The Gift

Mashotos life in the city is a hustle Its a fast life in the fast city of Dar es Salaam Theres no time to stop and Mashoto likes it this way Theres no time to think about the people he left behind in the village Until silence cuts through the city racket with three words mother has died With those words Mashotos life changes forever He returns home to the place he abandoned to bury his only ally Yet his mother has left behind a gift Her voice her unseen presence a gentle whisper urging him to open his eyes and strain his ears to learn the lessons of nature of the earth and the roots that draw their nourishment from it Cast out by his father after losing the little money his mother had left Mashoto must learn to survive from the land He must learn to face old enemies and forge new alliances to fight and to love Most of all Mashoto must discover what it is he is fighting for