Yibanathi



My heart pounds in my chest as I watched my uncle walk into the house with my cousin Zamani.

He barely acknowledges me, “Zamani will be staying here with you in the outside room. He’ll be looking after the house.”

I wanted to object, to tell him that I could take care of myself and didn’t need someone to watch over me, but I held my tongue, afraid he might kick me out if I protested.

My heart sank as I saw people helping to carry Zamani’s things into the backroom. This is really happening. How does one become comfortable with someone they haven’t seen since they were practically kids?

But I have no say in the matter, so I remained silent and watched him organise his belongings in the room.

I felt like crying, but what good would tears do? They wouldn’t bring my mother back or make Zamani go away. So I swallowed back my emotions and retreated to my own room. Instead, I pulled out my books and started studying, hoping they would provide a temporary escape from my current reality.