NURSE THEMBENI
CHAPTER 18
MENZI
My stomach hasn’t settled since last night. Every time I close my eyes, I see her body on the road, then Mehlo’s face. My parents don’t care, they are not even bothered. What is currently stressing them is whether the lobola negotiations are going well. The uncles went to the Majolas for lobola negotiations this morning. My father and I decided on it last night, that we should move fast, and seal what needs to be sealed, leaving no room for anyone else.
We were supposed to hear good news by now. Instead we got chaos, first a call saying Thembeni ran away, then another saying she’s been found and talks are back on. Baba was cursing at first, then he laughed it off when good news came. I couldn’t laugh, nothing feels funny anymore.
We’re all sitting in the lounge, waiting for more news from the delegates. I doubt Thembeni likes me that much, that she would want to marry me. I promised her that we would get to know each other and I broke that promise, I hope she will understand.
The guard at the door announces that the other guards have arrived before he lets them in. Two of them walk in and slightly bow to me, before nodding at my parents.
“Well?” Baba says.
The taller one speaks. “Our sources say when Mehlokazulu got home last night, he was throwing up outside the gate, and collapsed on the driveway. Neighbours called an ambulance, they rushed him to hospital. Doctors said he was dead on arrival.”
The room immediately tilts. I grip the couch cushion so hard my knuckles ache. I killed him. Baba’s face doesn’t change much, he just nods.
“You sure?”
The second man pulls out his phone and shows him the screen.
“We went to check at the hospital and saw the body ourselves. It’s him, there’s no mistake.”
Baba exhales, I can’t believe he is relieved.
“Good.”
My mother sets her tea down when I let out a loud shaky sigh.
“Menzi, control yourself.”
I look at her, my own mother. She’s not even pretending to be shocked or concerned.
I feel sick again. How can they stand there like this? Like I killed ants, not people?
Baba tells them to leave us, they go without a word.
He walks over, grabs my hand, and shakes it hard.
“Well done, my son. The throne is safe now, you did what had to be done.”
I yank my hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
He frowns. “What’s this now?”
“I can’t… I can’t take congratulations for k’illing my own blood, Baba. Mehlo was family.”
Baba snorts. “Argh, relax. You barely knew him like that, he was an orphan, he’s safe with his parents now. The throne is safe with us, that’s what matters. Tell him mfazi.”
Ma nods. “He’ll get over it, baba. It will pass.”
Did she really just say that?
“It won’t pass, Ma. I see her body every time I blink, and I keep dreaming of Mehlo. I can’t believe you two… you’re happy.”
Baba waves it off. “Things are going well, Menzi. Mehlo’s gone. Lobola is moving forward, this calls for a celebration.”
His phone rings, he looks at the screen, and smiles big.
“It’s Gatsheni, the negotiations must be done. KaMajola is finally ours.” He says.
“Answer it, put it on speaker.” Ma says.
Baba hits accept, and holds the phone out.
“Yebo, Gatsheni! Is it finished? Is she ours?”
“There’s a problem, Baba.” He says.
Baba’s smile dies fast. “What problem, now?”
“The Mthunzis are here, they brought inkomo kamama for KaMajola.” (A cow to cleanse her.)
I don’t need this right now.
“What do you mean?” That’s my father.
“They’re here to pay inhlawulo. KaMajola is no longer… sealed. She’s not a virgin anymore.”
The room spins. I feel the blood drain from my face.
“What?!” Baba explodes.
“They say she’s been with one of their boys, they want to pay the fine.”
Baba cuts him off. “I should have known that girl is loose! What the hell has she done?”
He hangs up and throws his phone on the couch.
“The seer said she has to be a virgin when they marry, Baba. Anything less won’t be accepted. What are we going to do?” My mother says.
“We’ll handle it later, right now we need to go there and make sure the Mthunzis’ fine is not accepted. No one pays for my son’s bride except us.”
He turns to the door, already shouting. “Guard! Bring the car around! Now!”
Thembeni is not a virgin? The one thing the ancestors demanded, the one pure thing left in this mess, and even that’s gone.
Baba looks back at me. “Get up, Menzi. We’re going.”
I don’t move, I’m struggling to swallow the fact that the bride I was supposed to marry has already given herself to someone else.
.
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THEMBENI
My heart is banging so loud it’s making me dizzy, my brothers look ready to explode. This was bound to happen, they were going to find out anyway.
Mkhululi’s struggling to hide his anger, I don’t think he’s even trying. He steps right up to the gate and snaps at the man in the suit.
“What did you just say? Say it again.”
He has zero manners.
The man would pass as his older brother, maybe that’s why he doesn’t look afraid.
“Sizocela uxolo kulo muzi, siphule isibaya. Silethe inkomo yokugeza igceke.” (We came to ask forgiveness for breaking into the Majola kraal. We brought a cow to cleanse the Majola yard.)
This is it, they can not accept lobola until inhlawulo is settled, the arrival of Mehlo’s family actively freezes the Hlongwane’s negotiations. My brothers know this, the presence of the cow at the gate is loud, and a visible symbol of my loss of value. It’s refered to as the cow that ran away, because my father or brothers in this case can no longer demand it as part of the full lobola. Now here’s their problem, the cow that ran away is not from the Hlongwanes, so they cannot demand it from them.
I feel hot all over. The Hlongwane delegates look insulted, one of them shakes his head like he can’t believe it, muttering something I don’t catch.
Lindani leaves my side and follows his brother to the gate, I’m close enough to hear them.
“You’ve got the wrong place, take your cows and go home.” He says.
I like how the old lady shakes her head, she’s not backing down.
“No, we checked. This is the right house, our boy told us everything. He took her innocence, so we’re here to pay what we owe so things can move forward.”
Move forward how? Does she mean lobola?
Mkhululi lets out this angry laugh that doesn’t sound like laughing at all. I want to hide when he turns to me.
“Thembeni tell them, tell them you don’t know these people. Tell them this Mehlokazulu is lying.”
Both my brothers are staring at me now. Lindani’s eyes are begging me to say the right thing. Mkhululi looks like he wants to shake the truth out of me.
But I’m done lying to save their faces. I walk straight to the gate, my legs feel shaky but I keep going. I look at Mehlo’s people and say it loud enough for everybody.
“I know Mehlokazulu, I know him very well. Yes, he took my purity. I gave it to him, I wanted to. I wasn’t drunk, I wasn’t forced. I knew exactly what I was doing.”
Mkhululi’s hand drops, Lindani’s paralyzed by shock. If it was just us, they would be barking at me.
“Why?” Mkhululi whispers.
I don’t know what to say.
“Yoh, Thembeni!” Philile makes this shocked sound behind me. Nothing she does bothers me, I will never take her seriously.
I scan my surroundings, the destination is my father, I know he’s disappointed in me as much as my brothers are. He’s seated among the Hlongwanes, and in deed, he looks disappointed.
The Hlongwane uncles look at each other, one spits on the ground. Then they start packing their things, I guess they are done here.
“No girl from this house is suitable for the chief anymore.” One of them calls back as they walk to their car, they drive off.
Mkhululi spins on me, his eyes are wet and angry.
“You just said that? In front of everybody? You opened your mouth and said that nonsense. Udakiwe, Thembeni? Everything we worked for is shattered because you couldn’t keep yourself for one man.”
I look straight back at him, my own eyes are burning but I don’t let my tears drop.
“I didn’t ruin anything, bhuti. I refused to pretend I’m something I’m not. If your pride can’t handle the truth, maybe it was never real pride.”
Lindani grabs Mkhululi’s arm before he can step closer, only God knows what he was about to do.
“Control yourself,” Lindani says.
“Then we are in the right place, we can talk about the payment. The cow is ready…” Mehlo’s people say.
Mkhululi shouts over them. “There’s nothing to talk about! We don’t want your cows, or your apology. Go! Take those animals and leave before we chase you!”
Lindani stands shoulder to shoulder with him now, blocking the gate.
“Hambani nalenkomo yenu! We don’t know you, get out!”
The old lady sighs. “You can shout all you want, but the ancestors know we owe them inhlawulo and the girl spoke the truth.”
Mkhululi’s chest is going up and down fast. He turns to me one more time.
“You’re going to fix this, Thembeni. Uyangizwa? Do you hear me? You’re going to go tell everyone you that you don’t know those people. You are going to beg the Hlongwane delegates to come back. Or I swear, Thembeni…”
I cut him off. “No. I’m not begging anybody, and I’m not lying anymore.”
Imagine begging people to come and pay my lobola. The chief’s people just left humiliated, maybe that will stop all this.
The shouting is still going when I hear a car coming down the road. The black SUV pulls in and stops near the gate, it’s Menzi. Of course he would come himself. Why would he stay behind and let other people handle his embarrassment.
He steps out first, he’s dressed like nothing in his life is out of order. Ngiyabonga jumps out next, does he always look irritated.
I’m shocked to see his wife, MaNxumalo step out behind him. And oh look, they brought back the Hlongwane delegates. I don’t like how this looks. No one looks pleased to be here again, I’m not pleased that they returned. Mkhululi grabs my arm so hard I almost lose my balance.
“Behave, Thembeni,” he says under his breath. “They’re back, this is your chance to fix everything. You better deny everything, say you don’t know this Mehlokazulu boy. Lie like your life depends on it.”
Lie again. I am tired of lying and of being pushed from one decision to the next like I’m a sack of maize. I don’t answer him. Ngiyabonga is looking at Mehlo’s men standing near the gate.
“What’s going on here? Who are you?” he demands.
They don’t respond to him, but keep their faces straight, as if Ngiyabonga is a child asking unnecessary questions. One of them is suddenly on a call, I wonder who he’s calling.
“They say their son broke into our kraal. That means he took Thembeni’s virginity. They brought inkomo to pay inhlawulo.” Philile is happy to announce that.
She’s even talking fast as if she will forget the gist.
I know why. If this marriage collapses, she wants her daughter to be next in line. She has been preparing that girl for this position for years. Teaching her how to kneel, how to greet, how to lower her eyes at the right moment. A future chief’s wife in training.
Ngiyabonga turns to me. His eyes move over me in a way that makes my skin crawl.
“Is this true, girl?”
Mkhululi’s grip tightens on my arm, I can feel the warning in his fingers. He’s reminding me of the lie.
“My father is over there,” I say, pointing to where Baba is sitting under the tree, staring at nothing in particular. “You should speak to him. I’m not supposed to be standing here answering you.”
Ngiyabonga looks offended, he glances at Menzi as if to say, Do you see how she talks? Then he looks back at me.
“Bab’ Mpondo isn’t in a good state to understand anything right now, I want the truth from you. Or from your brothers.” He says. I take in a breath. “Yes, I slept with Mehlokazulu. The true king of KwaZulu.” I say.
Mkhululi nudges me hard in the ribs. I ignore him. I look at Menzi, I want to see his reaction. I know the truth now and I believe he knows it too, that Mehlo is the true heir to the throne. His arms are folded across his chest, his face is serious, but not shocked. He looks like someone calculating a problem.
“Little girl, don’t say things you don’t understand.” Ngiyabonga’s voice reminds me he still exists, I forgot about him. He looks nervous as he glances around, checking who heard me. Then he clears his throat and forces a smile.
“It’s fine, this is something we can overlook. No need to cancel negotiations, we move forward.” Ngiyabonga.
No, he can’t do that. I thought this would end it, I thought the truth would break everything.
“I don’t want to marry Menzi,” I say.
This time I look directly at Menzi. He does not look surprised, he just glances at me.
“Stop this, please. Whatever is happening here, Menzi, stop it.” I tell him
His eye brows furrow. “I thought you were pure, KaMajola. How could you betray me like this?”
Clearly we are not on the same page. I feel anger rise inside me.
“I didn’t owe you ubuntombi bami, Menzi. And you lied to me, you said we would get to know each other. Then you brought your people here to pay lobola.”
“My daughter Ntando is still pure,” Philile says. “She’s ready to marry the chief. I groomed her since she was small, she’s perfect for this.”
Nobody responds to her, not even a nod. She’s holding her daughter close, I pity her. Ngiyabonga puts on his biggest smile as he looks at Mkhululi.
“Tell these people who came to pay damages to leave,” he says. “We are continuing with the real negotiations.”
I grab Mkhululi’s arm.
“Bhuti, please don’t, we would be lying to everyone. You know tradition says my father cannot accept the lobola while inhlawulo is standing at the gate. You have to address the sin first.”
He knows the cow at the gate is a smoking gun, it’s a literal visual symbol that I was deflowered.
“You know this, bhuti. You cannot accept clean cattle for something that is not clean. You are supposed to stop the talks.”
Ngiyabonga laughs. “What do you know about tradition, child? You talk too much.”
He doesn’t even know me from a bag of sugar.
“Quiet, Thembeni. What do you know about tradition?” Mkhululi asks me the same question.
I know enough to know when something is wrong.
I walk away from them and go straight to Baba under the tree, because I’m clearly wasting my time here. The Hlongwane uncles have taken back their seats, Ngiyabonga must have given them an ear full when he met with them on the way. That’s why they came back.
I kneel in front of him.
“Baba, this is a mess. Nobody is listening to me, tell them to stop.”
He looks at me, my poor father, his eyes are tired. This man never really got a chance to raise me. He was always falling sick and going in and out of hospitals.
“Listen to your brothers, KaMajola. They know what they are doing.” He says.
They know what they are doing? That is exactly what scares me.
“Good!” Ngiyabonga claps his hands. “We continue with the negotiations.”
He announces proudly, then turns to the people at the gate.
“You can go, take your cows. They are not needed here.”
Mehlo’s people have lost hope, they begin turning the cows around. What is going on? They can’t leave like that. Suddenly another car arrives at the gate, it stops next to Menzi’s car. Ngiyabonga throws his hands up in frustration.
“What now?” he complains.
The passenger’s door opens, and Mehlokazulu’s father steps out. My heart starts beating faster, I recognize the driver who just dashed out of the car. It’s that one who brought me home last night. He rushes to the other side and opens the back door.
He’s helping someone out, it’s Mehlokazulu. He looks weaker, his face is pale. His father and the driver support him on both sides as he walks. What happened to him?
“No, no. That can’t be, that’s impossible.” Ngiyabonga says, he looks like he’s seen a ghost.
The Hlongwane uncles start whispering.
“That’s impossible.”
“He’s back.”
“I thought he was in exile.”
“They said he was dead.”
They know him, and as soon as Mehlo steps through the gate into the yard, the Hlongwane uncles drop to their knees, including the Mthunzi delegates. All of them are bowing down to Mehlo, chanting “Bayede, Ngwane kaNgwadi.”
Oh my God, even Baba has lowered himself to his knees. Only Ngiyabonga, his wife, Menzi, Lindani and Mkhululi remain standing. Ah yes, Philile, myself and Ntando too.
Nobody is looking at me anymore, they are all focused on him. Mehlo lifts his head slowly, his eyes search the yard. Then they find mine.
.
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