Gcina MHLope The Toilet Sometimes I ward to pve up and be a god i who listened to her eles, Maybe I should have dove somthing like teaching tr murine aseptic wished Pople bought hese professions were especie, bi kine I mon ‘oo smehing dilleren, thogh L wa ot a wha I ough ot dae ‘ting... My mother sid that ithad been a wane of good money edciing te because 1d not know wha to do wih the kewedge Uh segue. Pb ‘ome to Johannesbrg forthe December holidays ater writing By matic exams and then stayed on oping to nd someting odo My elder sister worked in Oringe Grove st domestic wotkt, nd 1 stayed wth er inher back room. dn ow anybody in Joburg excep my sister’ frends whom we went to church with The Meihodistchureh up Fourteenh Avenbe was about the only extng we ad together I wns toy Saved an only. ‘On weekday I was locke in my sige’ rom 0h the Madam would’ sce me, She wat at home most ofthe time: pining be a having fe wth ber tends, or ying in the sun by the swimaing pol. Te seinming Yon as ‘very clout the room, which why Thad oka very ie My sit fel bat ‘hut locking mein thee, but she bao aire 1 cold eve py the ‘ato, 0 she bought me boks. old magatnes, and newspapers rom he we peopl. jos ead vey single hing Lesme acon: Fair Lad Woman's Wel ‘ything But ben my sister ought Iwas reading to mac, “What kind of wife wil yoo make if you cas teven make aby clothes, ot ‘it yous jersey? Ippo you wll mary an educated man ike youre ‘who won't mind going o Be witha book nd sa empty stomach" ‘We would play cards at night when she knocked of, nd sent the al, singing along soy with the songs we ied. “hen Igo this emporary job es clothing factory in ow. I ooked fer: ward to mecing new people ike teen of ing ost ft oom or = ‘hnge. The factory made clothes fr ads" boatigoes “The whole place was full of machines of ll Kinds. Some peope were sewing, cers were oaing with Big hery ins tht pened wi stot of Steam: Thad cut al he loose reads ht hag aera des or cet fn ished. As von asa numberof dens ina cain sve were fishes, ty ‘ould fe sent tome ad had o cout them, wit the amber Soy ny the ‘Sart with he cting of tetrad, Iwas fsclnted to discover tha one per an soa mae aly lesve, noter he collars, an 9 on nthe at ay pt all the pecs togebe seved on batons, or whatever wae neesay to inh, Most peopl ote factory spake Sc, bt they were nie to me-vthy tried to speak o me Zu or Xhosa, and they gave meal Kin of vie om things {didn Know. There was thi gt Gedone be thought es ey apse called rea "ba ste T always stad he changing oom ‘id something teat when Kwa ie 0 et my lnc, stead ef Bing Tide fo meet ys, Se told mei wae cheaper fo get mel a uneh boy" fomebody to buy me lunch. She fod me ft wap wie na to seep wi him trate then Toul damp hie antine I waned, was very nervous abot ‘ch tings thought twat beter to Be 3 "bas" han to be sabe by acy ty fore money ‘The factory knocked of at four-tiny, and then I went to 2 park aear where my ster worked. I wale tee il all pst si, when I ould soak {mo te hose again without the white people seelng me ado leave the tons before hal past ive ia the momings a well Tha mean Thad fo find Something todo with the ine | had before could etch he seventy bas ‘work—aboat wo hoors I would goto pblic it te park. For sme ra {lon itwas never lacked oT woud go in ani on thet seal o ead Se ‘magain or ober unl the rght me teat the bs “Te int ine I wea no thistle, Iw on my way tothe bus sop. ‘Uualy I went straight othe bus stp outside the OK Bazaars whee i Was ‘well ity and I cold vee | would wal there, readig. or just ooking athe {Zoving number of crs and buses on heir way to 10¥n. On ths ait as ‘ining gute ar, so thought {wool sel i he eon he ain ad sed. knocked st sei thre was anyone isle As thee was 0 ep Trashed the door pen and went nf smele isles yc Kind of sel tif the oe was not used all that often bot wa Gute Clean compare to many "Non European flets I knev. The foe was pated red pd the walle ‘rere cream wit dl ot look like had been pine for «few years. 1 ood Toking around, with he rain coming very hard on the zie roo. The oie was comforng—to know I had escaped the wet—only few ofthe ey dope had go me. The pastebin which Feared my book nd pure ‘nd wel folded pink handkerchief was a ite damp, bt that was Beate 1 fad used ito cover my’ head when Ianto the tit pled my dens down Tide vo that t would aot gt cresed when Ts doen. The closed ofthe [etwas going ob my set fr many moming afer tat Twas rely sky fo have fu that tt becase the winter was very col Not hat twas any warmer in tere, Bot once T° chord the dr it wet tobe lie less windy. Ako the let was very smll—the walls were won ‘Srflly clove to mei fl ike 38 made fo ft me alone. 1 enjoyed tat ind of privacy. lot of thinking while Isat on tat et sea Tei ot of dayateaming too—many times imagining mys n some big hall ing 2relly popula play with eter young ators. At choo, we tok et books ike ‘Bcan! KuBawo 01 Man for AU Seasons and me cho plays which we toured othe oer Schools on weekends. aved it very mach, Whe Tet ‘ven younger Thad dove lise sketches taken fom the Bible st on ig day Tike Good Fi, we seed and ang bap would it thor desing 1 Was geting Bored withthe books I was reading—the lve stores a Souaded he same, sn besides that It lon nest. stated king myst ‘why Thad not writen amyhing rine {et schoo, At least schoo ha fen some poems oF stores inthe school magazine, school competion a ‘her magazines ike Bone a Intgubela, Oar English teacher was slay 0 encouraging: I emembured the day I showed him my fs oc —I na so ied I could’ coneaat in clase for the whole ds. dnt know ay. ‘hing about publishing thea, and didnt ask myself if my stories wee good ‘aough. jus enoyed wring things down whe I had the time So one Fy, Mer stared Being that woe’ best stoner, bought mye nottook ‘hich Iwas hoping to write something T didn't ae for quite whi, wl ‘oncevening ‘My iste atten her ul Tharde fernon of and shed delayed Someuhere came bck from work, then waited inthe pak forthe sight tne to got ino the yard Te wie peopl aay ad et supper tity sd hat was the tie I used o seal my way in without string them ot being Seen My comings and goings ha tobe sert Beaute they sl did't now Isiajed thr "Then | wai that she hadn't come back, and I was sad to go out gia incase someting went wrong this me.I decided tsi down in foo ‘my sister's room, where thought eoldn be noted. ws ending 429 f Dram Magazine nd hoping tht she wuld corse Sack sow before the “dogs seited me ot. For the Ts time leased how sup it war of meno have cat mye a spare key log a0. ket om earng nots tht sound Tike the ate opening A fetes Iwas sue I had heard her onsen the rete sles leadig tothe servan’s quater, bt tured out oe some thing or someone ele ‘Teas ying bard to concentrate on my reading agai, when I bed the two dogs plang chasing each oer nearer and pate to whee Iwas siting ‘And then there they were in font of me, looking sessed a Twas. For Ieiet moment we sre teach ote then they sated to tk at me. wt sre they would tear met pices fT moved just oe ngr 20 Lat very sl trying nto ook at hem, while my hea pote and my mouth wen ey “They baked even ower when he dogs fom next dor oie in, lard ‘me throuph the openings inthe edge. Then the Madam’ high-pitched vice ‘ang out above the dog barking “GCINA MHLOPE THE TORE “tececcee!” T's my str’ aglh name, wbich we never we. bow! lke dog. Iwshed somebody would come and be my fed, an tl sme that Twas pot useless and hat my ster di ot hate me, a el that fone day T woul have ane pce € Give anything t mould have been realy grat have someone my ownage lk But also ew that my ser Was wore forme, se was seared of her employers If thy were o fad out hat I ved with er, they woul re et ‘nd then me would Both be walling up and down the sees My eleven ind ‘roger want ping to Bep us tal T da" now how long lay ike tha ‘Sone ofall alep, jot wishing and wishing with er runing inom ea “The next moi T woke up long before he ala wea of eT ost ‘ere fling ed and depressed If there was away out! would not hv ons to work, but thee war th oter strong fing ot longing inside et Ss some kindof pln that pshed me Yodo everything a double speed a ‘omy tlt Teall my tot because react ow Tet bout itt Seas ery ae tha ever saw anybody els go inten the mois. wa Hike they all ew Iwas using and hey ha ony of or something. When | set here, det eal expect ind I oad elt spits aly lifting a put on my shes ouside the pate. made sore tha my notebook was in my bg” In my bate Teven forgot my nebo. bart didnt mater I was waig faster and my fee wee foling Haber ‘he time, Then Lnotced th he dor had ben painted nd that new window pane had replaced the ld broken on. sled © mye a I eached the oot. Before ng! was siting cost tol sea, wring x pes ‘Many more momingr saw me tung here wring. Sometimes i ino ‘eed oes poem It anhing that ame it my headin the eae way would have done i'd hd a tend to talk oT emember some dye when felrike I's hiding something from my sister. She didnot kaow abt my toilet inthe pk ands wa ot inthe lest neste in my ntebook "Then one momiag I wasted o wie sory about what had happened a wok he dey tere: the spervioesreaming at me fr not calling her when Fd seen he people who se two esas a anc ine 1 Had fond ely fuany. Thad to wrest it an jst oped there ere enough pages et ia sy notebook Tall came Bick to me, and Iwas Sling when leached fr the oor, bt it woald't open—it was locked! think fr the fst ine I aceped thatthe aie ws ot inal. Slowly I walted over oa Bech ent, aces th eal sping sun come Up fd wrote my sory anya,