4

It is very dark and here I am in this darkness lonely like a whirling little dot that
has to hold its own to stay alive. Pain is my name, if you look into my eyes you will
know what pain is. I also had hopes and dreams for a brighter future but who knew
fate had already planned my life for me. The only thing that keeps me going are
my mother’s words as she took her last breath, “My daughter courage is not the
absence of fear but the triumph over it, if you want to live like a king then work like
a slave.”
Those moments have tortured me all my life. I was sleeping alone in my room.
The air trembled with roaring thunder and the earth shook vigorously. “Ruvimbo!
Ruvimbo wake up!” Grandmother shouted helplessly because she knew the
Rhodesian forces had come. Immediately I heard two gunshots, there was total
silence and I stayed in my room. Many things were happening at the same time,
enough to make my head snap and spin. After an hour of total silence, I saw
grandmother weeping. There was blood everywhere. I felt my heart sink and my
mind stretch with agony. Even today I still cannot understand why God took away
my parents from me.
Being alive became a burden for me. Those days no one talked to anyone. There
were hiccups in the family. The death of my parents stressed my grandmother a lot
although she tried to hide it from me. She had to be strong for me. One afternoon
when I came back from school, I saw grandmother lying on the ground. She had
died of a heart attack. I felt pain sink slowly into my nervous system. The thought of
losing almost the whole family disheartened me. Although it was a bit shocking, we
all knew that grandmother had never accepted my parents’ death and it had now
affected her mentally.
I was now left with my young brother and my grandfather. What worried me the
most was who was going to look after us because grandfather was too old that he
could die at any time. There was so much burden on my shoulders as I had to take
care of my grandfather and young brother.
The situation worsened when I was sent away from school because I had not paid
school fees. Grandfather had no choice but to force me to get married to his friend
Baba Ndlovu. I remember the day I left home for marriage. I could see pain in my
brother’s eyes. I could not hold back my tears but I had to be strong for the sake of
my young brother.
The end.
Attempt the following questions. Remember you have to skim through after the first reading
then answer them during the second reading. Write your final answers in the spaces provided
below the questions.
1. Who called Ruvimbo? [1]

2. Why was grandmother weeping? [1]

3. State any two feelings that Ruvimbo had in the passage. [2]

4. Which word means the same as hurt in the passage? [1]

5. “What worried me the most was who was to look after us…” Why was Ruvimbo so
worried in this story? Give two reasons. [2]

6. Why is the story ending on sad note? [1]

7. In what ways can a girl child who experiences circumstances such as Ruvimbo’s be
assisted in your community? [2]
Now that you have finished answering questions, you can now mark. Answers to

This exercise are there at the end of this unit. What is your mark?