Page 25 - The Mending Season

thought that except for my dark skin and my wider nose, I came quite close to looking like Robin Williams myself.“Brush your shoes,”Mmamane Malesedi said, but the other aunts said I looked elegant. I was ecstatic and could not wait to go outside and be seen. We treaded lightly but proudly, heads up, down the dusty road. I was anxious to reach the tarred main road because I did not want to reach town looking shabby, like we had just been shooting the dust with our feet.In spite of myself, I looked sideways to see who was noti­ cing us. People stared. I knew that they were speculating among themselves about where we were going. When we reached Tihelo s house, I shot my arm up in the air and waved proudly for longer than necessary. Tihelo was sitting and talk­ ing to her mother on their stoep. Mmamane Malebone said Tihelo’s mother liked to show her offbecause she was a journ­ alist and not a lot ofpeople around here were professionals. I thought that maybe Tihelo didnt mind me because she had gone to university. Mmamane Malesedi said they taught peo­ ple all kinds of things there - like witchcraft doesn’t make sense or doesn’t even exist. I was sure that Tihelo did not believe that we were witches.At the roadside, we waited about twenty minutes for the right taxi, which had to be an E20 because those took fewer passengers and were cleaner and usually the drivers played soul or R&B instead ofbubblegum or church music. I noticed that people were staring at us. I assumed that they were prob­ ably looking at the striking resemblance between the three aunts - even I could not help but stare sometimes. With their big eyes, high cheekbones and tall, slim figures, the Masemola sisters were easy to pick out of a crowd. Sometimes people said that the aunts looked like identical triplets, especially since they were so close in age.In the taxi, we all sat in the back seat - the four-seater - and talked excitedly to each other. People we knew sat uncom­25