Harare North (10 page)

'Everything is very hard in here,' she sob. I want to hug and
comfort she but you don't want someone to melt into wailing
porridge in your hands because then you don't know what to do
with that. She have been having hard time with money since baby
get ill. That's why I reason quick, go to our room and come back
to give she £50.

'I am uncle to the baby now.'

'I have run out of money,' Sekai say when on the phone on
Saturday morning.

'No worry, me I can wait.' I lay out the whole deal for she to
see. 'That's the last time you is ever going to hear from me if you
agree to this.'

She is quiet for few seconds. I remind she that Uncle Rasputin
will help she. 'Maybe month end will be good,' she squeak.

I am in the kitchen doing my sums. Why we have to pay rent to
live inside some hole, me I don't get the score. That can mess up
all the sums if you have to wait for Sekai while you is still oozing
rent to someone.

Tsitsi. She have go out to them salon women in the morning
and now she have come back with MaiMusindo and she tongue
in tow. Tsitsi have been borrowing heap of money from
MaiMusindo and buying baby things and that kind of stuff because
baby is growing teethies and all. Now MaiMusindo have had
enough of this because Tsitsi not getting no more money from
renting she baby because them council people have blow this
scandal into the open. Now Tsitsi can't pay back.

This time there is no big ceremonies and all. MaiMusindo have
got trouble all over she face and she just stand in hall like half
talisman half crazy thing while Tsitsi call Aleck out of his room.
I am coming out of kitchen when Aleck reach stair landing but I
just slip into our room without greeting no one because you can
tell this is not the time.

MaiMusindo take grand stand on Aleck: my son, in Honde
Valley, my rural home where my ancestors' bones is buried, they
call me
Nyamutambanengwena
.

Before anyone even know it she have get into gear now in
Shona and start to fire: right here, in this house, I can lift my
dress up and show you things that will give you bad luck for the
rest of your life if you want to try me. Who do you think you
fooling? Whose time are you trying to waste?

Now she start shouting.

And this big threat to use sight of she naked body to wither
Aleck's eyeballs and turn them into dry figs, that's one big ambush
for Aleck who now just freeze on the landing.

She start to list where Aleck have fail, how she try to help Tsitsi
but Aleck doing nothing; how the baby go to hospital and she
have to give Tsitsi money for medicines; how baby need this and
that but Aleck just sitting on his tail.

'My son,' she gasp for air and clear she throat and start another
heap of words: oh yeeee you will bawl when your ancestral spirits
lay they long stick on you, and you will remember me; them
English say you break it you buy it; you have break this child's
life; buy it or fix it; you run around saying you is Mr Big Man
shop assistant, so what? What good is that if she even too frightened
to ask you to help? She is not just like iPod that you keep
in your house if it break. You poke poke she, give she this baby
and now you deny she, pretend you don't know she and you think
no one see? Now you leave she with these problems. What kind
of manners is that?

Aleck try to answer but that only give MaiMusindo more fire:
oh you have tell me many times what you think. Oh now is my
time; if you had keep that front tail inside your trousers none of
this will have happen; chop it off if you can't be responsible for
what it do.

It's as if with the crack of the whip that is she tongue,
MaiMusindo have strike all clothes off our district administrator
and leave him naked and cheap like proper vegetable-vendor boy.

'I don't come here another time; don't give me blood pressure
oh,' MaiMusindo shout. With that, she put she tongue back inside
she mouth and leave everyone reeling from this heavy stuff.

The rest of the day we is whispering and creeping around the
house. Aleck lock himself up in his room, Tsitsi remain in she room
and I'm with Farayi in our room. When Shingi come, this new
stuff blow his socks off. But what blow our underwear clean off
is that Farayi have always know this about Aleck and Tsitsi, but
like priest, decide to keep lid on dirty stuff. I spend evening putting
him on trial for hiding this and want to know what else he know
since he is one of them first people to live with Aleck.

'No, there is nothing more.' He lug big frightened eyes like
he think Aleck will hear.

Now the problems that Shingi is having with graft and money
suddenly looking like child play compared to Aleck's problems.
Aleck's mask have come off complete now, and he give Tsitsi big
tongue-lashing about the baby's health, why she just don't ask if
she need money, how she don't look after the baby proper and
why she keep reporting him to MaiMusindo like she's she big
aunt when she's madwoman.

Tsitsi is just standing on the stairs holding baby and Aleck is
throwing his mouth round and trying to bury she under heaps of
bad words. We can hear everything. But Tsitsi now have likkle bit
of the stubborn old thing of MaiMusindo; she is steady and talk
in calm and unhurried way and this make Aleck get mad because
he want to crumple she feathers and don't like it when she answer
back. Meanwhile baby is shrieking like this is the end of the world.

Aleck give up on trying to cow Tsitsi and she go to kitchen,
wash them dishes and sing old Shona song about bird that don't
want to come play because it want to fly high into clouds so it
can be like them clouds. Everyone in the house go quiet. Me I
don't want to go in the kitchen; you can't trust them girls; they
can look strong but the moment they see you walking into the
room they want to turn into porridge in your arms and then you
won't know what to do with that.

I wake up in the morning after funny dream; maybe it is because
of the letter that I write to Comrade Mhiripiri last night when
the wind shift inside the house.

The letter, it's still there on my suitcase, less than arm stretch
away:

Dear Comrade Commander Mhiripiri,

The ways of thanking great men is as many as there is
grains of sand so me I am not even going to try to thank
you for everything that you have do for me or we will be
here for ever.

Comrade Commander, if what I did back home was
wrong, please forgive this son of the soil. I never turn
down your help to cause you trouble. Things was closing
in on me and you was busy man leaping here and there
on every problem that the police and magistrates was
causing for me. If police and magistrates cause you more
trouble on account of I fail to come with the money,
don't harden you heart.

I know things have change now but soon I have to
leave this place and plan to land back home next month
or so. With them your contacts with important heavyweight
people, if you can please lend a hand. If you
cannot, then please point a son of the soil the right way
so he can sort things out himself to make sure them those
old troubles go away by the time he is back. The money,
it's there now.

I remember you, Comrade Commander. I still hear
heaps of jazz numbers about you but they all come from
people that have turn into traitor.

I remember when you lead us to Buhera, that week
when we graduate. That day when we is supposed to
sweet them villagers so they go to our party rally. You
remember that police roadblock when your great face
square up to the great sky and you bark fear with your
beard pointing at the policeman that was giving Tom hard
time on account of he have no driving licence. 'Enemies
of the state is on the loose all over and you is asking
about driving licences as if we is civilians?' Your beard
point him out and he quickly understand that we have
important business to do. You teach us without even
talking. As you like to say, fear is like demon; throw it at
them and watch. But never let fear stalk you or it end up
being overfamiliar with you. Spit on its face. Me I spit on
the face of fear now because I am worryful for when I
land at the airport home. Help this son of the soil,
Comrade Commander.

The funny dream: we is in rural areas for survival training and we
have no food and have eat nothing but beer from them villagers
that live near training camp. Tom and everyone is raving, talking
gibberish and falling over with hunger. Comrade Mhiripiri tell us
to think like jackal and find way to get that village food. In the
morning we have already make them villagers play game of
tsoro
.
Now we come again and they don't understand that this time if
you lose while playing with us you have to pay with chicken. In
the evening we have heap of them chickens quacking inside cage
that is made of twigs and them villagers is not talking no more
but giving us talking eyes and walking away because they don't
want to play
tsoro
no more. That's when they go inside some hut,
get this old man who spend all his days sleeping and they send
him to us and he come leaning heavy on his walking stick with
gnarled hands and accompanied by small big-eared boy carrying
betting chicken. When old man start taking back all them chickens
one by one, we have to tell him, 'Ey
makheyi
, it don't matter that
you have play this game since before Adam and Eve, but your
winning ways is now starting to make us drunk and we don't want
to start doling out forgiveness.' He get the score. But then old
woman come out of one of them huts shouting like mad and when
I look again, it's Mother. She say we should give back all them
chickens and learn to give instead of being useless to people in the
village all the time. We is leaving empty-handed and I look back
at Mother but she face is now Tsitsi's.

Why Mother is so vex with me, I don't know.

Twenty frogs at the well; one jump and go splash up splash down
and dead. Nineteen frogs at the well; one jump and go splash up
splash down and dead. Eighteen frogs at the well; one jump and
go splash up splash down and dead. Seventeen days in Harare
North; one jump and go splash up splash down and dead. And
then they was sixteen. That's what I'm singing to Shingi as we lie
in bed.

W . . . what about f . . . food? That's all he can say.

I am not touching my savings no more now.

And Aleck also want all his rent money. Me I sit tight and wait
for month end when Sekai drop us some pounds.

There's bit of food in the kitchen. Aleck and Farayi is homeboys,
they is not going to let us starve, is they?

But Shingi shake his head. There has been many big silences
in the house and there is funny air since MaiMusindo. And Farayi
just want to read his Bible with more fire these days. He don't
want to talk.

Shingi is in panic.

The worst thing that can happen is that we owe Aleck bags
of money. You owe someone hundred dollars, then it's your
problem, but if you owe them million dollars, then it's they
problem, you understand? I try to calm him down.

Aleck leave note on our door this morning asking about his rent
because the arrears is piling up. Now he come back from his graft
and go into kitchen. The next thing I know, we have been command
to come and be cross-examined in his court about this rent thing.
Shingi lead the way to kitchen; his trousers is coming apart on
the seam along his bum crack and I think it have start to look
like comedy trousers because the trousers is black and last time
Shingi have used white thread to repair the seam.

Aleck have bring some greasy food on his way from work and
he is sitting at the table, frowning and looking into this bundle
wrapped with grease-stained paper as we come inside and he
is doing it in that way that you can tell there is nothing he is
looking at there.

'
Mukanya! Ndimi ka munokwira gomo nemamvere.
Four furry
creatures on one dead tree at the foot of mountain and the fifth
one is right on top of the mountain throwing fruit down to the
others; you have look after them poor people, dear
Mukanya
,'
Shingi slide in with the oldest style in the book, praise-greeting
Aleck and elevating his totem – the baboon – to tip-top mountain
heights. Aleck give poker face. He poke poke his greasy bundle
pretending we is not there.

Shingi quickly rescue us all from this funny situation and go
straight to the matter. Now Aleck snap back into grand voice.
'Final warning. If you can't pay in two weeks' time you have to
make new accommodation plans,' he kick hardball.

We is leaning against them cupboards and short of answers.
Does Aleck know that he can be charged for statutory rape for
what he do to Tsitsi? I want to ask Shingi. You have to earn right
to make harsh judgement on anyone in this house; it don't just
land on your lap like banana from your mother. If you have been
raping small girls then all your rights is gone.

'So when do you think you can pay?' Aleck ask.

Shingi and I give each each them glances. Sweat beads is already
forming on Shingi's nose. Aleck is munching loud. His mouth is
full.

'You really looking for graft?' he ask and his eyebrow jump up.

'Y . . . yes yes, I try my best. But you know how things can be
in . . .' I say.

'How come you lose your last graft?' His lopsided mouth pull
his face to one side.

A week has not even go splash up and splash down dead and
Shingi is salad-picking in Stanford-le-Hope, being drive from
Barking in minibus every morning by them the usual bulle-theaded
boys with spotty faces. Me I don't really want graft now.
I have put enough Mars bars inside pockets of them these gangmasters,
I tell Shingi. Me I now only wait for Sekai's month
end.

Shingi give me the long face but I don't want to listen to him
otherwise he will make me change my mind.

We wake in the morning and our pillows is still wet from all them
tears laughing from last night. Farayi haul the news into our room
last night when he come back from weekend visit to old friend in
Luton. Aleck is now two times naked.

We have give him hard time before about him hiding secrets
about Aleck, and last night Farayi want to make up for it. The
moment he step into our room we can tell that he is excite by
something because his bundle of bum is flying loose all over the
place and his neck is sunk deep into his shoulders like he is mischief
priest that is about to say naughty thing.