Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Being from Kasi meant one thing: we were the workers and we didn’t have much. The women who stayed in the Kasi were nurses, working long and tedious hours at public hospitals that barely had enough beds and doctors to accommodate the people. The women were cashiers at chain supermarkets and worked for minimum wage for companies that earned billions, and some were maids, hired to work at people’s homes and do their chores for a whole lot less than the national minimum wage. The men worked as truck drivers, cleaners, minibus taxi drivers, mine workers and gardeners. 

Some of us lived in shacks made from zinc, or lived in one of the backrooms in some better well off landlady, some lived in the houses constructed for us by the government (RDP’s) and some were fortunate enough to live in bigger and much comfier homes. 

When the clock strikes 05:00, the homes come alive as everyone prepares for work and during the day, the streets would be empty because all the adults are gone to work and the kids are gone to school, when the clock strikes 18:00 onwards, the trains start coming back and masses of people return home. 

Let Friday night come and the shebeens and taverns are packed with lively people. The young carpool to music events and festivals, so they can get wasted, dance and get lucky while our father’s cheat on our mothers with their side chicks all weekend nights. 

Even though the kasi was my home, I dreamt for more. Hell, I was eager for more, I wanted success, I wanted a bigger home, my own cars and no need for public transportation. I aspired to live in Sandton in a high rise condo or mansion. I so wanted to become a millionaire, drive Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s. I wanted to become a doctor and save lives, build hospitals and help the poor. 

There are dreams and then there's reality, and the reality is that I'm not smart enough to be the best doctor ever. The reality is the chances of me becoming a millionaire and living in a mansion in Sandton is slim to none. 

Life had a tendency of being rough and unfair and I just so happened to be its victim. All my hopes and dreams were simply fantasy and life decided to keep me in reality. 

So I couldn’t be the doctor that I wanted to be, so I settled to become a nurse. I couldn’t own a mansion, so I settled to stay with my parents. I couldn’t have millions in my bank account but I was just glad to still have my family.

Maybe that's why we were all so surprised when my brother Jabulani disappeared for two years and returned a rich man. 

My brother Jabulani was an absolute bum. He dropped out of the public high school in our area in grade 9 without letting anyone in our family know. He simply stopped going to school for months and we only found out because my parents decided to pay a visit to the school principal one random day and they were told the news. You would think he would have dropped out for a valid reason but he only did it because he wanted to sell drugs on the streets. 

Jabulani was out of control, all he did was go to parties and impregnate every girl he came across. I don't know how many times we frequented the public hospital, after him being stabbed in stupid fights over drugs and girls. 

He was the victim of mob justice in our community several times because he just wouldn’t quit stealing from people and harming a lot more people for just that little bit of change. Jabulani always had us holding our breath and waiting to simply hear the news that he had been killed. 

He was definitely the child that gave my parents the most headaches and heartaches but he was also my best friend. He was always there for me and we always had a close bond because we’re only a few months apart. Even with all the bad that he did, he was still the best brother to me.

Don't get me wrong, my oldest sister, Nolwazi is amazing. She's also been there for me, advising me, guiding me, protecting me and teaching me what I needed to know. She's the older sister everyone wishes to have, the kind of older sister who plays the role of a mother and has it in her nature to nurture everyone and take on the responsibility of being the head of the house.

My youngest brother, Msizi, on the other hand was a pain in the neck for me. He wasn’t much of the troublemaker that Jabulani was but he and I simply didn’t get along. He’s an aspiring rapper who thinks that fame comes easy and it’s all about girls and money. 

Nonetheless Msizi was a whole lot better than Jabulani whom after disappearing for two days randomly walked into our home with a suitcase filled with cash and sports cars. He was all clean, no more the troublesome boy, but a...man? He wasn't as scrawny as he used to be and he was suddenly all built and masculine, he had an accent, he was wearing designer clothes and driving a Mercedes Benz Maybach. 

He showered all of us in gifts in money; bought a bigger home for my siblings, parents and I to share, bought brand new cars for us, bought his baby mama’s cars and houses and basically just kept giving more and more.

I liked it all and I appreciated it but I became suspicious. I knew that the money had to be coming from somewhere not completely legal and even though my father says to never ask a man where he got his money, I'm going to find out and save Jabulani from whatever it is he's doing. 

I have a suspicion that this is all blood money and I won't let him drag us all into this mess.

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