Wow.
This is so painful.
Going into the new year Sober. We are with my dad's family, celebrating a new year. It's 2012. Wasn't the world supposed to be ending?? I have been a little worried about that but it seems like we have been given a bit more of time.
We arrived, when I say "we" , I mean my sister Buhle and my brother, Mondli. My little sister, Asanda, was already here. She is my dad and step mom's baby. She is very posh and model c. She doesn't talk much to my dad's family, she will just smile shyly. She's only 8 years old. Bless her.
My dad and his friends were braaing, while my step mom and aunts were in the kitchen, making salads and gossiping. We were in the living room watching Generations. The only exciting thing that was happening. Every new years eve, Generations plays for an hour, so for me, that was the highlight of my evening. After Generations finished, my sister turned on the radio, and already the countdown for song of 2011 had started. We were still on song number 12. I couldn't handle the anticipation of it all, so I went to take a nap and told my sister to wake me up at 11:45 pm. You know when you take a nap, it can go both ways, you can either wake up feeling so rejuvenated and refreshed or you can wake up feeling like death. I woke up feeling like the latter. And everyone was in the new year spirit, dancing and lighting up sparklers. The countdown began, and I was within and without… You know that saying from Gatsby, where you feel you are going through it but you are also on the outside looking at yourself like "huh".
That's right, diary- I am deep.
My dad, of course, was in competition with the neighbours and bought a lot of fireworks and was lighting one after another. BOOM. Some of us where hiding in the rooms. My aunt Zoleka who has "abantu abadala" (which basically means she can talk to the dead. Our dead family members only) said that the spirits don't like the noise so she is hiding from it.
It was for the best.
Nobody liked it when her spirits came out to play , they made her smash anything in sight. The one time it happened, it was a few months ago and we were having a ceremony or something. My dad's side of the family love slaughtering chickens as offerings to ancestors, they probably slaughter an animal every month.
"Oh, I won R10 from the lotto power ball, let me thank the Ancestors. "
"Oh, I had a bad week, The ancestors are probably mad I didn't thank them for the time my child passed Maths in school, I better slaughter a chicken."
So Aunt Zoleka was in her room and we could hear noises, my one aunt braved it and went to go check on her and next thing we know, we hear her going "No, Zoleka!!!! Uwenzani(what are you doing) ??? What are you doing??? It's MEEEEEE!!" from the other side of the door.
Then Aunt Zoleka's bedroom door flew open, and my aunt scrambled out and told us to run. We didn't think twice. We all scattered around the house, my sister, Asanda crawled out the door, my brother jumped out the window and Buhle, thuli(my cousin) and I ran out the door. I could see a huge shape that I knew was Aunt Zoleka behind me from my peripheral vision. Honestly if white people saw this, they would say it was Possession. Which technically it is. I was running and following my cousin, Thuli, we both hid behind the car, and still Aunt Zoleka was coming our way. Thuli, who was crouched next to me, looks at me, then at Aunt Zoleka then back at me.
"Can't you see she's after you?? GET AWAY FROM ME" She said as she shoved me away.
I ran down the street and by the time my dad had calmed the situation down, I was found on my neighbours yard. Thuli apologised for being a complete savage. I forgave her, she was in survival mode, I would have done the same thing too, so no hard feelings.
So anyway, my dad's fireworks ran out at about 1am at that point we were all fed up. Only my brother and dad were still going at it, competing with the guy from two houses down. Idiots.
We will be leaving soon to go to the festival, let me catch some Zzz.
Lotsa Love