The Swirl

Ep. 14

The tests were taking a toll on Mabea and Oratile was becoming worried. She was always tired and sad and depressed...it was horrible. If the tests were doing this to her, how was she going to fare with exams? Final exams?

He tried to force her to eat but she only drank shakes and relied heavily on energy drinks and BioPlus, a supplement that boosted energy levels. She looked thinner and a little bit unkept because she seemed to not care anymore. Whenever she had a test or exam, her boss gave her a few days off and now that she had written her last test, Oratile thought she would get better. When he came back from school, he found her seating on the floor in her bedroom which was a mess.

His heart broke. Was there something more going on? Maybe it wasn't just the tests but she was refusing to talk. Maybe he should call mama. He took out his phone but Mabea stopped him.

"Hiroto is engaged," she said.

Oratile sat beside her. "So it isn't the tests that are turning you into a hobo?"

She chuckled lightly. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I just have to deal with my grief first, alright?" She looked at him. "I'm kind of craving that spaghetti and fish thing you make. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. Can you cook me a horse?"

Oratile laughed and he hugged her which was something he never did. "Whatever is going on between Hiroto and you...I hope it gets better. I didn't want to annoy you but he texted me and told me you blocked him but he just wanted me to tell you how much he loves you."

"Block him," Mabea said and Oratile nodded before he smiled at her then walked to the kitchen.  Mabea cleaned up the mess in her bedroom and then jumped in the shower and washed herself from head to toe.

They had supper in front of the TV, watching some old Kung Fu movie with Jackie Chan in it.

"Fun Fact: we used to call him Jiki China when we were young," Mabea laughed. "We said whatever sounded close enough to it."

Oratile laughed. "We still call him Jiki China. But I'm now a skrr skrr boy so 'that's my boy, Jackie Chan, yo!" he tried to imitate an American accent which came out just horrible, making Mabea laugh.

As they watched, there was a knock at the door and Oratile answered only to come back with a forlorn expression.

"Mabea...there's some woman at the door that wants to speak to you."

Mabea stared at him in puzzlement as she stood up and walked to the door. She stood shocked to see Hiroto's sister who looked haggard. She looked like she had been crying.

"MK is missing," she whispered.

Mabea paled.

.

A couple of hours later, Mabea was seated outside in Hiroto's backyard, cradling the little boy who clung to her. She kept singing the Zulu song that she often sang to him when she wanted to calm him down or get him to sleep, rocking him back and forth while Hiroto just stood watching her.

His family was inside having a very heated argument and she could hear their raised voices as they yelled and shouted.

After Hiroto's sister had told her that MK was missing, they ran to her car and started looking around because where would a two year old boy go alone? They started at his daycare but there was no one. They drove all over town and even informed the police who found him at the children's park, cold and crying. He kept saying the word 'okasan' which Mabea asked what it meant.

'Okasan', " he cried as he ran into Mabea's arms.

Hiroto's sister was quiet as she drove them back to Hiroto's house. She parked in the garage and they all got out of the car, MK refusing to let go when Hiroto's sister tried to take him from Mabea.