ONYIYE THAT GIRL

ONYIYE THAT GIRL
CHAPTER 26

ONYIYE MAZIBUKO

"My daughter, what happened?" Mam Philisiwe already fussing over her. "I think you should come back home."
"Mah, you don't even know what happened but already you want her to…" Sbahle was cut short by her ringing phone. She excuses herself to answer her phone. 
"Onyiye, do you really want me to die young?" She asks. She sighs sitting down on the chair that was beside the bed. 
"I jumped out of the moving car." Onyiye responds in a hoasky voice.
"Ini?" She's back on her feet not believing. "Uthini Kimi wena ngane!" 
"They…" Sbahle interupts before Onyiye could even begin narrating her story. 
"Mah, baba is waiting for you outside." 
"Tell that one to come in, i'm still busy with this child. You kids want to give me headache in my early age. I'm too old for this maan!" 
Sbahle and Onyiye look at each other and their eyes drop. 
The door opens and the finest tall, chocolate man steps in. His afro makes him stands out. He smiles revealing his dimples making Sbahle to swallow. Now that she’s seems them in one room, God damn she’s looking at one person!
"My wife," he rubs his hands against each other. He normally does that when he is nervous. He looks at Onyiye with his eyebrows. 
"This is Onyiye, the girl I was telling you about, that looks so much like my princess Adeze. Onyiye this is my husband Obinna Okojie." She smiles but her smile quickly dissolves. Onyiye on the other hand has gone numb completely. Is this what she think it is? People always look alike. But he looks exactly like that man she saw in that photo. The name, Is the same that she saw - written behind the photo. 
"Ntombi Mazibuko is my mother." She blurts out with tears threatening to come out. The man take steps back shaking his head no. He turns back and runs out of the ward.
"Baba, wait!" Sbahle runs after him.
"Ntombi is your mother?" Mam Philisiwe is shocked. That woman made her marriage sorrowful and very much unbearable. 
"You know her?" 
"That woman made my life living hell." She's defeated. She throws herself back on the chair and let's out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry to say this, but you mother was a thorn in my marriage. She made sure to break everything I've built and worked hard for at all cost." She shakes her head not believing. 
"I'm sorry," not knowing what to further say Onyiye decides to keep quite an wipe the tears off her face. 
"It's not you fault my child, it's your mother's heart. She told my husband that she aborted and we believed her because we never heard from her since then." 
"She said that?" Onyiye ask in shock. No wonder that woman hated her. "Ow my God," she covers her face with her hands and burst into tears. Her life is like a dice - being tossed around like something useless waiting to be a bet. 
"Do not ever in your wildest dream put yourself in that position! You are still my daughter Onyiye. Despite the trauma your mother put me through, I should be hating on you right now but I love you like my own." She stands up and sits on the bed consoling her. She cries even harder not believing.
The fact that this woman will resent her some day is getting into her.
"You are still welcome in my home. I still need my grandchildren in that yard. My husband is still in hock he will come around." Onyiye nods her head wiping the tears of her face. By God's grace no damages were done on her face, she's still Sthembiso's dark Ndoni.
Sbahle comes back panting and throws herself on the chair. "Damn your husband can run. Can you believe…" She decides to keep quite - that awkward moment.
"Where is he?" Mam Philisiwe asks shifting her focus to Sbahle.
"Parking lot crying his balls out." She responds drinking water.
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Silence fill the room as they all patiently wait for Obinna to finally say his piece. He clears his throat and sighs sitting up straight.
"Ntombi, that woman was a devil in a sheep's clothing. I regret the day I persuaded her, laid my eyes on her. The hate I have for her cannot be obstructed with any other thing. I approached your mother fully knowing that I was legally married to my beautiful wife here. I'm not going to lie to everyone and say I didn't love Ntombi. I was even planning on making her my second wife. Everything was fine, all along until she discovered that I am a foreigner. Things changed for the worst. She started getting violent with me. Lock me in the room for days without food or water. The day she told me that she was pregnant I was only exited on the inside but on the outside I was burning. I regretted everything. That woman was a nightmare I will never wish upon anyone. Months went by, I asked about the pregnancy, she told me she had an abortion. I was hurt, no lies and that's when I took a decision to return to my family and make amends. She kicked me out of my own house. I even went to a point of changing the name under my house to Onyinyechi, meaning Gift. I wanted my child to have a home, a loving one for that matter, little did I know that I'm killing myself slowly.  I was chased out, just like that. And ever since then, I never set foot in that house. I left everything as it was, the house is till under the name Onyinyechi.
"Wow, I…I don't even know what to say." Onyiye is tounge tied. Who on earth does that to another human being? She shakes her head running out of words. 
They all fall in an awkward silence. "So my name is not Onyiye?" She asks looking at the man sitting next to her. 
"For short it's Onyiye but I named you Onyinyechi when you were still in your mother's womb." 
"Wow, so what am I?" She asks wondering. "You are from Nigeria right? So what am I? She asks again. 
"Igbu. That is what we are, that is our culture." 
"Wow, so I'm Onyinyechi Okojie?" She half smiles. 
"Yes you are. I'm happy that you are here and alive after such treatment. My wife told me all about it. You know at first when she told me that you look so much like Adeze, I thought that maybe she's looking for someone to replace her. I didn't know that she was this serious. You know the minute I walked in, I thought that maybe my daughter wake up from the dead. But later registers that we buried her. I remember putting her in her grave, I laid her peacefully paying my last respect. Seeing you brought all of those memories back." 
He takes a deep breath and sighs. "I mourned you for almost a year thinking that your mother…" He chokes on his tears. "I don't know how to thank God." 
"I'm just grateful that finally I find the man that I have been suffering for. I don't want to see myself in that house any longer. I don't know what will even take me there." 
"So I have another younger sister? This seems to be interesting by the second." Sbahle teases Onyiye who clicks her tounge in much annoyance. 
"Even the way you click your tounge scares me. I'm sure you are short as a toddler." Obinna says looking Onyiye with her eyes popped out.
"I'm not that short!" She says folding her arms against her chest. He smiles revealing his dimples. Who said Nigerians look the opposite. This man looks like a black American! With his afro neatly combed. 
"I will have to inform the elders so we can do the traditional welcome ceremony. That means we will have to fly down to Nigeria." 
"Ni…Nigeria? I can't leave my kids behind." Indeed she cannot.
"Yes, and it is a must. In Igbo culture, the naming ceremony of a child is often referred to as “ikuputanwa or igu nwa’ aha” and this marks the formal presentation of the child to their people, which comprises of her kinsmen, family, friends, well-wishers and the entire community at large. It will be a very large ceremony. I can't wait to showcase my whole family. Your kids, my grandkids need to be introduced to the ancestors for protection. A lot needs to be done. I didn't mention all of it but you will see once it happens." He adds. Onyiye nods her head and smiles a bit.
"No wonder those aunts were looking at me like, I don't know." She shrug her shoulders. 
"They saw Adeze in you and it really triggered alot of memories." He smiles reaching out for her hand. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most. I'm sorry that I wasn't a present father when you life was a vicious cycle. But one thing I can promise you is that I'm here. It can never be too late to have a relationship with my kids and grandkids, that's if you allow me to." 
He looks sincere making her to smile her lungs out. 
"I'd love too." She blushes like a high school kid. 
"Speaking of the kids, when are they coming back? If they want the kids to be there full time they should do the necessary procedures." Mam Philisiwe chirps in fixing her scarf. "What did the doctor say about Ndimu's eyes? When is his next appointment? Are the glasses he got good for his sight?" She asks ready to murder Onyiye.
Onyiye keeps quite not knowing how to respond. "Uthatha ikhanda ulifaka enhloko Onyiye. I want my grandkids. Ndimu needs special care because of his treatment. Their skin doesn't need alot of sunlight. He…"
"Mah, we get you. The kids will be fetched. I'm just glad that Ndimu is not her to wake me up with his ear piecing horrible scream. Yerr that skhotheni can scream, not only that. He wakes me up with a full blown smack on my cheek. Nxa that tokoloshe." Her nose flare making her mother to laugh. 
"No wonder you guys are always fighting." She continues to laugh her lungs out. "Ndimu for president."
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She's left all alone trying to catch up on her school work online but she's failing dismally. She hasn't heard from Sthembiso the whole day and he never even bothered checking up on her. 
Much being a fake boyfriend! She sighs closing her eyes trying to catch some sleep.
"Nyi," screams Lindiwe with Sizwe and Sthembiso along. 
"Hei," she's cold and upset! 
"Hau, why are you sour?" Lindiwe asks sitting next to her on top of the bed. 
"Nothing. What did you bring for me?" 
"Nothing. Your man here told me that you do not eat hard rocks you only eat liquid. His words not mine."
Onyiye looks at Sthembiso who was looking back at her smiling. 
"Your smile doesn't move me, you idiot. Sizwe, you are the man - thank you for bringing me those." 
Sizwe smiles handing her a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates. "My favourite, how did you know?"
"Let's just say, I did my research pretty good." He wiggles his eyebrows making Onyiye to smile even wider. 
"You crazy." She opens the box of chocolates and begin to dig in.
"When are they discharging you?" Lindiwe gets off the bed and go stand beside Sizwe. 
"Maybe tomorrow. They said no damages where done and I have no internal bleeding. So,…" She turns to look at Sthembiso who has been all smiles ever since he got here. He hasn't said anything but he has been looking at her with admiration. 
"What's wrong with this one?" Onyiye asks Lindiwe who was also smiling like a retrached.
"I don't know, he has been like this all day." 
"All day, what do you mean all day?" She's confused.
"I meant I believe he was this the whole day. We found him along the passage smiling like an idiot."
She doesn't respond but looks at the statement Lindiwe gave her and the way Sthembiso has been looking at her. 
"My father was here." 
Sthembiso stops smiling and that smile is being replaced by a frown on her face.
"What!" 
"Yes, it turns out Sbahle is my elder sister."
"I said it! I told you guys and you said I was crazy!" Lindiwe says in excitement. 
"Yea, it's still feels unreal. I can't believe I finally found my own father that I have been looking for all these years. The joy I'm feeling inside is something I cannot explain. It's like something huge has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel alive and well. He wants to introduce me to the rest of the family." 
"Ow my goodness! Where is he from?" Sthembiso asks holding her hand shaking. She notices but pays no mind to it. Maybe it's the news – it had gotten into him. 
"Nigeria. In months time we will fly to Nigeria." She smiles but not entirely. Maybe it's her with alot of looking for things that are not there. 
Lindiwe is happy for her but it's not completely. The Lindiwe she knows will normally jump, scream, dance. But this one is just a bit off. Sthembiso on another hand is a shaking leaf. The only sane one here is Sizwe. 
"I'm tired, can I have some rest " she says with a lump on her throat. Why is she suddenly feeling emotional. They all look at each other and decide to give her space.