“Rain! It’s just rain,” echoed little Vuyo as he ran outside and skipped on the damp soil barefoot. His younger sister giggled and followed him almost tripping over her stubby little feet. “All the commotion was about rain? I love rain,” he said trying to kick the falling raindrops. His mother smiled at them lightly and turned up the hoary 5core FM radio. “I trust all the viewers are now witnessing the onset of Tropical Storm Domoina, the storm is now here as has been announced from earlier in the month… the storm that developed on January 16th on the northeast coast of Madagascar as the year of 1984 had just commenced and has now tracked westward towards the South African shores and has subsequently hit the small land-locked country of Swaziland. I trust that you listeners at home have made the necessary arrangements and taken necessary precautions. The time is 9:29a.m. and that means I am signing off. Take care until next time and do be careful out there.” “Vuyo! Aviwe! That’s enough get back in here before either of you catch a cold!” their mother shouted. “Awww!” the two whined and dragged their dirty feet into the small mud and boulder hut. The three of them sat around the small fire later that evening eating mealie porridge and stewed rabbit that they had bought from the local hunters earlier that day. Vuyo particularly enjoyed their dinner times because that’s when he got to hear folktales animated by his mother. He wore a broad smile as he listened attentively to the story of ‘grandma and the cunning hare’, they were disturbed by a deafening thunder that made them all jump. Aviwe clung to her mother tightly. “Wow, the rain is still going,” Vuyo noted. “Yeah, it is,” “But how will I begin school next week if it continues to rain?” Queried Vuyo. “It’s quite a few days till you have to start the first grade; I’m sure it will dwindle down by then, now let’s go to sleep,” she said laying out the grass mats and cow-skin blankets. Vuyo curled himself into a tight ball under the big blanket, next to his mother and sister his mind filled with excitement about the next day when he would get to play in the rain. But things didn’t go quite the way he had thought. The rain grew more torrential as the week went by, it poured constantly with only fleeting moments of light drizzle. Within days the news was teeming with accounts of regions flooding, people and animals drowning and calamitous landslides blocking roads. Bridges were engulfed by the high levels of water in rivers which left most people grounded. The entire week the trio had nothing to do but stay indoors. Vuyo sat at the door gazing at the hostile downpour whilst his mother cooked over the small fire, Aviwe was sound asleep on a mat as the radio sounded; “This is a notice to the public that the bridge from Dethe Bridge going into Gila City has also gone down. I repeat, the bridge from Dethe Bridge has gone down. Anyone using that bridge to go into the city is warned against it. No one should attempt to swim across, the currents are very strong.. Dethe Bridge will be number fifteen of the bridges destroyed by the storm so far. Anyone affected by the destruction is advised to stay put from the time being.” “But I’m supposed to go to school on Tuesday! Now how will I get there?” Complained Vuyo. “I don’t really know but I’m sure they’ll be sending in people to fix it anytime soon,” his mother reassured. “This is not fair… I’ve been waiting to go to school my whole life!” “Well, that might be exaggerating it a bit,” his mother giggled involuntarily. “Mama, this is not funny.” “I know my boy but we will be fine I promise. One thing I’ve learnt is that life has a way of sorting itself out. So it’s just best to let the wind blow you where it will.” “What would you do when the rain stopped you from going to school in your time?” “Uh, I know my boy… you wouldn’t believe it but this is the first tropical storm I’ve experienced in my lifetime. I have never seen anything like it before so I’m also a bit baffled.” “As old as you are?” “Hey come on I’m not that old, I may be a widow but it doesn’t mean I’m old. Now come closer to the fire, it’s freezing outside.” As the three of them slept soundly that night in light they were rudely awakened by a loud booming crash that sent them all jumping in shock. “Mama! What was that? Mama why is it so bright in here? Did you leave the candle on? Is it morning already?” “Vuyo enough with the questions already, let me think,” his mother said standing up to examine the source of the loud noise. She was shocked to see a heap of rock and boulders scattered on the floor with wet mud around it. “It’s the moon,” she began. “What?” “The wall fell… the light is coming from the moon outside,” “Mama, what do you mean the wall fell?” “The constant rain must have made the wall weak… and… it fell,” his mother muttered in disbelief. “What? What are we going to do Mama? Where will we sleep?” “Vuyo calm down. We will be fine, look, the roof is still intact we will just have to sleep on the other side of the house,” she said with her voice stout but Vuyo could see the distress smeared across her face as she shifted the mats with Aviwe still rested on them. They barely got an inch of sleep that night after the incident. Vuyo stared at the grey cloudy sky, focussing so hard that he could see stars behind them that flickered faintly and quickly faded from eyesight. He was not quite sure when he fell asleep but before he knew it, it was morning n his mother was bustling around the house in urgency. The fire in the middle of the hut smouldered under a small pot. She moved hastily and murmured to herself. “Mama, what’s going on?” “Oh you’re up Vuyo. Listen my boy, I have to go somewhere and I need you to be the big boy that you are and look after your sister… I’ll only be gone for a few hours. And there’s food in the pot. Can you do that for me?” “Sure Mama, but where are you going?” “I’ll tell you when I get back,” she said giving him a peck on the forehead before rushing off. The day went by slowly with Vuyo playing with his sister inside the hut, the rain didn’t let out even for a few moments on the day and thunder rumbled intermittently. It was about midday when their mother burst in, drenched from head to toe. Her headscarf looking as if it was about it fall off. “Whoa, Mama where are you coming from?” “No time to chat you and your sister need to pack,” she said heading straight for the pile of folded clothes on the floor and retrieving a small bag from behind them before shoving them in hastily. “But Mama, where are we going?” “You have to go to stay with your aunt for a while near the City, where is your school uniform?” “But how will we go? The buses can’t reach us.” “There’s a helicopter coming in an hour so we have to rush.” “A helicopter?? We are going on a helicopter? Wait, you are not coming?” Vuyo questioned, his face dropping. “No my boy,” she tried to smile. “What would I even do there? I have to stay and fix this place… you have to go to your aunt’s so you can begin school quickly so you start making money as soon as possible to take care of me,” she joked. “Awww, I’ll miss you very much.” “I know my boy but you’ll come back to me before you know It. Now help me pack," she said scrambling through their things. There were quite a few of them when they got to the rendezvous point. Vuyo carried his backpack and held his mother’s hand whilst she carried Aviwe. They stood still whilst everyone around them buzzed as they conversed, their tone anxious. Vuyo wondered how all of them would fit onto the helicopter. As they stood they heard a loud bourgeoning sound approaching. They watched as the helicopter came into view and all shifted back instinctively as if directed to do so. As the plane landed, a bulky man in a camouflage uniform appeared. “Women and children first, the rest of you will be collected later today,” he sounded from his enormous chest. The crow rumbled with disapproval and some with apathy. The first few began to climb aboard. Vuyo’s mother turned to him. “Take care of your sister, do not let go of her hand… your aunt will be waiting for you on the other end, I love you both,” she said kissing their hands. Vuyo climbed onto the helicopter with the help of the bulky man and held on tightly to his sister when she got on board. There were quite a few children on the plane, most with their mothers. Vuyo stared at the familiar faces he customarily played with in the village. He tried to smile at one of them but he looked afraid and held onto his mother. They took off slowly rising from the ground until the people below looked like ants. Vuyo could still see his mother’s silhouette standing in the same position looking up. They went past flooded rivers and wrecked trees and roads, most of the places in the village looked like wetlands at this point. Vuyo looked straight ahead still in disbelief of the recent events. Events caused by what he had thought to be simple rain.