Another tragedy

The day has finally arrived for Rowena and her little aunt to leave for Johannesburg. They packed their few items and went. They caught an early bus that would take them to the bus terminus where they would catch a bus to Johannesburg. The bus was scheduled to arrive in Johannesburg the following day. This meant that they would travel for almost twenty four hours. They did not carry anything to eat though. The money they had was only enough for the trip. They only bought fruit and small bottles of juice. Although Rowena was hungry, she was too excited to entertain the hunger pangs and besides her aunt promised her that they will have enough to eat once they arrived in Johannesburg. She and her brother were selling drinks, snacks and sausages before he died. She carried on with that business even after he died. That was what kept her going because it helped her to put food on the table. The little profit she was getting was enough to buy food. She was doing her last grade at school and was planning to work while studying part time. She had bigger plans to renovate her parents' s house and make it bigger. She was going to take care of her sister's children and make sure she got everything she needed.

The bus was halfway between Johannesburg and Barkley East. The road and the bypasses were not in an excellent state. The not so good condition of the roads was aggravated by the heavy rains that took place early that December. The road was slippery and the driver struggled through control it. It turned off the road and one of the tyres bursted. The driver tried to control the bus but it was too late. By that time everyone was screaming and fearing for their lives. Rowena was scared and did not know what was happening. How could his dream journey ended in tears like that, she thought. She looked at her aunt and told her that Jesus will help them. Then a loud bang of noise followed and everything became still. After a few minutes there were ambulances and traffic officers. The injured people were rushed to hospital. The dead were taken to the nearest funeral parlours. Rowena's aunt was among those who were dead. Rowena sustained back injuries. Her aunt had grabbed her head and it on her lap during the accident. When the bus overturned, her aunt was covering her. Her back was injured because her aunt rolled on top of her when the bus fell. She was rushed to hospital to have her back straightened. She was screaming with physical and spiritual pains. The news of passing of her only relative who was going to take care of her rubbed salt in her wound that was starting to heal after her major loss. Her dreams of getting new school shoes was shuttered. The whole universe was turning against her. She had no one to run to. She kept asking herself why Jesus allowed all that was happening to her. She would cry herself to sleep.

The food in the hospital was great. It was her first time to sleep in clean linen and eat three meals a day. She wished she could stay there and never went back to the hell hole she was coming from. The thought of seeing that woman scolding and beating her made her sick to her stomach. She spent three weeks in hospital to heal completely. The hospital staff and the social workers were searching her relatives. She told them that she had no one to call a family. Her last family member died in the bus accident. That was the report that was written by the hospital staff. The social workers took the matter to their hands.

After three weeks she was discharged from hospital. Now the trouble began. She had to return back to where she was coming from. The people from the village had already heard about the accident. They started to make their nasty remarks about Rowena's misery. They kept contaminating most villagers about the curse Rowena brought to people who were around her. No one wanted to get closer to her. Her keeper received a call from the social workers. The social workers arranged to meet with her to discuss Rowena's full custody. The social workers arranged a temporary place for Rowena to stay before her custody arrangements were finalized. She was taken to a children's home. She enjoy being in a different environment where people were not judging her about her pain. She played with other children and for the t time in her life she felt like a child. She forgot about worrying about where she would get her next meal. She stopped working for a plate of food. Although the home had no enough facilities to accommodate a great number of children it was different from where she came from. It did not have that homely touch but they were safe there.

Her keeper confirmed that she was looking after her eversince her grandmother passed away. The social workers inspected all the conditions Rowena was living in since her family left her. They saw that the conditions were unfavourable for a child to live there. This was done with the help of the testimonials from other villagers. The final decision was made that Rowena would be taken to a children's home until she reached the age of eighteen years. She lived there and the preparations for her to go to school were made by the social workers. Everything was in order and Rowena was pleased at she was not going back to the village again. It was as if something was lifted from her shoulders. She was determined to focus on her studies and work hard to pass her grades so that she would be able to go to the college. That was going to take some years but to her it was like the golllt day. She was full of hope and determination.