Johannesburg - On the table in a small kitchen lies a pink diary with blue scribblings on it. It will never be written on again.
The teenager who kept it, Lenda Chauke, 16, died on Wednesday morning on her way to school. A minibus taxi mowed her down and slammed into her little sister Letti, 11.
The taxi dragged Lenda about 50m before stopping. She died on the scene.
Letti is now at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital fighting for her life. Her right leg has been shattered, and the family fear she will be permanently disabled.
The tragic accident happened just before 8am on the R511 in Diepsloot.
“The windscreen of the vehicle was completely smashed,” said ER24 spokeswoman Vanessa Jackson.
The two girls had been through a lot in the past year.
“Their mother died last year and their father has showed no care in their upbringing,” said their grandfather, Elias Ngobeni.
“We don’t know how that affected them. But Lenda was a good sister to Letti. She took care of Letti because she knew they were all alone and orphaned.”
Lenda’s first three entries revealed some insight into the teenager’s thoughts.
Her entries are addressed to God, and she pleads with Him to help her, and at times she thanks Him for His guidance.
On December 3, she wrote: “My Father, I know you are the person that I trust in the world. Please fix my head because I am in pain.”
A day later, she wrote: “I thank my God… for making me feel better today.”
The girls didn’t attend school last year, said their uncle, Jeffrey Chauke.
There was “too much upheaval and grief in the family”, which made it difficult for the girls to attend school.
“This year they started school and this happens,” he said, his head bowed.