Maid For Marriage

67

"Where do you think you're going?"
A chill ran down my spine and I shivered. "Senzo." I turned around. I couldn't see him because it was dark but I could kind of make out his figure sitting on the couch. "Are you leaving?" He was calm and that scared me. "Yes." My voice was shaky and hoarse. "Do you still love me?" He was scaring me. "Yes."
"So why are you leaving?" My lip shivered but now was not the time to cowar away. "I'm leaving because I'm scared you'll kill me."

There was silence. All I could hear was snoring coming from the rooms. "Okay, leave but you're not taking anything with you. Leave the bag, leave the phone, and don't even think about taking the car." Even though most of the clothes in the bag were bought by me, I was not going to get beaten for it. I left the bag but kept the handbag. I put the my phone, car keys and house keys on the couch next to him and left quietly.

I had no way of getting anywhere. Normal taxis we'rent driving at this time of night and I didn't have a phone to order an Uber. I needed to find people. There was nobody in my street. I walked like I was on a mission. The street behind ours had a tavern that was open till morning. I got there safely and  found a group of woman who looked like they were having a girl's night out.

"Excuse me sisi." I tapped one of them on the shoulder. "Oh shit! What happened to your face?!" She covered her mouth as soon as the words left it. "Um, I lost my phone. Could you please order me an Uber? I can pay for it myself." She couldn't stop staring but nodded anyway. I gave her the address to my aunt's house and then waited. They offered me a drink and something to eat but I declined.

My Uber got there and I was off. I tried not to cry but silent tears fell from my eyes. The driver handed me some tissues and said nothing all the way. I appreciated that. "We're here. I'll wait until you're inside." I thanked him and went to knock on my aunt's door. Nothing happened so I knocked harder.

"I have a gun and I will use it!" I heard from inside. "Mama please! It's me! Thandi!" A light went on and and she came to open the door.  I waved to the driver to signal him I was safe.

She gasped when she saw me. Tears instantly fell from her eyes. "Come inside Princess." She took my hand and pulled me into a hug. "Did he do this?" I couldn't answer. A small sob just left my mouth. "I'm going to kill him. I swear I'm going to kill him."

Thabo wasn't there so I got to sleep in her bed while she comforted me. The next morning I could hear the kids laughing and playing but I didn't want to scare them.

"Thandi, the boys are going to church with their father. I'll take them down the road quickly. I made you a plate. It's in the microwave." I just nodded and waited for them to leave before I got up. I freshened up before I went to the kitchen. I was avoiding mirrors at all costs but I could see my reflection in the microwave door.

I looked terrible. Half of my face was swollen. There was a dark thick line where I hit my face on the table. The long bruise went from my temple to my lip. Scabs were formed where my lip split open. I didn't even look like myself anymore. I tried touching it but I just flinched at the pain.

"Thandi." I saw my aunt in the reflection in the microwave door. I hung my head in shame. What has my life turned into? "How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?" I just shook my head. I couldn't speak. If I tried I was sure it would all just come out in sobs.

"MaRadebe has been calling me." I turned around and walked to the seat at the kitchen island. "What would you like me to do?" She walked over to the kitchen island where I was sitting and took my hand in hers. "The elders came." I didn't want to speak but it just came out when she held my hand. I finally felt safe.

"They came to the house so quickly and they didn't help me. They just told me to keep quiet. MaRadebe didn't do anything. I thought she had my back. I thought she was going to protect me but she just kept quiet." I didn't know what hurt more. My face, my husband's betrayal, or the fact that the one person in that family I thought truly loved me didn't care about me at all. I cried in my aunt's arms until I just went to bed again.

At lunch time she said the boys were eating at her sister wife's house. I didn't really feel like eating but she forced me. "You've been distant for months now. How long has he been hitting you?" I shook my head. "This was the first time. When he tricked us into believing he was dying I was..." I could hardly even say it. "You were what?" I cleared my throat to build up the courage to tell her everything.

"I didn't know I was pregnant." I looked down at my lap because I didn't want to see the expression in her face. "One morning I thought my period started. I had never bled that much before and the pain was so bad that I could hardly walk. MaCele said I should go see a doctor before visiting hours. When I got there they told me I was having a miscarriage."

"I'm so sorry my baby." I just nodded. "That very same day I found out that it was all a lie. He did it to test me because I was using a lot of money. He put us all through that just because I paid for the renovations on the house with my credit card. I eventually told the family about the miscarriage and that's when he disappeared. I didn't see him for months. Months Ma. He still visited the other wives but he never came to see me."

"Thandi, why were you keeping this to yourself? I'm your mother. I will always be here to help and support you. Even if you just need to vent. You need to stop bottling everything up." We were both fighting back tears. "Ma he blames me. He blames me for all of it. He called me useless and a bad wife because I lost the babies. I didn't want to bother you. You were happy. I wanted you to stay happy." I cried like a baby while laying on her chest.

"Thandi, you have to understand that I'm your mother. I may not have given birth to you but I'm your mother. Your happiness comes first. You need to stop worrying about me. I'm your mother. I will fight whoever I need to fight to keep you happy. Knowing that you're happy makes me happy and if you're not I've got your back. There is nothing that you should go through alone."

"Mama."
"Yes my baby?"
"I love you."
"I love you more and I'm so proud of the woman you've become. It takes a strong woman to walk away."
"But I don't feel strong Ma."

"But you are Princess. You're the strongest person I know. But I want you to remember that strong people don't need to be strong all the time. You are not your battles. Your worth doesn't come from how much pain you can endure. You need to start focusing on yourself. You need to start dreaming again. You need to start being who you truly are on the inside. You're too kind and your heart is too pure for you not to have a bright future. You're my everything and seeing that man chip away at you like this is not what I wished for you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me most but this time I promise to hold your hand all the way."

She comforted me while I fell asleep.

"I'm going to kill him. Nthombi I'm going to jail today. I'm going to kill him." My eyes fluttered open and I saw Thabo pacing frantically. "Baby calm down please. He is not worth it." I sat up in bed. "But look what he's done." Thabo stopped pacing and a lone tear fell from his eye. "How could he do this. I thought he was a good guy. He was supposed to be a good guy and I just handed Thandi over to him without question. I promised the chief I would protect her and I failed. I failed." Ma hugged him and he held on tight.

That night I insisted on hiding in the room so the boys wouldn't see me. "Thandi we need to talk. I finally picked up MaRadebe's call. They want to set up a meeting. I told her I'll talk to you first." I sighed. "Ma they're not going to stop. Let's rather do the meeting so they can leave me alone. They're probably just want to tell me not to tell the press. That's all they care about. People not knowing."

She set up the meeting but in a weeks time to make them sweat. I made her promise not to tell my brother or any other family members.

"Thandi, you know you're not going to be able to talk much in this meeting right?" I nodded. "You're going to have to tell me everything that happened and then I want to know from you what you wants us to do.

And I did just that. I told her everything. Every little detail. Even things I forgot like how that lady he was sleeping with had drugs. When I started speaking I couldn't stop. It was like a river flowing out of me. My problems we'rent solved but I just felt so much lighter afterwards.

I didn't know what I wanted or how to move forward but I knew I couldn't go back to that house.