Chapter 16.
It’s A Bit Late In The Evening As Mabutho Is Gulping Down His Whisky In One Round, Whilst Looking At His Brothers, As They All Stand On The Rooftop, And One Can See That Zimele Is Beyond Frustrated And As For His Brothers, Well That Is Another Story On It’s Own.
Meanwhile Hector On The Other Hand, Goes Out Of The Spare Room And Places Both Of The Bags, In Front Of His Siblings And Tells Them That.
Hector : You Can See That The Environment Here... Is Not A Healthy One And I Don’t Want You Guys To Catch Whatever Is Happening... So You Will Be Traveling Back To Limpopo... Where You Will Be Staying With Grandma And Uncle... You Know Fully Well That Their Dad’s Family... They Won’t Throw You Guys Away.
Kedibone : But Can’t We Stay Here... Let’s Just Stay Here... You Know How Grandma Can Be..
Hector : This Is No Place For You Guys... Take Your Bags... Malume Will Be Here To Fetch You Guys And Drop You Off At The Bus Station... It’s Non-negotiable And Don’t Worry When You Come Back In Less Than Three To Four Weeks From Now... I Will Already Have A Proper Job To Put You Guys In Proper Schools (He Then Turns To Morena) Take Care Of Your Sister (He Slowly Nods In Agreement) And You... (He Turns To Kedibone) Take Care Of Yourself And Your Brother... You All That I Have Left In This World.
He Then Goes With Them Outside And Gives The Bus Tickets To Malume And As They Drive Off, He Turns To Go Back In The Building But Then Raises His Head, And Sees All Of Zimele’s Brothers Except Him, Having Their Eyes Fully Opened And Glued To Him.
He Then Makes His Way Back In And Finds Zimele, Sitting On The Kitchen Counter With A Glass Of Whisky, He Makes His Way To The Room And That’s When Zimele Calls Him And Tells Him That.
Zimele : Ma... (He Stops At The Entrance) It’s Been Over A Day And A Half Now... Can We At Least Talk... I Seriously Hate This Silent Treatment Coming From You...?
Hector : Zimele... I Have A Lot Of Things On My Mind... Can I Please Be Left Alone..
Zimele : Well That’s Where You Are Wrong... I Can’t Leave You Alone... Not When Things Are Going South... You Can’t Be Building A Wall... Every Single Time They Is A Problem... (He Slowly Brings Out That Deep Voice, That He Used When He First Approached Him On The Taxi) We Are Two In This Relationship.
(Hector Let’s Out A Heavy Sigh As He Slowly Moves Towards Him, Making Zimele To Go Down From The Kitchen Counter And Then Putting Him There By Carrying Him Like A Toddler, He Then Moves To The Cupboard And Brings Out The Meal Of Serious Discussion, Yes He Comes Back With A Bowl Full Of Pap (Stiff Porridge), Already Smashed And Mixed With Milk, With Only One Spoon As Usual And Moves Towards Hector, He Opens His Legs Much To Hector’s Surprised Look And Places The Food In The Middle And Motions For Hector To Open His Mouth, Of Which He Does Without Hesitation) You See, Ma... I Was Just A Heart Broken Man Waiting For Someone To Mend My Heart, When... That Young Lady Called Harriet Broke My Heart... I Truly Loved And Appreciated Her In All Ways... And That Was Because I Knew Her, Since I Was Kid... My Father Had Already Told Me That I Was Going To Marry Her.
Hector : (He Can Sense The Pain And Trauma Behind The Man That He Has Grown To Love And Know For Only A Month And Probably A Half) If I May Ask... What Did She Do...
Zimele : She Aborted Our Child.. (Hector’s Eyes Open Wide In Shock) She Said That She Wasn’t Ready To Be A Mother Or A Wife... Hence The Creation Of The Spare Room.
Hector : So You Mean That The Spare Room Was Not For Nathi And Prince But Your Child.
Zimele : Yes... Initially It Was Created For My Child... But She Took That Away And Left For Overseas Particularly London... The Room Then Became Nathi And Prince’s Room, When They Came Over.
Hector : So She Stayed In This Place (Zimele Sadly Nods As He Feeds Him And Himself) Now I Can See The Taste That She Had.. She Loves White But Doesn’t Look Anything Like The Colour...And What’s Worse The House Looked Too... Vague... Like The Colours Painted On The Wall Was Done By A Kid... Playing Paint With Two Colours.
Zimele : (He Smiles And One Can See That Hector Has Brought Him Back From The Land Of Unhappiness) I Am Happy That You Were Able To Change Everything To Suit Your Taste, After All It’s Your House (Hector Smiles) But Can I Ask Something...
Hector : I Hope It Has Nothing To Do With My Virginity...
Zimele : (He Smiles, With His Eyes Closing Since Their Too Tiny) No... It Has Nothing To Do With Your Virginity Of Which I Would Gladly Like To Break But It Has Everything To Do, With Why You Loved Me... Why Are You Attracted To Me?
Hector : (He Let’s Out A Heavy Sigh, Whilst Looking At Zimele, Who Is Staring Back At Him With Some Adorable Puppy Eyes, Yes In Those Small Eyes) I Guess It’s Because I'm Attracted To Danger And Danger Is Attracted To Me... No Matter Where I Go And Who I Meet... Danger Is Always After Me... Or With Me... I Mean I Found A Lot Of “Unexplained” Money In That Black Bag Within Your Wardrobe... Your Father Was Or Is A Criminal Mastermind And Also You Are A Zulu Taxi Driver... So Yes You Are The Danger That I Love And I’m Attracted To.. So Does That Answer Your Questions...
Zimele : It Answers Half But I Feel Like I Need More Than Just Answers (Hector Looks At Him In Confusion) I Need This...
From That Moment, The Kiss Given To Hector By Zimele, Soon Develops Into Something Else... Something Like A Burning Desire That Both Of Them Had Tried To Hide From One Another.
He Slowly Scopes Hector, Like Some Award Or Trophy And Quickly Takes Him To The Bedroom And Closes The Door Behind Them.
In The Morning, Ziyanda Is In The Living Room And She Is Drinking A Lot Of Alcohol, Almost Seven Bottles That Are Failing To Put Her In The Drunk State That She Is Solemnly Looking For.
The Issue Here Is That Over The Past Few Days, She’s Been Fighting With Nkosi, Which Hardly Ever Happens As She Always Gets Her Way But This Time, It’s As If Nkosi Doesn’t Want To Associate Himself With Her Anymore And Too Top It All Of, The Mysterious Lunch Boxes That Have Seemed To Be Pilling Up, Maybe He Has Found Someone But It Can’t Be, Because The Love Portion Can’t Be Removed By Anyone Else Except Her, I Mean She Gave Her Womb For It And What’s Worse If Killed For Him.
She Is Left With No Choice But To Remain Seated And Scratch Her Black Weave For Answers, She Then Gets A Knock On The Door And Goes To Open It, Only For Her To Find Bab’Dlamini With Mukuna Behind Him, And This Immediately Makes Her To Start Breathing Very Fast Yet Silently.
Bab’Dlamini : (He Smiles) Good Day.... Gas Killer (She Immediately Looks Down In Shame Mixed With A Lot Of Fear) Don’t Look Down... You Are Much More Stronger Than That... After All You Have Proved To Be The Killer Of Men... So Bring Your Head Up And Tell The Truth, And Nothing But The Truth.
Immediately, It’s Like Her World Comes Crumbling Down In Front Of Her, Meanwhile MmeMoichela Is Cooking Food, Which Hardly Ever Happened As She Always Used To Wake Up To Good And Nutritious Food That Was Usually Prepared By Hector And The Ever Daring, Kedibone Or Her Ruthless Daughter, Phuti Moichela.
She Prepares The Meal And Eats It Alone, When Suddenly She Remembers That She Didn’t Even Get To Say Her Own Goodbyes To Thato Or Even Speak To Him, She Cries Deeply As She Stops Eating And Slowly Moves To The Room And That’s When She Meets With The Picture Of Her Family On The Shelf, Near The Bible.
You See, It’s Usually Said That A Mother Or A Father Has The Power To Build And Destroy His Or Her Own Home, But In This Case With MmeMoichela It Wasn’t The Fact That She Wanted To Destroy Her Home, The Fact Was That She Wanted To Escape From The Brutality She Had Found Herself In As A Child.
Just Imagine Getting Pregnant For Your Own Brother, Then Getting Married Off To A Man That Already Has A Child And To Top It All Of, He Doesn’t Show You The Greatest Affection Or Even Touch You On Most Occasions Or Listen To Any Of Your Advices That Could Be Of Great Assistance To Him.
By Just Holding The Picture Of Jerry And The Kids, Memories And I Mean Powerful Memories Begin To Flood Her Small Head And That’s When She Decides That She Can’t Hold It Anymore And Quickly Takes A Black Veil On The Bed And Her Handbag, Making Her Way Out Of The House.
Hector Is Busy In The Kitchen Whilst Wearing A High Collar Neck And He Is Humming To A Song That Is Playing On The Radio, He Quickly Turns To The Sink To Wash Some Kitchen Utensils And That’s When He Feels Strong Yet Gentle Hands Around His Waist, Then A Voice That Quickly Sends Good Shivers Down His Neck.
Zimele : Your Humming Just Turned Me On... And Now I Can’t Wait To (He Slowly Pushes His Hands Forward To Untie Hector’s Pant But Hector Quickly Escapes Him) But Ma... I Want The Chocolate Now.... I Am Hungry...
Hector : You Were Eating And Enjoying Yourself For Over 12 Hours With My Chocolate Box... And Besides I Don’t Want Your Sweat All Over Me... It Was Hard To Wash Off.
Zimele : But You Are Mine... So I Need To Mark My Territory...
Hector : By Creating Love Bites... All Over My Nipples And Neck... Forcing Me To Wear A High Collar Neck...
Zimele : Yes... Now Come Here..
Hector Quickly Runs Out Of The Kitchen And Straight To The Bedroom, Closing The Door Behind Him, Zimele Tries To Open The Door But It’s Locked, Making Him To Let Out A Cry And Say That.
Zimele : Now Why Are You Being Stingy... You Will Make Me Die Of Starvation.... And It Won’t Be Good... Because I Will Break This Door...
Hector : (Hector Is Just Laughing In The Room) I Love You Neh But I Won’t Kill Myself For You... I Still Have Kids To Raise Remember...
Zimele : I Know But I Am Also Your Kid, What’s Worse I’m The First Born... So Raise Me Well By Opening The Door...
As Hector Dies With Laughter In The Room, The Entrance Door Slowly Opens And That’s When We Find The Ever Dashing And Pretty Face, Khanyile Who Sashays In The Apartment, Dressed In Some Simple Yet Expensive Clothes And As She Admires The New State Of The House, Zimele Slowly Moves Towards Her And Asks Her That.
Zimele : What Are You Doing Here And How Did You Get The Keys For This Apartment?
Harriet : (She Immediately Falls Into A Laughter, Telling Him That) Oh Please... Don’t Make Me Laugh... This Is My Husband’s House And I Think That I Have Every Right To Be Here... It’s Within My Rights, After All.
Zimele : I Am Not Your Husband... Please Get That Into Your Thick Skull 💀, Wena Skeleton... Our Relationship Ended The Time When You Decided To Play God And Kill Our Child....
Harriet : Seriously You Can’t Be Grumpy Over A Dead Foetus... Something That Had Not Even Developed Zimele (She Slowly Raises Her Hand And Tries To Cup Zimele’s Cheek, But Unfortunately Her Hand Is Quickly Removed By Hector, Amazing Zimele) How Dare You Touch Me... You This Poverty-Stricken Person...
Hector : I May Be Poor And Also Stricken But At Least I Am Not Desperate... Get Out Of My House And Crawl Back In To The Hole, Where You Came From...
Harriet : (She Slowly Moves Towards Hector, Whilst Flaunting With Her Bead And Looks At Him, From Head To Toe, And Quickly Tells Him That) I Am Not Your Age Mate Or Age Group... But I Will Tell You Something... You See This Family... The Dlaminis’... They Have Picked Me As The Bride... (Hector Quickly Looks At Zimele, Who Is Surprised Of The New Developments)... Someone That Will Bring Joy And Happiness In This Family Including CHILDREN...
Hector : (He Let’s Out A Sharp Sigh) Wickedness Is Nothing But A Small Drama Needed In Every Person But I Should Tell You This... You Were Picked By The Dlaminis’ (Looking At The Bead In Her Hand) But I Was Picked By The Man Himself.... Zimele Dlamini.... You Talk About Children Right... I Am Not In The Business Of Having Millions Of Children, Because I Am Not Adam... God Didn’t Tell Me To Multiple.. The World Is Already Full Of Excuses Like You.
Harriet : (Looking All Confused) What Do You Mean Picked By Him?
Hector : (He Raises His Finger And Shows Harriet, The Engagement Ring 💍, And The Colourful Bead And Immediately Her Eyes Open Wide, Knowing Fully Well That This Is The Chosen One That She’s Talking Too) He Proposed And I Said Yes... So You Are Looking At Mr Dlamini Masilo.
Harriet Then Looks At Zimele, Who Is Only Smiling But This Time, With An Intention To Annoy And Kill Off The Exceeding Joy, That Ms Khanyile Was Displaying When She Came Strolling In, Like Some Runway Model.
Flashback To The Few Early Hours, When Zimele Was Driving With Hector To An Undisclosed Location In A Quantum That Was Somehow Familiar, Whilst Dressed In A Warmer Outfit.
A Question Seems To Be Paining Hector’s Mind, He Feels Like He Wants Or It’s Time For Him To Know Where The Love Of His Life Originated From, Without Any Control Over His Mouth, He Quickly Asks Him That.
Hector : Where Do You Come From... Like Where Are You Originated From?
Zimele : (He Let’s Out A Heavy Sigh, Possibly Trying To Relive Certain Memories) I Am From A Very Small Town Based Somewhere In KwaZulu-Natal And It’s Almost Non-existence, I Highly Doubt That It’s Exists In The Map..
Hector : What’s The Name Of The Place?
Zimele : It’s Called Ameva...
Hector : I Have Never Heard Of That Place Before...
Zimele : Yes... I Know And The Last I Saw That Place Was When I Was Seven Years Old... It’s All Now But Painful Memories That I Don’t Wish To Relive... So Let’s Not Ruin What I Have Planned Ahead...
Hector : (He Let’s Out A Sigh, As He Looks At Him With An Examining Eye Before Saying That) So Where Are We Going That You Had To Make Me Wear Your Striped Jersey, That Looks Awfully Familiar.
Zimele : (He Chuckles) In English... People Usually Say That They Is A Starting Point For Every Season And Every Time...
Hector : What Starting Point Now... Do You Know That It’s 4:00am In The Morning And I Never Even Prepared Your Brothers Lunch Boxes... And Nathi And Prince Might Be Coming And....
Zimele : (He Quickly Cuts In Hector’s Sentence With A Smile And Tells Him That) And... They Is No Need For That... They Can Survive Without You, After All I Am Not The One That Said They Should Not Get Married.
Hector : (His Eyes Wander Around The Taxi, Until He Somehow Plays With His Legs And That’s When He Brings Out A Black Plastic Bag, Forgetting His Last Encounter With Something “Black”, He Quickly Opens It, Only For Him To Find A Gun) Zimele... What Is A Gun Doing Here...
Zimele : (He Looks At The Gun In Hector’s Hand And Quickly Takes It Away, Telling Him That) The Gun Is Mine... I Use It For Protection... In This Business, Everyday Or Every Time I Leave The House At 3:00am, I Place Myself At A Risk... Risk Of Getting Robbed Or Even Worse... Getting Killed..
Hector : (He Let’s Out A Heavy Sigh) Fine... I Can’t Judge You, I Think That I Should Have Learnt My Lesson When I Found The Black Bag And... I Should Stay Away From Any Thing Wrapped In Black...
Zimele : Except My Big Man Down There (He Points To His Pants) You Are Not Staying Away From Him... Not At All.
Hector : Seriously... That’s What You Are Thinking About Now... You Are Weird.. (He Says With A Smile).
Zimele : But I Am Your Weirdo... (He Takes Hector’s Hand, Kissing It).
They Finally Arrive At A Familiar Location, A Location That Seems To Ring A Huge Bell In His Head And That’s When It’s Knocks Him In The Head That Their Around His Former Workplace, Just Right Outside The Pharmacy, Where Hector Was Handpicked Like Some Prize, Hereby Destroying Kgomotso’s (The One With A Wig From Mabarastad) Plans.
Hector : (He Comes Out Of The Car, And Slowly Walks Forward In This Empty Street) So You Made Me Wear Your Jersey For (He Quickly Turns Around To Find Zimele, On One Knee)... This... Zimele What Is This?
Zimele : The Quantum (Hector Remembers The Day, Him And His Workmates Where Stranded) The Striped Jersey (Where Zimele Came Out Of The Taxi, After Dropping Him Off At His Flat) All Of Those Are The Starting Point Of My Love For You... I Wanted To Fall In Love Again, I Wanted To Close My Eyes And Hope For The Best Again, I Wanted A New Hand On My Skin, I Wanted New Eyes Around Me, A New Kiss 😘 To Get Used To, The Cycle Of Being Hurt By The Same Hand And The Same Words From The Same Lips Wouldn’t Allow Me To Grow And Say That “Nali Phakade Lami”.
I Have Only Known You For A Month And A Half Ma... But It Feels Like I Have Known You For A Very Long Time... I Am Only A Young Man That Is Willing To Make A Worthy Man Out Of You... So Will You Allow Me To Send My People To Your Family... Do You Wish To Be My... My “Husband/Wife”?
Hector : (He Is Only Smiling Endlessly, With Tears Of Joy Streaming Down His Face, Talk About Being Over Emotional, Shame Hector Can Be Overbearing When It Comes To Tears) YES... I Allow You To Send Your People And I Do Wish To Be Your Husband/Wife (He Giggles).
Zimele Quickly Hugs Him And Immediately Gives Him A Passionate Kiss, After Which He Gives Thumbs Up To His Brothers, Who Were Hiding In A Corner, Not Far Away From Them.
Back To The Present, Bab’Dlamini Is Seated Right Across Ziyanda And He Let’s Out A Heavy Sigh, After Which He Looks At Mukuna, Who Hands Over A Plastic To Him Of Which He Takes And Begins To Bring Out Things From Inside.
Bab’Dlamini : (He Brings Out Two Eyeballs, Three Fingers And A Penis) Sometimes It’s Good To Tell The Truth... And Sometimes It Can Be Very Bad... If This Man Was Not Willing To Confess.. Pushing Me To Stab Him Endlessly... That Would Mean That You Are A Strong Lioness (He Chuckles But His Face Quickly Changes To An Angry One) A Lioness That Wants To Destroy Everything I Have Worked For.... I Want To Focus On Important Things.... Things That Will Be Of Great Beneficial To Me.... Do You Know That Because Of Your Selfishness... l Am About To Lose My Sons... My Children... (Ziyanda Looks Down In Shame Mixed With Fear As Bab’Dlamini Quickly Composes Himself) But They Is A Way For You To Repay For Your Sins Without Having To Lose Your Body Parts...
Ziyanda : (She Looks Up And Asks Him That) What Do You Mean By That...
Bab’Dlamini : (He Smiles) You Stay With My Son... You Sleep With My Son... You Eat With My Son And I Am Pretty Sure That You Are Willing To Do Anything To Keep Staying In This House For Free... To Sleep In His Bed For Free And Eat Free Food That You Never Work For..
Ziyanda : (Her Facial Expression Has Changed From The One Filled With Fear To One Filled With Anger) I Repeat Myself Again Like A Broken Congo Record.... What Do You Mean By That..
Bab’Dlamini : (He Looks At Her, As If He Is Seeking For Something Deep Within Her Eyes) If You Want To Get Married In This Family And Be Called.... A Dlamini.... Then You Will Tell Me That Which My Son And His Brothers Are Planning...
This Leaves Ziyanda Shocked As She Battles Her Conscious, Possibly Asking Herself If She Will Be Able To Leak Information That She Doesn’t Have As They Never Go On A Day Without Fighting Or Quarrelling, Since That He Went Out That Day And Came Back With A Lunch Box.
The Journey To See Someone That You Possibly Said That You Were Never Going To See Again, Is Nothing But Thorns And In This Case, It’s MmeMoichela Who Is Trying Her Best To Knock Gently On The Door That She Nearly Broke Down, Whilst Remembering The Words She Said And The Tears That She Shed At The Graveyard, Whilst Looking For Her Son’s Grave Plot At The Newly Buried Site.
The Moment She Saw The Place Where Her Son Was Buried Since It Had His Name Written As:
Thato Michael Masilo
29 April 1999 – 30 November 2007.
Rest In Peace..... Papi’s Boy
Along With His Photo, She Immediately Fell To The Spot And Began Crying, Saying That.
I Am Very Sorry For Everything... Mama Wasn’t Good To You At All... I Sincerely Apologies For Breaking Your HEART.... You Were My Last Born Child And As Such... I Was Supposed To Treat You Like Gold... I Always Wanted To See You Graduate... To See Your First Girlfriend... And See How I Will Be Jealous... Because My Baby Boy Will Be Leaving But... Look (Tears Streaming Down Like A River) Now Will I Ever See You Again... Thato... My Baby Boy.....
She Let’s Out A Heavy Sigh, As The Door Is Opened By Hector, Who Quickly Tells Her That.
Hector : With All Due Respect.... I Am In No Mood To Entertain Drama... Most Especially From You...
MmeMoichela : (She Carefully Steps Forward And With Tears, Streaming Down Her Face, Whilst Stammering) I... I Am Not Here To Fight... I Am Not Here To Cause Any Drama For You... I Am Here To Talk... I Want To Speak To My Son... I Want To Talk To You Hector.
Hector : (He Looks At Her, With A Broken Heart And Slowly Tells Her To Come In, Showing Her The Place To Sit, And As They Sit In The Living Room, In Stone Silence, Hector Clears His Throat And Tells Him That) Well I Am Listening.... You Are Free To Talk...
MmeMoichela : (She Let’s Out A Sigh) Where Is Kedibone And Morena.... I Want To Speak To Them...
Hector : I Sent Them To Limpopo... I Couldn’t Have Them Around As They Was So Much Going On And Besides They Were Beginning To Drift Towards Thato’s Memory, I Need Them Far Away From Here... For The Time Being.
MmeMoichela : (She Smiles With Fresh Tears, Streaming Down Her Face) You Were Always A Better Mother Than Me... (She Let’s Out A Sigh) I Tried To Build And Create A Family With Someone That I Never Loved... I Never Loved Your Father... I Only Tolerated Him Because I Wanted To Stay Away From My Problems... I Was Still Young... With A Dream Of Becoming A Nurse And Possibly Someday... A Doctor... But Fate Had Another Thing In Store For Me... I Found Myself Pregnant And The Man Responsible Was My Own Brother... (Hector’s Eyes Open Wide In Shock) My Father Was Highly Disappointed In Me As To Why I Don’t Know... But He Said Without A Bit Of Remorse That It Was Because I Loved Wearing Dresses That Revealed My Body... Which Could Have Possibly Led My Brother To Temptation... Your Father’s Family Then Came Along After I Had Given Birth To Phuti And She Was Now.. Five Or Six Years Old... I Could Not Refuse Because I Wanted To Get Away From All Of It... I Wanted To Recreate Myself And Give Myself A New Identity As Mrs Yvonne Moichela-Masilo But That Did Not Go As Planned Also... Your Father Was Always Distant, Like His Body Was With Me But His Soul And Mind Somewhere Else But Like They Say I Couldn’t Care... As That’s When I Started Sleeping Around... Because In My Mind I Told Myself That Maybe... He Didn’t Want To Touch Me Because Maybe He Knew That I Was Defiled By My Own Brother... I Committed An Incest...
Hector : (He Is Astound By The New Words That Have Escaped MmeMoichela’s Mouth, As He Slowly Moves Towards MmeMoichela And Slowly Makes Her Head, Lay On His Chest Whilst Wiping Off Her Tears) I Am Sorry Ma... I Didn’t Know Anything About This... I Am Sorry For The Way... You Were Treated By My Father... It’s Not Right... It’s Not Fair...
MmeMoichela : (She Slowly Comes Out Of Hector’s Embrace, And Looks At Him, Only To See Tears That She Quickly Wipes Off, Whilst Telling Him That) No Need To Cry Over Broken Glasses... We Can Only Buy New Ones.. (Hector Looks At Her, Confused Making Her To Smile Through The Pain) We Can’t Mend Broken Relationships But We Can Create New And Strong Ones... I Want To Build A New One With You And Kedibone Including Morena, And That’s If You Are Willing To Accept... Ma..
Hector : (He Slowly Smiles) I Am Willing To Accept It... And Start Over...
MmeMoichela : (She Immediately Smiles) That Would Be Great...
Her Sentence Gets Cut By Nathi And Prince, Who Come Out Of The Spare Room Shouting Their Mother’s Name, Making Hector To Smile And MmeMoichela Surprised.
They Move Towards Them In The Living Room And Immediately Sit Next To Him, Nathi Looks At Him And Asks Hector That.
Nathi : Ma... Why Is Gogo (Grandmother In Zulu) Crying... Did Anyone Hit You (Hector Immediately Looks At MmeMoichela With Shock, And Confusion) Nobody Is Allowed To Hit Or Hate The Woman That Raised Our Mother...
MmeMoichela : (She Smiles, Whilst Wiping Her Tears Off) Nobody Laid A Finger On Me... It’s Only Tears Of Joy...
Prince : (With A Few Words That Hardly Come Out Of His Mouth, Making One To Think That He Is Morena’s Twin) Well That’s Good (MmeMoichela Immediately Smiles) But Ma... We Are Going Towards The Evening And We Have Not Eaten... I Am Hungry... After All I Have Watched The Science Channel And I Am Tired.
Hector : (He Quickly Stands Up) Oh Sorry My Boys... Let Mummy Start With The Cooking Before Your Uncles And Father Come...
MmeMoichela : (She Also Stands Up) Can I Help With The Cooking....
Hector : (He Smiles And Slowly Nods) No Problem, You Can Join Me... But We Have To Be Quick.
She Slowly Moves To The Kitchen And Quickly Helps Hector To Prepare Supper, Meanwhile Bab’Dlamini Is Seated Alone In The Dinning Room, Having His Early Supper As He Remembers What He Was Told By Ziyanda, After Asking Her To Tell Him What His Sons Were Planning.
Ziyanda : I Don’t Know.... I Absolutely Don’t Know What You Are Son Or Sons Are Planning...
Bab’Dlamini : (He Looks At Mukuna, Who Slowly Shakes His Head, Sideways As If He Is Not In Agreement) I Can See You Are Lying To Protect Your Boyfriend... Who Happens To Be My Son...
Ziyanda : I Am Not Lying... We Have Been Having Problems And They Began The Moment, The Very Moment He Became Close With His Brothers... He Comes Home Late And He Doesn’t Come Alone And By Alone... I Mean A Lunch Box Always Accompanies Him.
Bab’Dlamini : So You Think That Nkosi Is Cheating On You...
Ziyanda : He Can Never Cheat On Me (Obviously Lying, Not Wanting To Admit That Nkosi Has A Numerous Girlfriends) But Something Has Happened... He Never Goes A Day Without Calling Zimele To Speak To Someone Called Ma...
Bab’Dlamini : You Say Ma....?
Ziyanda : Yeah... That’s What He Calls The Person That They Talk To And They Can Speak For Hours... So If You Want Information... I Suggest You Find Ma... Maybe They Have The Answer That You Need.
Bab’Dlamini Comes Out Of His Thoughts As He Knows That He Used To Call Jerry “Ma” And That’s When He Sees His Sons Coming In Slowly With Mabutho Leading The Row And Taking Their Seat Around The Dining Table, He Looks At Them And Some Of Them Have The Most Disgusted Look Ever, Most Especially Nkosi And Nganono, They Don’t Even Want To Look His Way.
He Let’s Out A Heavy Sigh And Asks Them That.
Bab’Dlamini : So To What Do I Owe This Pleasure... Of Finally Having My Sons Around Me?
Mabutho : (He Looks At Zimele And He Slowly Nods) We Have Come Here To Hand Over The Document Pertaining To The Ownership Of The Dlamini Taxis... (He Looks At Zimele, Who Hands Over A Huge Envelope To Him, Of Which He Slowly Passes To His Father And As He Takes It, He Tells Him That) You Can Open It.
Bab’Dlamini : (He Opens The Envelope And Immediately A Smile Breaks On His Face) Thank You My Boys... Thank You So Much... I Couldn’t Be More Proud... Now Everything Will Come Into A Good Order Now... The Dlamini Empire Is About To Grow Into A Multimillion Rand Business And I Am All For It.
Zimele : (He Looks At His Father’s Face With So Much Hatred And Disgust, That He Wishes He Can Wipe Off The Smile Off His Father With A Slap) But It Comes At One Tiny... Condition?
Bab’Dlamini : (With A Smile) What’s The Condition... Tell Me Anything...
Nkosi : (He Looks At Zimele, Who Nods) The Ownership Should Remain In The Original Name... It Should Remain Within The Masilo Family....
Bab’Dlamini : (He Immediately Looks Confused) Wh.... What Do You Mean By That...
Nganono : We Mean That The Business Will Operate With Us... But Originally It Will Stay In Hector’s Name... After All It’s Clearly Written That His Father Left The Business In His Hands...
Bab’Dlamini : (He Immediately Throws The Paper On The Table And In Anger, He Tells Them That) That’s Preposterous... Are You Guys This Blind... We Finally Have Our Wealth At Our Finger Tips But You Want To Ruin That By Behaving Like Idiots Who Are In Support Of That Unwanted Cockroach...
Zimele : (Immediately Zimele Stands Up In Anger, Hitting The Table With His Fist) Enough!!! That Will Be Your First And Last Time, You Insult My Fiancé...
Bab’Dlamini : (With A Deep Voice And His Eyes Looking At Deep Into Zimele’s Own) What Do You Mean Fiancé...
Zimele : I Mean That We Are Getting Married And You Are Not Invited... I Will Reach Out To Mom’s Family, And That’s If I Can Find Them (Mabutho Let’s Out A Sigh, As He Plays With His Fingers) They Will Help Me In Getting Married Traditional And Lawfully... Bring This Thing Here (He Quickly Snatches The Document From The Table) We Have The Document... It’s Either You Accept Our Decision Or Votsek (Piss Off)...
Bab’Dlamini : (As He Tries To Walk Off, Bab’Dlamini Let’s Out A Chuckle And Tells Him That) I Accept Your Decision To Keep The Name Of The Taxi Business With The Original Founder Or His Offspring But Now... What Is Going To Happen With Harriet Khanyile...
Zimele : (He Turns Around To Find His Father, Smiling) I Don’t Think That I Understand What You Are Saying?
Bab’Dlamini : (Immediately All Of His Brothers, All Look At Him With Confusion And Some With Anger) We As The Dlaminis’ Have Been Able To Pay Her Lobola (Dowry) And Damages
Zimele : What Damages Are You Talking About To...
Bab’Dlamini : You Broke Her Virginity And Took Away Her Pride... And According To Culture... We Had To Pay Damages For Her, After Which I Accepted Her As The Dlamini Wife... She Will Bring Happiness And Joy To This Home... I Am Pretty Sure That She Has Told You About It...
Zimele : No Way... How Dare You...
Bab’Dlamini : I Dare Because I Am Your Father And The Head Of The Dlamini Family... As Long As You Use My Surname In Your Everyday Life... I Will Always Be A Part Of You As You Are Of Me.
Nganono : So You Mean That... Zimele Will Have To Take Harriet Khanyile As His First Wife...
Bab’Dlamini : Exactly... And He Will Take Hector As The Second Class Citizen... Or Maybe Chunk Him Out Through The Door, Like Some Used Chocolate, And Embrace The Velvet Cake.
All Of His Sons Look At Him With So Much Anger And Pain, That They All Immediately Leave The House Without Looking Back, Leaving Bab’Dlamini On The Table With His Food That He Seems To Be Enjoying, After Which He Says That.
Bab’Dlamini : I Am Not Going To Lose... Masilo You Won’t Be My Downfall... Not Again... Not From Beyond The Grave...
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2022