Noma and Kea

CHAPTER 58

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
“May the Lord bless us and keep us… May the Lord make his face shine on us… Let he be gracious to us… May he turn his face to us and give us peace…”

Who’s Praying?

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

These lights are so bright, I turn my head to look away. Something is blocking my legs from moving. I spread my legs and a thud happens. I look over at the sound. He shuffles and looks around. His eyes find me, when I blink, he’s already kissing me. Tears are falling from his face. Wait if I’m here that means…
My eyes are leaking and I’m sniveling, “Kea, where are they?” I ask in between sobs.
“Right here my love, 20 fingers and 20 toes” he says smiling, he moves around the bed, I watch him move to my side, there’s 2 trolleys, he moves them closer. He hasn’t changed his clothes; he’s still wearing the same clothes he came here in. Has he been here since then.
He lifts them both up and walks towards me, “Boys I want you to meet your mother” he says smiling, with the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders, “Mama, I want you to meet Qhawe and Mogale” I try to sit up, but I’m unable, “Use the remote” he says.
I move up and he walks closer, “Shhhh” he says smiling at one of them. He hands one to me, who starts crying, I immediately hush him and he continues to cry.
He hands me the other one, which calms the other boy down, I think he didn’t want to be far from him, “They have big ears” I say with an upside down smile. He starts laughing, their eyes are so pretty, just like their father’s. They open them and they have the same effect, same piercing ability.

The one who was crying, gives me a mean look, I don’t know if he doesn’t like me, or he’s tryna figure out who I am. He closes his eyes again, the other one, he just looks at me, and blinks. They look so alike its crazy, how does he tell them apart, “Which one is Qhawe and which is Mogale?” I ask.
He kneels near us, “This one is Mogale” he points to the calm one.
“Who’s the oldest?”
“Qhawe” he replies, “He came out second” I look over and he has the same mean look again, I don’t think he like me, “Don’t worry, he’s always been like that” he says.
“Have they eaten?”
“Yeah about an hour ago, that’s why they sleepy” he says.
I nod, “Who’s been feeding them?”
“Me, there was this nurse she taught me how to make a bottle, I didn’t know you used warm water” he says.
I start laughing, “You should try breast feeding one of them, just so they know you” he says. I don’t know why but I’m so scared, what if they don’t want to latch?
“You did all of that on your own, where are the others?” I ask.
“I told them not to come, I wanted you to be the first woman they saw and who held them” he says, with tears lingering.
“My parents?”
“They tried I stopped them” he says, “Mogale, Qhawe lets, let your mom, get ready” he says taking them off me. I get undressed, and he puts them down again. Qhawe looks at his dad then at me, then back at me. I feel like he’s gonna be the trouble maker between the 2, Mogale is just as suspicious though, he’s too quiet for a baby. Qhawe latches first and then Mogale, they both have their eyes closed, my eyes start tearing, imagine If I wasn’t here to experience. “What day is it?”
“Don’t worry about my birthday you gave me the best present in the world” he says, “Let me go tell the others your awake” he says then steps out.

I can’t believe your father gave you the same names in different languages. Qhawe looks at me with is mean look, oh he has a wrist band that says his name, so does Mogale, they are so cute, they look exactly like their dad. SO CUTE. They close their eyes; I don’t know if they are asleep or what? OK, they are asleep they just latched off. I kiss their foreheads, tears are running down my face, Qhawe opens one eye when he feels my kiss. I don’t know, but I think he just gave me a smile, he then closes his eyes again. As the door clicks shut behind Kea, the room falls into a gentle silence, broken only by the soft breathing of the twins. I can feel the weight of the moment pressing down on me, yet there's an overwhelming peace. My heart races as I look down at them. How did we get here? I cradle them closer, studying every inch of their faces, memorizing every delicate feature, from their tiny noses to their soft eyelashes.
Qhawe stirs, his eyes fluttering open once more, giving me that same scrutinizing look. I chuckle through my tears.
"Uzofana no’babakho angithi?”(You're going to be just like your father, aren't you?) I whisper. His face remains serious as if he's already weighing the world on his little shoulders. Meanwhile, Mogale sleeps on, his peaceful demeanor bringing a sense of calm over me.
I reach out and gently brush a finger over their soft heads. They feel so small in my arms, so fragile, yet they’ve already changed my entire world. The weight of it all begins to sink in—the responsibility, the love, the fear. My chest tightens slightly, but I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. We're going to be okay.