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Chapters (103)
  1. Cover
  2. ALSO BY BIANCA MARAIS
  3. Dedication
  4. Map
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  54. CHAPTER FIFTY
  55. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  64. CHAPTER SIXTY
  65. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  66. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  67. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  69. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  70. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  71. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
  72. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
  73. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
  74. CHAPTER SEVENTY
  75. CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
  76. CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
  77. CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
  78. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
  79. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
  80. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
  81. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
  82. CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
  83. CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
  84. CHAPTER EIGHTY
  85. CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
  86. CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
  87. CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
  88. CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR
  89. CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE
  90. CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX
  91. CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN
  92. CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT
  93. CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE
  94. CHAPTER NINETY
  95. CHAPTER NINETY-ONE
  96. CHAPTER NINETY-TWO
  97. CHAPTER NINETY-THREE
  98. CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR
  99. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  100. GLOSSARY OF TERMS
  101. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  102. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  103. What’s next onyour reading list?

I nod once, accepting defeat.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Zodwa

24 April 1994

Big Hope Informal Settlement, Magaliesburg, South Africa

The dog whimpers in its sleep, thrashing out with scrambling hind legs. It wakes Zodwa before dawn and sets the baby off hiccupping in the womb. Uncomfortable as she is, and as much as she wants to swat the dog away, Zodwa tries not to move in case it bothers her mother. They share a mattress on the floor of the shack, and as Zodwa’s belly has grown, so has Leleti’s irritation with everything she does.

Zodwa lies awake listening to the squatter camp’s nighttime chorus, which is as much a companion as her mother’s labored breathing. The shacks in the Big Hope Informal Settlement are erected almost on top of each other, their walls offering no insulation against the cold, and sound travels unobstructed through the corrugated tin. Music, laughter, conversation, cursing, the sound of babies crying, and noises that could either be of sex or violence, or both, drift in and out like uninvited guests.

When Leleti finally wakes to a distant cock’s crowing, she gets up and lights the burner on the paraffin stove. Zodwa wrestles her way up, wraps herself in a blanket, and walks to the communal privy to empty her bladder. She has to be careful in the dark not to stumble into the pile of stones that her mother adds to daily; knocking the shrine over would be an unforgivable offense.

It’s cold outside, but the chill means the stench rising from the long drop isn’t that bad. During the day, the heat bakes the human waste to a near boil so that the stink of it, coupled with the frenzied flies buzzing around, makes her light-headed. It was even worse in the earlier months of her pregnancy.

Upon Zodwa’s return, Leleti finishes her morning scripture reading and closes her Bible. The candlelight is forgiving but despite the soft glow it radiates, Leleti looks much older than forty-seven. Having given birth to Zodwa when she was twenty-nine, Leleti’s the oldest of Zodwa’s friends’ parents. Still, she’d always looked youthful, until her health deteriorated so rapidly that the weight fell off of her, leaving her skin looking like an oversized garment. Her hair, cut into a short afro, hasn’t grayed at all but her eyes are lined with worry and exhaustion.

She wordlessly hands Zodwa a mug of black tea and a stale slice of bread smeared with apricot jam, as the big dog rises from the bed and pads its way over to her. Leleti passes it a slice of polony, making it wait and take it nicely.

“Good dog, Shadow,” Leleti says, smiling, and Zodwa feels the usual resentment bubbling up.