BECOMING CHAPTER 19 CULUMANCO I stand in the hallway for a full minute after Mesuli disappears into his room. My forehead still tingles where his lips brushed it, soft, quick, gone before I can even blink. The kiss feels like punctuation on a sentence he wrote alone, like he said everything he needed to say … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 18 CHULUMANCO The rain from yesterday lingers in the air this morning, making everything feel heavy and damp. I wake up with a start, my heart pounding from a dream I can’t quite remember, something about running through endless fields, chasing a shadow that keeps slipping away. Kungawo is already up, sitting at … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 17 MESULI The sky is turning that deep indigo that comes just before full dark, and the pool lights are already on, turning the water into a glowing turquoise rectangle. It’s just past 6:00 p.m. Kungawo is in the shallow end, floaties on his arms, kicking his legs like he’s trying to run … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 16 MESULI The alarm on my phone buzzes at 5:30 a.m., pulling me from a dream where I’m chasing Kungawo through the farm fields back in Entabeni, his laughter echoing like wind chimes. I reach over and silence it quickly, not wanting to wake anyone else in the house. The room is still … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 15 Sponsored by Florence Nyirongo CHULUMANCO This morning, the rain starts softly, tapping the roof like fingers drumming a slow rhythm. I wake to it, eyes opening to the grey light filtering through the curtains. Kungawo is already beside me on the bed; he must have climbed in during the night. His small … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 14 Sponsored by Florence Nyirongo CHULUMAMNCO The third week in Port Serenity felt less like settling in and more like learning to breathe underwater, slow, deliberate inhales, every movement measured so I didn’t panic and sink. Kungawo adapted faster than I did. He still woke up early, still climbed into my bed and … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 13 CHULUMANCO The first morning in Port Serenity felt like waking up inside someone else’s dream. Sunlight poured through floor-to-ceiling windows I had never seen before, painting the bedroom floor in warm gold. The sheets were crisp and smelled faintly of new cotton and something floral, laundry softener, probably. Kungawo was already awake, … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 12 CHULUMANCO Packing everything I knew I would need took forever. It unfolded slowly, over ten quiet days that felt both too long and too short. Every box I taped shut carried more than clothes or Hazel stock; it carried pieces of the life I had known since I moved to Entabeni with … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 11 CHULUMANCO The week after Imbeleko felt like walking on new ground, every step careful, testing whether the earth would hold or give way beneath me. Kungawo stayed with the Rala family three more nights after the ceremony. Not because I wanted him gone, but because Mrs. Rala asked so gently, with tears … Read more
BECOMING CHAPTER 10 CHULUMANCO Chulu stood beside her mother in the swept yard of the Rala homestead, the early morning light still soft and forgiving. The air carried the scent of fresh impepho smoke and the faint metallic promise of the day’s ritual. Kungawo rested on her hip, his small arms looped loosely around her … Read more