Paper Town.

A light skin boy with a baseball jacket on stood across the hall, his bag hanging off his shoulder, leaning on the walls and staring at the grey tiles opposite him. 

Auther: how did it go?

David: She probably thinks I'm outta my mind.

Auther: So it didn't go as you planned, but for what's worth you've been able to open up about your depression.

David: ya(Grabbing the bag that stood opposite the boy and walking off) how's school been?

Auther: Just a nag, and when do you think you'd be coming back?. It's been a week.

David: I will see with time

Paper towns.

The last time I saw Auther was at the airport, On my way to Canada. I had to leave. A "safety protocol" I said.

He was a wild kid, a prankster, and on his worst days a poet. By poet, I mean a deep, wording genius. He is that child that is often home alone and he'd grown fond of it. You know them, those that you spot chilling with the cool kids but they'd barely be engaging in conversations, buried in their phones, and nodding to each word spoken, and all insane parties were at their houses. And are held closest to mind.

A closed book he was. I've known Auther from high school. We weren't close. I'd notice him but I'd rarely pay attention to the actual person. It is more like a glimpse of shadow when you see the face and that's all it is.

I got to know him personally through Juli, as she'd throw herself to him but he'd always seem cold not in a jerkass way. I think he just wasn't attracted to her as I did. He'd say something like "some people, you are better off unattached to". And now I think, I understand what he might have meant. Could he have known her better than I did?.

what if we could see the world in another's eyesight. Not only the images but the whole to be precise. Feel the exact emotions, share the same memories, more like twins sharing a single consciousness.

○◇•.

○Look around you, there is nothing for us here, the cattle starve there is no green grass during this season.

●Oh well seasons come and go, this will all end at some point.

○Ya, I guess so but I am starving I can hear my stomach crumbling and I know for sure if we head home now, we'll just come across empty Dishes.

●No use in rushing home. If I were you I'd just fast, don't let your hunger go to waste.

○I'm too slow and tired to do any speeding activities.

●Nonsense fasting is a way to reconnect yourself with God, I heard it is good for the soul.

○I honestly don't believe in all that and even if it were true I just think that belief is not for Us, hear me out before you interrupt. I'd prefer to talk to my Ancestors other than a Being that might not even exist.

●wait where is Scorpion ?.

●2, 4,6-7. There are three missing.

○Oh, '_--_' [ancestral reference] we gon' get some ass-whipping if Grandma finds out.

●Relax they couldn't have headed that far. Look at these footprints, wide they are, this is probably for Scorpion no doubt seems they are headed to Mr. Ndlovu's farm. This is not good at all.

You stay here keeping an eye on the remaining if I don't come with them before sunset, take those back to the kraal, I'll sneak the three in. We don't want Grandma finding out".

[A great distance from home, it sure is a high road, only hope they didn't but they wouldn't have, they were fed earlier but Rose didn't have an appetite. She could be starving. Well, better than it being Scorpion who didn't eat. It would be a cow dung mess.]

These are voices of the cattle herders. James and Auther, who had lost three cattle on their way to the feeding zone but Auther is one heck of a smart boy, only if he were too observant.

It is a hot day here in Africa, A hot day it is, only if this were a suburb but a village it is, more like the next phase of the bushmen. Look at all the trees that surround those huts, dusty children running naked as Grandma prepares a warm bath for them(the Owl reports to those broom ladies) why had this bird been pictured so wickedly?. Only mother Africa knows. One just slipped and hit her head but how does one slip on sand?. Surely she tripped, they were always some hidden stones in those sands.

Where is Auther, James?. That's grandma.

"He is, I mean He was behind me, no worries he is probably making sure that the goats are all in."[responding calmly whilst walking straight to the kitchen.]

[It is dark out but still no sign of Auther, this could mean only one thing, one thing or two]

"Jamy!! [That's what Grandma calls him, and he surely does not like it, dragging his feet as if he were that limping zombie from the walking dead]

Jam-my!!

"I haven't seen Auther ever since you walked here with Scorpion, Rose, and Amber missing, and yes I know three cows are missing how old do you think I am? You better start speaking.

"Speak, oh what, you can't speak now?, go fetch a stick, you'll scream the truth out[surely the kids are asleep for it would have been noisy, it would have been like a circus at night.

[Grandma always sent them to fetch their fate more like punishment, if too small she would add more strikes than she would have and James wasn't about to risk that and besides tomorrow is Assembly every primary school had to make a fuss about attending assembly every Monday so this means today is Sunday, ow well God bless this day]

^Auther is the oldest I shouldn't be looking after him.[mumbling his way to the Guava tree for it has less painful branches when cut]

⁴5

Spiral.

Let me show you a view of this world that you see a glance at during those poverty adverts. It is not as bad as they portray it, it is like buying a cheap sneaker without knowing that there is a thing such as vans, Nike, Adidas probably from Germany.

Auther was 2 years when his parents left home to find work from those cities of Africa. So he definitely doesn't know how his mom looks like for during this time technology is at its poorest. There is no signal in the villages for there aren't phones either unless if you head to Paili a Gas station stranded and often fully occupied by those similar faces. The Dutch once worked... thereby work, I mean had the power of it until the great uprising. 

These cities swallow you and spit you out leaving you tasteless like those chewing gums that come with those sweet round sweets with a stick for one to hold, what are they called again? Oh yes, those lollipops.

Poor Auther, Daddy is at the mines, Mom is nowhere to be found but Grandma will take care of you. For she takes care of all her grandchildren she is not obligated to but a wide heart she has. These children though, several of them, countless they are, when one leaves two appear. But poor grandma, why has her children forsaken her but her younger son is surely doing well. It has been said that he has found a job. Sending the little he earns to his mother.

James was once a happy child until he witnessed his father's death. Damn the bloody cops, why kill a man in front of his child. Even though a thief he was. There is no justifying the sinister act. Oh lord. Poor boy he surely won't experience a happy life, "James, James what did you see? James! James! Say something!.[Those are the voices of the people who surrounded him]

Still, at his age, he hasn't dreamt of a peaceful dream. Urine on his bed every time he wakes up ahead of the cock that alarms grandma. Waking up with panic in his voice."It is okay Jamy, just a nightmare it is [says Grandma]Blurred his mind is, he can't seem to tell what is real. Poor boy but no worries Grandma is here to the rescue those sheets wet again. Grandma has to wash them once more, but surely James is spared the ass-whipping. Grandma knows what he often dreams about, it was her child that was beaten mercilessly by the cops to death. The death of a black man never meant a thing on these turfs. Grandma had to bury her son.No parent would like to do that, no parent should.

[Present time]

Grandma is still waiting for James with his stick of justice there is no room for lies in this house. Grandma runs a church, she is a prophetess, a true leader.

James still mumbling [you know how kids are, a complaint is an easier escape than the road of honesty]

Psi, psi [That is Auther from the back yard, don't be flattered the yard is not as you think it looks like. It is more like a wire wrapped around those forest woods cut down and chopped into little fine pieces, dug underneath to ensure that if those east winds blew it stayed lenient, for last time it collapsed a bad job Nomvulo did. That was the guy who was in charge of structuring that yard. Uneducated he is, they all are]

Auther has finally arrived his hands red as if he fell off a cliff but it's dark out probably 9 o'clock James won't see a difference. Those snores from the other rooms tend to lessen, oh good kids, sleep is medicine for the mind is an adventurous place, you all can be Cinderella's for all we know, if only they knew who Cinderella was. No television here just grandma's storytelling during those campfire nights. Stories that would always start with "once upon a time there was a rabbit". But she sure got their smiles on.

^Auther is that you?^🍃

"Yes it is "what are you doing out here, so late?" asks Auther.

"Nothing much, you know me, caring old James looking out for ya^[still holding onto the guava branch]

5∅

°

Sign of the times.

Grandma had spotted Auther's swollen hands and she knew very well what had happened. This is the time were corporal punishment exists. What probably happened is, the three cows ended on one's farm and ate the crops and Auther had to take a beating for it, that is how it works around here .whiners aren't born yet.

"you two better go to sleep. It is school tomorrow and Auther before you go, I want to have a word with you" Says Grandma. 

[James is nowhere to be found he is probably in his cleaned sheet smelling like those green soap. ]

In the kitchen a conversation begins "fetch the bucket, up there, yeah that one," [whilst she grabs the salt container and a cloth from a torn old shirt]"yes bring it ", kneel here"[Grandma holds Auther's palm as she puts the rest of his hand in the bucket before she pours the warm waters mixed with salt"]

"Yes it is painful, but it will eventually be better, you can't miss school and I for one can't let you sleep with those swollen hands,"[speaking whilst she moves the cloth on his hand slowly ensuring that all his wounds are taken care of]

"You will be all fine tomorrow,"[Tearing the remaining part of that old shirt, wrapping the new cloth around his hands, that is his bandage ]

Now go to sleep".

'Thank you Grandma^●A smile appears on her face.

Two paths lead to the school.

One is through the sugarcane gardens, a huge garden pervaded with sugarcanes, green, slightly reddish, and some pale orange canes.

And the second is a short way west, passing through one of the neighborhood, taking a sandy path that often messes one's uniform, unless if you were to walk through the sidelines where the grass had settled in. No school bus, kids walked to school every day.

Assembly

Every Monday there is a gospel song sung and a brief review of what should be done and what had been done. And later on, kids are to go to their classes, quietly and in an organized manner from the school amateurs to the seniors.

David's Notes: You see despite the diversity and the lack of technological advancement. Life goes on. Happiness cannot be claimed by having too much, it is a come-and-go emotion.

The last time I saw Auther was at the airport, On my way to Canada. I had to leave. A "safety protocol" I said

For deep down I knew, I couldn't bear the atmosphere and all that had happened. And I think he knew it too, giving me a tight hug as if I were his cousin James. Genuine care it was, I see him in you ' he said. And I feel her around us, watching in amazement.

I got to know him personally when I hit my depression phase. He'd say something like "we are a dying generation, but that doesn't necessarily mean we aren't worthy of a life filled with joy and happiness. And now I think, I understand what he might have meant. 

Memory lane:

"Well, I think the girl in the short skirt looks nice, don't you think? " Sitting close to the boy.

"I'm Jules by the way but you can call me Julia" shaking the boy's hand.

David: Hey, umm, I'm David. Nice to meet ya

Julia: So what are we looking at exactly 

David: what?

Julia: I saw you glancing at the crowd, figured you were scooting for a perfect match.

David: oh, yeah, I mean No. I was just familiarizing myself with the environment 

Julia: Okay, Mr environment [opening the lays chips she had in her backpack] want some?

David: Sure, I'd love some 

•Auditorium 

"So who is he to you?"

David: Who?

Jules: The boy shielded by a group of kids

"Oh him, He's my cousin"

Jules: Wow, I presume you guys don't stay together 

"Yeah, I live with my Mom and he lives somewhere far, a traveling distance."

Jules: Oh snap he's coming our way

A light skin boy with a neat haircut and slightly skinny pants not too revealing, wearing a long sleeve and a pullover approach them.

"Hey Jamie"( Sitting on top of the bench, rubbing his hand on the boy's hair messing it up a little bit with a smile on his face showcasing his perfect teeth)

David: Stop that(pushing the boy's hand off his head) mind calling me David from now on

Auther: David James Mathews, okay sure thing, and who is your friend here, hey I'm Auther(Reaching for a handshake)

"And for a minute I thought I became invincible to the public eye, I'm Jules, and nice to meet you Auther"

●Outside the School

Jules: So what will we call ourselves?

David: huh

Jules: Like the Three of Us

Auther: Well, we can always stick with our names( Walking in between them as he pulls them for a group hug )

David: What about "the three musketeers "

Jules: Weren't they all guys?

David: Yeah but, we can change that

Auther: Well I like it, anyway we'll talk later I'm meeting up with someone. 

-The last Musketeer leaves the conversation.

At the parking lot.

Julia: So how was your first day in high school?

÷Snowmen.

A mother borne three sons.

Called the first Hiatus, a symbol of a pause in her life in admiration of being a mother. 

Named the Second son David, from the biblical Character who gained fame first as a musician and later by killing the giant Goliath, champion of the Philistines. 

"I see greatness cut too short in his eyes," the old lady said as she passed the newborn baby to the mother.

The last son came too early, premature. "It is a miracle that he... a fine boy he is," the nurse said.

So what should we call him?" The mother asked.

He will be known as Aaron, the strength that holds this family. Aaron.Meaning: Hebrew for “high mountain”. The father replied.

2. One became a Politician, caused havoc for those who occupied the government seat. A 'thief' who breaks in a house, destroys what is inside but never takes a single thing the Republican described him in an interview before his encounter with the men in blue.

'People resonate with him and support his political view because he is the only one who is willing to search for the truth " a Journalists wrote in a paper titled "King David lives on' published on the 1st of May.

"James, in this world no one will make you into something. It is better to die having Lived a truthful life rather than a deceitful lie. Don't cry, look at me. You'll be alright son. Daddy loves you, always has." Holding his son's hand before all turned light white.

"Reporting from EBC news, The Revolutionary known by the name David Kahn Mathews has been found dead in the Streets of Elohaii, the witnesses say a scuffle broke out between the police and the man which led to the loss of his life. 

•The South remembers 

The next morning a strike broke out, Thousands of people marched on the streets to the state-building demanding justice for the death of King David' proclaimed on the flyers.

A case was opened against the cop who pulled the trigger and after three weeks of unrest, he was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in jail. As the judge ruled that the shooting of Kahn was not a response to danger to his life but an abuse of power and the other cops in the scene remained fired.

1. The firstborn having to endure the loss of his brother went into a depressed phase, you know that feeling when your hand was too close to reaching for someone but unfortunately, the grab wasn't close enough. He went to live elsewhere and raised 1 son. Named him Auther Stancil Mathews.

•Through a reach.

Hope Langa Ndlovu: David Kahn, come down this instant.

Aaron: I told him not to_

Langa: Shush, Hiatus, come help your brother climb down from the tree!.

Hiatus: It's the fifth time this week, Dad should whip his a--

Langa: His what Hiatus?

"Nothing mom"

Langa: Good, no cussing.

"Yes, baby come down steadily, oh no!!' The boy loses his step 

Hiatus:  I might not be here to catch you every time you fall, Kahn, be careful, not carefree.

Thanks " responds Kahn.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ending

The kids are all grown now.

They don't play like they used to.