The day after Christmas

It was the day after Christmas and people were still merry. I passed by crowds of people who flocked the streets near the grocery stores. Most of them seemed to be looking for reasons to do foolish things.

Two girls past their teenage years were drinking an expensive whiskey and dancing in the street. An ex- Japanese car drove into the street,bouncing from side to side. One of the girls threw herself onto the oncoming car which made the driver step hard on the brakes.

The driver waited until the girl picked herself up and he shook his head and drove in the direction he was headed. Elderly ladies made faces at the girls as they danced to

the stereo that was playing in one of the many township houses. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly where the horrible noise was coming from. However the stereo speakers seemed to be crying out for help but no one really seemed bothered.

On the other side of the township, ladies organised themselves and started fetching water from the tap. The township had only one tap and the ladies walked as a group,chatting and laughing. A small engagement party was being held. At long last the chairperson's daughter was getting married.

Many rumours were spreading as to the financial position of the suitor. There were whispers about the man having another wife in the city,and that the chairperson's daughter was pregnant. The township people seemed to feast on nothing else but the daily gossip. This made it hard to know what was true and what was not.

Two black tents were pitched near the library and it seemed there was something creepy going on. A guard stood outside guarding the tent and blocking the entrance to the Library. As it turns out those were tents that were housing the relatives of the man who was going to marry the chairperson's daughter, Gladys.

"Mbare,the chairperson was seen walking up and down at his household compound." This was a report I got at the tap as I happened to pass by and drink some water. After roaming around and being completely bored by what the normal township folk found entertaining.

It is then that I remembered I had a book which was overdue in my possession. After staying with my aunt in Nabraska mine, I had taken a habit of borrowing books. I did not read the books per say but it kept me connected to the community where I was going to be spending most of my life.

I tried to figure out how I had ended up being dumped at my aunt's house right when my life was making sense. Without any explanation my bags had been packed and I was seen to the bus stop. Before I even could even take full appreciation to what was really happening my parents waved goodbye.

A lot had happened,they spoke of going to Mozambique. They said they were heading an operation. Assured me that they will be working underground, that they will be safe .They said they were not like the ordinary soldiers,that they will be working on sending signals. I wanted to ask what it all meant but they seemed really hurried or scared but I could not be really sure.

They nodded their heads a lot as they spoke and made me promise to be a good girl. I wondered mischievously what they would have done if I had refused. I knew I would probably gave gotten a beating. Several times I had, had beatings and I preferred that as compared to getting lectured.

I looked at the ladies filling their buckets and asked if i could help them carry. They looked at me and started laughing. "City girl,you should go back to the city,carrying water on your head will make you age quickly", a younger looking woman teased.

They allowed me to carry the twenty litre bucket on my head. It was really heavy and I felt breathless as if there was a lump on my chest. My feet felt heavier and I could feel my neck starting to get sore. The other ladies moved gracefully balancing the bucket effortlessly. They did not seem to be experiencing the same agony I was in.

Arriving at the chairperson's house meant I could pass by the library without being suspicious. Somehow I had not passed by my house to get the book. My heart sank as I remembered that if you did not return a book it meant being banned from borrowing books. I tried talking to the librarian about having people pay a fine for not returning books and he looked at me as if I was a mad woman.

Without much thought I walked straight to one of the guards near the tent and asked if I could come back later and visit the library. The guard in that moment must have felt some degree of importance. He made me wait,for what seemed like eternity. Occasionally he would check his radio and call out on it. After a while,it seemed I was forgotten, completely ignored and I was starting to feel self conscious .

I repeated myself and was told to go and talk to the chairperson. The chairperson stared at me and smiled strangely. He said I was fit to be his daughter in law,and this I found amusing. I smiled,not knowing how to behave appropriately in such a case scenario. Judging by the chairperson's appearance,his children would have been aliens.

The chairperson had small darting eyes,big lips and teeth. He almost looked like a bottle fish and he had an annoyingly high pitched voice. I had seen his daughter Gladys and poor girl looked like her father. In his high pitched voice Mbare called his son, Derrick.

Derrick was awfully good looking, with perfect eyebrows and pink lips. It was his calm, eerie nature that was more attractive. I could not stop starring and Mbare laughed out loud like a monkey. His laugh brought me out of my daydream.

He told Derrick,to take me home. Derrick looked at me with pure hatred as if I was trespassing. I pretended not to notice and I worried about the long stretch home with the chairperson's son who seemed to not to like me .

"I will walk you halfway,I know you won't get lost",Derrick said. Just don't come back and bother those guards again you hear"

At that moment,I do not know whether it was exhaustion,hunger or being stuck with a good looking boy who wanted to get rid of me quickly that made me emotional. Perhaps it was the hopelessness of not being able to return a book that made me cry. Tears simply started flowing through my eyes like a river.

Derrick pulled me close and hugged me until I stopped crying. I took a deep breath,and he offered to show me the back entrance to the library. As it turns out he helped out at the Library and had spare keys. After sneaking in we walked about,read magazines, sang a little bit. It really felt strange making noise in the library, like a betrayal. Afterwards we resolved to watching one of the plays on an old television at one of the back rooms and my mind was almost put at ease.

walking outside I could feel the anxiety coming back. "I need to get the book from my house and return it", I said worriedly. I walked quickly and Derrick followed me. I was just hoping that he would return to the library with me. Right then before we went any further we came across Sharlet,a girl who was more voluptuous for her age. She gave Derrick one intense look.

" It's not what it looks like",Derrick said. She kissed him heartily, the way they do it in dirty movies. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at me from the corner of her eyes.

I walked away quickly, deliberately. at first and when I felt I was out of view I ran. Faster than my legs could carry me. Getting home breathless I nearly collapsed as I entered near the kitchen door.

The librarian was there,sitting at the table in the kitchen. He was having tea with my aunt.

"The book", is all I managed to say as I pulled a chair at the table. "Returned", my aunt and the librarian chorused as they stared at each other like Romeo and Juliet.