THE ROYAL MATRIMONY
CHAPTER 40
UNEDITED
[LARONA]
It’s safe to say we’re all traumatized in this house. As if that’s not enough, we’re sitting in a candlelit room because something is apparently wrong with the powerlines.
Her feet are being massaged by a visibly absent-minded Mokgadi under a fleece and her head is lying on my thighs, and I can tell that Kuli will never be the same person again. At some point, she was catatonic; zombie-like. Now she’s back to trembling, like someone who’s been out in the cold for too long. When Kurhula knocked and asked her to come out, she declined, wanting to continue lying here, like this.
I’ve been awake for way longer than my body usually permits me to and I know I am going to pay for it with insomniac currency tomorrow. By the time I want my brain to shut down, it will be vengeful.
The police are back here. That’s what Kurhula and Fikani are currently dealing with. I am dreading the flood that’s going to swamp all of social media because of this, if it hasn’t already.
What those people did to Uncle Sol ran my blood cold. The aggression, the ferocity…
It was as if they’ve been hungry for blood; desperate to rip someone apart. I’ve only ever heard about mob justice in case studies but I never thought I’d see it unfold right before my eyes. No one can convince me that vigilantes are made. Just like kings, they’re also born. And to think they originally had Kuli in mind? I don’t even want to imagine the possibilities if things went south.
Kurhula insisted we go inside the yard while this ghastly act was ongoing. I’m sitting here running my fingers through Kuli’s hair, processing many negatives at once.
‘We’re having two funerals…’
‘Hm?’ Mokgadi intones with a yawn. Did I say that out loud? Unlike a few moments ago, I’m suddenly aware of the atmosphere that surrounds me, of the blend of our scents weakly intermingling in the air. Yesses, it’s been a long day. I’m only realizing now that Kuli has fallen asleep. Mokgadi expels a heavy sigh.
‘I have been tasked with something I feel is bigger than me…’
I don’t interrupt.
‘Although the timing is wrong, I have to let it out. Something happened in the past and…’
I don’t have the storage space for more bad news. My memory is full. I even lost my nose ring some unknown time during all the chaos. If I wasn’t a naturally curious person, I would simply tell her to stow whatever bygones she has in her chest till order is restored in this house.
‘I’m listening’
‘There’s ancient news we need to break to our husbands. Mhani says she can’t do it and that we mustn’t force her to’
The area that’s accommodating Kuli’s head is beginning to feel uncomfortable but I do not want to interrupt her sleep.
‘So… you know why Kurhula and Fikani had to be separated at birth, right?’
I nod.
‘Well, they were not the first pair to appear in this family’
‘Papa Edward had a twin that was also sent away immediately post birth. His name was Edwin’
‘Come again?’
This is brand new to me. Judging by Mokgadi’s stiff and dolorous demeanour, I have a feeling I am not going to like how this chronicle will end.
‘One time, Edward went along with his uncles to go fetch a bride for his brother. He insisted on staying over there even after the negotiations were done but he’d find ways to communicate with the queen mother through letters’
Some parts of her speech are clipped and almost muted.
‘When Edwin came back into the picture, they could not afford for the rest of the council to find out about him. Instead of fighting for the throne, Edward ceded it to his brother and asked his wives to come to him, to go start over in Drakensburg, where they met for the first time’
‘He gave up on the throne just like that? But… they’re still here?’
She looks at me and nods.
‘Mhani Singi was prepared to follow the man but the queen mother convinced her otherwise. After that, his twin took over everything including his identity’
‘Wait a minute. Do you think he…?’
Thumb across the throat, I demonstrate the thought that’s choking me. How do you just become an impostor so successfully?
‘No one knows what happened to the real Edward but—’ she’s now whispering. Mokgadi is stoking the ache in my head. I am too sleep-deprived and dehydrated for this.
‘Okay make me understand this. Who is Kurhula and Fikani’s father?’
‘Him, Edwin. I was also confused because a conversation with Mhani Xongi is always a rollercoaster’
I wouldn’t know. She’s my mother-in-law but I’ve never had even a casual talk with her.
‘Edward was left-handed like Kurhula while Fikani is right-handed, like Edwin’
That look in her eyes… where is she going with this? She gives me a slim smile, as if spurring me to put pieces together.
‘Edward was an extrovert, like Kurhula’
‘And Edwin was reserved, like Fikani?’
She gives me three slow nods. Now it makes sense why Mhani Xongi cannot stand Fikani.
‘Yup. Although they’ve never met, there’s a lot they apparently share, in a very bizarre manner. You know how he likes saying he won’t repeat himself?’
That’s his signature threat, how he always calls people in line. It sits on the tip of his tongue and at any slight trigger, it springs out.
‘His dad was the same?’
‘If I’m forced to repeat myself like the fool I’m not, someone is going to die. That’s apparently what he’d always say in the similar instances’
‘Yoh…’
‘And the snip off his brow? That scar? He had that too’
This has disturbed something in Mokgadi. If all this is true, then history has a flippantly audacious way of repeating itself. I carefully remove myself from under Kuli’s head and Kgadi hands me a pillow for her. Her body is in the wrong direction because we do not sleep in the same direction as the dead, but what other choice do I have here? Hopefully the elderly women don’t walk into this room. Superstitions are taken very seriously in this house.
I need a cold bottle of water. When I emerge into the living room, I rush past their meeting in an attempt to go unnoticed. The cops have left. It’s only him, his brothers and uncles.
Instead of opening it, I put my hands against the fridge so I can breathe. If AK was in here, he’d ask me why I am praying over it. Chairs shortly scrape against the floor. They must be done.
I feel a familiar set of arms bringing mine down and enveloping me.
‘Please give me some space’
He’s the last person I want to speak to right to right now. My eyes are still closed. My cheeks are getting wet but my eyes are still closed. Moments later, he turns me around and gives me a squeezing hug.
‘My phone died’
I scoff. What am I? A third grader? And this is not the time to be talking about this.
‘I was worried about you. Your car can’t charge anymore?’ I try to get him to release me but he’s stronger than me and using it to his advantage.
‘I don’t mean the battery. The phone won’t switch on. I’ll take it to the store to find out what the issue is but I swear, I did not stand you up on purpose’
‘Your phone is new, Kurhula? If you’re going to lie, at least respect my intelligence enough and make it believable’
‘If I had it on me I would show you’
The thing about men is they’re capable of looking sincere and blameless while telling the biggest lies that nobody asked for. Let me ask him this.
‘Where were you, even?’
‘I… Kuli called and—’
I yank myself out of his hold.
‘The least you could’ve done was notify me that something more important came up and not waste my time. Even a text would’ve sufficed!’
‘At least give me a chance to finish? Baby?!’
I continue to walk away to go find my baby. I know he’s asleep but I need him in my arms. These are my last days of having free time with him. The thought of being away from him while at the office is unpleasant but I cannot say I am not happy to go back to work. I have tried it and seen that the domestic life is not for me. This maternity leave needs to end as in yesterday.
…
[MOKGADI]
Just when I had managed to hook some sleep, a call from Ty interrupts all of that. I am happy to see him calling but I’m mourning my rest at the same time. It’s a fifteen past five for heaven’s sake.
‘Abuti?’
‘Hi muffin. I can’t talk for long but can we meet for breakfast? It’s about your mother. I want to leave this place before midday’
‘Are you okay?’
‘You know me. So, will you be able to?’
He sounds so serious, he’s scaring me. Ty is at the type to make jokes at a funeral. He seldomly sounds so solemn.
‘There’s a lot going on here but I think I can be able to sneak out. How’s nine?’
‘Sounds good. Sorry to wake you’
He’s even apologizing? The same person who used to barge into my room for nothing else other than disturbing my peace? Something is wrong. He cuts the call before I can ask any further questions and I try to call him back. He’s now unavailable.
There’s no sign that Mlambya has been in this room while I slept. Maybe he has answers. I call him as well and his phone rings to voicemail.
About mom? Did something happen to her? I dial her number and she answers, doped by sleep.
‘Do you have any idea what time it is? Be a normal person and call me during working hours’
What working hours? She’s rude but a part of me is relieved to hear her voice. I don’t even know what I was thinking but I’m happy she’s alive.
After getting dressed enough to look decent, I go search for him all over the house and I don’t find him. When I look out the window, I find his car where it’s been parked since the last time I saw it.
I find Mhani Xongi in the living room, having tea in her pyjamas. Did she even get any sleep?
‘Good morning mhani’
She briefly lifts her face towards me and offers me a weak smile.
‘Are you okay? Have you seen my husband anywhere?’
‘Lydia is on her way here, so no. Of course I’m not okay’
I have no response to that.
‘He took the keys’ – she points with her head towards the wall of fame by the door and shows me where they’re supposed to be– ‘Maybe you’ll find him there’.
The family graveyard? That is the last place I would have thought of.
‘Okay, thank you’
I walk out and rush there. I’m going to use the back gate to avoid being followed by his bothersome guards. He told them once to follow me everywhere and they’ve never stopped.
It’s a bit of a walk but something about being outside as the sun rises feels revitalizing.
The last time I was in this place was during one of my introductory rites and I’ve never stepped foot here again.
He’s over there, sleeping on top of her tombstone. Should I let him be? Now that I’m here, I have no idea what to do. I never thought I’d find him in this state. And of course, he’s been drinking. The bottle is empty and forlorn without its lid on the grass. I’m glad I’m not the one who has to do his laundry because I’d have lost it seeing him on a dusty marble with a white shirt.
Let me go back to the house. I doubt any conversation with him would be fruitful.
‘Kgadi?’ he calls just as I’m about to reach for the gate. Hearing a voice in a burial site when you weren’t expecting any is a bit spooky. I forgot that even the drop of a pin can wake him up. He’d probably still be sleeping had I took off my sandals and tiptoed my way out of here.
I look back and he stands then approaches me in his socks, leaving his shoes behind. He’s been crying. The evidence is carried in his eyes.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I should be asking you that. Are you okay?’
He stares at me and says nothing. I am bad at consoling people. My first thought is to wrap my arms around him and lets me, but doesn’t hug me back. We stand in absolute silence.
‘What poison was Xongi feeding you under that tree this time?’
I’ve been planning to tell him but not for him to catch me off guard like this. This is something I need to disclose while we’re seated. I choke on my words because I have no idea where to start.
‘You want me to ask again? If you’re not careful, my mother is going to teach you witchcraft I’m telling you’
I bring my hands back into the pockets of my dress.
‘There’s something you need to know. A family secret that has been under wraps for a very long time’
He snorts.
‘Am I not supposed to be the one letting you in on the nooks and crevices of this family?’
‘Your father was also a twin’
He frowns. ‘He was?’
I nod. I reproduce everything I said to Larona to him except the parts about his mother despising his guts. That won’t end well. His eyes are trained on me but I doubt he can see me. There’s a thoughtful and confused look on his face.
‘He’s alive’ he says, conclusively.
‘What?’
‘I don’t think he’s dead. Edward is alive otherwise we’d know if he wasn’t buried properly. This is the same reason why I wanted Fanisa’s body to be found. Didn’t want her creeping up on my kids later in life. Edward is alive and someone in this family knows where he is. You’ll say I did not tell you’
He sounds so sure. I don’t agree.
‘So dad’s real name is Edwin?’
‘Yup. And he was just as murderous as you are’
The look he gives me would’ve had me shaking in my boots months ago. Anyway, I wasn’t supposed to verbalize that. It was supposed to stay in my head.
‘On some days I tend to think you were sent by the devil’ he retorts and goes to fetch his shoes. I stifle laughter and compose myself. At least he no longer looks and sounds despondent and defeated.
I watch as he locks up.
‘Your turn’ I say and break the silence as we walk, still trying to cheer him up.
‘My turn to do what?’
‘To let me in on the nooks and crevices I know nothing about. I love secrets and they seem to love me too’
He laughs.
‘Are you sure you want to know?’ he stops walking.
‘As sure as I am about my date of birth’
‘Come closer then’
The serious look he’s wearing is proof that he doesn’t understand that I was joking. He better not tell me something that’s going to ruin my day even further. He puts his broad hand under my chin as our foreheads meet.
‘Would you faint if I truthfully told you that I love you?’
My heart almost forgets to beat. I don’t know what I was expecting but it’s definitely not this.
‘What?’
