Rowena

It was a Saturday afternoon and the village was covered with scorching heat as it was already in the middle of summer. Themba was walking with a small racksack on his shoulder. He was sweating from the heat of the sun. The thick dark grey clouds that covered the far end of the horizon were showing signs of thunderstorms. He was rushing to see her little cousin. He kept wondering how she looked now that they had last seen each other a while ago. He could not wait to lift her in his arms. He was smiling to himself imagining all the joy that would fill her heart when she saw him. By the time he was getting closer the sky was becoming darker. He walked very fast so that he could reach there before the rain fell.

The gloomy weather reminded him of the day his mother passed on. He remembered it as it was yesterday. His heart ached a bit as he recalled all the events that took place before and after his mother passed away. The droplets of tears started to wet his eyes and he felt a heaviness in his heart. By that time the tiny droplets of rain were starting to fall as well. One big rain drop fell in one of his eyes and mixed with his tears. They formed a well of tears that he could not control. "I'm crying. A man is not supposed to cry", he thought to himself. This was what the boys were taught when they about to reach the stage of manhood. A man does not cry. This was something that was considered as a tradition. A man who showed his weakness by crying was considered not to be a man enough to become a Pillar of strength for his family. Tears showed a sign of defeat and weakness and it was associated with women.

He quickly wiped those tears and held his head high as if nothing happened. The rain had started to fall. He ran fast do it could not wet his clothes. He got there before it fell very heavily. He entered his neighbour's house and greeted while was standing at the door. His eyes were roving around as he was searching for the tiny figure who could be his favourite niece. Rowena was not among the people in the house. His heart sank and his body became numb. "Where could she be?" He wondered. Everyone was looking at him as he was standing there hesitating. He was ordered to sit down. His heart was pounding very fast. He was preparing himself for the worst. He was used to hearing the news of death but he was not prepared to hear anything that could connect Rowena it. She was too young to die. And besides she was the only thing that pushed him to live. It it was not for her, he could have taken his life long time ago considering the hardships he was facing as a young boy.

"Where is Rowena?" He gathered some strength to ask that question. His heart was shuttered into pieces already. He was also thinking about the nice things he bought for her. She would have been happy to see them. He was imagining seeing her munching on the delicacies he had brought for her. He knew that in the villages, food sometimes was scarce. Sometimes it became a luxury to eat meat, especially those who were poor like them. He was prepared to take her to Johannesburg for heaven's sake. How could she not be there? He thought she would be the first one to welcome him. Now she was not there.

It felt like it was forever before he got the answer he was looking for. Everyone was busy looking at him admiringly. He was looking different from those boys in the villages. He was wearing a pair of denim jeans and sneakers. Other boys were envying him. He was wearing those fashionable sneakers they were looking forward to have them. He was looking nice and smelled nice as well. Everyone was looking at him from head to toe. They were looking curious. They wanted to ask him about his new life in the city. His mind was absent. He was thinking about Rowena. Everyone seemed not to be aware of his enxious look. They were busy complementing him about how nice he looked. They asked him about everything they heard about the city life. *Where is Rowena?" He kept asking.