UMFAZI WAKWA NDWANDWE
WRITTEN BY L . P . MBHELE
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_ZIYANDA MTUNGWA_
I looked at my phone, I don’t know who should I call between the two, but one thing I know I’ll call Nhlanzeko, this should be his baby. I don’t care about Phiwa and Mfiso at this moment. I scrolled through the contact, looking for his number and I remembered I never took his number after our last night.
I’ve always loved Nhlanzeko but Phiwa was the one who loved me. So because I wanted to see myself closer to Nhlanzeko not knowing they weren’t close and they didn’t even have the same mother, I agreed to date Phiwa. We dated for a whole year before he couldn’t introduce me to his family, I can say they are the big family.
I spent two days in his home, one of the days I was still sleeping when someone knocked on the door. I checked the time, it was 02:00, I went to open the door thinking it was Phiwa but i was mistaken. Mind you I wasn’t wearing anything, only my undergarments. I found Nhlanzeko on the door, that when things happened so fast, we ended up in the bed. When I woke up in the morning, Nhlanzeko was not in the bed with me.
I can say he is what I’ve thought he would be, a beast in the bed. He is everything a woman would wish in a man. So after I’ve slept with him, we never cross part again, I decided to tell Phiwa the truth, thinking Nhlanzeko is all that he wanted. But I was lying to myself, he never wanted me, he never looked me in that way, in fact I threw myself on him that night. 5 months back, I went to his house, thinking we will talk and tell him how much I love him.
I loved him not Phiwa but it all ended up in bed again, he woke up in the morning and chased me out of his house. He told me he doesn’t love me, he will never love me. I did the walk of shame that day, walking out of his house. That day I made a promise to myself to never being fool by men ever again, especially the Ndwandwe ones. I didn’t know that night I will go to the club with Sphe, and I met someone had a one night stand together.
To find out he was one of the Ndwandwe brothers, my head span, my heart broke, I made a promise to God and my ancestors to never love again. So basically I slept with every Ndwandwe brother excluding the older one, Cebolenkosi. Because he was taken when I met him, after a year he got married to his wife. So now I don’t know who’s the father of my unborn baby between Nhlanzeko and Mfisoenhle.
I don’t have their numbers, both of them but Im sure as the mother of this baby, Nhlanzeko is the father. He will father this baby and marry me coz I know Zulu tradition. A knock disturbed me, I put the cup of tea on the counter, then went to open the door. It was Siphesihle, she was holding a paper bag of food and a bottle of wine.
“Hey how’s you babes”, I sighed following her back to the kitchen, she put everything on top of the counter. “Hey, you know I can’t drink right?”, she chuckled picking up the bottle and showing me that is non alcoholic. “I’m the doctor here miss Mtungwa”, she took out plates for both of us, then dished up, then poured the wine in glasses. She took the plates, I took the glasses then we walked to the lounge.
“What wrong?”, I sigh sitting down, “I dont have their numbers Siphesihle”. She held my hand, “the father must be one person Ziyanda, you must know who’s the father”. I nodded, coz I know right who’s the father. “It Nhlanzeko”, she nodded slowly. “Why don’t you go to his house and tell him there”. I looked at her for a moment, she must be on something, I nodded slowly.
_KAGOENTLE NDWANDWE _
We at the hospital still waiting for the family, Sthembile is a mess, she fainted I don’t know how many times now. A scream drew our attention we looked at the direction where it coming from, it MaShandu, the drama queen. I rolled my eyes then sighed, Sthembile looked at me then chuckled. “A drama queen she is”, I shook my head.
Now the doctors and nurses are holding her as she’s now on the floor, screaming her lungs out. “Doctors please do your jobs and let her be, she really loves attention “, Mr Ndwandwe’s deep voice said behind them, the doctor looked at him. They exchanged greetings before they all departed to their work. Mr is now looking at his wife, talking with her when MaCele came to us.
“Ohhh mtanami”, she hugged Sthembile who started crying again. “Konke kuzolunga ngane Yami”(everything is going to be fine my child). I looked at them with tears already at the edge, I can’t cry, we can’t all cry. I need Nhlanzeko, he told me he was on his way back when I called him. He had a meeting, but he scheduled the meetings to zoom meetings.
“YHA WENA MBULALI, UNGIBULALELE INGANE MACELE. UBONA KAHLE UKUTHI AWUNGIKHONI USUCOTHELA KWEYAMI INGANE, AWUNGAZI KAHLE WENA SATAN, UKHOHLAKELE”(you killed my child….you saw you couldn’t get me so you went for my son instead, you don’t know me you Satan, you evil). Now everyone is looking at her as she is shouting on top of her lungs.
“MaShandu usibukanisa nabantu”(you drawing the attention to us). She shook her head still looking at MaCele. “Wawungifunani njeh Mihlayonke huh? Wawungifunani njeh uze ungithathele indodana Yami?”(What do you want from me? What do you want from me, you even took my son from me). Mr Ndwandwe held her as she started to cry. I looked at MaCele, she seems like she doesn’t know what going on. What really going on here coz she wouldn’t just accused her of something she doesn’t know. Something doesn’t add up here, I looked at MaShandu as she screamed Bhuti Cebo’s names.
I looked at Sthembile, she also looked at me. My mind took me to the previous conversation I heard from MaShandu, if she is so sure about MaCele killing her son, she must have been the one who wanted to kill MaCele but it caught her son instead coz I still remember her conversation so well, she went to open a gate for someone but how did it happened, because Ohhhh God Bhuti Cebo was using MaCele’s car.
A doctor walked out of the ward where Bhuti Cebo was taken to. Sthembile stood up making everyone to stand up even the crying MaShandu stood up. “Cebolenkosi Ndwandwe?”, he asked. “Yes”, Mr Ndwandwe answered him. He sighed looking at us, “Mr Ndwandwe is out of danger but he lost a lot of blood of which one of the family members has to donate for him but before that tests must be made to be sure it match”.
“I’ll will donate for him”, Mr Ndwandwe said. “That will be all? There no one else who would want to donate for him?”. We shook our heads, “we will”. Deep voices came behind us, we turned to look behind us, it was Nhlanzeko, Mfisoenhle and Phiwayinkosi. The doctor nodded his head, “please follow me”, Sthembile held his arm as he was about to walk pass us, “doctor can I see him?”. He hesitated before nodding softly, he called the nurse who was passing, “please take Mrs Ndwandwe to Mr Ndwandwe “. The nurse nodded then took Sthembile while the doctor walked with the men.