By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho It is a good thing it is not winter, or the sun would have set already. But we have to carry on with the walk home before it does get dark.s We start walking away from the ‘morobei bush when Palesa runs back quickly to pull out a rosehip. “Let me try this ‘morobei […]
1,692 total views, no views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho “I was part of the Girls’ Junior Basketball Team at school, and later became the captain. My best friend Simphiwe was the co-captain. Uhm, we had a regional basketball trip- a series of matches between local schools basketball teams – I think it was in late June and it was held at the neighbouring […]
1,742 total views, 2 views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho Last week Mr Phooko told us that we would have a Chemistry test on Stoichiometry. We are to have it next week. Most of my classmates were angry. TK and Katleho were protesting passionately in the back seat and I turned back to laugh at them. I have to be honest, I was very […]
1,827 total views, 1 views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho “Calculate the mass of potassium hydroxide that needs to be used to prepare 500 cubic centimetres of 2 mole cubic decimetres solution of water-” “Wait, wait Rapelang! Let me read it myself please!” Palesa interrupts my reading from the Physical Science Chemistry text book. She furrows her brows and reads her own text book in silence. […]
1,770 total views, 2 views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho I could barely focus on anything when I got home on Monday, after that somewhat tense conversation with Palesa on the bench. The stitching process is taking longer than I thought. I still got a number of loose threads. What in the world was she talking about? What happened at her old school? Whatever it is, […]
1,853 total views, no views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho I am helping Palesa Tefo with Chemistry today this afternoon. It is Monday and a week or so since she asked me to help her with Chemistry. We were not able to make time the whole of last week because of the football practices I had every day, because we had a friendly match with Bokamoso […]
2,008 total views, 2 views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho My 5:00 alarm rang too soon today. I need some twenty-four more hours of nothing but indulging myself in this blissful concept called sleep. That is exactly what I need. My sister is sitting across our kitchen table, looking, if anything like the jolliest and the-most not-tired person in the world. She is holding her […]
2,145 total views, 2 views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho The bus stops, rather abruptly, as the red light pops up. Palesa does not move. She is still staring out the window. I cast a subtle glance at her hands that are holding on to her backpack on her laps. They are short and coated with transparent glossy nail polish. I know because my sister does the […]
2,014 total views, 4 views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho “Hey, how you doing?” I ask her as soon as I settle in the seat beside her. The engine of our old and weary school bus is beginning to run, emitting a loud and annoying noise that always, for some reason, makes me think of an old man sitting on the verandah, with this persistent and […]
2,181 total views, no views today
By Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, Lesotho, the Mountain Kingdom The truth is I am scared. I am really scared. But I will not tell you that. I will tell you only of how scary the things I fear are. I will speak about them as vaguely as I can. I will not personalise them too much. Because when I speak truthfully, I […]
2,825 total views, 1 views today