Somewhere Else

I could hear the dogs bark and move around my grandmother's old rusty shack,it was a norm but somehow I could never get used to it...most nights I would curl my body up and read a book. We lived in one of the largest townships in South Africa situated in Cape Town,the shacks here were so stacked up on each other that you would get lost for three hundred and sixty five days until getting used to the area or even getting accustomed to the people.It was of course a pretty gruesome neighborhood filled with crime and poverty but as I said it was a norm so I was happy...for now. In the morning grandma Angie woke me up,she always woke me up first because I was a girl,we had a one room shack so she woke up as early as 5am,take a bath and then wake me up to bath and make soft porridge.My cousin's Lee and Isaac would have to take turns in holding each other towels so I would not peak and see them naked while I cooked.When we were younger this was never a problem as we would all bath in the same basin. After breakfast the boys would wash the dishes,by now grandma has gone to work and we were left alone...as usual I was waiting on Lee and Isaac to finish up.Our shack was small we had one bed on the corner and the opposite end we had a sofa and a wardrobe in the middle,the boys slept on the floor.The front side of the shack we had a kitchen table a stove curboard and chairs most of the items we had in our house we got from my grandmother's employers, whenever they renovate or buy new clothes we atleast get something's. Let's go Al said my cousin Lee,you don't want us to be late for school now do you.I stood and followed the boys,Isaac locked the door and we left.We moved around endless shacks till we reached the road. School was great we were all in the same class, naturally I was the smartest of them all...my cousin's were lazy. our mothers were sisters,Lee is the only one who's mother is still alive... atleast we hope so,we haven't seen aunt Nora in ten years since aunt Gloria's funeral.My mother passed away when I was only two, beaten by my dad till she succumbed to her death...my dad has been in prison since,I have never met him and do not wish to meet him.Our grandmother has been out pillar, providing us with everything that we need even though it was not new or perfect but it always made us happy.