Page 22 - The Mending Season

aYou dont have to actually say that”Mmamane Malesedi was annoyed.I stood up, took a deep breath and contemplated what was to come. For days after that, I would find myselfgrinning and practising my “hello”and “how are you”in front ofthe mirror. “Im fine, thank you, and how are you?”I would say to the mir­ ror when no one was looking. “My name is Tshidiso Masemola. What is your name?”Had they been better connected with the world\ perhaps the Masemola sisters would have known that there were waysfor them tofollow thepaths they had wishedfor - nursing school\per­ haps, or teachers’college. Still\ they wouldprobably have chosen to find a way to stay together after high school. Foryears they dreamt ofeverythingfrom opening a tuck shop to becoming seamstresses. But they didn’t like the idea o fpeople coming into their home every day. Still\ they held onto their dream ofhaving a business, even though it was a bit hazy.Meanwhile, each woman went to town and became a cleaning womanfor a company or afamily, determined to save enough moneyfor their dream business. At the end ofevery month, they would come together in their meeting room and decide how much was to be saved and how much was to be spent. It was allgoing well until men started coming into their lives and disrupting the smooth workings o ftheir world.Theproblem was that the men always wanted to stay or take one o f the sisters home. The sisters took this as a great insult. Inevitably, it led to noisy battles, after which the men ran out, never to return. The neighbours gasped and whispered insults,“They’re lucky to have these men.”“What woman would chase a manfrom her house when all he wants is to marry her?”22