Azalea The Queen

Azalea

"There was a girl, about my little sister, Alungile's age. She was Alu's friend. Her name was Dineo and she lived around my block." I felt my chest tightening as I remembered the poor girl. At the mercy of someone, I called my brother.

Samkelo didn't stop, he continued to braid my hair. The silence was welcoming, urging me to be free and pour my heart out to him.

"She used to visit my house a lot, she was a sweet little thing. So young." I felt the lump forming in my throat. "I don't know why, maybe it was the way Athi would look at her, that made me feel so protective of Dineo whenever she was around him." I licked my lips, trying to put some moisture in them.

"Then one day, the house was empty, no one was home. I had just come back from work when I heard it." I swallowed the lump in my throat because it was too damn painful. Samkelo's hands froze. He was anticipating what was to come next. It was so hard to take the words out.

"Sthandwa sam." He said.

"Whimpers, and groans. I thought it was Azola, I had thought my sister was up to her no good deeds as always. I didn't bother to check. I didn't bother-" A sob left my mouth as I remembered those sounds that were coming from my parent's room. To this day, I couldn't forgive myself for not checking, for not knowing.

"I saw her, just as the door from my parent's room opened, lying there. Not moving." I tried to speak with my voice shaking. My heart wrenched as the vivid memories of Dineo's limp body on that bed clouded my mind.

"Then I saw him, zipping his pants, a wicked smile on his face. I froze." Samkelo lifted me and put me on his lap. I wrapped my legs around his waist. "He froze too. Then he panicked." I remember feeling numb, regretful, and angry. Immediately I dashed to that room and tried to do something. I didn't even know what.

"Bhuti w-wenzeni?" I said to him. My eyes clouded with unshed tears. My hands were trembling as I looked at the man that I called a brother.

(Brother, what have you done?)

"Azalea, she wanted it. It's not what you think." He tried to fool me. It only intensified the anger that was boiling inside me. "She wanted it!" His voice got a tad louder.

"Kanjani! Look at her!" Dineo's eyes were soulless. Her tears just flowed uncontrollably. I hurriedly tried to get her to stand up. "Didi," I choked on my own words. I didn't even know what to say. "Sisi, sukuma, asambe." I covered her with a clean fleece. I couldn't even look at the blood that was all over the bed.

(Sister, get up let's go)

"Where are you taking her?" I ignored him. Instead, I helped Dineo to get up. We didn't make it to the door as Athi closed it. He was breathing hard. He glared at us. "Where the fuck do you think you're going?" He almost growled.

"Bhuti, you are not in your right mind right now. Please, she needs to go to the hospital." I tried to coax him to let us go but he shook his head vigorously. "Open or else I scream." I tried threatening him. Athi's glare intensified as he reached behind his back and pulled out a knife.

"You're not going anywhere with her. I told you she fucking wanted it! Why can't you listen to me!?" He was shouting and the weight of the little girl leaning on me was starting to become too heavy.

I gulped down the fear.

"Athi please, she needs to go to the hospital." I was crying. I was desperate to get Dineo to the hospital.

"Sit down, both of you." He ignored my pleas. "Sit the fuck down Azalea!" I jumped as he shouted at us. I carefully sat Dineo down and sat beside her as I pulled her body to mine wrapping my arm over her shoulder.

Athi looked out of sorts with himself. "Fuck!" He was pacing up and down. "Why did you, of all people have to come back?" He wasn't talking to me, he was talking to himself. He scratched his head in panic with the hand that held the knife.

"Why? Why mntaka'ma?" I felt pitiful that he had to do this.

(My mother's child )

"She wanted it." He was so adamant on that fact that he truly believed that this girl wanted to be raped by him. It was then that I noticed that my brother was in dire need of help. He was out of his mind.

"No, she didn't. You raped a little girl." I whispered to him, but he had heard me.

"After that, my father had come home drunk out of his mind. For the first time, I was glad he was drunk. He must've wanted to collapse on his bed so bad that he didn't bother to open the door gently and instead shoved it, resulting in Athi stumbling forward and dropping the knife." I wiped the tears that spilled out of my eyes.

"I didn't waste time as I tugged Dineo out. Athi was left dealing with our drunk father who had fallen on him." I remember calling everyone around my neighborhood, screaming for help.

"He got arrested and I testified against him, Dineo's family shunned my family and I never saw her again in my house. I didn't blame her though." My mother hated him from that day onwards. She blamed me for her son going to prison. I didn't know what she wanted me to do. Her son was a rapist.

"I'm scared of what he's going to do to me now that he's out. What if he wants revenge for sending him to prison?" I looked at my husband as my heart picked up its rate.

Samkelo pulled me closer to him. His hands rubbing up and down my back in soothing motions.

"Nothing is going to happen to you while I'm here, trust me." He whispered to me. And I believed him, but that gnawing feeling at the pit of my stomach refused to leave.

"I'll protect you with my life."