I think you don't know how much you truly love someone until you lose them. Until they are hanging on the last thread of their life and you're begging them to hold on even though you see how things are, how it breaks before your very eyes.
And I think that they don't know how much you love them until they see what almost losing them does to you.
That night, Mkhulu got to see it. He got to see in full, how much I, how much everyone l-o-v-e-d him.
When Mkhulu sat up, with newfound strength, everyone in the room cried.
“What's with all the tears—” and he said something else, trying to crack a joke but everyone was still recovering from their grief.
“What on earth?” Lucas said, the only dry eye in the room. “How are you alive right now?” and then the room erupted in laughter, with tears free falling.
No time was wasted, we all jumped to hug Mkhulu, overwhelming him with our presence, with our grief, with our love.
Bina demanded explanations from me, did I have the gift of healing, she asked. I told them everything, with gratitude towards God gripping every word.
It wasn't long before Mkhulu started crying. “ I put you all through so much.”
But all the pain didn't matter anymore, because when Mkhulu hugged Olivia he kissed her forehead tenderly, telling her he was okay. He used all his strength to hug Dominique, telling him about something that has to do with coconut, something that made Dominique laugh, something that only two of them understood.
He held Bina, the way a brother would with love in his eyes and he wiped her tears. When it was Alex’s turn, Mkhulu got off the bed, standing on his feet. He met Alex's eyes, man to man and hugged with a loud impact.
Alex allowed himself to fully break down in the arms of his friend, the arms of his brother.
When Mkhulu pulled away, he was smiling with tears in his eyes.
“Thank you.” Mkhulu said.
Alex's eyes widened, every one shared a confused look.
“For what?”
“For taking care of my grandson while I couldn't.”
“Wha- how did you?”
“I just know,” Mkhulu said, a knowing smile adorning his lips.
When Mkhulu hugged me, I didn't allow him to let go. He's alive!
When Doctor Dlamini and the nurses came in, they couldn't believe their eyes. For a moment, none of them said anything and then they were bursting with questions, they were prodding and checking my grandfather with disbelief in their eyes with laughter on their lips.
“Everyone shout God is good on the count of three” Mkhulu said, when the doctors and nurses finally relented and could not prove this incident anything less than a miracle.
The whole room lit the hospital alive, awakening every dead thing and in that moment, I hoped in my heart that God would show up for more people : “ GOD IS GOOD!”
The nurses left giving our family privacy. Doctor Dlamini was about to leave as well, getting too emotional for the professional facade he tried to put on.
"Doctor” Mkhulu called. “Forgive me for saying this in front of the children but… I can't feel my buttocks. Like not at all. Like it's numb. Is this a side effect."
Everyone in the room exploded with laughter, the tears had finally dried on our cheeks.
The Doctor who laughed as well, tried to compose himself, the smile remaining.
YOU ARE READING
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