Be Loved

Chapter 17

Dear whoever reads this

At this point, I feel defeated. Every year, every birthday, I send a letter and a happy birthday letter. Yet there is no response. I don't know if this reaches you, if you even open it if you even care. I'm sure there is a special place in hell for someone who prevents a 9-year-old from seeing their father. Truly. It's disgusting now. I feel so defeated.

Regards, Molatlhegi

"So you decided that you would come to take me and live with me in another province. Did you do that overnight? When did you do it" asks Tshegofatso, this being her first question to her father in their latest visit.

"I needed a couple of months to save more money and to slowly sell things that I wouldn't need. I didn't want to make people see that I was planning to run-off. Especially with your grandparents. I told them that I realised that they knew better than me and that you were the safest staying with them. So I agreed to see you once a week, on a Friday, for 2 hours. I needed them to feel like they won so that they would not see the moves that I was making behind the scenes. They didn't notice when I moved to an outside room in the township close to them. I did that to save the high rent money I was paying for the townhouse in the suburbs. I was lucky that I got to do some freelance IT jobs with some overseas companies. The dollars helped my savings. Then it was your birthday. Well, our birthday. They organised a whole birthday party for you, and never told me the venue. I arrived to see you on your birthday, and I found an empty house. I was so angry! And hurt! But I channeled those emotions. I decided there and then how I would take you out of the house, in the middle of the night. I checked where your mom used to put the spare house key and like a sign from heaven, they still hid the keys there"

"Can I just say that it sounds weird for me to hear about how you planned to kidnap me. It is weirder because I am fascinated about it all, as well as I am rooting for you to win" comments Tshegofatso.

"I won't lie, I was busy channeling all the spy movies that I watched. I decided that I would take you three days later. So I withdrew all the money that I had in my bank accounts. I didn't resign from work, so that your grandparents wouldn't find out. I stockpiled baby things like nappies and formula. I bought as much as the boot could take. On the night that I planned to take you, I waited until midnight and drove my car and left it down the street from your grandparents' house. I snuck into the yard, looked for the spare key and I opened the kitchen door. Like pink panther, I snuck to your room. Took your favourite doll, and stuffed it into my back pocket. Then I slowly lifted you. Then you started to cry!"

"No!" Tshegofatso interjects

"I was so scared. I froze, But no one woke up. I don't know why. But I snuck out of the house, with your mouth covered, to muffle any crying you would do. Then I ran, holding you in my arms, to the parked car up the street. I was so scared in that moment. The truth is, I didn't expect to get away with it. I just knew that I wanted to live a life where I actively pursued to be your father, instead of passively living on the side, visiting your life. So if I was going to live a life on the run, then so be it. But you were my beloved daughter. A child who deserved to be loved."

"So did you get caught" asks Tshegofatso

"No. Not then. We got to the car and I drove. I didn't have a plan. Just a car filled with money and baby supplies. As an IT person, I had made a way to hide my digital identity and knew how to make myself undetectable. But to ensure that it took people long to ever find us, I was going to find a place where they didn't have cellphone network. Just far, far, far away from it all. And that's what we did. We stopped in a small town Macburgville, where they had a cheap, cash only B&B for us to hide in, while I scouted if this town would be the best place for us to start our new, secret lives."

"This is amazing... Really amazing...." marvels Tshegofatso. Molatlhegi can't help but laugh and smile with pride. And as usual, when the story was about to get juicy, they ran out of time and agreed to continue during their next visit.