Mangled Shoes

CHAPTER 4

She was plagued with questions, but she couldn't find the solutions. She would try to think of a magnificent strategy for the following several days. One that appeared more reasonable and was executable.

"Hey, get out of the abyss, Debbie," said Boy-Boy.

"Yeah, what are you on about?" Kamma asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all, Deborah responded.

"Okay. What happened to the watermelon? Sukoo asked

"Yes! The fruit of our labor, let go, cousins; let us go and eat what we have worked so hard for," Kamma said.

They were five now. Deborah went back to the front of the house with her four relatives. The aroma of freshly ground coffee reached their nostrils as they got closer to the verandah. Grandma was making coffee for the visitors who would be showing up later in the evening. The coffee was flat white in color and tasted fruity.

Coffee was the second-largest commodity in the world, and children were not allowed to drink it in this matriarchal household. However, they were denied it since it was viewed as the same as if they had used narcotics.

Guests: who were they?

Afterward, the so-called guests showed up. Mrs. Mahultze, her siblings Samuel and Reuben, her sister Ruth, and her brother John

Ruth, John, Samuel, and Reuben all looked inebriated. Mrs. Mahultze was riding her horse high. They had spent the night at home. They were on their way to a wedding in Botswana when they happened to stop by. This gave the impression that staying in seemed like a wise decision. In this manner, they could spend time with their kids and see their mother at the same time.

It appeared like everyone else could hardly wait to meet their parents. It was evident in the way they rushed to embrace their parents. Deborah, on the other hand, was hardly enthusiastic at all.

'Here we go again. Mrs. Mahultze arrives at the party, and my escape plan might just be ruined. Deborah was processing as she approached her mother, who inquired:

"Debbie? Why are you standing there like a robot? Come in and greet your mother."

Deborah, meanwhile, held her head down and shrugged as she approached her mother.

"Hey, lift your head up!' Her uncle Rueben shouted drunk as a skunk.

"Ii mwatjie noa ongwae?" (Yes, child, now why is that?) Her aunt Ruth asked in a sloppy, drunken voice.

"Hey, you two, do not harass my child, not while you're in that intoxicated state anyway," Mrs. Mahultze finally replied. "

Once more, the disorganized family was in action. Even if they had the best of intentions when they arrived, there was already too much disturbance. Grandma gave a nod, shook her head, grabbed her radio, and left the room to go into her bedroom.

The pitiful acts of Unovara and Peter earlier in the day justified their actions. Deborah softly departed, trailing her grandma, whom she discovered beside her bed on her hands and knees.

She was in prayer. Pleading with God to preserve her soul and win her children's and grandchildren's hearts for him. Deborah moved to the living room instead; she had no business being in the middle of an intimate moment between her grandmother and the creator.