The last hope

Themba was ecstatic to hear that there was nothing wrong with Rowena. He could not bear the thought of losing the last person who was called a relative. The only thing that did not please him was the way Rowena looked. She was so pale and dirty. Her clothes were heavily soiled and it seemed that she had been wearing them for a long time. Her long thick tuft of hair was kinky and dirty. She had a kind of long curly hair since she was a result of mixed races. Her slim became so bony. She was no longer that bubbly child she used to be, instead she was withdrawn and edgy. It was obvious that she was not taken good care of.

Themba became so worried that he thought of his late relatives. " If my mother did not pass away, life would have been better", he thought to himself. He took a big three legged pot and filled it with water. He made fire and warmed the water. When the water was warm, he took off Rowena's dirty clothes and bathed her. He scrubbed her until she became clean. When he finished bathing her, he took the new clothes he bought and dressed her. Rowena was ecstatic and felt like it was Christmas time when grandmother was alive. She ate the delicacies Themba brought and they shared with everybody. It was a different day for Rowena and for once in a long time, she felt like a baby. Being taken care of and eat sweets was a luxury lately. She could not even remover the last she got few cents to buy sweets in the local spaza shop. She went to bed happy that night and Themba told her that he was going to take her to Johannesburg with him. That was the best news she ever heard that day. It felt like it was forever before they left. She never been on a train before and it felt like a dream that she going to be on a train.

The following day Themba took all her stuff and packed it for they would leave the day after. Rowena was busy washing all her panties and socks. She did not have much to wear. Most if her dresses were torn out. She did not have shoes. She went to school bare footed and sometimes would bunk classes if there was nothing to wear. She would sit on the stoop watching other children going to school in uniform. It was her dream that one day she would get lucky and wear her own uniform. She kept hoping that her prayers would be answered one day. She always read a story of a young girl who just like her had no shoes to wear at school. One day the little went to her teacher to ask if she could get Jesus'address. The teacher was taken aback by what the young girl was asking. Being asked by the teacher the motive behind asking the address of the Lord, the young girl's response was short and straight forward. " I want Him to buy me shoes', she said. The teacher was lost for words for nothing like that had ever been asked from him. He told the young girl to pray and Jesus would answer her. The following day the teacher summoned the young girl from her classroom to the stuff room. He gave her something in a box. When the young girl opened the box, there was a new pair of shoes. The young girl was happy and grateful. "You see Jesus has answered your prayers", the teacher said. The young girl nodded with a smile in her face. The teacher was happy to bring that smile on her face. He bought the young girl a pair of shoes. So, Rowena was hoping Jesus would answer her prayers too.

She kept telling Themba that Jesus would answer her prayers and buy her shoes too. Themba was surprised that Rowena was such a believer. He remembered when they were taught to pray by his late grandmother. They used to recite 'Our father who art in heaven' everyday when it was the prayer time. They would saying without even meaning it because they were told to say it. Sometimes they would doze off before finishing the prayer. They used to run to their beds early do that they would not pray but his grandmother would wake them up. Now here was Rowena believing in prayer at such a young age. Rowena was such amazing. Themba was preparing her for their journey while she was curiously asking all the questions about everything. It was going to be her first time to travel on a train. She could not wait till be inside the train and look through the window or even wave goodbye to those who left behind. She loved her new clothes and she felt like Cinderella after the fairy had touched her. After they finished preparing for their journey, Themba remembered to go and say goodbye to his friends who he had not seen for a while. He told Rowena to wait for him and he promised he would not be long. Rowena nodded excitedly and Themba walked away with a big smile too. He could not wait to meet his old time friends. Those who stoodby him when things turned sour in his life. He was feeling sad that they had to go their separate ways because fate decided against their will. They were determined to finish their studies and go to college together. By then the professions were limited to being a teacher, nurse, a lawyer or a doctor if you are doing well in life. So, they were planning to take a teacher's diploma. They were three friends and they shared everything together. Now to that he was living them for good made him sad and happy that they were still studying while he was working for the whites in Johannesburg. His plans were to carry on with his studies had he got the chance to do so. But his main focus was on Rowena. He wanted to make sure that she lived a better life than that she was living then. While he was with his friends something kept bothering him. He had a weird feeling and his heart was beating fast. He tried to dismiss the feeling by chatting and laughing with his friends but he could not discard that strange feeling. They chatted until it was the time to say their goodbyes.