There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.
Ayize Gxarha, a poised conservative psychiatrist who meets the roguish Qaphela Makhathini due to unforeseen circumstances...
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"𝙰𝚂𝙾𝚉𝙴 𝚀𝙰𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙰!" I comment through the line, followed by a soft giggle. This mushy feeling again. I've been under Qaphela's charming spell for the past two weeks. To be quite honest; kumandi kwa love lives here my people. I grab my Checkers Sixty60 bags and close the door before placing them on my kitchen counters.
"Baby I just landed, it's fair enough that my woman spends the night with me, kwam." He tries reasoning with me. He's currently in Joburg for the first time in two weeks, the last time I saw him was the day after we made things official. His subtle romantic self had taken me out on a private lunch date at a sip and paint studio.
"Not today Donda, I had a hectic hectic day at work." I explain while making it upstairs to my bedroom. His forever stentorian chuckle brings a snide smile to my face. I had Googled his clan names for such reasons.
"KaGxarha, uyenzani intsizwa?" he titters, making every juice in my pussy drain into my panties. A brief snicker slips out of my lips as I start dislodging my jewellery pieces.
"Goodbye Qaphela." I rush out, hanging up the call immediately after that. I giggle as I start undressing. My cell phone chimes and I simply ignore it. Knowing Qaphela, we can talk till kingdom come.
As I unbutton and slide off my sleeved Maxhosa dress, I reminisce of the intimate moments I've shared with Qaphela. This man is a prodigious being who managed to slowly but surely break the walls I had built around me. The way he gazes at me, always has me questioning my morals.
A quick shower is my first task. Immediately after that, I slide on my robe, grab a towel from the basket of white washcloths and sit it inside the bathroom sink. I hum along to the contagious tune of Muni Long's Made for me as I wipe the light make up off my face.
My phone begins vibrating as I'm busy with my task at hand. I slowly breathe in and out as Nangamso's name appears on the screen. God! She better not ruin my cozy evening.
"Nanga, what's up?" I answer, my breathing going back to its normal pace.
"Mntase..." Her breaking whisper echoes through the line. My body starts tensing up. What's up with her?
"Intoni Nangamso?" I question, curiosity very much evident in my voice.
"uMama Ayize, uMama. . ." her voice starts out as a mumble "Mntase uswelekile uMama." Her faint voice utters, informing me about our mother's passing. Immediately I'm immobile and unable to catch much breath into my lungs. My feet are unwillingly planted on my bathroom floor as I stare at my cellphone screen. Nanga's words keep echoing slowly and slowly in my distance mind.
I simply remain motionless with a deafening silence all around me, through the line and all over my walls.
"Ayize thetha!" Nangamso's pained voice is the only voice that I hear as my head is raging with a turmoil of emotions. I'm still trying to normalise myself with mournfulness as my feet propel me out of the ensuite bathroom.
My ears ring bells. Oh God! The person, The one who's been threatening me. Why didn't they just kill me instead? My innocent mother of all people? The messages, the calls and the notes, all simultaneously flash through my mind. I'm immediately snapped back to the reality of Nangamso wailing painfully over the phone.
"She can't be dead Nangamso. Our mother is alive. She can't leave us Nangamso!" The words rush out of my vocal cords as I shake my head vigorously. In an instant, my cellphone drops to the carpeted floor.
I immediately feel my very own sanity starting to crawl out of my body. I feel the acrid bitterness rising up my mouth. I'm standing here in my bedroom in total oblivion. It just feels as though I am in a dark shell and I'm painfully smothered by torment as my heart spasms.
I attempt to flutter my eyes closed as the last memory of my mother flashes through my mind. It was on Sunday when we were indulging on the traditional Sunday several colours meal. I had told her that I'm seeing someone which she was ecstatic about. My mother always wanted to see me happy, at all times. The sweet WhatsApp message she sent me this morning clouds my mind making my intestines squeezes themselves in a most painful way causing me to let out a guttural wail.
•••
I'm woken up by my chiming phone and the darkness surrounding me. I pick up my cellphone from the carpeted floor and grunt.
"Hey?" I answer, recognizing Qaphela's breathing pattern almost instantly.
"Mama." He calls out to me. "Are you okay?" I don't know why, but his voice propels my tears, earning a gut-wrenching sob from me.
"Mama, yin'ndaba khuluma nami." He commands as gently as he possibly can. "Why are you crying? Is everything okay mkami?" He questions, sounding panicked.
"My mother Qaphela...she's gone." I start explaining. He remains silent, releasing a defeated stream of air.
