Nokukhanya (Chapter 25)

Chapter 25

● Langa Gumede

'Gogo wants you here before the sun set and please bring two HUGE white goats. And that's an order' That's the text I got on my WhatsApp, message app and email before I was blocked again. My brother is not talking to me because of my baby mama. Even my mother is giving me the cold shoulder, all I have been getting from her is one-word answers.

I get up from my home office and go straight to my son room, which we have turned into a mini hospital for him. King isn't getting any better and that's just breaking my heart. Another thing that Is making me lose weight is the big brown envelop inside my safe that I don't have the guts to open it. I fear what the outcome from it will turn me into someone I'm not. I know I will kill Fikile if she played me. I start packing up his things for the long drive we are about to take after our flight.

"Are we going somewhere?" She asks when she finds me packing up his medical file inside the suitcase.

"Yeah. Please pack for us as well, my grandmother wants us home today."

"Why?" It comes out as a whisper. She lost weight as well. I understand her pain.

"Angazi. We will be back on Sunday. I promise." She nods and walks out to start packing. One thing for sure the past month has brought us closer. So close that I haven't even thought about Nokukhanya, that one makes me mad. I'm even angry at her that she has turn my family against me.

"Are you done?" She nods without turning to look at me.

"Is he ever going to get better." She asks softly, if I wasn't standing so close to her, I wouldn't have heard what she asked.

"We just need to have faith." I tell her pulling her close to me.

"I'm tired Langa. I want my son to get better. It's been long now. Why is this happening to him, to us?"

"He is going to be fine." I hope and pray that he gets better.

***

"Is there a ceremony here that we don't know anything about?" Fikile said quietly while picking up King from his car seat. We just arrived from a five-hour flight. The order was to be here before sun set. And we made it just in time. We stood in comfortable silence watching everyone busy running around doing God knows what. I had no idea what was happening in my own yard.

"Langa...whats all this?" As I'm about to reply to her, I hear my daughter's laughter, the voice I have been longing to hear for the past month. Her laugher is bold and so loud. Her voice just went from my ears straight to my heart makes me drag my wife and our bags inside the Gumede's household.

Why was my daughter here? The last time I checked I did not approve Nokukhanya's request to come here.

"Whats going on here?" Anger washed over me when my eyes landed on the one who as my heart. She was sitting next to my grandmother who had my daughter on her lap. Everyone went quiet and looked at us.

"What's going on here?"

"Is that how you greet your elders mfana wami? Is this what you have taught him? to disrespect us like this?" My grandmother asked my mother who looks ashamed to have given birth to me. my mother hung her head low and I saw her trying to blink back her tears. MaGumede's words can make you shed a tear or two.

"Ngiyamxolisela. Sanibonani BoGumede." My wife says next to me, and everyone gasp.

"Makoti. Hlala phansi."

"Ngiyabonga Ma." It took all the strength in me to stop myself from lashing out. How can she say something like this right now? Apologising on my behalf my left foot?

"Nokukhanya can I please talk to you." Her eyes widen on my request. Clearly, she wasn't expecting this from me, not right now any way.

"Langa..."

"Fikile not now please." I walk away expecting my daughter's mother to follow me.

"Ma can I please go to my house, I need to put him down." Fikile says loudly for everyone to hear.

"Hamba Makoti."

When I return, I find both women on their feet ready to go their respective ways. I thought she was following me.

"Langelihle... please help me with our bags." My wife asks, while my eyes follow Nokukhanya on her way to my...to my.... Wait where the hell is she going too? That is the only way that's leads to my House.... My house. No one has the right to go to that house, to enter that house except for me.

"Where is she going?" The question comes out as whisper.

"Langalami please help your wife settle in."

From the corner of my eyes, I see my brother going after the woman who has my heart. What is happening here? Why is he so close to her like that?

"Are you coming in?" She asks me as soon as i walk inside. My thoughts are still on my other house, the forbidden house.

"Yeah...in a min-"

"You can't seem to take your eyes off her...can you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." I get my son from her, checking him out. He has been quite ever since we arrived here.

"It drives you crazy, doesn't it?"

"What?

"Seeing her here and not paying attention to you. It makes you angry right." My smile disappears from my face when she finish talking. I was smiling because after such a long time, my boy finally opened his eyes and was moving his feet around. Since his birth I have never seen him open his eyes to anyone. He was sick from birth.

"He is looking at me." I tell her instead of answering her question. I do not want to hurt her like that. She's been through so much already.

"What?"

"Woza... look... he is looking at me."

"Langa... my baby opened his eyes... he is... he is... is he getting better?" She sniffs giving me a pained smile before allowing her tears to flow.

"See I told you he was going to be fine."

If I knew, all it took was me brining him home. I would have done this the moment the doctors told me there was nothing wrong with him.

***

Hearing someone knock, wakes me up. My wife is peacefully sleeping on my chest, I don't want to wake her as well. I untangle myself from her to go and attend to whomever is at the door at this time.

"Whats wrong?" I ask my mother and grandmother who are standing right besides my door, at dawn.

"We need you to come nathi esibayeni, bring your wife and that boy with you."

"Maa, do you know what time it is." My grandmother chuckles and walks away.

"Don't piss her off please, just do whatever she says." My mother follows her mother-in-law. I hate it when they gang up on me.

Waking up Fikile was a struggle. She kept on complaining and swearing at anything and me for disturbing her peace.

"At this time Langelihle? What are we going to do there? Sleep with the goats? Is that why we bought those goats?"

"Will you please keep it down. You are going to wake him up."

"This is not on! I haven't slept in such a long time and now this happen?"

"Woza sambe tu. And stop complaining."

Arriving esibayeni saboGumede, my whole family is here. With my uncle and my brother each holding the goats we bought.

"Ngena Langa and announce your children. Tell abomkhulu that you have extended the family, that you have managed to expand my family name. Ubike zonke izingane zakho."

I do as I'm told and announce all my children from my late daughter my son. My uncle whispered to me that both goats were supposed to cry at the same time when I finished naming my children, none of that happened when I was done saying my sons name. He is the last born. The last baby to come from me. What is all this now.

"Langelihle Gumede... ngithe bika zonke izingane zakho." My Grandmother says, clearly irritated.

"Gogo, I have. I did not leave anyone out."

"Have you?" She says.

Yes i have!

I have mentioned ALL my children. ALL of them and i did not leave anyone out.

"I'm pregnant Langa." Nokukhanya announces as i battle with my thought thinking about who am i leaving out.

Silence.

My eyes goes to Fikile who has tears running down her face. I know she can't even voice out her frustrations right now because of the place we at. She's pregnant. She is having my baby. I wish I can show all these people how happy I am that the one who stole my heart is giving me another child. A child I wish can finally bring us back together.

"Langa, bika zonke izingane zakho."

"Ntsikayethu Gumede." I say and both goat's cries at the same time.

Deep down I know she will be giving me a son and that will be his name. Right after I have named my son. My children who are being carried by their mothers start crying, joining the goats, while my aunts start ululating in joy.

***

"She's pregnant Langa."

"I'm sorry Fikile." I apologise to her. We just got inside after both my children and Nokukhanya where cleansed esibayeni. Nokukhanya had too because of my child, the one she is carrying. After the Cleansing they both fell asleep. My mother took then giving me chance to speak to my wife, yet the only one I would like to speak too vanished.

"You are sorry Langa? You cheated on me, and you are sorry?" She seethed.

"Angazi exactly what you want to me say khona manje?" I tell her and she chuckles. One of those evil ones. I watch her look around like she is looking for something.

"What are looking for?" I ask.

"Something that I can throw you with. You make me angry yaz. You cheat on me and say sorry. You don't know me!"

What!

"After everything I went through to finally have you and wena you do this to me...with her! What's so special about her Langa? Yeh? Answer me dammit!" Never have I seen this side of her. I'm shocked. She starts pacing around.

"Fikile calm down. Do you know what time it is for your to be screaming like this?"

She stops pacing and gives me a nasty and evil look.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry okay. We were talking and you know how we are. We started screaming at each other and one thing led to another. I'm sorry I went out of our marriage and made another woman pregnant. Ngiyaxolisa Mkami." I genuinely apologise to her I never meant to hurt her like this.

"You are hurting me Langa... why can't you love me like you love her?" She cries.

● Nokukhanya Ngwenya

A soft knock disturbs me from my trailed thoughts. I did the very same thing I never wanted in the first place Now I finally got pregnant by a married man. Nonjabulo's grandmother walks in. She is beautiful. All the women of this household are breath-taking.

"I haven't been in here since I lost my first daughter-in-law. Langa doesn't want anyone in this house. I wonder what he is going to say when he finds out that his grandmother gave you this house." I keep quite as I don't know how to answer her. My heart led me to this house.

Silence.

"Baby, he got you pregnant again." She says softly. I am so ashamed that the only thing I can do right now is hung my head low.

"Maa..." She holds up her hand in my face to silence me.

"Nokukhanya, you know I love you right? I was rooting for you and you know this... baby I don't condone infidelity. Both you and Langa did Fikile wrong. It was wrong of him to sleep with you and make you pregnant. Even though my grandson is a blessing I cannot wait to hold. How he came about is just wrong."

"Maa, I'm sorry." I move from where I'm sitting and squat in front of her.

"Ngiyaxolisa. Getting pregnant was never my intention or even sleeping with him, it just happened. I never want to hurt his wife like this. Please believe me. This is same reason I moved away from here and went to Cape town because at the time I thought I had broken someone marriage and now this happens again. I will apologise to Fikile and move away from here again. I don't want to come in between them."

"Nokukhanya..."

"I love your son Maa. But he will never be mine. He was never mine and I am fine with that. I will take my children and move away from here. I will not be a thorn in your son's marriage. I promise."

What have I done?

"What the hell do you mean you are going to take your children and move away? Nokukhanya please don't piss me off." He says just after banging the door. His mother helps me get up because I was struggling to get up by myself.

"Langelihle please calm down."

"Mama please, I need to speak to this bitch in private!" I have seen him angry before but not like this. This man standing in front of us, looks like he is ready for murder.

"Langa if you think you are going to come in here and disrespect your late wife's house, think again. How dare you come in here and start swearing at the mother of your children heh? Get out Langelihle Gumede!" I'm shocked, so is he. He looked at his mother with a shocked expression on is face, mouth hung open. If I wasn't in shit, I would take a picture of him. Just like me, I think this is the first hearing his mother shout.

"Maa..."

"Ngithe phuma Langa.... PHUMA Langa!" She screams at him. I am so glad that my daughter isn't here. The moment he closes the door behind. There is silence. Only her heavy breathing. I'm even scared to even breathe.

"Ma. I am so sorry." That's the only thing that comes out of my mouth. She just nods and leaves.

What have I done?

This is the last thing I ever wanted. I cannot even run after him to apologise. Me saying I will take my children and move away, wasn't me saying that I will exclude him in his children's life.

'Baby why did you have to come now, huh? Couldn't you wait till mommy sorted out her life first.' I ask my little intruder as I rub my stomach.

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To be Continued

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