Through the window I got my freedom

Now that I’ve got your full attention, I know you’re asking yourself how a window helped me get my freedom. Well, it is not what you may be thinking, but actually something slightly different, something more dramatic than it sounds. It is what it is!

My siblings and I were raised by a single mother, a primary school teacher. My mother taught the first grade, while my siblings attended various upper classes in the same school. At 4-years-old, I was too young to go to school.

Since my mother and siblings all went to school, I was often left behind in the house, just one of the few in the teachers’ quarters next to the school. I would be all alone in the house, spending most of my time watching TV, playing different games – that ended up boring the childhood life out of me – and sleeping.

It may seem disturbing, but I was not a chaotic child. I guess that’s why my mother trusted me to the extent of leaving me all alone in the house.

During break time though, my elder sister would come check on me, and also to just check if the house was in good order, and to ensure that I had eaten or if I haven't burned the house down or anything.

My mother’s school was not that far from the teachers’ quarters. It was less than half a kilometre away, which made me hear simple things like the school bell, cars passing by the main road and see when the school was out. Sometimes I would even see my siblings coming back from school through our bedroom window.

So, one day, after my elder sister left, I decided that that day was the day where I would follow her. But how was I to exit the house when it was locked? Out of curiosity, I decided to test if I could fit in the window’s burglar bars and sneak out. Well, it happened!

I never hesitated. I just went straight to my mother's school barefooted, wearing only a T-shirt and underwear. I was so excited that I never thought about the consequences, especially how my mother would react. Nothing! I had no shame or remorse whatsoever!

"My mother will be happy to see me," I kept thinking with a smile on my face. She had taken me to her school a few times before, so I knew her classroom very well.

I was walking, dancing and playing along the way. I just went straight to her, hoping for that welcoming smile and excitement as soon as she sees me. Yey! Kani angikabuti elangeni!

The security guard was not at the gate, so I went straight to class.

I remember that the door was wide open. It was after lunch and my mother was sitting on her chair, facing directly to the door. She was able to see anybody who passed by and anybody who coming in as well as someone standing at the door. 

The school children in class were quiet. Only the sounds of coughing students and exercise books being paged through occasionally broke the silence.

I entered the classroom without even knocking and I realised that students were writing something that was on the chalkboard. Immediately after entering, everybody lifted their heads and looked at me. Well, I just passed by the chalkboard and went straight to my mother. 

I don't know whether they were surprised to see a 4-year-old girl walking by herself or there was something else. I was never bothered. My focus was on my mother's face which was very unpleasant and unfriendly. She was not excited at all!

She was so angry that she started yelling at me, screaming at me about how risky it was for me to go alone – as if leaving me in the house alone was any better. There and then she started beating the hell out of me with a short stick on my butt. My excitement became my worst nightmare, and I regretted ever visiting her in class.

Come to think of it now, I would probably have done the same to my 4-year-old child.

Just take a second to think about this: You see your 4-year-old little kid unexpectedly walking through the door of your classroom or office. What would be your immediate reaction as a parent? Bear in mind that your house doors would have been locked and the keys to with you, then boom your child is right in front of you with a smile, half naked and barefooted? Exactly! You would be shocked and angry too. And, perhaps even more real, scared as hell!

My mother decided to send me to pre-school the following week. The “imprisoned” child finally found freedom! Finally!

Chaotic right? More details coming up.