Cult-i-vated
By: Lebogang Tlou Jacky Nduna felt lost and alone. Nobody in this new world understood even the most basic truth about his life. Every morning, he would wake up, pull himself out of bed, get ready for work, and walk to work. His colleagues all had means of getting to work before he did. He, on the other hand, was late on a regular. Staying thirty minutes after the shop closed had become a part of his regular duties. “It’s to make up for having been so late,” he would say lamely to his perplexed boss when asked why he wasn’t going home like everyone else. Truth was that there was absolutely nothing worth going home to. Jacky lived for the hours spent at the office. This was all the time he had for himself. Usually when he got home, he kicked off his work shoes, had a quick and lonely meal and went straight to bed. At the end of the day, Jacky was tired. His hair had loosened from the bun he fashioned out of elastic bands, and his tie was skewed. His eyes were barely open beh