Amile The Queen

Chapter Ninety-Nine

Chapter Ninety-Eight

***Amile Gumede***

Finale

“God, as we sit here and wait for the king to come out of surgery we pray that you give your daughter strength to be strong for her baby, and for her husband too. We pray that you let Langalethu come out of surgery alive and healthy, with no complications, so he can also meet his daughter Lord.” we’ve been praying for over fifteen minutes.
She’s holding my hand tightly as we sit in the in the private ward that he was sleeping before he went in for his surgery. I didn’t know my mom could pray this hard.
She started praying because I was panicking, I still am. It’s taking longer than what the doctor said it would, and I can’t help but worry. No one is coming to us with an update. When he left here, he was alive and well, he walked with his own two feet into the operation room. I don’t know what I would be if…
“Amen.” that dragged me out of my thoughts.
She wiped my tears and patted my shoulder.
“Ehlisa umoya.” she said and stood up to go get me a glass of water.
I thought I would have given birth by now, but nothing! Still nothing!
This baby is literally sitting facing down, ready to come out, but my body is just like, nope, you are joking.
I don’t like this anymore.
“Your phone is ringing.” she hands it to me along with the glass of water.
It’s Khaya. He rushed back home to Zululand, there was something going on at the palace, and I couldn’t come back, so he attended to it. I hope he’s calling me to update me what that something is.
“Khaya, what’s going on.” I say when I place the phone on my ear.
“It’s bad.” he says sounding concerned.
“What? Are my boys okay?”
“Yeah, sort of.” I freaked out.
“What do you mean sort of Khaya? Kwenzekeni.”
“MaMzobe committed suicide.” I gasped.
The phone almost slipped out of my hand, shock consumed me and I was paralyzed in my seat for a good 30 seconds.
“Where are the boys? Do they know?” he sighed.
“No, not yet. But…”
“But what Khaya, what?”
“Vukani is the one that found her hanging.” oh my goodness.
Oh my poor son.
“Where is he, how is he?” he’s stuttering.
“Khaya khuluma!” my blood pressure is rising.
“Amile calm down will you!” mom says and snatches the phone from me.
“Khaya, what happened?” she asks.
I don’t even have the strength to fight her about it.
“How is he?” now the concern is on my mother’s face.
She slowly lowers herself on the couch next to me. I ask her to put it on loud speaker and she does.
“How is my son Khaya?” he is my son, Langa’s children are mine too.
“He’s not talking to anyone, umntwana uKhethukuthula tried taking him, but he refused.”
“Where did this happen? How did he find her?” mom asks.
I’m just as shocked as she is. My heart is racing.
“She hung herself outside the palace gate. He was going to the farm and he saw her.” where were the guards that stand at the gate!
“Your incompetent guards that we pay so much money to make sure everything is clear? What were they doing? Why didn’t they see this first?” I’m livid.
Khaya starts stuttering.
“Amile…”
“No mom, Vukani is finally traumatized, sebemuqedile! What now, he’s going to go back to being that heartless human being, we were making progress.”
“You can take him to therapy.” mom says.
I shake my head.
“Fire each and everyone of them, I don’t want to see their faces when I come back Khaya.”
“Hhayi Amile you are being ridiculous.”
“They failed to do their job mama, umuntu angasuka la esuka khona ezozilengisa outside the palace gates, and they don’t see that? They are supposed to be patrolling the whole vicinity, inside and out. It means we aren’t safe, get rid of them!” I’m trembling from the anger!
“Yes my queen.” my mom looks at me with concern.
“And make sure Vukani is okay, and he doesn’t do something stupid. The boys too.”
“Yes my queen.”
“Thank you.” I say and drop the call.
My mom is giving me a disapproving.
“What mama?” my children’s well-being comes first.
“There was no need for you to have them fired. They probably didn’t see it.
“Well, they should have mama. They rotate shifts, there’s four of them at gate duty, two at night shift, two on day shift. Not only do they guard who enters and leaves the palace, but they are also supposed to patrol the grounds, the inside and outside to make sure that there is no suspicious behaviour. How did they miss a whole corpse hanging from a tree just outside the gate, where they are supposed to me patrolling. They are incompetent.” I throw my phone on the couch and huff.
She doesn’t say anything. Good. I could pace around if I could, but I’m too heavy for that.
I can’t help but worry. Vukani, he’s going to go back to that zombie that hates everything and everyone again. He’s going to ignore all of us and shut us out, because that’s how he deals with pain and grief.
“Mrs Zulu.” I’m dragged out of my thoughts.
Mom is the first one to stand up.
“Yes doctor.” Mhlongo is standing there holding his stethoscope in his hands.
He’s folding it as if he’s nervous.
“Dr Mhlongo?”
I ask as I attempt to stand.
“Hlala phansi Amile.” mom says and pushes me back.
“He’s quiet, he’s not saying anything?” I say looking at my mother.
“Stop it, will you!” she scolds me.
She doesn’t understand the pressure I’m under, she really doesn’t understand! Things just seem not to be going right for me!
“He’s out of surgery, he’s in intensive care, we think he slipped into a coma.”
“You think!?” I say forcing myself up.
“Amile!” mom again.
I remove her hands from me and stand up.
“What does he mean when he says he thinks?” he can’t even look me in the eyes.
“Mhlongo!?” the tears are already cascading down my face.
Mom rubs my arm.
“Doctor what do you mean you think he slipped into a coma?” mom asks, she’s trying to compose herself but her voice is also shaking.
“The surgery was a success, his blood flow has been redirected, but he seems not to be responding.”
“He just got out of surgery doctor, he shouldn’t be expected to wake up immediately, right?”
“It’s been two hours since he came out of…” my eyes keep widening at him.
Are these people mad! This is not just anyone they are talking about, this is my husband! The father of my children!
“We will keep monitoring him, but he’s breathing, and his heart is pumping blood normally.” he says.
Even he’s embarrassed about what he just did.
“Please get out.” I say, dropping on the couch.
I feel like my life is flashing in front of my eyes. Everything is going blurry.
“Amile!” mom catches me and fans me.
*
“Mhlabawesizwe!” my legs feel heavy.
I’m running through the forest of trees, flowers are falling on my head and shoulders. I feel like I’m going to tumble right here, and lose my breath.
“Mhlabawesizwe!” I shout again, getting out as much sound as I can.
My voice is slowly fading, I’m exhausted, I’m in pain too!
“MHLABAWESIZWE ZULU!” I can see the palace.
As soon as I get passed the gate, I stumble and fall to the ground, landing on my bum. I’m sweating and panting like an animal.
“Mhla…” I utter, trying to catch a breath.
My vision is slowly blurring again. I can see someone in a white dress walking towards me.
“MaGumede?” she calls out.
Why is she not helping me out, I’m losing strength.
“Are you okay?” she asks touching my cheek.
“No.” I whisper and shake my head.
“Where is…king…he…mhla…”
“Where is who?” she asks again.
“Mhlaba.” I say in a breath before collapsing.
I rest my head on my arm and listen to the loud beating of my heart.
“He left, he’s gone.”
Gone, what does she mean he’s gone.
“Wher…”
“He didn’t say where he was going, he just took off, left behind all his clothes, and just left.” she explains.
My breathing hitches as I suppress the tears, and I let out a loud scream.
“YOU PROMISED ME!”
*
Beeping machines, I’m tied down, I can’t move my legs or my arms.
I lift my head and I see that I’m on a hospital bed, mom is asleep next to me. I have a needle in my arm, it fucking hurts.
My husband!
“Amile what are you doing?” the question is what did they do to me.
“I want to go see baba.” there are things attached to my stomach.
What the hell!?
“You have to relax Amile, stop being irrational. Your blood pressure is too high, you are also dehydrated, you could harm the baby.”
First things first, this needle. I yank it out, possibly hurting myself in the process, I’ll feel that pain later. I want my husband.
“Amile!” mom is on her feet in seconds.
“Are you insane!” very much.
I’m quarter to losing my mind. It’s too much.
I remove the things on my stomach and peel the covers off me.
“Stop it Amile, stop!” I push her out of my way.
“Mom, don’t stand in my way, I said I want to go see my husband.” there is blood running down my arm.
I hold it and climb off the bed.
“Nurse!” mom is shouting behind me.
I’m not scared of them.
She walks in frantic.
“My queen please go back to bed.” she begs.
“I said I want to see my husband, I don’t want  to be held against my will.” I said sounding calm.
My arm is throbbing.
“I will take you my queen, but you need to be on the drip as you are dehydrated, that is why you fainted.”
“Mama tell these people I don’t need drips and hospitals, I need to see my husband, tell them!” she looks defeated.
“Take me, now.” I say and walk back to where I just woke up.
I see my cellphone from the dresser on the side and take it.
I dial Shlobo’s number and she immediately answered, it’s as if she was sitting waiting for my call.
“MaGumede.” she says in her calming voice.
“Where is Mhlabawesizwe Shlobo.” I say holding back a sob. I don’t want to cry.
“He’s coming.” coming?
“Coming? What do you mean he’s coming?”
“What do you mean when you ask me where he is.” she chuckles.
I hate it when she does this, I need straight answers, not jokes.
“Ehlisa umoya.” I take a deep breath and follow the nurse out the ward.
“What am I supposed to do, Langalethu is not waking up, he came out of surgery a long time ago.” I say wiping my tears.
“Go talk to him, he’s listening.” my hands are shaking.
“Okay.” I say.
I didn’t even get to say anything else, she hung up. How rude.
Who am I kidding, I know what she’s like now, I can’t change her.
Mgabadeli and another security guard I don’t know are standing guard at the door of the room.
“My queen.” they both bowed.
I nodded at them and they let me in.
I’m wearing a hospital gown, I look like a lunatic with blood dripping down my arm, my hair all over the place, and a huge ass baby bump.
Langalethu would kill me if he saw me looking like this. I stand in front of the little mirror and fix my hair before walking ahead to where he is sleeping.
He’s breathing on his own. How long have I been out? It can’t be that they already removed the pipe from his chest.
I lean in a kiss his cracked lips. He was in surgery for too long, that’s why he’s in this state.
“Shlobo told me you are listening, so listen to me.” I say and grab his hand.
“Baba you said you don’t want to miss your baby’s birth, she’s waiting for you to wake up, that’s why, even now, she’s not here. Your father is missing. He left the ancestral place, he’s gone. I don’t even know what that means, I don’t know what anything means anymore. Can you just wake up please. I need you, the baby needs you, Vukani and the boys need you up and alive, they need your support and your love, especially Vukani.” I sighed.
“Vuka kaMhlaba. Please.” I begged.
He’s just lying still, his chest is moving, he’s breathing. I don’t know why he isn’t waking up.