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Tameka
Tameka
Tameka
Ebook199 pages2 hours

Tameka

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Tameka accepts life as she finds it - school, chores, growing sorrows, pains and fears, love, rejection, friendship, dreams and achievements. To her, life is as.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherAgnes Musa
Release dateMay 3, 2016
ISBN9781310220319
Tameka
Author

Agnes Musa

Agnes Musa is a published author with Hodder UK, Smashwords, Amazon, Lulu, Createspace and Google Play. Agnes is a full time writer passionate about health and welfare, human rights, female empowerment, children's rights and the environment. Agnes strives to produce well written short, exciting books on a variety of subjects.

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    Book preview

    Tameka - Agnes Musa

    Tameka

    By Agnes Musa

    Copyright Agnes Musa 2016-2026

    Smashwords Edition License Notes:

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    Dedication

    For Calvin, Jeff and John and everyone who will read this book. A special thank you to God, who still, makes all things possible, in His time. With much love, and appreciation.

    Acknowledgements

    I acknowledge, and thank every child who never gives in to abuse, but keeps hope alive, and gets up, time and time again, to make sense of life.

    I also acknowledge, all my life conflicts, my life disruptions, and distractions, my still born manuscripts, all those book flops with my name, littering the World Wide Web, and physical bookshops.

    Fiction.

    Chapter One

    Tameka carefully sits on the bare ground. With the Caretaker’s help, she puts on one shoe, and then the other.

    In her own mind, Tameka cannot believe her sudden good fortune.

    For someone, a total stranger to give her something. Anything? Anything at all!

    In this particular case, a pair of shoes!

    True, the shoes are used but, but, they are still a pair of matching shoes.

    How good hearted that person must be. For a moment, Tameka even forgets about Aunt Mae.

    Then noticing the unwavering eye of the Caretaker on her, she stands up and straightens.

    The shoes are a little heavy. A little heavy, yes, but shoes all the same. Shoes on her very feet.

    How are the shoes? The Caretaker’s voice comes from seemingly far, far off.

    Tameka hears him, but she does not answer. She cannot, answer.

    For the first time in her life, all her big toes are inside shoes. All of her big toes!

    Tameka wriggles her toes, and wriggles them, again and again. They move freely, with space to spare.

    Finally, one thing in her life is right!

    Suddenly, Tameka feels a strange, warm glow enveloping her. Yes, a warm enveloping glow making her feel - good.

    Not just good, but better than good, great. No, even better than great, euphoric.

    Yes, yes, euphoric. Tameka feels euphoric, exhilarated, and ecstatic. It is a very, very new feeling to her.

    How are the shoes? The Caretaker’s voice again, from seemingly far, far off, startles her.

    Suddenly, Tameka feels the urge to physically express what she is feeling.

    Impulsively, she bolts off to the school ground and runs six laps nonstop.

    By the time she finishes, the headmaster, her class teacher, the school sports master and a few other teachers are all at the school ground, clapping for her.

    National Schools, championship material.

    The headmaster says out loud to the other teachers as he clicks stop the timer he instinctively picks up on his way here.

    Yes, yes. Yes. The school sports master agrees, coming over to look at the timer, and, noticing that Tameka just broke all the official school records on the distance she ran.

    No doubt about it. The school sports master again reiterates. This young lady here is indeed National Schools, championship material.

    So why haven’t we seen her at any athletic meet at this school? The school sports master asks.

    More importantly, who is she and where was she all this time?

    That, is Tameka. Tameka’s class teacher, the headmaster and the Caretaker all say at once, walking back to their duties smiling, leaving a joyfully panting Tameka to the baffled sports master.

    Her punishment for that day turns into an ad hoc sports training session, until it is time for those on punishment to report to class.

    And, the minute she steps into class, Tameka, the little thin girl with big, big toes, now clad in male farmer shoes, feels the euphoria she experienced on the school grounds quickly evaporate.

    This happens as she looks at the big, clever boys, heads bent, and pens flowing smoothly across the page as they write school work.

    Where did what they write so effortlessly come from, Tameka wonders?

    How come she always got stuck after writing five words?

    Timidly, making sure she disturbed no one, Tameka walks to her seat. Yes, yes, she ran well on the sports ground but here in class, she knew nothing.

    Or did she?

    An idea sidles through to Tameka’s brain.

    I did not know I can run well till my feet were clad in these shoes.

    Tameka finds herself thinking. Maybe, I do not need to be as big or as smart as the boys to write effortlessly too.

    Maybe all I have to do, is try harder. Tameka continues thinking. With nothing to lose really, Tameka decides to try.

    "I believe if I try, I can understand my school work and do it in half the time. So, from today, I resolve to try harder.

    I’ll try harder, try and try again. Surely, in time, I should know some of the answers when the class teacher calls out my name?"

    And so, Tameka looks on, and on and on at her farmer shoe clad toes, deep in thought.

    If she can run fast in these shoes, she realizes, then she can walk faster too. And if she can walk faster…

    She can create time. Yes, yes. Create time to do her school work and maybe, just maybe, she would understand what the teacher teaches in class.

    That day, after school, Tameka is the first one out of the school gate. Half walking and half running, she stops only when she is at her favorite stone, a few meters away from home.

    There, one can see Aunt Mae’s hut but you cannot see the stone from Aunt Mae’s. It is safe.

    Tameka takes out all her books from the plastic paper and spreads the books on the stone.

    She tries to recall what she can from the little she learnt at school that day.

    Then Tameka picks a book, a reader, and letters jump out at her. She battles to make them into words, coherent words that she tries hard to read out loud.

    She reads a lot of words wrong, but she continues reading, all the same.

    Tameka reads on, and on, and on till she sees other children now approaching the village. Cleverly, Tameka repacks her school books.

    She joins the other children making their way home and heads to her own home, her aunt’s.

    At home, the farmer shoes do not escape Aunt Mae’s eagle eyes.

    And where, from all the coves of the earth to the mountains of heaven above, I ask, did you, you, child of my own sister and her husband, both of who died without the decency to live long enough to see you grow, where, pray tell me, did you get those shoes?

    The headmaster gave me. Tameka answers carefully.

    Umm. The headmaster gave her, she says. Aunt Mae repeats. She goes quiet for a minute, then speaks again.

    Tell me dear child, did you ask your school headmaster, did you ask him for the shoes?

    No Aunt Mae, I did not. Tameka replies.

    Then tell me the truth, did you beg Tameka?

    No Aunt Mae. Tameka replies truthfully. I did not.

    Yet these here, these items I see on your feet, are a boy’s shoes.

    Aunt Mae correctly notes, pointing to the shoes on Tameka’s feet. True or false?

    What you say is true, Aunt Mae.

    So, I give you one last chance to tell me the truth now child. Did you steal those shoes? Aunt Mae asks.

    No Aunt Mae. Tameka responds. I did not steal the shoes. The headmaster gave me."

    Aunt Mae considers Tameka’s response.

    Now, why would your headmaster, an educated man, give you a boy’s shoes? Aunt Mae enquires.

    Tameka thinks carefully and quickly.

    I hurt one of my big toes badly. She replies.

    Aunt Mae again considers her reply for a moment, then she slides her huge head to the side and looks at Tameka full glare for a minute.

    Tameka does not blink. That satisfies Aunt Mae.

    Alright, now take off those shoes. Give them to me. Let me try them on to see if they fit me. Aunt Mae abruptly instructs.

    Tameka does as she is told.

    Aunt Mae plops herself into the one and only chair at the house, then sets about trying on the farmer shoes.

    She stuffs the front portion of the shoes with paper, and tries the shoes on.

    The shoes do not fit.

    Aunt Mae adds paper to the sides of the shoes, tries them on again. Still the shoes do not fit.

    In desperation Aunt Mae adds paper to the front, back and sides of the shoes. She tries the shoes once more.

    Again, the shoes do not fit. They are far too large for her tiny, tiny feet.

    Oh what is the use, what is the use, I say? Aunt Mae finally acknowledges woefully.

    It’s self-evident that I can never wear these shoes.

    Tameka makes no comment. Aunt Mae sighs, then she sighs again, and again, and yet again.

    Listen to me Tameka. Tameka pays attention.

    In future, if they want to give you anything, anything at all from that school of yours Aunt Mae vents.

    Make sure you get something that we can both wear. Do I make myself clear?

    Yes Aunt Mae. Tameka answers quietly.

    Good. Now, I want you to wear these shoes to school every day, every day, you hear Tameka? Tameka nods her head.

    Wear these shoes to school every day. That way, this pair will wear out faster. Aunt Mae tells Tameka.

    Tameka does not like the prospect of the shoes wearing out fast, but she is wise enough not to contradict Aunt Mae.

    Once they wear out, your headmaster will replace the shoes quickly. Aunt Mae continues.

    He now knows you need a regular pair for those big, big toes of yours.

    Yes Aunty Mae.

    Aunt Mae then instructs Tameka to put her books in her shack.

    Tameka’s is the barest of shacks. Small. Decrepit. Mud floored and walled.

    The ‘window’ to the shack, is a small metal tin flattened and shaped into a square, stuck to a space of the same shape left in the wall at the back of the shack.

    Inside her shack, Tameka takes off the male farmer shoes and arranges them neatly.

    She places them carefully near her one well-worn blanket.

    This is right next to the plastic where she keeps her school books, and Tameka’s one other oversize, shapeless and threadbare dress.

    Tameka proudly looks upon the sum total of her entire worldly belongings. She is not doing badly, not doing badly at all.

    To own a whole pair of shoes, all to herself?

    She, an orphan with parents dead before she could say her first word, and all her three siblings also dead one after the other thereafter yearly like clockwork, as Aunt Mae is prone to tell her so often!

    Now, Tameka owned a pair of shoes and Aunt Mae said she could wear them to school every day. She could wear shoes to school every day!

    What good fortune, what utter, utter good fortune!

    Suddenly, it does not bother Tameka to start off exactly where she left off the housework that morning.

    As usual, Aunt Mae did not lift a finger to do anything while she was at school. Ordinarily, that made Tameka feel a little resentment, but not today.

    The thought of Aunt Mae brings Tameka back to reality. She knows it is only a matter of minutes before Aunt Mae starts shouting.

    Water has to be fetched.

    And so Tameka, the happy little thin girl with big, bare toes goes outside to the blowing wind.

    She looks at the long, long winding path down to the river.

    If only I was swift and quiet like the wind. Tameka thinks. "I’d fetch water for cooking and do all my household chores in no time.

    Then Aunt Mae would not shout."

    But, I’m not as swift or as quiet as the wind. Tameka sighs as she looks on, and on, and on down the winding path to the river.

    Tameka does not feel as happy any more.

    The water will not climb up from the river to the pot Tameka. Aunt Mae shouts from her chair where, only moments before, she tried on Tameka’s farmer shoes.

    And, my poor, poor lovely body is just crying for a bath today. Aunt Mae announces from her chair.

    Don’t forget water for the unwashed dishes, and cooking water while you’re at it.

    Yes Aunt Mae.

    Also fetch water for a bath for you too Tameka.

    Yes Aunt Mae.

    Tameka tries to think of how best to go about her chores. She does not have ten seconds to think before Aunt

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