Life As We Know It

As the sun set and the sky changed to a magnificent orange glow, Madlenkosi slowly packed away the unsold goods.

"Sighs, day in, day out..same struggle.." Madlenkosi sighed with extreme sadness as he knew he had no way to free himself from this monotonous lifestyle.

As he slung his wrapped package over his shoulder he started to slowly muddle his way through the street.  It was quite comical to watch as the 11-year-old boy waddled with a colorful bag wrapped in all types of cloth that was almost as large as he was.

From a young age, Madlenkosi was always vastly stronger than the average child. Quite commonly he was told by villagers that he was blessed with strength by the African Gods Shango and Ogun since he could single-handedly lift objects even two grown men would struggle with.

........

As night fell and a blanket of darkness swept the village, the only light that could be seen was the glow from the inside of homes and the moon which shone down upon him.

"Aljada, Aljada, I'm home!"

Madlenkosi sounded from outside as he muddled his way to his grandmother's house.

"Madlenkosi! Hurry and come inside and stop all that noise!" Said his Aljada from inside.

He could smell a familiar fragrance, the smell of jollof rice which was his favorite dish to eat.

As he got inside he saw his Aljada standing over the stove, she was of short stature, only around 154cm tall. She was quite frail, with gray hair interspersed within her black hair and had a slight hunch, but her genial and loving smile was still present.

"Madlenkosi hurry up and come in, why are you gawking at me for?" Said his Aljada.

"Okay, okay," Madlenkosi said as he came in and slowly placed the package to the side. 

" I have sold a few necklaces today Aljada, hopefully enough for your medicine" Madlenkosi always worried about his Aljada, she was the only one he could call family, and even at her advanced age she still tried her best to live.

"Don't worry about me, Kosi. I'm not getting any younger and even though I may leave here, I'll continue on somewhere else." His Aljada never made a fuss about her age or her condition. She was suffering from arthritis and diabetes but she never let it got the best of her, she taught him to look to the future because better days may always lay ahead.

"Kosi, go wash ya skin and come and eat" as his Aljada said this she plated his food, the steam rising from the plate and the fragrance lingered in the air as the scent of the fresh food made his mouth water.

Madlenkosi dashed to fill the pan with water as he got his soap and began to scrub the dust and dirt from the day away. After having his bath, he felt rejuvenated and fresh, he placed on clean clothes as he sat down and ate his dinner. Once he was finished, he brushed his teeth and head to bed, looking forward to the next day.

The next day would be the time the men from the village would be teaching them how to make traps and how to build weapons...