NONKULULEKO

20

NONKULULEKO
#20

Unedited

**
We walked until we reached my street, it's a surprise I  still remembered the house, or if they hadn't moved already. I didn't manage to find a phone, but no worries. Whoever is inside will borrow me.
"The lights are off, they must be sleeping", Vuyo pointed out while staring at the house. The house was exactly as I remembered it. White, rusty paint, outside bathroom, worn out chicken coop. Nothing had changed. It was still the same. It enticed the thrill in me. My smile was wide enough to scare anyone who would come across us.

"Let's go inside, Vuyo, time to meet my family",  I held her hand and opened the gate. We walked to the main door and I knocked twice. I was assuming that the time was about 10 pm or nearing 11pm.
I heard slow footsteps, followed by an annoyed voice.
"It's so late at night. Who could that be?"
No doubt it was her.
The door opened and the shock in her face couldn't be missed. She held her chest and staggered, she balanced with the wall.

I flashed a smile at her, "I'm home".
I pushed her aside and made myself at home. I switched on the lights and even on the inside, nothing had changed. Still the same.
"Welcome home, Vuyo," I showed her around.
Gogo was standing at the door, clearly scared.
Another voice followed by footsteps came into the room. It was Gabi! Nice to see her. I didn't think she would still be living here. The more the merrier.

"Lufunani loluhlanya manje la?" There is nothing I hate more than a person calling me "uhlanya". I am crazy, I know that. I tried to get help, but those doctors messed me up even more. I was willing to live with this disorder and be a better person, but it didn't happen. I was there  to do one thing and one thing only. Kill them with no mercy. But first, we needed to have a reunion. I needed all of them, together in one room.

"Hi Gabi", I smiled at her. She blinked and looked at Gogo, who was frozen by the passage.
"Sisi what's going on? How did this one get here? I thought we were done with her for good!"
Gogo stuttered holding the gown tightly,"I…d…I don't know…Nonkululeko…can we talk, my granddaughter?"

Granddaughter? Please!
"Granddaughter? Are you sure about that? That I am your Granddaughter? Sit down gogo!", I commanded sternly.
"Get the door Vuyo," She rushed to lock the door.
They both sat down and I dragged a chair, sitting in front of them.
"So….. how have you been?" I lifted up her chin. She didn't look so well. Must be her arthritis. She was old. I was mainly doing her a favor. God was going to call her soon anyways.

"You don't have to do this Nonkululeko," She was scared of me. I wonder why! Just imagine being scared of a 20 year old!
"No, let's talk gogo. Let's have a chat. May I borrow your phone?" I reached inside the pockets of her gown and reached for her phone. Smartphone? Fancy! I typed in Mfundo’s number and sent him a message. I did the same to Nandi. Don't ask me where I got their numbers, I know Nandi’s number by heart, that's if she hadn't changed it from those years ago. I got Mfundo’s from his Facebook profile, I stole a phone when I was in the psych and memorized it.

"As far as every villain arc anti climax goes, this is the part where we have sob stories, try to get the background story, the motive and all that. So let's do it, while we're waiting for our other friends to join us"
"Sisi, I told you to lock her up in a far away place and throw away the key," Gabi whispered. Mhh! This one had a loud mouth. I didn't like her. I got off from my seat and sat on top of her, strangling her. She tried to fight me but my hands had a tight grip around her neck, I saw her eyeballs turning white and I let her go.

"Maybe that's enough to keep you quiet", she coughed endlessly.
"So now, as I was saying…I want to hear your side of the story gogo. Why? Just tell me why you did what you did to me?"
She looked at me with sadness in her eyes,"Nonkululeko you have to understand..your mother_"
My mother again?
"I know. She lied about me being Mahlase's daughter."
Her eyes popped out. It doesn't take an idiot to figure out why everyone hated me. It's the only conclusion I could come up with. That I wasn't a Sibisi! Nandi helped Mahlase cheat on my mother, and she got jealous when he didn't want to leave his family for her. So she took out all that anger on me, but I was just assuming. Maybe my version of the story was wrong.

"Your mother fooled us all Nonkululeko. She had us believing that you were one of us. She lied for years and when she got caught, she didn't deny it, but boasted about how she would do it again"
She was lying!
"Just stop! That's a lie! My mother would never do that! Maybe she made a mistake", I hit my forehead with my eyes closed.
"It's the truth Nonkululeko. You were just too young to understand everything, but your father almost fell into depression. She didn't just cheat on him, she did it with his best friend. We were all disappointed as a family when we found out"
"Even if that is true, why hate me then?"
"Izono zabazali ziwela ezinganeni, I'm sure you're familiar with that phrase. Seeing you, and how much you look exactly like her, you were just a reminder of the lie she told"

Oh God! This was not happening. I didn't want to believe that. I'm sure she did it because my father cheated first. Yes, he cheated first and she did it to prove a point. So Mahlase didn't have children at all? Wow! I wished he was here to answer for himself.

"I don't have enough words to express how sorry I am Nonkululeko. I am ashamed that I also contributed to the illness you're battling with today. I was just angry and furious at your mother, and she died before she could give us any valid answers about what she did. Lying about the identity of a child is no child's play. We introduced you to our ancestors and took you as our own, meanwhile she knew that you were not a Sibisi. We introduced you to the wrong ancestors, and that can have serious repercussions.  I should have tried to help you  find your biological father, instead of punishing you for your mother's sins. It's not like you chose to be created the way you were created. It wasn't your fault, it still isn't. I am deeply sorry Nonkululeko."

"Go on", I suppressed my tears.
"As people, I think it's in our nature to be selfish. We do evil acts towards others without thinking how they might feel about our actions, we instill pain in them without caring. And when we finally have a change of heart, we want to apologize and force them to forget the horrible things we did to them. I'm sure you might have noticed that during Mahlase being hospitalized, I changed my attitude towards you. That moment made me realize that life was too short, that anything could happen. It was only then that I got to reflect on all the months I treated you badly. I wanted to start over, but I was too embarrassed, and I was worried about my son's health.

When you told us that you poisoned him, I wasn't too shocked. I didn't blame you, he wasn't a good father after your mother's death. I still remember the belt he hit you with until you blacked out, I should have stopped him, but I didn't. Instead, I just watched and let him hurt you. You can kill me, it's okay, I forgive you. I'm old anyway, I will live with the guilt of abusing you for the rest of my life"

Vuyo looked at me and shrugged. I kept quiet for a second. We heard voices outside. I peeped through the window and it was Mfundo and Nandi. Great! Everyone was here..

They knocked and I told Vuyo to open for them.
Mfundo was the first one to notice me. He looked like he just saw a ghost.
I smirked, "Hello, lover boy"
I laughed looking up. Everyone is here!
.
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To be continued…

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