As the car drove on the endless road, one passenger was not pleased at all. Lindiwe was not happy that the town she had just left was never going to be seen again. All the friends she had made. It was not fair. Why did they have to move? Why must I have to suffer? I’ll never see my friends again. That was how she felt. Her mother had told her that change is sometimes a good thing. Her mother had told her that no matter how hard the change, she would be happy. Lindiwe did not believe her. She was scared. She was really scared. How was she supposed to tell her mother how she felt?
They had finally reached the new street. Lindiwe felt her heart beating faster. She felt dizzy. She saw a huge lion staring at her. Wait! What!? She shook her head and looked again. There was no lion. It was just an old man on a wheelchair who was crossing the road. Why did she think she saw a lion? Her father looked back at her. “Are you okay?” He asked. She told him yes, even though she was lying. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
The car had finally stopped in front of a black gate. Lindiwe saw a man open the gate for them and thought she saw a black cat sleeping outside the front door. When the car stopped and she came out to check, she saw that there was no cat. Her mother was staring at her. She told her that she was going to love the new place. Lindiwe was not so sure. There was something wrong with this house. She could feel it deep down.
Lindiwe was carrying her bag and moving to get into the room when she heard voices coming from the kitchen. They were calling her name. “Lindiwe. Lindiwe.” She covered her ears. She did not want to hear anymore. Her heart was beating fast again. Thump! Thump! Thump! Her mother entered the room and quickly wrapped her arms around her. “Breathe my baby, “said her mother. “What’s wrong Lindiwe?” Lindiwe shook her head. She did not know how to answer her mother. All she could think about was to go back to their old home. She did not like this new place. “This house wants to eat me. It wants to eat me!’, she shouted. Her mother took a deep breath and gently kissed her cheek. “I know you are upset that we have moved to a new place. New places can be scary. I’m sorry that you feel that we took you from your friends. You can make new friends here. Your old friends can still visit you. The house is not going to eat you. I promise,” her mother explained. Lindiwe felt a bit safe after listening to her mother.
Lindiwe walked around the house. Everything she had been seeing and hearing was just in her head. She had been so scared about moving to a new place. Her father shared a story with her. He told her that he too used to be scared of new places but after a while, he would be okay. Lindiwe felt happy to have parents that cared for her. The new house did not feel so scary anymore.
As she was removing her clothes from her bags, she heard a ‘meow’. When she turned around, she saw the black cat again. It was on the window and it was busy licking its paws. Lindiwe smiled and slowly approached it. She stroked its back and the cat purred. Lindiwe felt happy. Maybe the new place wasn’t going to be so bad. She now had a new friend.
She went to help her parents with the unpacking. She thought she heard the house call her name again, but this time she ignored it. She looked around the house and placed a finger to her lips. “Shhhhhhhhhhhh!” She shooshed the voices away and smiled. She was no longer afraid of the new place.
Read – Sheila in Bamako – A Children’s Story by Kudzai Mhangwa, Zimbabwe
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