UMSHADO

CHAPTER 71

LUNGI.

#NotEdited

I am so glad my husband is not here to hear everything his mother… no. His aunt has said. I know there are very wicked people in this world but I never thought one of them was my so called “ mother in law. ” and now they want to take her away and not face the people she tried to kill?. Hell no!. She has to see the faces of the people she thought she killed. For years she has gotten away with it but now it ends. She will face them.
I am happy to know that mbuso's mother and his brother are still alive. I know he’s going to be so happy when he hears that. It makes me really sad that he’s not going to be able to witness the reunion between his parents and twin brother. God let his mom and brother be very good people because my husband deserves that. He deserves to be happy and be with is mom and twin brother that was taken away from him.  I still can’t believe sebenzile did that. My God poor zipho and bonga is a mess.
“ Busani is coming. He will be here in the morning.” I follow the sound of the voice that is talking and it’s another man who looks like Mabutho and mbusyiselo.
My head has been on sims mom lap and her hand on my back brushing me has been comforting me. She reminds me of the times I would get sick and she and uncle Victor would take care of me. Sims is blessed to have a mother like her. Her mom knows we really appreciate her.
I sit up and look at her. She wipes my tears and palms my cheek. She looks sad and I’m sure she’s shaken too about the things she heard. I hope she doesn’t hold that against him cause as fucked up as their mom is, she raised strong men.
“ your husband is going to be fine Luh. The Almighty is watching over him and he is our prayers. Have you prayed dear and asked God for strength?. ”
“ I haven’t aunty. I don’t even know where to start cause I am broken, I feel weak and I am scared.”
“ That is the best time to seek him and find comfort. He always has the answers that we seek lungi. Do not turn your back on him during this difficult time. There’s a chapel here. Go and talk to your God. I can come with you if that would make you feel better.”
“ I would like that.” She pats my shoulder. I get up and the commotion stops. Ok I wasn’t expecting that.
“ uhm. I don’t think it’s okay to just let mah sebenzile leave just like that without being confronted by the people she wronged. She has to hear how my mother in law’s life changed.” I sit down.
“ She’s right. My mother can’t just walk away like she did nothing wrong and we must pick up the pieces? No!. She has to be here and watch what happens!.” Bonga says.
I think bonga hates his mother now more than all of us. The hate he has for her is pouring out and I’m afraid he’s going to do something that he will regret for the rest of his life.
“ Malume?.” Their uncle looks at me.
“ Is my mother in law coming too with busani?. ”
“ they are both coming.” Says that guy again. I look at him and frown.
“ luh, this is out last born brother uMthunzi. Brother this is our makoti uLungile Gumede. Our brother mbuso's wife.”
“ I’m sorry we all had to meet like this and I’m sorry to about what happened to your husband.” 
“ Thank you.” I close my eyes cause I have this headache that is aching at the back of my head. I have been trying to ignore it but it’s getting more intense .
“ mbusyiselo?.” He looks at me. “ you knew who we were when we came into your house. Why didn’t you let us know and when did you find out?.”  I see a ghost smile on his face.
“ when lumka was brought home and had my men follow your husband’s guy and I found out it was mbuso. I didn’t pay much attention to it until. When we grew up or was just us four boys and our little sister. We didn’t know that our aunt was a twin so as busani. We found out a year ago when we were all at home in Ermelo and aunt told us that busani was having problems and she thinks that it’s maybe related to him being a twin. That’s when they told us what happened to my aunt and busani. Dad tried to find your father in law but somehow he wouldn’t find anything. It was like someone or something was blocking us from finding him….”
“ I bet my mother had something to do with it!. ” zipho says. Sebenzile is never going to have a relationship with her children. Ever!.
“….. and we thought that its either our aunt killed mbuso or he ran away with him and lived somewhere else. Never ever did we think she went to mbuso and busani's dad.”
My father in law has his head burried on his knees and I feel for him. I’m very worried about his health even thiugh he’s a strong man but this thing can knock even the strongest down and I don’t know how he is going to get out this whole mess. I’m not one person who holds grudges or even hate people but sipho, thuli and now sebenzile is on the list of the people I most hate.
“ my sister was too traumatized, she cried everyday for her son and…..then when busani was four months old she started losing parts of her memories. It was hard mshana it was very hard so we hired a nanny and helper to look after busani and my sister but my sister got worse and she had to have special care. My other uncle not the one who raised me took her to this place where they deal with special classes of trauma and she lived there. My ex wife at that time was working and had no time to look after kids. She hated that we had to take care of busani and she told me to my face to take my nephew to the orphanage cause he was practically an orphan.” What is wrong with these women?.
“ I refused cause we already had hired someone to help with busani and she was amazing. She took care of my household, busani and mbuyi and all the kids that came after them. My wife the only true thing she did was get pregnant, dump the kids with me, spend my money and was never home then one day when mbuyi was 7, mabutho was 5, Linda was 4 and mthunzi was only a year old when their came home and served me with divorce papers. She took everything she wanted, the money, cars and left me with the kids. If it wasn’t for this beautiful woman who first came to look after busani wasn’t there?. I don’t know what I would have done with all of them. She raised all of them. She’s three mother.” He looks at his wife and smiles. They have been through a lot.
“ our aunt started to get better when  I think we were 14 years old. Busani would always go and visit her where she lived and she too would come and visit home. She came back when we were doing our standard 10 ( grade 12.) We passed our matric and we went to study in the UK at Oxford University. After I was done with my studies I came home but busani stayed behind and they live there but they do come and visit home but last year they started visiting a lot and that’s when we knew about everything.” He takes a deep breath.
“ it was then that something clicked on my mind so I began to investigate mbuso and it was hard. Your husband is a very private man hell all of you are and it was hard to find anything about him. It was like he didn’t exist to some extent. I tried to hack your Instagram account but hey mbuso doesn’t play like that and I was impressed. It took me a year and the last month we have just passed to get any information but still nothing and I wanted to help reunite the families together and also help busani with whatever that he is struggling with. I was desperate and so I thought I was just going to call him and ask him if he has a twin brother but our ancestors must have my please cause I get a call from mbuso asking for my help and then when you arrived and retired to bed, I took the glass he was drinking from to test it for DNA and it came back 100 percent match. They are identical twins. I was waiting for when he came back from your house to tell him we are the family. His mother and brother are still alive.”
“ I just want mbuso to wake up so he can see them. I want all of this to be over  I want my husband  back.” I sob.
“ Have faith luh. Mbuso is a fighter and he is going to wake up and come back to your and your kids. Please drink this and get some sleep.”
“ I… . ”
“ Sis please drink them. The boys are coming in the morning you don’t want them to see you like this.” I burst into tears. The thought of my boys growing without a father is very terrifying to me. I nod.
“ please wake me up when the doctor comes and if anything is happening to him scelo promise me!.”
“ you know I would do anything for you even wake mbuso up and bring him to you I would that. Right now you need to sleep luh cause I know you’re having a headache and it’s getting worse. We can see some please sis take them. I will wake you up should anything happen.” He gives me a tight hug.
“ please make sure Sims is okay. She’s pregnant and she doesn’t need all this stress. Take her to the house she found with everyone else scelo please then you come back and be here with me. I need you bhuti  wami.” I whisper to hjm
“ ok.”
“ Zipho listens to you so please take him with you and ask someone to bring our backs from mbuyiselo’s house so sbu and Percy can change.”
“ It’s going to be okay luh.”  I nod. He gives me the pills, I take them and drink. I feel my body getting light and scelo holds me before my eyes closed and it’s light out.

I’ve been walking and I don’t know where I’m going but there’s this thing telling me that I should keep going and not stop. I walk for another 30 minutes or more until I see this house that is burnt down. I enter the yard and look around. The house doesn’t look like someone lives in it but it feels like there are people who live in the yard. Where am I?.
I walk around the house and see small fore that is burning with logs and there’s an old metal kettle that is shining so beautiful. The water is burning cause I hear that sound. There’s a mat on the floor and an old chair that looks ugly but comfortable. The door to the rondavel is open and I can hear someone humming a song. I walk closer but the person comes out and it’s an old woman I stop walking and stand next to the fire.
She looks past me and I see an old man coming and it looks like he is coming from work to something. She smiles.
“ oh khanyo usebuyile umyeni wami. Shesha ntombi umthele amanzi azogeza.” She’s talking to me?. “ Haw yebo mzukulu ngikhuluma nawe.” Her eyes are on me.
“ yebo gogo.”
I walk inside the rondavel and it looks bigger on the inside than it was on the outside and it’s very clean too. I see the metal basin I take it, put it on the middle of the room. Take the small carpet and put it next to the basin. I take the 25 litre container that is filled with water and pour half of the cold water. I go outside and see the huge pot on the fire that wasn’t there before and take it and our the hot water to the basin that has cold water then go outside.
“ sengicedile gogo ukuthela amanzi. ( I’m done pouring the water.) ”
“ ngena baba uyogeza.” The man passes me without saying anything and closes the rondavel door. Somehow that hurts me.
“ he’s not mad at you khanyo. He’s mad at your father?.”
“ ubaba wami ongizalayo gogo?.” She’s my grandmother?.
“ I am your husband’s great grandmother and that is his great grandfather. He is mad at your father in law. Sit down mzukulu. ”
“ Wenzeni gogo?.”
“ akazange ahlawule , akazange ikhiphe inkomo yebele futhi akazange  azocela ubuhlobo obuhle agcwalise izinkomo esibayeni.” So they just went to home affairs and signed only?.
“ they did. Ngokwesintu lezizingane azibiza ngo Gumede aukzona ezabo ntombi. Bayazi nabo oQwabe kodwa abenzi okilungile yingakho kuzo2 jeziswa izingane ngiba abazali abalaleli. Your father in law and his two wives have been seeing the signs and warnings but they chose to ignore them and look at what happened to your husband.”
“ so what do gogo was all of you doing what?.”
“ their father needs to do everything right from the beginning. All the things I told you he didn’t do he must do them. After he is done all of that he must take both his sons the twins and your twins and his twin wives to the river and they must take 5 R5  throw them inside and ask for permission to the owner then they will get in and cleanse because everything began there and it must end there so it doesn’t happen to your sons. Your mothers must forgive each other. Someone will come to help them.  After he has done that mzukulu he must do umsebenzi wabadal kuzohlatshwa inkomo emnyama nezimbuzi ezimbili, uyacela ukuthi kube nokuthula emnzini wakhe ngoba kunomsindo omkhulu kakhulu kungaze kuchitheke igazi. Uyezwa ntombi?.”
“ Ngiyezwa gogo.” The door opens and umkhulu comes out and sits on the chair. I see a cup and saucer next to me. I take the kettle and pour the water and make him some tea.. He accepts, takes a sip and smiles. I smile too.
“ When your father in law has done all of that then your husband and his brothers. All four of them will do a ceremony here where their mother’s grew up. Both their mother’s must be there khanyo. You will make sure it happens. You see this cup and saucer you have served your great grandfather with?. ”
“ Yebo gogo.”
“ You must find the exact same ones. One the day your husband does the ceremony you will serve both him and he’s twin brother tea because my husband has never drank alcoholic in his life but you will make it for the whole village.”
“ but gogo umhlaba sowa dayiswa njena?.” She lightly laughs.
“ cha mzukulu usase ngowethu.” Huh? .
“ When all of that has happened gogo everything is going to be fine?.”
“ its up to all of you to make that happen. Khulu? Do you want to say something to them?.” He gives me a sad smile.
“ he is blessed to have you. One right thing sebenzile did was to raise good men who lost their ways as they grew up because of secrets. When you came into mbuso’s life, you changed everything and the name she have you of her twin sister was the one you deserve because you have been nothing but a blessing to my great grandchildren. Ngiyabonga MaNgcobo kakhulu konke sokuzolunga manje ngoba azisekho izimfihlo. ”
“ Ngiyabonga kakhulu mkhulu nawe gogo. Ngizobazisa senze konke  ngendlela.”
“ ukbumbule ukuthi nguwe ukuthula phakathi kwabo.” This is heavy.
“ I understand gogo. Will my husband wake up and come back to me and our kids?.” She looks at me like she feels so much pity and I break down. “ Please don’t take him away from me gogo ngiyanincenga!. Ngisamdinga empilweni yami and I’m too found to be a widowed please mkhulu!. ” I get on my knees and beg them.
“ you are blessed khanyo. You will have all you have ever wanted and more… . ” she takes a pregnant pause the continues. “… .. But it’s life for a life.” God no!.
“ What does that mean gogo?!.” Tears stream down her face.
“ you will understand what it means. We tried to warn all of the but they didn’t listen to us and we had no choice but to do this so we can talk to you. Many things will go wrong if they refuse or if blood is spilled. This is their last warning.”
“ It’s late my wife. We have to go.” 
“ gogo don’t let them take mbuso away from me. It’s not fair.
“ Oh mzukulu wami!.”
“ Gogo zikalala please!.”
“ I’m gogo Nobelungu. Tell them it’s me.” I nod wiping my tears.
She takes her doek from her head and wraps it around me.
“ Whenever you need comfort wear this and you will feel me close to you. Kuzolunga sisi.” 
She gives me a warm, tight and loving grandmother hug and I breath her in and hug her tight. I cry on her shoulder not wanting to let go but she pulls away from me until I don’t feel her at all.
I’m trying to wake up but I can’t cause my eyes won’t open but I can feel my cheeks wet. The dream I just had and my heart aches. I have no idea what she meant in some of the things  it I will tell my father in law all of that.
“ luh?!. Luh?!.” That’s scelo. Why does he sound scared?.
“ Give her something dammit!. She’s fucking crying in her sleep!.” Bonga says. I am?. I try to. I try to open my mouth and tell them that  not but still I can’t move. What the hell is wrong with me?!.
“ She’s having a nightmare.. Let her be. She will be fine.”
The doctor says and somehow that calms me down and I fall into a deep sleep after that.
Mbuso wake up please. I need you!.