Mkhululi Mpofu was raised in Zimbab

Mkhululi Mpofu was raised in Zimbabwe. After graduating from Marlborough High School, he
traveled to England and studied at the University of Worchester. He works as an independent
writer focusing on issues faced by immigrants from African countries. He is the editor of
Zimdiaspora, an online magazine, and is working on a novel “Adventures of an African
Immigrant.” He lives in Wolverhampton, England with his family.
The piercing yellow rays of the morning sun flooded his room through the frayed lace
curtains and jolted Brian awake. He woke up with the biggest grin on his face. He had been
waiting for this morning. Being thirteen meant he was a teenager. He inhaled the crisp morning
air filling his lungs with the rich country oxygen. He pumped out his chest as he drew aside the
thin curtains. He was visiting his grandparents in the country. It was his favorite place to be. He
didn’t like the city, but his parents wanted him to learn city ways. Today Brian thought only of
the beautiful morning in the village. The chirping birds on the thorny shrub outside his room
serenaded him like they were singing for his birthday. He put on the clothes he wore during his
holidays. The khaki shorts were tight and his fading brown shoes could no longer hold his
bulging toes.
Outside he could hear the older boys struggling to yoke the young bulls onto the front of
the scotch cart (a small wagon). He could hear Bernard, his grandfather’s worker, trying to
control the bulls with a low calming whistle. He imagined the bulls huffing and snorting while
they dodged the yoke (heavy collar) playfully, and he could tell by the distinctive clanging of
Bokfel‘s bell that he was giving Bernard a hard time. Bokfel, the blonde hornless heifer bull, was
known to make you sweat a bit before he agreed to be yoked. Bokfel would throw his head in the
air while shuffling backwards. When he was very belligerent, spray from his nose would hit your
face. One holiday time, Brian’s grandfather let him go with Bernard on a trip. He remembered
how he walked for two days bringing Bokfel back to the village. He had volunteered to travel
with Bernard and was very excited about the adventure. Their meals for the two days consisted
mainly of bread with the soft part dug out, filled with either baked beans or corned beef. They
had soft drinks as the liquid accompaniment for the dry meal. His grandfather had entrusted
Bernard with the meal money since he was older. Brian remembered thinking that Bernard
lacked a fun and adventurous spirit and did not buy biscuits or sweets. Bernard kept a tight
control on the money. He remembered how he hated Bernard on that journey. Brian’s
grandfather had instructed them to stop over at Ndlovuseka Mantongane’s house, some distant
relatives, both on the way there and on the way back. At the house they were given a sorghum