dress, and the decor for her father’s party is also black and white.

The first people she sees, glasses of wine in the hand, are a man and woman dressed like they are going to some high-class wedding. More people are arriving, too dressed up, she thinks.

It is when she sees her new mother strolling to the backyard in the most beautiful dress she has ever seen, greeting and smiling at all the guests, that she decides it’s time to put on her dress too.

Her mother didn’t have the time to plait her hair when she was busy preparing for her wedding, so Aphiwe has had hair like this for over a month and it has grown and locked into knots. She puts her pink Alice band on it, the one Gogo bought her last Christmas.

“Kids!” she hears Harriet shouting.

Her bedroom is at the far end but she meets Limi and Sengezo just as they are about to go down the stairs. Their mother is coming up the stairs, holding her long gold dress so it doesn’t trip her.

“You look beautiful, my babies,” she says, bending over to kiss Limi on the forehead. Sengezo tries to escape the kiss but it lands at the top of his head anyway.

Aphiwe is right behind them, but her new mother takes her hand and walks back up the stairs with her, all the way back to her bedroom.

“Sweetie, I want you to stay here. OK? I’ll ask Harriet to bring you food from the party, and some cakes. Do you like cakes? I’m sure you do. You can take off that dress and wear your normal clothes, the ones you came here with. Harriet will come and get you when everyone has left.”

She is saying it with a big smile, but Aphiwe still knows she can’t ask her why. And with that she leaves, locking Aphiwe inside the bedroom.

Tell us: Have you ever been left out of something without any explanation? How did it make you feel?