Brown

Appears in

Published 2010

About

- Memory -

On April Fools’ Day once we went to the local shop and asked for 2 rands’ worth of 1 cent chappies. When poor old George had counted out the 200 we flew out of the shop, chorusing ‘April Fool’. This is the same café where we bought our ice creams. Our mother would sometimes let us take an ice cream as we walked to school with our plaits and braids and other girly hairstyles, and I loved that. Past the other silky pinks, colourful floral and checked ribbons, class dunces, older gangs and fears accumulated on the pavement, waiting for the bell.

We loved the secret meetings in sweetshops, and looking for small spaces outside to sit and eat, hiccupping our way home afterwards.

I wanted to toast marshmallows on fires but didn’t really enjoy children’s camping where the porridge looked like home-sickness in the smallest portion I had requested. I wanted to find my way with a torch through a clearing and eat brownies with the brownies and girl scouts and drink bright berried drinks and roll chocolate through my hands, hopping with messy face to the beat of the birds.