Siblings
on Anthony Lovat in Bolgatanga (Ghana), 21/Mar/2011 11:58, 34 days ago
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I saw them coming towards me from a long way off. It was 6:30am and I stood with a mug of coffee, dressed in my smart work shirt, trousers and black shoes, gazing out of the window. A young boy and his sister, both looking around school-starting age, were making their way down a single dirt track between the dusty stubs of last year’s maize. The small boy led the way with his sister following closely behind. They both looked as if they needed a wash. The boy was dressed in nothing but underpants and a torn, navy blue adult shirt with only two working buttons that hung from his scrawny shoulders to below his skinny knees. Thegirl was in a pink flowery dress that looked like it was made for someone far shorter and stouter. Her bare feet padded carefully along the track, following each contour like a tiny stick floating steadily down a gutter. Her shaved head was bowed, focused on her path. She walked in silence with anexpressionless face. Her brother, however, brimmed with energy because, on the end of his twiggy legs, he proudly sported a pair of bright white and red trainers. He stomped along the track, lifting each foot high in the air before crashing down on an unsuspecting clump of desiccated grass. The trainers looked a few sizes too big but the boy will undoubtedly grow into them – he looked like he still had a lot of growing to do. The boy was visibly delighted with his shoes. His eyes shone with happiness. The path took them past my window. I heard the boy grunt with excitement as he deliberatelystamped, raising a small cloud of dust that shone in the dawn light. I saw his sister carefully tread barefooted, following him into the illuminated, dusty mist. The path continued to the opposite horizon so they followed it until I could no longer make out their skinny bodies, framed against the morning sky. As they passed into the distance, the boy continued tramping his oversized trainers merrily while his sister trailed silently behind in her tiny bare feet.
