Reconciling with my brother seems like a dream. We spent all night just catching up. We spoke about everything that happened during the time we were apart. He told me about his life and I also told him about mine. Apparently he hasn’t been in a relationship since that incident with dad happened. I am pretty sure relationships seems like a dream to him now. I struggled to fall asleep because I thought this was all a dream and when I woke up, he will be gone. I think we both slept at 3 am. He slept on the couch while I took the bed. I was supposed to check out this morning but I will check out tomorrow morning. I still need to have some time with my brother before introducing him to my world.
After showering, we have light breakfast at the hotel before driving to town. He said he wants to say his goodbyes to the women he used to protect at the market before we head to Richards Bay. I know I was never going to leave my brother. Even if he was successful, I would have found means to drag him with me home. I park my car on Victoria Street before we head to the Early Morning Market. He seems to be a celebrity here because he is greeting everyone with smiles. We get to this woman who is selling herbs and Mndeni squats in front of her.
“Mah unjani?” the woman responds in a low tone. I can’t even hear her. “This is my sister, u Magcina kamama. She found me.” The woman starts crying and looks at me with a smile. She waves for me to come closer. I bend near Mndeni and she touches my cheek.
“I am so glad you found him, mtanam. He did not belong here. In the streets of Durban. Life dealt him a bad hand but I hope all will be bright from here on. Take care of him.” She is very spoken.
I smile at her and take out a few hundred rands from my purse and hand them to her. “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, MA. Thank you for looking out for my brother. I thought I would never find him but somehow fate brought us together.” I can see she wants to deny the money and I shake my head. “Kuncane ukubonga kwami, MA. May God bless you.”
She hugs us both before giving us a blessing. We walk to more stalls where he says his goodbyes. By the time we return to the car, we have bought a lot of veges which I know I might not need but this is all in the spirit of giving back to small businesses. We then back to Gateway. I pull him to Legendary Barber and he frowns at me.
“You are getting a haircut and getting rid of that huge beard as if you are Moses from the Bible.” He laughs, shaking his head. A barber tends to him while I wait. I ask my friends/crew to prepare dinner for tomorrow night at my place. They have spare keys, so they won’t have any troubles getting there. I want to introduce them to my brother. They are an important part of my life and I wanna share this other part with them. They don’t know the full story of what went down in our family but I have dropped a few hints.
When Mndeni is done with the haircut and trimming his beard, he looks really handsome. I take a few pictures of him and he just laughs. Hearing his carefree laugh just brings joy into my heart. That unexplainable joy. We head to a few clothing shops to buy clothes for him and some cosmetics. He is modest and proud, so it takes a while to get him to agree to the gestures. I also buy a few things for myself. He used to be caramel skinned like me and our mother but now he is as dark as they come. The Durban sun burned him but he will go back to his normal skin soon.
“We need to get your documents back, brother. So first things first, we will go to Home Affairs on Tuesday. I have already set up an appointment for you. You will get your ID and with your license, hopefully that will be sorted before this month ends.” He smiles.
“You don’t have to do all this for me, Magcina. I can take care of myself. I have been hustling for a while now. With a place to stay, it will make my hustles more easy.”
I take a deep breath and look at him. “You are going to claim back your life and you are going to live the life you dreamed for yourself. You didn’t study for nothing. Don’t let that man win. You have come so far in life. Whether you like it or not, I am going to help you fetch your life, and then I am going to help you find a wife.”
He breaks into laughter. “I am not in a rush to find a wife. I need to have my own things before settling down. And I have been out of the game for so long, but one thing that has never changed, is that women love money and want to be spoiled. So I will on myself before bringing some poor woman into my life.” I love how he is considerate of other people’s feelings.
“Please note that my friends are off limits, especially Nqobile. She is a flirt, but make sure to resist.” He chuckles and shakes his head.
When we go back to my place, I am going to book him into therapy. Even though he might not say it, I think he needs it. And I know there are some things that he might not discuss with me, but he won’t be afraid to talk to a therapist about them. I want him to find healing from inside and then move on. But first step is talking about how he feels and what he went through. We have simple lunch at Nandos which he enjoys very much judging by his grin. He is a man. Of course he eats for three people. When we are done, I drive us back to the hotel and then we walk to Umhlanga Beach. And though we are not wearing any swimwear, we swim in ocean. It is freeing and so nice to spend time with him. I wish I can stay here and never go back. But good things have an expiry date.
We walk back to the hotel and then freshen up before we prepare for the date I had the previous night with my new friend, the sous chef. Of course I am bringing my brother. I don’t want him to felt left out of neglected. Trauma can manifest in different ways. I am not saying I am going to keep him by my side at all times, but leaving him at the suite all by himself doesn’t feel right.
“Hey, Hlengiwe. When you rescheduled our plans for last night, I thought you were no longer interested in linking up or had checked out.” Zusiphe states with a smile as we meet her at the entrance of Oceans Mall.
I laugh and hug her. She looks really beautiful outside her work uniform. “I am so sorry about that. Something really urgent came up. Anyways, this is my brother, Mndeni Mabuyakhulu. And Mkhulandle, this is Zusiphe, my new friend.” They both shake hands.
“Nice to meet you, Nkosazane.” My brother greets in a deep voice and I see Zusiphe blush. Okay. Chill girl.
“So where are we off to?” I ask as we head to the parking lot.
“I was thinking Sun Coast. It’s been a while since I went there and maybe we can catch a movie while at it.” She responds.
Well I have no objection to that. I have heard about Sun Coast a lot but I have never been there. I always pass it. We all climb into my car and drive to Sun Coast. When we get there, I find the perfect parking spot before we walk inside. Just as we are looking around at different restaurant options, a text comes in on my phone.
‘I don’t really like texting but I also didn’t want to be forward and call you. Anyways, I hope you returned home safely and the rest of your vacation was amazing. I hope to see you again soon, Ntokazi.
-Mnguni’
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who the message came from. Dear God. Why are my cheeks heating up over a simple message which can be translated to ‘I was just checking up on you’? Yoh, Hlengiwe. Get your shit together girl.
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Unhinged Love
Romansa"I have never felt love like this before. So wrong yet feels so damn good. I must be going insane. That's the only explanation." Hlengiwe is a cool calm and collected lady but her world is about to be turned upside down when a man crushes into her l...
