Page 29 - The Mending Season

my birth certificate because it was the aunts’ grandmothers name - my great-grandmother’s. No one had ever liked her.People in the taxi watched me curiously but only one bald older man who came in two stops after us asked, “Hee? Are you going to school in town?”I nodded furiously and grinned at him. “Eeng,”I said.“Heeee\ Bana ba rona\ Our children. These are changing times, Mma,” he said to Mmamane Malesedi. “This is the beginning ofthe best years for this country.”“Eeng,”Mmamane Malesedi said. “She’s living in different times.”“You’ll be sitting side by side with White children. This is no small thing, my child. This is no small thing.”“Wait until Mandela comes out,” a young man who was probably only about two years out ofhigh school, spoke from the back. “I won’t be working at this job for long.”“Heyil Change takes time, Mfana,”the older man told him. “IfMandela really does come out, it will take a long time.”“I’m a PAC woman,” a woman from the passenger seat turned around and spoke to the rest ofus. “And I think Nelson Mandela will bring only a small amount ofchange. He works with the Whites. He is negotiating in prison with the Whites. They’re probably telling him what to do and what not to do if they do release him. Do you think he will bring Black peoplejobs? No! If they release him, it will be on condition that he lets the Whites keep everything they have.”“Heee wenal Mandela is for everyone. We’ve all fought for his release, we expect him to fight for all ofus,”the bald man told the woman. She flicked her hand rudely at him.“You don’t know, wena“Heei Woman?”The two passengers looked about the same age. “Do you know how long I’ve been with the ANC?”“Ai, ai, ail” A woman’s voice came from the back of the kombi. “Let’s not start another fight about ANC, PAC. The29