The first time Miss Turner noticed her, she stood quietly at the back of a group of girls. She and her brother were fairly new arrivals at Bulembu, their parents having died of AIDS. Nontando was a shy girl, Miss Turner thought. The girls were there to spend their merits. All the 400 rescued children were in school in Bulembu and merits were given for good work and good behaviour; rewards to spend. Miss Turner was particularly pleased to land the job of running the merit shop. She saw many of the children she cared for in the trauma unit- those that had been most deeply affected by their loss. And she saw Nontando. Each term, when the shop opened, Nontando came. And each term she stood with her friends, looking on as they spent their merits on sweets, books, toys and comics. But not Nontando. She just stood, quietly watching. ‘Hi Nontando, don’t you have any merits to spend?’ ‘Yes Miss.’ ‘So where are they? Where are your merits? What would you like? Sweets? A book maybe?’ ‘No Miss. I...