THE LAST PROMISE

CHAPTER 27 | They Will Talk.

SPONSORED BY ANONYMOUS.

MAYA

I couldn't understand when Hlanga said my father knew that I was dead.  Why would my mother lie to me and say that my father wanted me aborted because that is what she told me when I called her. It now makes his sense as to why she told me that I shouldn't try to contact him. She knew that I would definitely find out the truth about what really happened even though I still don't know what really happened between the two of them for him to even say that and if he did say that.

Someone lied to someone and the other believed the lies and it all points to my mother that she is the one who lied about me. I don't know if maybe my father really thinks that I am dead or he thinks that I am dead because he asked my mother to have an abortion when she was pregnant with me. Or maybe it could be that my mother told him that I was dead since Hlanga said my father thinks that I died when I was 8 years old. If he thinks that I died at that time did he try to maybe come to my funeral? Did my mother give him something to show him that I was really dead or she lied about the whole thing and made it up? I honestly don't know what to think right now and I don't have the answers, the only two people who have answers as to what really happened is my mother and my father.


I was right to tell Busani that I should call my mother and tell her that I know about my father and so she can be forced to tell me the truth. I'm definitely sure right now that I need to go and meet with her. I need to look at her in the face and hear the lies that she's going to tell me or see the truth that will be written on her face because one Way Or Another she is going to tell me the real truth and if she doesn't well I guess my father will tell me what happened because he owes me that much and maybe I will know who was that man they said my mother and I left with and what really happened at that sangoma's place.


If it was one of my father's family members then my grandparents or uncle's would have known. They will have informed them and if my father really thinks that I died when I was 8 years old then they must have done a cleansing ceremony for him. He must have given me a name and they all would have known about me. They would have gone to my grave or taken to be buried with the rest of my family members because I was their blood. They would have visited my grave each and every year or on the anniversary of my supposed death.
My mother is a very shady person and she knows a lot of people through my uncle who is a career criminal. The two of them could have cooked up some story and fed it to my father who believed it because he didn’t have a choice because they had proof or maybe he believed that I was dead because he didn’t care and had one less thing to worry about.

I look at my sister’s husband who’s having a hushed conversation with my fiancé. "What do you mean when you say my father thinks that I am dead because I don't understand? Did he receive my death certificate and go to my grave? What do you know about that?"

"I was doing some investigation when I found out that he fathered a child outside of his marriage. It wasn’t my intention to confront him about it but because of the history we have, when I found out it was like I had something over him. I wasn't supposed to do that but I did it because I was angry at what was happening during that time and all the things he put us through. He was shocked that I knew about his daughter. He didn't say anything but just said to me I shouldn’t talk about things I do not know about or understand because I did not know what I'm talking about. I accused him of choosing his wife over his child and I shouldn't have disrespected him like that because I didn't know at the time what was really happening. I only found out later when he explained to me that his child died. He received a call from her mother and told him that you died when you were 8 years old at the hospital because you got sick, they took you there and you died days later.

"When you did your investigation and found out about me what exactly did you find?"
"I found that he had a child, it was a girl and all the details about where you were born then that was it. That was all the information that I got. It was like you were born, you lived and died. You were like a ghost because there was nothing about you after that." That is unbelievable to hear. There was nothing about me finishing matric and going to university and dropping out, nothing at all? That was just crazy.

“Hlanga is right. When Mbuso was investigating your mother and father, he never mentioned anything more about you other than where you were born and  the time you went to the hospital. He never said anything about you, not that I asked him or he decided to do a background check on you. I don’t know why we didn’t think that it was weird that there was nothing linking you to your mother and Ace.” That is very sad to hear.

I carry this stupid identity document with that man’s name thinking that I am a living person but I don’t exist somewhere? I am considered dead? Who’s details did my mother steal or forge to convince my father that I really was dead? Who the fxck is the woman that I know as my mother? Do I really know her? Is she even my mother?.
“Love. Talk to me.” Busani brings me back to my fxcked up reality.

"So it was like I never existed while I existed.  Like the government knew about me but they also didn't know about me because there were documents that state that I was alive even though I am. They made fake documents that suggested that I was dead in case my father started digging around and looking for the truth if I really was dead. Was the death certificate that he received even real because I'm assuming that he did because why would he just believe that I was dead and not have any tangible evidence that I was breathing just fine?"

"Maya, everything that we found about you suggests that you stopped living when you were just 8 years old, when you were admitted to the hospital because there is a grave of a young girl who was the same age as you. Same date of birth and place of birth, Harrismith Hospital. There was a Certificate issued after your supposed death and all the paperwork was legit.  Your father had no reason to doubt that you were alive." Hlanga explains and that just hurts me to the core. Someone or people went to all this trouble just for me to not exist? Why?

"Have our grandparents ever said anything to you guys about having another sibling that died or?" I asked my sister. I feel my eyes getting cloudy. I quickly wipe them away.

"No we never knew if we did we obviously would have known that we had a sister and she died but no one knows and no one has ever said your name or anything about you. Even through family gossip there has been nothing about my father that he fathered another child outside of his marriage. Someone was going to let it slip one day if it was a family secret because some secrets can’t be hidden forever and some people will never take them to their graves.” She rubs my hand.

I looked at Busani and I was conflicted. I didn't know what the truth really was. I had mixed emotions and all I wanted to know was the truth. Why the secrecy about my identity and why was I lied to? The only way to get the truth out is if the two of them are in the same room together because if I confront my mother alone she's going to lie to me. She's going to twist this whole thing up and put the blame on my father but if my father is there, she won’t be able to lie about him and I will find out the truth from both of them. The truth will come out and I will find out who has been lying to me my whole life and watched me go through hell because maybe they wanted to hurt my father or if my mom was telling the truth, Maybe she thought Ace would one day accept me as his but when he didn’t she kept quiet because she was afraid what was going to happen to me. Maybe my father threatened her or someone else did and told her to keep their distance.

My phone rings and it is Deli calling. I quickly text her and tell her that something has come up and we are going to postpone going to Harrismith but I will let her know when things change. She sends me a love emoji and a kiss. A text back and tell her that I love her and I am okay because I know she's going to think that something bad is happening and she wouldn't be wrong because although I am happy to see my sister and meet her I am also not okay because it looks like I’m dead while I’m very much alive.

"What are we going to do because if I tell our grandparents then the news is going to travel around and the whole family is going to find out and that means dad might find out and he might freak out and we don’t know what he might do. I don’t even want to think about what our grandfather is going to say when he finds out.”
"What do you mean by that? Is our father not an honest and truthful man?"
" Let's just say that my father, yours too, is a good man,  a truthful man but he likes to keep secrets and sometimes he does things thinking that he is doing what is best for you while it isn't. He has made a lot of mistakes when it comes to me but he is trying and he has changed because I always thought of him as my hero you know, the man who will walk through the ends of the earth just to make sure that I'm safe and protected. There are many things that he did that made me question him about what he stands for and believes in.  Things that changed our relationship but we are in a good place right now and  I can say that I trust him but finding out about you just took me back to that place when I found out that he did things that ended up hurting me in many ways.

I think that my father when it comes to his daughter's he just doesn't get it right. He struggles and ends up making decisions that hurt us while he thinks they are right. I don't know why that happens. I thought it was just me because our little sister is treated differently. With her He's not how he was with me He is the gentle is making sure that he doesn't f****** when it comes to her. I hope that with you he is also going to do the same because we don't really know if he believes that you are dead or he knows that you are alive but he's living as if you are not in this world."

"We can only find out the truth if the two of them are in the same room together because they will have nowhere to hide and the only thing that will be left for them to do is to tell the truth and what they really know happened"
"Maya, I'm not going to sit here and speak on his behalf and say things like you must hear him out and all those things. You will decide if you want to hear him out, give him a chance and get to know him but I promise you that if you do you will not regret it. He may f****** up a lot of times but he is a great dad and he truly loves his children. You will see that for yourself and the whole family is going to love you and know they're going to all to welcome you with open and warm arms. I know our grandparents are going to love everything about you and welcome you to the family, they are going to be very happy and I can’t wait. I am happy for you to know your family to be part of your family and I want to be part of your life too if you let me. If you decide that you want to have a relationship with us just please don't punish us as your siblings, your family for the mistakes of your father because we are also innocent just like you."

"I wouldn't put the blame on anyone else except my parents because they are the only ones who only know. Last night I looked all of you up and I saw your pictures, like the whole family and different ones of your own families. I saw pictures of the whole family and I think it was around Christmas time the whole family was there and you all looked so happy and I felt your happiness and I wished I was there with everyone. I wished I was part of that day and I wish I had the love that I could feel just seeing how you all looked at each other. I have never had that in my life, experienced love and what it was to be around a family that loved you. I didn’t know what love was and it was hard for me to accept it because I didn’t think it was possible especially when a male showed you kindness and love. I knew men who claim to love you only abuse you and hurt you but all the things I thought were true and also believed changed when I met this wonderful man. I am here right now because of him. I found out the truth about my identity because of him and I don't think I would have known about my identity if it wasn’t for him. Maybe I would have met you since I live here with my friends but I don't know. I feel like meeting him led me to know about who I really am and where I belong. With him because he is my home. 

"It hurts me to hear you say that you had a tough life but I'm happy, I'm very happy that you met your fiancé because I can see that you're happy, he makes you happy because of the way you look at him like he's everything to you and the way he also looks at you. I'm happy to know you and be part of your life and have you be part of my life and my children's life also and I can't wait for you to meet them. They are going to love you.."

"I can't wait to meet them either." I looked at my man and sighed. I needed him close to me.
He stretched his hand towards me. I got up and went to sit next to him. I laid my head on his chest and took a deep breath.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Overwhelmed. We need to get my mother here and I don't know how we are going to do that because I think the moment you say she should come to Pietermaritzburg, she's just going to know freak out and decide that she's not coming so I don't know"

"We could say that maybe she was one of the lucky winners from her insurance draw and has won a two day vacation stay in Durban. I think that might work. I'll book her into a hotel, sort everything out and she won't suspect anything." Busani suggests.

"I think that is a great idea because she won't suspect anything, she won't think that it is you behind it and she's going to meet my father. I'm thinking that I will ask my father to come to the same hotel because I have something very important to talk to him about then when he arrives, I will come with him to the suit and then we will ambush them and they won’t have anywhere to hide but to just tell the truth" Emihle says.

"That might work because I know my mother likes things so she won't ask many questions. The only thing I am worried about though is that my sisters, they are going to want to come with her and maybe her husband too and I am not ready to see that man again" Emihle looks at her husband then she looks at me.
"Why do you say that? Did he hurt you?"
"For as long as I can remember since I was 8 years old, he didn't sexually abuse me but I received every other kind of abuse that you can think of"
"Oh Maya, I am so sorry"
"That's okay. One day he will answer for all the things that he did to me. His days are coming."
"So when are we going to call them?" Emihle asked.

"I think we should call my mother and tell her what you said Boo. She was a lucky drawer and she won a 2 day stay at this hotel. She has to come alone, unfortunately she cannot bring a partner because it's only for one person only and it's an all-expenses paid trip. A car will come and collect her and also bring her back again. She's going to love that, she's not going to think that maybe it's a scam or something is wrong or anyone else is behind it so she's really going to think that she won something."

"That will work and then when she has arrived on the first night, we let her relax then next day is when the ambush will happen between your father and your mother. We will make sure that everything runs smoothly. She doesn't suspect anything or tries to run away when she is faced with telling you the truth. One way or another, they will talk, love, they won’t leave until they tell you everything. I promise you” I know he means it and he will make them talk