Be Loved

Chapter 25

The doctors inform Pearl that they have managed to figure out what Molatlhegi took to end his life. The doctors explained to Pearl that Molatlhegi took a cocktail of toxic powders, namely rat poison, cocaine, and Panado, to end his life. They are not sure if he was found in time. They are unsure if they were simply postponing his inevitable demise. This news was delivered to her in a way that felt cold to her. She even contemplated having Molatlhegi taken to another hospital, as she felt that the doctors had given up on him. A doctor friend of hers reminded her that Molatlhegi is a prisoner and thus has to be cared for by hospitals that are chosen by the prison. Pearl spent every free moment she had by his side. With him being in a coma, she feared that he would die alone, without someone being there by his side. Time kept moving while she sat by his side. As the days became weeks, there was little to no change. Pearl didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing. Her prayers were feeling laboured and repetitive. But she fought through the doubts and clung to the hope of change.

It was now week three since Molatlhegi attempted to end his life. Pearl arrives at the hospital to go see him. Her presence makes her look like the furniture. She has learned to bring work with her, as she camps by his bedside. Pearl goes through the WhatsApp stories and sees a post by Tshegofatso. Something inside of Pearl makes her feel like she should reach out to Tshegofatso and tell her about her father. So Pearl tries to call Tshegofatso. The phone rings. Pearl tries again and the result is the same. So she decides to leave Tshegofatso a message. Pearl receives a reply an hour later, where Tshegofatso says "please delete my number". Pearl isn't surprised by the message. She then remembers the favour that Molatlhegi had asked her to do for him. She started googling people who could compile a book for her. She found a company that could help her. She made contact with them and they informed her about the things they would need from her to put everything together.

It takes Pearl a couple of days to get the book compiled and printed. She decides to call the book "beloved" and took a picture of the artwork Tshegofatso made for Molatlhegi, and used it as the cover. Pearl asks Leko The Activist to get the book into Tshegofatso's hands. She explains to Leko The Activist that Tshegofatso may never open the package if she sees that it came from her or her father. Leko The Activist promises to work her magic and guarantees that it will end up in the hands of Tshegofatso.

Leko The Activist does some digging and finds Sharon's home address. Leko The Activist gets the book to be sent to Sharon, gambling on the fact that Sharon would know that the book was not meant for her. Leko was right. When Sharon received the book, she opened it, read some parts, and realised that this book was never for meant for her. Sharon takes the book with her to school, so that she can give it to Tshegofatso during break when they would be alone.

"Friend. Something strange happened to me yesterday" says Sharon

"Ok. Spit it out. What went down" asks Tshegofatso

"I got home and there was a package for me. I felt so special, I mean no one sends me anything. And it looked big" comments Sharon.

"Ok and what was inside," asks Tshegofatso

"A book" replies Sharon.

"That sounds boring. I'm sure you were disappointed" explains Tshegofatso

"A bit. Then I opened it. And I saw letters. And the letters were not addressed to me." Sharon reaches into her bag and takes out the book and hands it over to Tshegofatso

"I think this belongs to you. I promise I didn't read everything. I stopped when I realised that this is for you" explains Sharon. Tshegofatso skims through the book. She sees her mother's name. She sees her father's name. She sees her name. Letters that wished her happy birthday from her father. Letters from her mom to her dad. There was a lot in the book. She scans the front cover and sees the picture of the artwork she made her father. She becomes emotional. Sharon notices and hugs her friend.