Page 21 - The Mending Season

“Yes, they could. Because we believe in their teachings. That’ll be good enough for them.”“Is she baptised?”“Yes, of course! She’s baptised, cleansed of sin, the sin you have from birth.”She said this with disdain and sucked her teeth for a good three seconds.I didn’t know if I would remember all of this but I had to focus. I would never have thought that I’d be one of the few Black girls going to those schools. Those were expensive schools. Only children whose parents were professionals or rich business people went there.“Do we go to church?” asked Mmamane Malebone.“Yes, Christ the King, it’s three streets away right here in the township. But we’re devoted. We’d take a taxi every Sunday if the church was too far to walk.” Mmamane Malesedi snorted.“Won’t they ask the priest there to vouch for us?” “HaoyJesus,” Mmamane Mabatho said. “It’s too much.” “Don’t say ‘Jesus’ unless it’s followed by ‘Christ’ and notunless you’re in the middle of prayer, and no, the priest doesn’t have to vouch for us. I took care ofthat.”They all turned and looked at me. “Did you hear that?” Mmamane Malebone asked me with concern.“Yes, we converted to Catholicism from being Lutheran,”I raised a finger for every detail I repeated.“We belong to Christ the King, I was baptised at birth ...”“No, no!” Mmamane Malebone looked panicked. “You were baptised ... when?”- she looked to her older sister for an answer.“I don’t think she has to know when. Good enough that she was baptised.”“And I was baptised, and ... we live close to the church but I would take a taxi if it was far.”21