Amile The Queen

Chapter Sixteen

***Amile Gumede***



He kissed my cheek before he caressed it gently. His eyes were sparkly and his breath was sweet, I don’t know how, but it was very unique. I’m engulfed in his tight arms but it feels like I’m floating on a cloud. This is how I imagine heaven to feel like.
“Is this what heaven feels like?” I asked and moved closer to his warm body. I don’t feel close enough, yet I’m pressed up against his chest.
“I don’t know my queen, I’ve never been there before. All I know is, anywhere with you is heaven.” He always knows what to say.
I don’t know why I love his so much.
“When will you come visit me again?” I asked tracing my finger on his chest.
“Soon my queen.” I miss him when he’s not around. I feel incomplete without him.
“Why can’t I visit you?” I asked feeling a flood of emotions overcome me suddenly.
“Because I live in a dangerous place, my brother must come get me out of it.” I frowned.
“Does he know where you are?” I asked. He kept quiet.
His body suddenly became slippery and it felt like I letting go. I screamed.
“My king!” I heard the hissing of a snake, only to look up and find that I’m wrapped up inside the snake.
“Nkosi! Nkosi!” It felt like I was drowning in a pool of water and there was no bottom. The snake laughed loudly in my ear and it sounded all too familiar.
Why am I calling for Nkosi’s name!? He can’t help me.
“Nambitha! Yonela! Help!” I tried to shout but my voice wasn’t coming out.
*
“Ahhhhhh!” my eyes shot open and I held my mouth.
My mother came rushing into my room, panic all over her face.
“Amile, what’s going on?” I couldn’t hold it in, I cried and she caressed me. It feels like my heart will jump out of my mouth.
“I’m having a bad dream mama, a snake.” There’s something stuck in my throat and it feels like I might throw up at any moment.
“Okay, let me go get you water so you can tell me about it. Ehlisa umoya sthandwa sami.” She brushed my head.
Out of all the dreams I kept having, this one definitely takes the cup for being the scariest. It’s three in the morning, I have my final trial exam this morning, worst of all, it’s a physics paper. Nkosi and I have worked very hard to get to today and this dream can’t fuck this up for me.
Mom came back with a glass of water and I drank all of it.
“What was the dream about?” she sat next to me and held me tightly.
“That man…I was in his arms and he called me his queen and told me I can’t visit him because the place he lives in is dangerous and his brother needs to come and find him. When I asked him does his brother know where he is, he turned into a snake, and he was drowning me under water.”
“Who is that man?”
“I don’t know mama, but I always dream about him. The first time I did was when I met Nkosi for the first time. He had sex with me in my dream mama.” Her eyes widened.
“Hhayi Amile, why didn’t you say anything.” She was utterly shocked.
“I didn’t think it was serious, but I dreamt about him the second time and I was on my knees, begging for him to forgive me, I don’t know what for, but he had the cane that the King carries. He didn’t speak and when I go up, he disappeared and I was dressed in a white dress. A woman told me to go and fix the Zulu family.” She looks worried, I am too.
“Did you tell Nkosi all about this? This clearly has to do with him, you only started having them after he came around right?”
“Yeah. But I only told him about the one about his mother.”
“Kufanele umtshele.” I started shaking.
“Ngiyasaba ma.”
“you can’t be scared Amile. This is your boyfriend and these dreams are clearly about him.”
“But this man is not him.” I said trying to convince myself.
“Yes, but it might be the king. Ayy Amile angisazi mina. I’ll call gogo in the morning. I’ll give you pills. Sleep, I’ll wake you up so you can get ready for your paper.” She made me lie on the bed.
“Give me your phone.” She opened her hand.
“Why mama?”
“I want you to sleep. Letha.” I sighed before taking it and handing it over.
She opened my drawer and gave me some sleeping pills. I only have three hours of sleep left, its pointless. I might as well sit up and study. But I don’t want to upset MaMchunu so I’ll sleep and pray that I wake up fresh enough to write this paper. It would be a pity to fail after Nkosi put in so much effort to teach me this section. He’s really smart, and he was very dedicated. His passion is refreshing.
He spent the first two weeks of my school holidays in Zululand and I missed him terribly. The only way we communicated was via calls and text because after this long, he still refuses to download WhatsApp. He would help me with studying when he had time, but he was busy with his parents ceremonies. He only came back a week before we opened and then we got to doing some real work. I appreciated his efforts and we did more studying than chilling, not forgetting that he has turned me into a sex addict without even sexing me.
I finally feel like in ready to give it up to him, to be honest, I’ve been contemplating it for a while now, and I know that I want it to be him that I give myself to. I don’t care what he thinks or feels is right about it. I want him to be my first. So I’m definitely going to use this little trick up my sleeve. Last paper before finals celebration type of thing.
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I woke up when I felt my mother hovering over me.
“Go bath. Your boyfriend is taking you to school.” She looks stressed. More than I am.
“Nkosi?” I’m very much half dead.
“That’s the only boyfriend I know. Vuka.” I got out of bed and my head was very light. It’s the pills.
I attempted to make the bed, but she stopped me and told me to go bath. Okay? I rushed to the bathroom and did a quick one two in the shower before going back to my room to get dressed. I took out my flashcards and revised while I dressed and I was feeling extra confident about my work. Something I hadn’t felt in a while.
Mom barged in again with a bowl of food for me to eat.
“You are going to be late. Hurry up.” I don’t even know what time it is right now, but if she’s rushing me like this, then I’m late.
“Is Nkosi here yet?”
“No, he’s on his way. I want you to be at school before the exam starts.” That’s my mother for you. Physics comes first.
I grabbed the bowl from her and stared multi-tasking, eating, getting dressed and going over flashcards. When I was done with everything, I took my bowl to the kitchen, packed my bag and sat in the lounge waiting for Nkosi to come.
“Nkosi is here. Go and good luck on your test.”
“Thank you mama.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek.
I don’t get mouth kisses anymore because she says I kiss boys so I just have to settle for cheek kisses.
I walked out of the building but she was following behind me. Jeez Mzali. I opened the door to the front seat and climbed in. I closed the door and mom leaned in through the window. I didn’t even get a chance to greet my man.
“MaMchunu.” He said politely.
“Morning son. Please get her on school on time and bring her back home right after.” Son?
“Yes ma.” She nodded.
These people are only six years apart, just so you know. When she walked away, he closed the window and started the car.
“Muntu wami.” He glanced at me before taking off. I blushed.
“Ndabezitha, how are you?” he looked tired.
“I’m good, how are you, are you ready for your exam?”
“Yeah, I’m good, I’m ready too.”
“Ngabe uyaganga vele ukube uthi cha.” I laughed.
“I was taught by the best, how would I not know.” He smiled.
“What did you do to MaMchunu, why is she so edgy?” I shook my head. I definitely won’t tell him about the dream.
“I don’t know, even when she woke me up in the morning, she was like this. Maybe it’s because it’s my last paper.” I’m getting better at this lying thing.
“She mustn’t stress herself too much. I believe in you.” That sounds refreshing! I leaned in to give him a little kiss on the cheek.
We were driving in complete silence, there was no sound of the radio or music. I think he did that to keep concentration because all I can think of is formulas and numbers. I’m not as smart as he is, I could only dream of it, but the tricks he taught me to work without a calculator really paid off in class and those little tests we wrote. I don’t remember the last time I got a B in physics. I’m aiming for at least an A for this paper though, because we have been studying for months for this section. Chemistry I get, but physics is a different story.
We got to school and I was almost an hour early.
“Are you going to go in now?” he asked as he turned off the car.
“Yes, but can I have my good luck kiss.” I gave him puppy dog eyes. He laughed.
“You are very manipulative.” He leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips. Come on.
“Come, let’s pray.” I was shocked and he saw it on my face. Last time I checked, he didn’t know how to pray.
He held my hand and told me to close my eyes. Okay, he’s not joking.
“Dear God, father of Jesus, I come to You this morning with Your daughter and I humbly ask You to be with her as she goes to write her final trial paper for the year. I ask that You help her do her best in that exam and ace it, I ask You to help her remember all that she has been taught so that our hard work is shown in her results. I ask all of this in Your name, Amen.” The girl was too stunned to speak.
I didn’t know he knew how to pray. Well, okay, everyone knows how to pray, but…
“I may not go to church but my mother was a Christian and she taught me how to form a relationship with God.”
“A few months ago, you were shocked when I prayed, why?” He chuckled.
“I told you, no one had ever prayed for me before. That’s how I knew you were mine.” Butterflies!
“Thank you my love.” I said and pulled him closer to give him a real kiss, not what he gave me.
“I love you MaGumede.” He looked directly into my eyes while his forehead rested on mine.
“I love you too.”
He hopped put of his seat and walked around to open the door for me. That is the first time he’s done that.
“Hug?” he asked blocking me from coming out. I giggled at the silly look on his face.
I got up and wrapped my arms around his neck and he picked me up.
“Zulu, you are going to crease my uniform.”
“I’ll wait for you here okay.” I nodded and he put me down. “Hamba ke.” He moved out the way after giving me my bag and I walked away from him. I was stunned to turn around and find him still standing staring at me. Is he not afraid that people will recognize him?
I feel twice as confident now, but I take out my flashcards anyway and revise, just to check if I still know my stuff. I startled when I felt some settle next to me. I almost puked when my eyes met with hers.
“Amile please, just sit and listen, you don’t have to say anything.” Is she trying to test me. No, not today of all days.
“I’m sorry for what I did, I shouldn’t have. You were my best friend, you loved me and I threw that in your face like an ungrateful bitch. I regret it. I shouldn’t have taken Siya’s side, I should have been on yours. I should have supported you in any relationship you pursue. That’s what a real friends do.”
“Are you done?” I asked standing up.
“Come on Amile.”
“First of all, you sound rehearsed, two, I’m not stupid. I’ve known you for years, I know you don’t regret anything you do. You always have a reason for an action and you don’t ever have to justify them. So save it for someone who cares Yonela. If it counts for anything, I did forgive you, a long time ago, but not for you, for myself, for my peace of mind. I don’t need you as a friend. I should’ve see the red flags a long time ago. Don’t talk to me ever again.” I said and walked away.
An apple fell from the tree in front of me and it was dark red. I picked it up and looked back at Yonela. She had a hard look on her face. I looked back at the apple. Why do they even have apple trees here at school? I threw it back on the grass and walked away. Maybe she is the snake I dreamt about.
^
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I feel so liberated and happy. That was the easiest physics I have ever written, I don’t know if it’s because I knew my work or because it was easy anyway, but I feel good, I’m confident that I will get good marks, if not an A then a B. I was happy to see my baby’s car parked there waiting for me. There were a few guys standing far from it, admiring the car. Guys aren’t supposed to gossip, but the boys from my school, trust them to talk about you! I will never hear the end of it after climbing into this car. They will be bombarding me with questions tomorrow. I honestly can’t wait for mid-term break, it’s only a week, but I need it.
“You're done?” it looks like he was asleep. He looks adorable and his dimple is out to play.
“Yes, now you can take me home.” I leaned in and gave him a kiss.
“How was the paper?” he stretched his long arms before starting the car.
“It was amazing. I flew through it.” I said confidently.
“So I should expect 100% for this paper?” I shook my head.
“You are pushing it my prince.” He laughed.
“Any mark above 70 is a good mark sthandwa sami.” Definitely!
“I have a gift for you at the back.” I looked back and it was a big bunch of roses and a white box.
“Aw Nkosi, you didn’t have to.” I kissed his cheek.
“You’ve worked hard, now we will wait for the results. The hard part is over, now all you need to do is work just a little and you’ll pass your matric.” He says that because he’s smart.
“I still have finals babe.” I said taking the box from the back. I’m nosey like that.
“Yes, those are easy. The hard part is over.” He said it as if he’s not a mathematician.
I opened the box and it was a bunch of sweets and goodies for me to eat. This is so sweet.
“You want me to be fat?” I laughed taking out a slab of chocolate and opening it.
“That wouldn’t be bad.” I shook my head.
At this point, I don’t need anything but him.

***Nontuthuzelo Zulu***


She comes here as often as she can, just to clean and distress. She’s weird like that, she cleans tombstones as a way to distress. She started at MaNdlela’s tombstone, the cleanest one in the whole graveyard. Mandlenkosi comes here all the time, so it’s always clean. All she had to do was change the flowers. 17 years later after her death, she’s still treated like the egg of the family. But if it wasn’t for Nkosi, that wouldn’t be the case, Banzi doesn’t do graveyard visits. The last time he was here was to leave flowers almost 3 years ago, after his father died.
She’s now on Langalethu’s tombstone, the dirtiest of them all. None of his siblings bother themselves with coming here, his mother doesn’t even live in Zululand anymore, she moved away after his death. His death took a toll on everyone in the family, mostly because it was unexpected and it happened right after the King. He died in a car accident after a chaotic night with friends. He was not the drinking type, but that night he was wasted. He had issues, and they all stemmed from his father’s passing. He now had the responsibility of taking over his name and being the king, something he didn’t want to do. Alcohol was his plan of escape but death took him instead.
MaMzobe had to be strong for everybody, but no one ever asked how she was. She was after all, the only woman in the family strong enough to hold everything together. Or so they assumed she was fine. She wasn’t, she had demons of her own. A secret she vowed she would take to her grave. Now she would, because he did it too.
She got up and wiped her tears and packed her supplies. That’s enough cleaning for the day, she thinks to herself.
When she got to the palace, it was busy as usual these days. This is her favourite part of the year, but she hates the preparation part of it. There is so much going on and she just doesn’t have the space to herself. People are going in and out. The Reed dance is only a week away, everything needs to be perfect.
“Sisi, we have been looking for you all over. We need you to approve the colours for the table setting for your husband.” That’s Balungile for you.
She hasn’t even had a chance to breath but she’s already being pulled left, right and centre.
“Didn’t we agree on white and black?” she’s tired.
“The décor lady has blue and white. The dark blue.” Oh goodness.
“I’m coming.” She’s frustrated now.
She goes to the shed to put away her supplies and goes back to where she is needed.
^
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This is of the reasons she loves her husband like this, because he knows how to take care of her. It’s been an extremely long day for both of them, all she wants is to rest. She has her feet up and he’s gently massaging them.
“If your feet are this swollen than it means you were working too hard wakwami. Remember that you need to take it easy, you aren’t as young as you used to.” She rolled her eyes.
“What is that supposed to mean Zulu? Are you saying I’m old?” he chuckled.
“Just a little.”
She’s slowly drifting off to sleep.
“Don’t sleep yet MaMzobe.” She groaned.
“Why Zulu?”
“I want you to tell me about this girl that Nkosi is seeing. You can tell he is happy, who is this girl that is making him so happy?”
“I don’t know nami Zulu, he didn’t tell me anything about her although he talks about her all the time, he has never given me anything tangible about her. All I know is that she might be his future wife.”
“He wants to marry her?”
“Yes, he does, but he said he wants her to finish studying first.” He nodded.
“I would like him to marry first, before I take a second wife.” She sighed.
“I hear you Mageba.” She’s really tired.
“Ayy, lala MaMzobe, uyozela.”
He stood up and carried her to the bed and ticked her in the bed and coveted covered her with the fleece throw.
“I love you okay?”
“I love you too Mageba.”
She fell asleep right away.