XILUVA

Chapter six

Xiluva:won't your mom mind that I'm cooking in her kitchen without her permission?
Luyolo:cook for your in laws and stop worrying.
Ndu:cook. I want to watch you.

She looked at the little boy who seemed happy to see her.

Luyolo:how did it go with your cousin?
Xiluva:not good. I left before i can even drink that juice. All she wanted to do was to guilttrip me for everything that she's done for me in the past. How she shared her allowance with me. How she shared her food with me. Everything was just about how she helped me and she even denied all the bad things she did. Then she asked me to stay away from Desmond.
Luyolo:who is Desmond?
Xiluva:her fiance. Me abd him used to chat when I was in grade 11 until matric. So when Evidence got here she pretended to be me then lied and said she lied about me and that i don't exist. They started dating then. Now she's scared he'll leave her for me.
Luyolo:why would he do that?
Xiluva:he followed me from campus to my place. He said he can leave her for me if i say yes. But i turned him down.
Luyolo:why? Tell me the truth. Do you love this guy? I mean you two were chatting.
Xiluva:babe i don't love him. If i did i would have looked for him the moment i arrived in this place. I love you. It's you that i love. No one else.
Luyolo:okay. Keep on cooking. I'll be in my room. I'm just going to do something quickly.
Xiluva:it's fine. Ndumiso will keep me company.
Ndu:yes. I will sit and watch you cook and i will be the first one to taste.
Luyolo:don't listen to him.

He left the kitchen and she remained behind cooking.

Ndu:do you cook nice food?
Xiluva:yes. You will eat when I'm done.
Ndu:but not like my mother. She cooks nice food. She's the one who cooks for us everyday.  She's good at it. Just like you.
Xiluva:okay. Are you hungry?
Ndu:yes.
Xiluva:let me make you a snack.
Ndu:you're the best sister.

"Hello."

She turned around and froze there.

L.mother:you can continue. Act like i didn't come in here. It looks clean.
Ndu:i cleaned with her mama. Now she's teaching me how to cook. Now she's making me a snack.
L.mother:that's nice boy. So tell me about yourself Flower.
Xiluva:I'm a Bcom accounting second year student. It's always been my dream to study it. So when I got accepted i was happy that i was finally going to do what i love.
L.mother:that's interesting. You really lovewhat you do. The way you're smiling when explaining. So where do you come from? And your parents?
Xiluva:I'm from Limpopo. Well i don't know my biological parents. My mother dumped me by the side of the road without some sort of explanation. Maybe if she wrote a letter i would have understood why she did it. But i turned out fine. I was found by a woman who loved and took care of me. She's a very good mother and i am happy to be her daughter. She taught me a lot. Everything i know is because of her. Maybe if she didn't find me i would be dead by now. But here i am.
L.mother:oh I'm sorry about that. How did you meet Luyolo? He never told us. Just kept talking about this flower who makes him happy. Even before you two started dating. I knew that you had stolen his heart.
Xiluva:his brother is my cousin's friend. I stay with my cousin so one weekend he went with me to his friend's place. That's where i met him.
L.mother:Ndumiso go and take the family photo album.
The little boy ran to fetch the album then came back with it.

L.mother:you can continue cooking. After you're done i will show you.

She continued cooking and talking with her boyfriend's mother. After she was done she switched off the stove and they went to sit at the lounge.

L.mother:you see here...that's your boyfriend when he was still a baby.
Xiluva:why was he crying?
L.mother:he was still scared of cows. So when they visited their great grandmother their fathers took them to the kraal and he would cry all the time. Maybe he thought it would kick him.