Runyararo
Runyararo woke up feeling groggy; her head felt full and her eyes were heavy.
After Clemence had left, well, more like run back to his room, with this haunted and hunted look in his eyes, she had remained in the lounge, curled up on the sofa praying for him and reading more of the Bible.
She had only got to bed at two o’clock. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table; it was seven o’clock now. She had only had four hours of sleep.
Runyararo closed her eyes and pressed her head back into the pillow. A part of her wanted to sleep the day away, she didn’t have any work she needed to do and it wasn’t as if she’d be missed by anyone. Both Clemence and her father were out today. But she needed to go out, they were running low on quite a few things. She sighed, looked like she had to get up.
Runyararo pushed the covers aside, lifted her hands above her head and stretched, releasing the tension in her body and loosening her muscles which were stiff from sleep. Shaking out her arms, she picked up her phone, and opened Whatsapp to see if she had any messages.
She scrolled through her list of contacts; not a single message. But then again most of the people she might have talked to would be busy now. All her friends from high school had gone straight to university, some here in Zimbabwe, others in different places overseas. They had lectures, and assignments and other friends occupying their time.
She rarely spoke to them except to exchange a “Hello”, “How are you?” and “I’m good” that never went much further than that.
She dropped the phone back onto the table and grabbed her towel from where it hung behind her door, opened the door and then headed down the corridor to the bathroom her and Clemence shared. Her gaze traveled floral designs along the walls, they reminded her of her mother.
Mama had always loved flowers, if it had been up to her there would have been floral designs on the walls in every room.
Runyararo sighed, smiling at the memory and then turned her attention to bath to the left of the bathroom and a shower on the right. She looked at the bath longingly; a good soak would be nice. But she also knew that it might make her dozy and she needed to hurry. Besides, a shower would really wake her up.
By the time she was done Aunty Abigail was in the kitchen, packing away the dishes Runyararo had washed last night.
“Mangwanani, Aunty,” Runyararo greeted her.
“Runyararo,” Aunty Abigail said her name with a warm affection that made Runyararo smile.
“Warara mushe?”
Runyararo chuckled lightly, “I did. But I slept late. Kuma two.”
“Uh Uh Uh,” Aunty Abigail said, shock and surprise in her voice. “Two. Wanga uri kuitei? What were you doing that kept you awake so long?”
“I was reading.” Runyararo said as she reached into the cupboard to get a bowl, “The Bible.”
“Mhmm,” Aunty Abigail muttered, putting a clean lid on one of the pots.
She obviously couldn’t give her the lecture she wanted to give her. Aunty Abigail believed that people must sleep early and rise early. She said that sleeping late made people lazy in the morning. But then who could fault her for staying up late reading the Bible? Runyararo grinned.
“Don’t worry, Aunty. I will have plenty of energy today.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, dubious. “ I hope you enjoyed yourself. What were you reading?”
“Psalms, mostly,” Runyararo replied. “ I really like it.”
“Yes. Psalms are very good,” Aunty Abigail said, nodding in agreement. “But me, I like Proverbs. It teaches us exactly what to do with nonsensical people.”
A burst of laughter erupted from Runyararo’s chest. Aunty glanced at her, frowning at her like she thought she was crazy.
“Uri kusekei? What is funny?”she asked, her frown deepening.
Runyararo had to catch her breath before answering.
“Nothing Aunty,” she chuckled, “Just the way you said that made me laugh.” Aunty Abigail often said things that teased laughter out of Runyararo.
“Mhmm,” Aunty hummed, looking at her shrewdly but with a reluctant smile tugging at her lips.
Runyararo smiled. Aunty Abigail could never stay displeased with her for long.
“Anyway. I’m going to the shops today. Is there anything else we need besides bread, milk, muriwo and more meat?” She asked.
“Mhmm,” Aunty Abigail glanced around the kitchen, looking around at all the items to see if any needed refilling or replacing. “No. No. That’s should be fine.”
“Alright.” Runyararo replied as she walked towards the dining room. “Let me just eat this and then I’ll go out.”
After eating a breakfast of a bowl of Cerevita and an apple, she went to her room to fetch her purse. She had enough money to get all she needed; she didn’t work but her father made sure she had some money to buy herself essential items and to do the grocery shopping.
“Bye, Aunty.” She called as she passed by the lounge where Aunty Abigail was sweeping. She waved in response as Runyararo headed out the kitchen door.
It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining brilliantly and the sky was bright blue and clear. It had cooled down a lot since yesterday.
Runyararo took a deep breath and breathed in the fresh air, feeling it fill her lungs and clear her head. She smiled and lifted her face to the sun and closed her eyes briefly, basking in its warmth she thanked God in her heart for the day. It was on days like these that she didn’t mind so much that she had to walk.
When Runyararo reached Bon Marche there were a number of people inside; parents and children buying food for the months ahead, teenagers browsing the shelves for anything worth feeding their friends who were coming over to their houses.
She navigated the shelves easily, getting all that she needed before heading for the tills. She knew Clemence was on duty but avoided his till. She had always thought that it would be awkward being served by her brother and she knew Clemence would be far from happy about having to check out her groceries.
As she stood at the till, waiting for her turn to be attended her eyes wandered around the shop. Her gaze settled at the entrance where an elderly woman was talking animatedly to the guard.
The woman seemed upset about something. She was frowning and kept gesturing at a large shopping bag at her feet. The security guard touched her shoulder briefly; a gesture of comfort and then turned and glanced around, as if looking for someone. Runyararo’s attention was pulled away when her turn came to step up to the till.
After her items had been bagged and packed, she glanced at the entrance again. The woman was still there. She hoped whatever was bothering her had been resolved. It seemed not. The security guard was now talking to a woman in a black pantsuit. The elderly lady stood by. The woman was shaking her head and gesturing to her watch. The guard nodded and seemed to sigh.
He looked up and saw Runyararo standing and watching them. He lifted his hand and waved her over. Runyararo was eager to get back home, but she wanted to see if she could be of any help to the woman.
“Mangwanani,” The security guard greeted. “ I am sorry to bother you, mem. But our ambuya here needs help with her groceries. I would go myself but I must stay here. Munogona kuvabastira here?”
“Um, sure.” Runyararo said, shifting her plastic bag to her other hand. “Where are you going, mbuya?” She asked, addressing the woman.
“Not very far, my dear. Just there to Creamy Inn. My son is picking me up from there.”
“Alright,” Runyararo said. “Let me help you. This is your bag?” She asked, gesturing to the large plastic bag.
“Yes. Thank you. Thank you.” She said enthusiastically, as Runyararo picked up her shopping bag. Runyararo buckled a little under its weight. It was heavy!
“I am sorry to make you carry this big bag,” the woman said. “But me I am not strong enough to lift it. He he. But I need what’s inside.”
Runyararo smiled and chuckled, “It’s alright, mbuya.” She shifted her grip on the bag, holding it more tightly.
“Alright, mbuya. We can go.”
“Thank you, dear.” The woman replied.
“Maitabasa,” the guard said as she and the woman walked out the door. Runayararo nodded back, “Zvakanaka.” She took a deep breath, already anticipating a few stops on the way.
