NURSE THEMBENI
CHAPTER 21
MENZI
Baba hasn’t said a single word since we left Mpondo’s yard. He’s just staring out the window, jaw tight, hands clenched on his knees. MaNxumalo is sitting next to him, hands folded in her lap, but even she keeps glancing at him. She’s waiting for the storm to break, we both are.
I’m in the front seat with the driver, watching the road roll by, and honestly, I prefer the silence. When Baba is talking, he’s usually planning something ugly. When he’s quiet like this, it means the plan is already forming in his head, and whatever comes next is going to hurt someone.
I don’t care about the silence right now. My head is still full of Thembeni climbing into that car with Mehlo, not even looking back at me.
She pushed me away like I was poison. And maybe I am. I keep seeing her face when she said, “Don’t you dare go anywhere near him.”
She knows, or she suspects, and the worst part is, she’s right.
We pull up to the gate. One of the guards opens it, head bowed, not making eye contact. Baba doesn’t wait for the car to stop properly, he’s out before the driver even kills the engine, slamming the door so hard the whole vehicle shakes.
“Kwasuka lokho.” Ma sighs.
Yeah, his moods can get annoying.
“Get me the men I sent to check on Mehlokazulu yesterday!” he shouts at the nearest guard. “Now!”
The guards scatter like ants. Baba paces in front of the house, hands behind his back. He’s breathing hard through his nose. My mother and I exit the car.
“Baba, calm down.”
He spins on me fast. “Don’t tell me to calm down, Menzi.”
His eyes are wild, red at the edges. I’ve seen him angry before, but this is different. This is the kind of angry that makes people disappear.
“We’re on the brink of losing everything to Mehlokazulu. Do you not understand that? That boy shows up half-dead, collapses in the yard, but still everyone is on their knees calling him king. And Thembeni, your wife runs off with him like we’re nothing.”
“I understand baba but it’s not a reason to kill people.”
That’s what he plans to do to those guards.
“Kill people? I’ve worked my whole life for this, Menzi. I took the throne when Muzingaye died and I kept it safe. I built everything we have, there is no way I’m losing it to that boy, Muzingaye’s son. After everything I did to make sure he never came back.”
Everything he did! He says it as if it was just business.
I swallow my words because if I speak, he will accuse me of being weak.
“Ngwane, calm down.” Mom says, rubbing his back. Not that would make a difference.
He only side eyes her, his anger knows boundaries when it comes to his wife. Lucky woman I must say.
The guards come running back.
“They’re not here, Ngwane,” the first one says.
This is bad!
“We looked everywhere, their rooms are empty. There is no sign of them.”
“What do you mean they’re gone?”
The guard shifts on his feet, I almost tell them to run bacause what my father will do is take his anger out on them.
“We checked the rooms, the back quarters, even the old shed and found nothing. They left, there’s not even a note.”
Baba’s face changes, the anger drains for a second, it’s replaced by realization. I know what he’s thinking. He turns to me and Ma.
“Mehlo played us. He got my own guards to lie to me.” He says.
That is exactly what I’m thinking.
“We don’t know that yet…” Ma says, but he cuts her off.
“We do know, MaNxumalo. They told us he was dead, they showed us a picture of a body. They said they saw it with their own eyes, and now they’re gone. Those damn idiots disappeared. I can’t believe Mehlo knew, he knew we sent them.”
“But how did he turn them against us? How did he get them to lie?” I ask.
Hell, those three men have been loyal to us for years. They weren’t bad people, they were just following orders. Maybe Mehlo offered them a better deal.
“He’s smarter than I gave him credit for. He let us think he was dead so he’d move fast on the girl and now he’s got her. And he’s got the elders believing he’s the rightful king, and my own men turned on me.” Baba says.
I don’t know what to say to him when he’s losing his mind like this.
He stops his crazy pacing and looks at me hard.
“We’re not losing, Menzi. Not to him, not after everything we did to keep the throne.” He turns to the guards. “Find them, find those men and bring them back. Alive if you can and if Mehlo thinks he can take what’s mine, he’s going to learn the hard way that I don’t lose.”
The guards nod and scatter again.
Baba walks into the house without another word. MaNxumalo follows him, she glances back at me as if she wants me to come too. I need space from those two. I need time to grasp that the man who raised me is willing to burn the world down to stay on top, and he expects me to light the match.
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THEMBENI
Mvikeli is driving, Bab’ Mvula is in the front with him, and I’m in the back with Mehlo. I feel empty and lost, even with this man sitting next to me. My world is spinning and I don’t know how to hold on or what to expect next.
He shifts closer almost right away, his head dropping onto my shoulder. This is not normal for any of us, but he makes it seem like we’ve been snuggling for years.
My body shivers when he tucks his face in my neck and plants a soft kiss, his breath is warm against my neck, it sounds weak. I don’t push him off, I don’t say anything either.
I don’t know what to do, this isn’t us. We always had boundaries, but now he’s leaning on me like I’m his anchor, and I feel it. I feel like I’m supposed to be more than that.
I glance at him, his eyes are closed, face relaxed in a way that looks forced. The sweat from earlier is drying, leaving his skin clammy. I want to ask if he’s okay, but I know he’s not. Here I am, sitting next to a king who almost died today. A whole king. Yoh, my life.
The road starts winding almost immediately. We’re heading west, away from Manzana, climbing up toward the Khahlamba mountains. I’ve heard stories about the Drakensberg side, people say there are valleys tucked away where folks live like time forgot them.
No tar roads, just dirt tracks hugging the cliffs. Mvikeli is driving carefully, still, the car keeps bumping over rocks and potholes. The mountains rise up on both sides, big and jagged, they are like giants standing guard. Basalt spires they call them, tall peaks that look like they could stab the sky. That’s how tall they are.
I’ve never been this far out, Manzana is flat compared to this. Feels like we’re driving into another world.
My mind won’t stop racing. Why me? That’s the big question burning in my head. Bab’ Mvula said something about a prophecy back in the yard, like the Zulu kingdom can’t function without me. Me? A nurse from Manzana who hates her job with a passion and can barely keep her brothers from selling her? I like Mehlo, a lot. He’s got that charm, that way of looking at you like you’re the only thing in the room.
But love? Nah, not yet. We’re not there, and marriage? To a whole king? That sounds like a trap dressed up in gold. I said no to Menzi because I won’t be forced. But what if this is just another force, wrapped in destiny or ancestors or whatever?
I shift a little, and Mehlo murmurs something I can’t catch. His hand finds mine, his fingers are loose but holding on. I let him, it feels wrong to pull away when he’s like this.
“Bab’ Mvula,” I have been choking on these questions. “Why me? What’s this prophecy thing? I’m nobody special, I’m just a girl trying to live and dodge my brothers’ plans.”
He glances back over his shoulder.
“You’re more than that, sisi. The seers saw it years ago when Mehlokazulu was born. A girl from the Majola line, born under the same stars, would heal the throne. Bring balance after the tragedy. Without her, the ancestors stay angry, the land suffers and Mehlo loses the throne. You’re the key.”
If confused had a face, it would surely be mine.
“Key to what? I’m a nurse, not some important queen. And what if I don’t want to be queen?”
Mehlo hears everything, his fingers tighten around mine.
“The ancestors don’t always ask, but Mehlokazulu chose you before he knew the prophecy. That means something.”
He what now? I was this man’s sugar baby for a good six months. How do I tell his father that without feeling ashamed? Mehlo stirs against my shoulder. I squeeze his hand back.
“KaMajola?”
He’s wasting the borrowed breath he has left.
“Ndabezitha?” I’m just giving the “king” word a test drive.
He takes my hand and joins our fingers.
“Maqondana wam?”
He’s calling me his soulmate. How deep is this whole thing? Am I even ready for it?
“Yebo Ngwane.”
“Everything will start making sense soon. Please don’t run, Phakade lam.”
Where will I run to? This car is taking me straight into it… whatever this is.
“I’m still here, Golide. Stop talking before you faint.”
Even his chuckle is weak. Okay, his father is looking at me inquisitively.
“Golide?” He asks.
Why is he minding my business?
“Just a inside joke, Bab’ Mvula.”
He looks at Mehlo before he decides to mind his business by facing the front.
The road narrows more, it’s literally twisting between the mountains. We’re in Mnweni Valley now. Mvikeli said the name when we turned off the main path. It’s like stepping back in time.
Before us are grasslands that go as far as we can see. They are filled with round houses and herds of cows. I can’t see any shops, I didn’t see any on the way here, there are no lights either, just the mountains watching over everything.
I have to say, I can breathe this kind of air everyday, it smells cleaner here, almost like wet earth and herbs. I’ve heard whispers about this place, community land, tribal, where outsiders don’t go unless invited.
We pull up to what looks like a homestead, but bigger than, much bigger, and this side has electricity. The walls are made of stone, with thatched roofs. They all look new, like they were built recently.
Huts are clustered around a central kraal, but with modern touches. There are solar panels on the roofs, a borehole pump. It’s like a palace hidden in plain sight, protected by the valley and the people here.
As the car stops, people come out of nowhere. Elders first, then women in traditional wraps, young men standing back respectfully. They see Mehlo through the window who’s barely sitting up, and drop to their knees, one by one, heads bowed. A few women start ululating, that high-pitched trill that echoes off the rocks. “Bayede! Bayede Ndabezitha! Bayede Ngwane KaNgwadi!”
Bab’ Mvula gets out first, waving them over, probably to come and help. Mvikeli helps Mehlo out of the car, Mehlo leans on him, as he lifts a weak hand.
“Rise,” he says to the people and they do, but their eyes stay low.
Two elder women come straight to me as I step out, one has a grass mat rolled under her arm, the other a basin of water that smells like herbs.
“Ndlunkulu,” the first one says, bowing to me.
This is awkward.
They unroll the mat, right there on the ground, and gesture for me to sit.
“I’m not…”
“Mtanami, you’ve traveled far. Let us welcome you properly.” The second lady says.
I look at Mehlo, he is being whisked away to one of the bigger huts.
“The inyanga is waiting for him. Come inside when you’re ready. We’ll talk more.” Bab’ Mvula says to me, I nod.
The ladies insist that I sit on the mat, I do as told and one of the young girls kneels and asks for permission to remove my shoes. I look like a hobo, yet they treat me with utmost respect.
After removing my shoes, the older lady starts pouring the warm water over my feet. Their hands are moving carefully, like I’m something precious.
One young lady brings a calabash of amasi, and a cup of tea, it smells like rooibos.
“Drink, Ndlunkulu. It will settle your spirit after the journey.” The older lady says.
Can I even trust them?
They’re fussing over me like I’m already married to their king, as if I belong here.
I like Mehlo, more than like, if I’m honest. But am I ready to be his queen? Why does it come with prophecies and ancestors pulling strings? That’s too much. What if I say no? What if I walk away? Would the land really suffer? Or is that just old stories to keep girls like me in line?
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