A boy relies on his African Bush senses to find his feet on the other side of the world, where his nightmares could either keep him back or set him free by unmasking how his mama really died.
Thapelo likes getting up close to lions, rhinos and other wild animals. He can do this because he lives at a luxury safari lodge with his housekeeper-chef mama — until The Dreadful Day. The day his mind wants to forget. So he chooses a less traumatic version.
Thirteen months after his mama's death, he arrives in Germany with his new(ish) mother and sister, Tina and Nadia. He's managed to carve out his place in the Becker family, so he reckons he'll soon feel like a local. He's great at exploring, and Berlin has a gazillion things just waiting to be discovered and shared with his cousin back in Malawi. The city buzz means lots of people. Too many. They make Thapelo anxious — until he recognizes familiar birds and animals in train passengers and his mind escapes back to the quiet African Bush.
Becoming local has more challenges, which he confidently faces: navigating the streets and subways, learning a new language, making friends and preparing for a new school. When his old nightmares pop up and get even scarier, it's a different story. If he keeps hiding from his trauma, he might lose his self-assurance and never fit in. If he wrestles through the bad dreams, supported by Tina and a kind therapist, he could face how his mama really died, overcome his crowd-anxiety and find his unique place in his new home country.