Chapter 1: CHILDHOOD

Thulaganyo Assegaai was born to her mother, Reginah Assegaai. When she was only one year old, her life took a different path. Because her mother struggled with alcoholism and could not properly take care of her, Thulaganyo was taken in by her grandmother’s sister, Elisa Ntehelang.

Elisa decided to raise Thulaganyo as her own child and took her to live with her in Pretoria. At the same time, Thulaganyo’s father, Charlie Ngogodo, was mostly absent from her life. His mother, Mamo Ngogodo, did not believe that Thulaganyo was truly her son’s daughter, which made things even more complicated.

In Pretoria, Elisa’s husband, France Mafona, became an important part of Thulaganyo’s life. Although he was not her biological father, he treated her with kindness and love. Through him, Thulaganyo experienced what it felt like to have a father who cared for her.

Even though her life began with uncertainty, Pretoria became the place where her childhood started to take shape.When Thulaganyo was still very young, Elisa did not really know how to take care of a child. She had never raised one before. Sometimes she dressed Thulaganyo in whatever clothes were available, whether they were meant for boys or girls.

Even at that young age, Thulaganyo had a strong personality. She was bold, very expressive, and often mischievous. She was the kind of child who was always curious, always moving, and rarely quiet.One day Thulaganyo went next door to play with her friends. She was still very young and didn’t think much about it. But when she returned home, Elisa was angry. Elisa believed children should not go to the streets without permission, and Thulaganyo was beaten for leaving the house without telling her.

Despite Elisa’s strictness, there were also small moments of care in the house. Every evening France Mafona would return home from work, often bringing chips for Thulaganyo. But Elisa would stop her from eating them immediately and insist that she first eat her proper meal.

Thulaganyo’s favourite meal was simple: pap with eggs. She ate it almost every night. As a child she refused to eat most other foods, so pap and eggs became the taste of her childhood.

After school, she enjoyed quiet moments watching cartoons. Sometimes she would ask France Mafona if she could borrow her his phone so she could play games on it. Those small routines became part of her everyday life growing up.On weekends, especially Friday nights, Thulaganyo would get excited. She could stay up late and watch movies without Elisa stopping her, since there was no school the next day.

She loved action movies, especially Chinese ones, and her favorite actor was Jackie Chan. One movie she never tired of was Romeo Must Die. Whenever it played, she would watch it again and again, losing track of time in the process.

Friday nights became a little adventure, and she usually fell asleep around midnight, dreaming of the action-packed worlds she had just watched.On Sundays, Thulaganyo would go to church with Elisa, leaving France at home to cook meals for them. When they returned, the food would be ready, and the family would sit down together.

At church, Thulaganyo’s energy couldn’t be contained. As service was about to end, she would dance freely, as if no one was watching. People often stared, but she didn’t care.

Elisa, however, was not amused. She would scold Thulaganyo and warn her that dancing like that was not proper in church. Even so, the little girl’s boldness could not be fully restrained.One day at school, Thulaganyo got into a fight with a friend. In the heat of the moment, she grabbed a bag and hit her friend with it. The girl fell to the ground and cried, while others watched in shock. Thulaganyo fought fiercely, moving with a boldness that some said was like a boy’s.

After school, Thulaganyo bought a watch. On the way home, she pretended to be Jackie Chan, holding the watch like it was a weapon and yelling “Ayala!” Her friends laughed at her antics.

One of them pointed at the watch and asked, still laughing, “Thulaganyo, what watch is that?” She just grinned, proud of her style and the show she had put on.

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