by Haden, Ros;
I turned around in my seat. Levi, wrapped in a blanket, had fallen asleep in the back of the bakkie. His head was leaning against the mort’s shoulder. As I watched, it reached out a withered hand and touched Zizu lightly on the head, then did the same to my brother, as if it was preparing to say goodbye.
I wondered if it actually knew what we had planned for it – for him.
I thought about Zizu, how damaged and angry and thin she was before my brother looked after her. I thought about what Mr Cele had said on the beach. That maybe things would be different if we’d shown the morts what they’d never been given: kindness.
“Mama?” I heard Levi saying. He rubbed his eyes. “Where are we?”
“Shhh, Levi,” she said. “Go back to sleep.”
I thought about what had happened on the beach. The mort had saved my brother’s life and, because of me, we were going to punish him and send him to a place that was little more than a prison.
It wasn’t fair.
“Mama,” I said, “let’s just go home.”
“All of us?”
“Yeah. All of us.”
She threw her arms around me and hugged me.
As we drove off, Beyoncé moaned. He sounded joyful, as if he knew he was now part of our family. And then I heard something I never thought I’d ever hear.
My little brother, who never smiled – who was withdrawn and different and friendless – was laughing.
Discussion questions
•How has the mort changed Levi’s life?
•This is a science fiction story about zombies – it has nothing to do with real life … or has it? What serious messages does it have for us about how humans sometimes behave?
About the author
Sarah Lotz is a screenwriter and pulp fiction novelist. Among other things, she writes urban horror novels under the name S.L Grey with author Louis Greenberg and a YA zombie series with her daughter, Savannah, under the name Lily Herne. Her latest solo novel, The Three, will be translated into 18 languages. She lives in Cape Town with her family and other animals.
Advice to young writers
If possible, try to start your story mid-action – it’ll grab your readers’ attention. For example, experiment with starting your story with a line of dialogue.
Don’t be afraid to use your imagination, and most importantly have fun writing your story. If you’re having fun writing it, your readers will have fun reading it!
Published in South Africa by
Cover2Cover Books
First published in 2013
e-ISBN 978-0-9922018-8-3
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978.
Typesetting and book design: Robin Yule
Cover design: Wiehan de Jager
Editing: Ros Haden
Discussion questions and activities: Dorothy Dyer
Copy editing: Judy Norton, Sean Fraser
READ MORE STORIES!
Become a FunDza Fan by joining our mobi community!
FunDza is fun, easy to join and … it’s FREE!!
What’s more, you just need a cellphone to:
•read a great new story each week
•explore our growing ‘library’ of teen fiction
•comment on the stories
•showcase your poetry and essays
•get profiled as a FunDza Fan
•enter competitions … and stand in line to win Moola!
GET CONNECTED!
FunDza mobi site: http://fundza.mobi/
Mxit app: http://mxitapp.com/fundza
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FunDzaLiteracyTrust
Twitter: @FunDzaClub