For many years, a woman known in the community for her disoriented appearance and wandering behavior followed a schoolgirl named Thandi on her way home. Residents often described the woman as unstable, pointing to her bare feet, tangled hair and habit of lingering near the school gate. Despite the girl’s attempts to avoid attention, the woman shadowed her at a distance almost daily, humming a soft tune and watching her quietly.
Thandi’s classmates reacted with fear and mockery, urging her to move quickly whenever the woman appeared behind them. Although they treated the situation as a game, the girl felt a persistent unease. Something in the woman’s expression seemed strangely familiar, though she could not explain why.
Family members dismissed the woman as mentally ill and advised Thandi to keep away from her. Despite this, the woman continued to appear—sometimes even late at night, seated across the street from the child’s home, seemingly standing guard while softly repeating the same lullaby.
One afternoon, during heavy rainfall that flooded the streets, Thandi slipped and injured her knee. As she attempted to regain her footing, the woman rushed toward her. For the first time, she spoke directly, addressing the girl with visible concern and asking if she was hurt. Her voice carried warmth and distress, prompting an unexpected emotional reaction in the child.
The woman then retrieved a creased photograph from her clothing. It depicted an infant wrapped in a yellow blanket. She claimed the baby in the picture was Thandi and addressed her as her child. On the back of the photograph, the girl recognized her full name written clearly, confirming that the image referenced her.
That evening, Thandi questioned her aunt about the photograph and the woman’s identity. Her aunt hesitated before explaining that the woman was indeed Thandi’s biological mother. Following the death of her husband, she had suffered severe emotional trauma, lost her home, and was eventually unable to care for her child. The aunt stated that she had chosen to raise Thandi herself, hoping to shield her from further distress.
Recognizing the truth, the girl sought out her mother the next day. She found her sitting beneath a jacaranda tree on Marula Street. When Thandi approached and addressed her gently as “mother,” the woman reacted with disbelief, followed by restrained tears and repeated expressions of affection.
From that point onward, Thandi visited her regularly. She brought food and clothing, gradually rebuilding a fragile bond. Over time, the woman’s demeanor softened, and moments of clarity became more frequent. Some days, she forgot details, but she consistently responded to her daughter’s presence with peace and gratitude.
Through these visits, Thandi began to understand that her mother had not been irrational or dangerous, as others believed. She had been overwhelmed by grief and hardship. The girl realized that despite her mother’s struggle, her efforts to remain near her child had never ceased.
The story ultimately became one of reconciliation and emotional restoration. Thandi discovered that the woman long regarded by the community as unstable had, in fact, never abandoned her. Instead, she had spent years trying—quietly and consistently—to remain close to the daughter she had lost.
