Like the traditional woman she was supposed to be, she woke up and decided to give the apartment a thorough cleaning. It was around 7 am and she still had a few hours to spare before the 11:30 hospital visit.
With her dreadlocks covered by a colourful head wrap and her heels traded for pumps, she began cleaning the house - starting with the living room.
The small picture in a heart frame placed on top of the mini bookshelf caught her attention. The two set of eyes staring at her held so much love in them, and the happiness visible on the people's faces was clearly real.
Their smiles were not faked for the camera, they were genuine. The woman on the picture was not the ones who she saw in the mirror, and the man was certainly not the one who slept besides her.
"Go fetogile leng?" She muttered to herself ignoring the tear that escaped, "how did we get to this place, how did I lose us, what changed? Was it my fault?"
[Go fetogile leng – When did it all change]
The loud ringing of her cellphone prevented her from having a meltdown. Tamia's Almost, piercing her ears and halting her monologue. She quickly wiped away the stray tears and placed the picture back on the shelf.
"Hello" she quickly answered the call, without checking the caller id.
"So that's how you answer a call from your most handsome best friend?" the person on the other end responded with a chuckle.
She immediately knew who that was, after all she had heard the same voice her entire life. The words alone were enough to put a tiny smile on her sad face.
"I'm fine, thank you for asking." she answered with sarcasm.
"Was wondering if we could meet up for lunch later today, I'll be around Jo'burg" the caller asked sounding hopeful.
Even though she was not feeling up to being around people, she couldn't say no to the person so she agreed to the lunch.
"I'll be at the hospital until 1 o'clock, so let's meet up at the mall. You'll text me the restaurant and I'll meet you there around 2." she waited for the caller to agree before ending the call.
She placed the cellphone back on the table and looked at the picture on the shelf she was dusting off, "I don't feel like cleaning anymore."
Breakfast it is then. With that thought she went to have her cup of rooibos tea with a lemon slice and some buttermilk rusks before heading to the bathroom to take a shower.
____________________
The hospital visit was the same as all the others; white walls and bedsheets, the heavy smell of antiseptic and a husband who was still unconscious - as he had been the entire weekend.
At least this time she didn't have to deal with an annoying mother in-law who kept blaming her for the accident. Just thinking about the woman was hell, so spending an hour with her was something she tried hard to avoid.
Thinking about the conversation she had we maZulu the previous day was enough to darken her mood. Thankfully her cyan blue summer dress and pale pink pumps were there to brighten up her Sunday.
The beeping of her phone brought her out of her daze. Pulling out her phone to take a quick glance at it, she noticed a message.
Sego twin: Meet me at the Yellow Buzz.
She quickly typed a message: On my way, order me something strong. Then took her charcoal clutch bag and got out the car.
She had been sitting in the car in the mall's parking lot just thinking about her life and how terrible things had been going for her. She locked the doors then headed towards the food court to meet up with her twin brother.
Yellow buzz was a small quiet restaurant with a cool atmosphere. The place was good for having business meetings, due to it's peaceful atmosphere. They also served good food but it was affordable enough to cater for lunch without breaking the bank.
Her legs started picking up speed on their own accord as soon as she spotted her brother. Her face lit up immediately when she took notice of the person sitting across him.
"Ma!" she exclaimed, her voice caring her surprise at seeing the woman. Her mother stood up with a smile and gave her a hug. She turned to give her brother a hug, "missed you too" he whispered in her ear.
MaMpho was a beautiful woman who didn't look a day over fifty, a former teacher, who was always wearing classy clothing. Her short hair was always dyed black to hide the greying, the laugh lines and small wrinkles around her eyes were the only things giving away her age.
She had always been closer to her brother and father, not her mother. The two didn't have much in common, and she Boitumelo wasn't really the ideal daughter. She sat down next to Masego, opposite her mother. "This is a pleasant surprise."
"I haven't seen you in a long time, and Sego tells me that Themba is in hospital." maMpho spoke, getting straight to the point. The woman didn't do chitchat, especially not with Boitumelo, she said what she wanted to say not caring what other people thought.
Masego groaned at the use of his childhood nickname. He hated the name and everyone used it just so they could annoy him. She turned and gave him a pointed look, for disclosing the news to their parents. "They had to know, how long were you planning to keep them in the dark?"
Truth was she would not have told her parents, especially her mom. She would fish for a story and she was not up to telling them about the abuse. "I would have told them as soon as he got better" she said ignoring the look her mother was giving her.
"Baby, what happened? How did the accident happen." Yep. She was fishing. The woman never demonstrated any concern, so she wouldn't be starting now.
"Ma. Ga ke itsi. The last I saw him he was okay, just angry about a court case." she said trying to brush off the matter and close the subject.
[Ga ke itsi – I do not know]
"He didn't call or message you when he left his office?" she asked, to which Boitumelo shook her head. Her mother knew they had been having problems in their marriage so she didn't ask why Themba did not call.
"I went to see him and we had lunch together. Then we got into a bit of a disagreement, so I left the office." she lied a bit in an attempt to put an end to her mother's questioning.
"What were you fighting about?" The question caught her off guard and she took a sip of the white wine Masego had ordered for them before simply shaking her head, "Ga se sepe."
[Ga se sepe – It is nothing]
She could feel Masego's gaze burning the side of her head and she knew what he was thinking. He disapproved of her hiding things from him, he wanted to know why they were fighting. He felt it was his duty to protect her when their parents and Themba couldn't.
After a minute of tension Masego finally broke the heavy silence, with a question that opened a can of worms. "Did he do it?" she quickly turned to face him and slowly shook her head. His tense shoulders immediately relaxed.
"What did he not do?" the question made the twins exchange looks, having some twin telepathy moment. It was clear, Boitumelo was begging Masego not to say anything. But Masego was not having any of it, he wanted to tell maMpho.
"What did he not do?" maMpho asked again, the second time with more force yet her voice still remained low enough for people around them to not hear them. "Does he do this often? Was he meant to do this? Tell me! What did he not do?"
The questions made him want to speak, but her pleading eyes continued to focus on him. Silently begging him to not divulge her one major secret. He shook his head and closed his eyes, "sorry, Tumi."
"He hits her!"
_______________
~Bee♡
YOU ARE READING
Surviving ||On Hold
General Fiction"Ina lebe seromo." This is a Setswana proverb that means: you are your name. Your name is your destiny, it is who you become, and it is you. Batswana, like most if not all Africans, understand that your name defines your fate. That your name shape...
