Page 77 - The Mending Season

eightWhen theyfinally saw Tshidiso leaving home and coming back without that look o fdespair she had worn on herface all thoseyears, the sistersfelt relieved and excited. They wondered about this new world she was entering and tried to live in it through her. “Does she talk to them?' they would ask each other. “Does she makefriends with the Whitegirls?”Malesedi watched her silently, hoping that she wouldfit in and move smoothly through the big change in her life. Malebone wor­ ried that she wouldfeel lost in that strange world that she could not relate to. Mabatho marvelled at Tshidisos bravery. She could not imagine herselfliving a life so different and removedfrom herfamily. Her own life was always simplest and most comfortable near her sisters.Outside, the neighbours were asking each other questions about how the sisters could afford to send a child to a private school and how they were going to be able to keep her there. Some said it would never last, while others —the older women —nodded and admitted to each other that the sisters were taking care o fthe child in the best way they could.After the excitement of Sunday, I wanted to be around the girls who lived in the townships because I knew that every township had had a party. I didn’t want to spend lunchtime with KB. The event created a temporary segregation in the school, with even Marianne standing with the White girls at77