Be Loved

Chapter 1

The sun rose on the Sunday morning, with the birds announcing the beginning of Father's day. Fathers all over the world are meant to be celebrated and honored for playing a significant role in the lives of their children. Father's day cannot compare to Mother's day, however, for people, Father's Day still holds some significance. Children are reminded of the father they don't have, the father who does not visit, the father who is there but never present. In the case of Keeya, Father's day is a reminder of the father who ran off, and the grandfather that stepped in. To her, a father is a man that raised his grandchild like his last-born child. She is precious to his eyes and she is eternally grateful to him. She knows that other children in her neighbourhood do not have the privilege of someone playing that father role.

"Keeya, are you ready nana? Time for church" yelled Nkgono Tshidi, Keeya's grandmother. She is a stickler for time. She is convinced that if you never arrive on time, people will gossip about you for the rest of the week. Every misfortune in your life will be blamed on your lack of punctuality. On a typical Sunday, Nkgono Tshidi would wake up at 5am and start to prepare Sunday lunch. A seven-colours feast on a Sunday is part of the tradition. Keeya long gave up trying to wake up on a Sunday to help. Her role would be to wash the mountains of dishes after lunch. But Father's day is different. Every family has to provide a salad and meat for the Father's Day buffet at church. So Keeya and Nkgono Tshidi begin to prepare their contribution on Saturday evening. The food has to be perfect, "more perfect than usual" as Nkgono Tshidi would say.

"Good morning Keeya. You look beautiful today. Is this for me" asked Ntate Phiri, Keeya's grandfather, as he accepted a card that Keeya made for him.

"I did. It's father's day today, so I have to do the most" replied a smiling Keeya, as she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Keeya went to the kitchen to help her grandmother with the food. They put it in the car and Ntate Phiri drove them to church. As usual, jazz music is playing as they drive to church. Keeya usually objects, but today is his day. There is something about this day that makes Ntate Phiri smile.

"You know Keeya, Father's day was always special with your mother. She would wake me up early in the morning, humming my favourite jazz song, and bring me a coffee with dikhukhu that she baked the day before. I miss her on days like these" commented Ntate Phiri, putting on a brave smile. He keeps telling this same story every Father's Day, and Keeya never reminds him that she knows. Keeya never got to know her mother, so the few moments that she is ever spoken about, make her feel something. A connection somehow.

They arrive at the church, and Ntate Phiri parks his car at his reserved spot. He is a respected man in the community and one of the longest-serving members of the church. They love him.  "Keeya, let us take the food to the church kitchen. The potato salad must be in the fridge, otherwise, it won't taste nice. Imagine what people would say if the potato salad from Ntate Phiri's family would be tasteless. You know how church ladies gossip" said Nkgono Tshidi. She is always focused on what people would say about her. She is an expert on what gossipers would say about her because she too is a gossip. Keeya always smiles when her grandmother makes comments about others that would apply to her as well. Children are not allowed to highlight the hypocrisy of adults.

The church service starts with a prayer  led by Nkgono Tshidi. She prays for all the fathers of the world to become responsible people who take care of their children. She ends it by thanking God for the good fathers that do exist. Keeya and the other members of the youth worship team lead the service in praise and worship. Keeya is blessed with an angelic voice and often leads worship when it comes to the slower, deeper songs. Ntate Phiri always says that her voice takes him straight to heaven. As praise and worship ends, all the fathers are asked to come to the front of the church. Eight men come forward and the women of the church pray for them. Ntate Phiri offers to make a thank you speech on behalf of the fathers.

"I greet you all in the name of Jesus amen? Church we thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You know people out there don't appreciate us, men. They call us trash. They disrespect us. They demean us. But you, godly women, have shown the light to the young women of our congregation. You are teaching them that a man is taken care of, honoured and praised for leading as the Bible commanded. Keep it up and may God bless you and your families. As you all know, some of us are return fathers in our old age. God was good to me, even when he took away my daughter, he gave me another daughter to raise in Keeya. Her real father may have run off and been the real man who is trash, but the Lord gave me strength and long life, to be able to ensure that my granddaughter is raised in the way of the Lord. Ngwanaka kea go rata. Soon you will turn 16. Who would have imagined that this day would come? God is good. You have honoured myself and your grandmother and the Lord is rewarding you with long life. Children of the church, be like Keeya and all your ways will blessed. Amen and Amen."

The congregation gives the fathers one more round of applause as they go back to their seats. For Keeya, being reminded that her father ran off is never a pleasant experience. She always hopes that her facial expressions would show her grandparents that speaking about him is triggering and upsetting. It frustrates her that she cannot make them stop. They raised her to be too respectful to ever speak unkindly to them. She has mastered the art of writing down her feelings in her diary. And that is what she did at the end of Fathers day. She sat down and told her diary everything that went down.