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[rws2871]

The Mercy Of Humans - Chapter 2: To Do The Right Thing

“Breaking news from Confederation space,” I watched as the media talking head looked appropriately concerned/serious. “The Dal’tari system’s star has become unstable, throwing off massive coronal ejections, solar flares, and deadly radiation. The Dalutian people’s home planet, Umsarrat, has been severely affected. So far, we know that their entire space-based infrastructure inside their asteroid belt has been destroyed. The solar flares and the accompanying heat have caused near irreparable damage to their ecosystem. Jane?”

“Volume up. Expand image.” I ordered. The smart screen on the bulkhead of the cargo ship’s tiny mess hall complied. The pre-recorded image enlarged from 1.5 meters wide to five, taking up the entire wall and the volume doubled. The off-duty crew of the TCS Star Wanderer all watched intently.

“Thank you, Ahmed,” the cohost continued. “This news is over a week old, but these solar flares started about fifteen standard days ago. I warn you; these images are disturbing. As you can see their crops have been wiped out either by sudden drought or the massive hurricanes the change in the weather patterns have spawned over the past week.”

I was shocked at the scenes of devastation. The scorched croplands, dead livestock, floods and landslides were bad enough, but seeing the injured Dalutians was heartbreaking. So many of the birdlike people suffered critical burns and the video showed authorities loading bodies onto floater-trucks. Most were small, the children of the world had suffered the worst.

“Damn, lookit that!” Bob exclaimed with his New Texas twang. “That hurricane must be five thousand clicks wide. It’s bigger than the damned continent.”

“Hate to see kids suffer like that,” I said.

“Reports are the Dalutians have requested aid from the Galactic Confederation, but so far it seems they have been left alone to deal with the crisis,” the cohost said. “Stay tuned. More news after the break.”

“Remember the Cascabel colony? About what, fifty years ago? Lost ever’one,” Bob scratched his scruffy red beard. “Men, women, kids. My dad was on the ship that found it.”

“That was a mutated virus, right?” Angela Chan asked. “Like some sort of super flu?”

“Sumptin like that. Dunno,” Bob drawled. “I ain’t a scientist ‘r historian. I just know it still haunts my dad. Finding a billion dead people like that.”

“Seems the Gallies are dragging their feet,” their chief engineer Xi Kai Lin said with a cold sneer. “Tough luck for them.” Most humans felt some degree of dislike for the Galactic Federation and its byzantine bureaucracy. But the short woman hated them with a passion. About twenty years ago, her brother had been killed by the Tloung-hi trade consortium. The short war that followed had not satisfied the woman. She vocally supported taking down the whole Confederation and its moribund ways.

“That’s a bit harsh.” I was unsurprised at her reaction. And though I knew it was a bit useless, I tried to reason with her. “The Dalutians are decent folk, from all I have heard.”

“Not our problem,” Lin retorted.

“I wonder if the Alliance will send aid?” Angela said.

The Terran Alliance was a loose federation consisting of fifty-two human systems. The Constitution was written to vest most of the governmental powers vested in the systems and planets. The Federal government of more a guiding body than a rulemaking one. Only when dealing with foreign governments, interstellar trade, and disasters did the federal government have complete authority.

“Not bloody likely,” Lin snarled. “And why should we?”

“Why shouldn’t we?” I countered.

“I mislike standing by while little’uns die,” Bob drawled. “Not like they got much a’choice over their government, eh?”

“Lin, it is one thing to seek justice. We got that when we went to war with the Tloung-hi. But you just want revenge and that isn’t right. The way I see it, kindness should be the natural way of life, not the exception,” I said. “Compassion is what sets us apart from the beasts. We have a full cargo of food and supplies those people could really use.”

“Whatever. It is not your call. You aren’t the captain,” Lin finished with a grim smile, thinking she won the argument.

“No. But the captain is his cousin, and the ship is owned by their family,” Angel said. “That makes him a part owner, too. Seems he might have a bit of a say after all.”

I tapped my wrist computer to open a com channel to the bridge, “Davis, you got a moment?”

“Yeah. It’s a bit of a dull day. Not much happening. What’s up?” the captain answered.

Davis and I were about the same age and were very close. But we did not let our relationship interfere with the running of the ship.

“Did you see the news about the Dal’tari system?”

“It came across the news channels a bit ago when we hit the last waypoint,” Davis answered. “Why?”

Ships in hyperspace could not change direction. They had to drop out of hyperspace and realign to the new heading before going back crossing back into hyper.

“If we dropped out of hyper and reset, we could be there in what, four days or so?” I could hear him typing queries into the navigation computer.

“About that. Where are you going with this? Or should I be afraid to ask?”

“We have a few million tons of food and supplies those folks really need. It might cost us a bit to cover the breach of contracts with the deliveries. But, if we pressed the good publicity angle, I think most of our clients would support it. Plus, it would be a huge tax write-off.”

“That is a bit above my pay grade. But let me run it up the flagpole and see what the boss says. Prepare to drop out of hyper.”

FTL travel was commonplace and so was FTL communications. But the oddities of the two technologies was that you could not use FTL coms while in hyperspace.

“Have grand-mère put the question to the board. And then have her ask the commerce leagues if they want to join us.”

“You are sure we will get the approval?” Davis was skeptical.

“Come on, you know grand-mère. Good Catholics serve those in the most need. I don’t think anyone in the galaxy has more need right now. She will browbeat the board if she has too.”

Catholic teachings support their giving as an expression of God's love, which leads to a love for one another. I have to admit, I am not that good a Catholic, which always disappointed grand-mère. But I always try spread kindness where he could.

“Maybe you should comm her. Might have a bit more weight coming from a lapsed Catholic like you. Maybe she would think you finally pulled your head outta your ass.”

“Gee thanks. What the hell, I might as well,” he stopped and looked chagrined. “Perhaps not the best turn of phrase, eh? Fine, I will be right up.”

“You have to be kidding me,” Lin groused.

“We can drop you off at New Damascus, if you want,” I said as he left the mess hall.

Cargo ships were by necessity, huge. Larger than the largest warships. But most of the mass was dedicated to cargo holds that were open to space. It was pointless to maintain atmosphere where the crew never needed to go. With a crew of only thirty, the crew spaces were actually very small. The bridge was directly above the mess hall and a quick trip up a narrow ladder, and he was sitting next to the captain.

The bridge was tiny. Warships had large bridges because they needed them, but cargo ships bridges needed space for only a captain, navigator, helmsman and communications. There was an engineering console, but the engineer spent his time in the powerplant or engine room.

“Drop us out of hyper,” Davis commanded.

The helmsman, a young native of Mars named Gabriel Marshall, did not answer but everyone on the ship felt the brief gut-wrenching nausea of breaking the hyperwall as they dropped into normal space. The experienced crew just grimaced and went back to work. Only novices complained.

“Open a channel to home, please Helen,” I asked our communications tech.

FTL comms were tiny wormholes that opened from one discreet point to another. Even their pinhole size required a massive energy output that only a large ship or planet could provide.

“Hello, Star Wanderer,” a voice sounded over the bridge speakers. “What can I do for you?”

“Who is speaking, please,” Davis requested.

“Allíz, dumbass.”

“Allíz? Last I heard you were on the Starsong,” I said.

“Ollie, is that you? Yeah, I was. But then I accidentally got pregnant,” she chuckled. “So, I am stuck at the home office for the next few years.”

It was against company rules for pregnant women to work on starships. The risks to a fetus during space travel were too much to ignore, especially if the woman was family.

“How is Édouard taking it? That is your fourth??

“Fifth. You need to get home more if you cannot keep track of your brother’s kids.”

“Give me a break. I have seven brothers and six sisters. I can barely keep track of my own kids,” I retorted.

“I will make sure and tell Chimere that.”

“Please don’t. That last thing I need is my wife mad at me. But seriously, how is he taking it? He just made captain, but he should take some time off to be at home with you.”

“He is excited. It will be his first girl. He should be home next month and take a year off. Donatienne made sure of that. Your grand-mère is death on any of her boys not being a good father.”

“Speaking of grand-mère. I need to talk to her.”

“Umm. It is 3 a.m. here. Is it important?”

I thought about it for less than a second. “Yes. Go ahead and wake her and patch me through.”

“Well, if she gets mad about it, it will be two months before we get home. Plenty of time for her to get over it,” Davis chided.

“Okay, but it is totally on the two of you if she gets pissed. Connecting now.”

A short period of silence followed before a woman’s tired voice spoke, “Hello, Oliver, Davis. What has gone so wrong that you needed to wake me up so early?”

“Good morning, grand-mère,” I answered. “I am sorry to wake you up but, yes, this is important. Have you seen the news out of Confederation space about the Dal’tari system?”

“Something about a solar flare? I did not pay too much attention to it. I had too much on my plate the past few weeks. What of it?”

“Not a solar flare, grand-mère. More a coronal mass ejection. Dozens of them. It has caused a lot of damage to their system.”

“And you think we can get some products there and get in early on the market?” I heard the interest in her voice.

“No. This is something we have not seen before grand-mère. We are talking the death of a planet and all the people on it. Billions of lives. I just saw footage of hundreds of dead bodies, mostly children. There is no possible way they can evacuate the entire planet and they have no food, little clean water. Where there are no hurricanes and floods, there are such high temperatures that nothing can live.

“I think we need to divert our cargo there. Even get more if we can. Portable power plants, prefab shelters, food, water purification systems, medicine… they need it all.”

“Your cargo can barely put a dent in what they need, Oliver,” she replied. “I have your manifest here. Most of it is useless for a rescue or relief effort.”

“I think we can stop off at New Damascus and offload what they don’t need and load up on what they do,” Davis put in. It was nice to know he was backing me up. “Plus, New Damascus has some of the best medical researchers in the galaxy. They can figure out what medicines the Dalutians need.”

“Still, one ship, even one as large as a Star Caravan, cannot do much.”

“So, you get more. We have thirty of our ships within a week’s travel time. Call up all the other shipping conglomerates. Contact the commerce leagues and Captain’s Guild. You are on Terra. You can contact Yves. He would never have been elected without our support. Have him talk to the Prime Minister. This falls under the Federation’s Constitution. He can mobilize a response.”

“But why would he? I can appreciate what you want to do. But realistically? There is likely not much going to happen. At least not soon.”

“Grand-mère, you told me once when I was a small boy, ‘Doing the right thing is always doing the right thing. Even if nobody else is doing it, if you know in your heart that it is right, follow your heart.’ This is the right thing.”

“I agree, grand-mère,” Davis added. “Probably at no other time in our lives will we be faced with something like this. Either we stand up and do the right thing, or we have lived a life of lies.”

“And if Uncle Claude has any gripes, remind him that all of this makes a great tax write off,” I said.

There was silence for long enough that I began to feel she would not agree. My head swirled with dozens of other arguments. I was willing to go it alone if necessary.

���You are right, boys. You should not have had to work so hard to convince me. Head to New Damascus. I will contact Adaeze Otueome. We went to college together, so long ago. She is the president of Erinlẹ Pharmaceuticals. They have a research and production facility there. I will get Yves to work on the government, though I have little hope on that front.”

“If you get the commerce leagues and Captain’s Guild on our side, then the government will likely join in, even if it is just sending navy hospital ships,” I offered. “Gus Van der Waal is the president of the Guild. Uncle Emil is good friends with him. Get Emil up and talking.”

“Have my wife call Grace Kobliska,” Davis said. “She is a producer on Good Morning, Sol. Something this big deserves media attention. And maybe it can put some pressure on the Prime Minister and the Guild.”

“I will. Head to New Damascus. I will have Operations set up the cargo shift and make sure you have what you need and get some other ships diverted. And boys? I am proud of the two of you. I love you both.”

“We love you, too,” I replied as the circuit cut off.

“Do you think they will sign on for it?” Hellen asked. I had forgotten about the rest of the bridge crew.

“Grand-mère can talk a rock into moving,” Davis replied. “It may take a while, but she is persistent.”

“Not to mention scary when she is pissed. Hell hath no fury like Donatienne Pierre when she does not get her way.” I had seen it before. All it took was the one time for me to decide I never, ever wanted her that pissed at me.

The whole story below

https://archiveofourown.org/users/RWS2871

The wiki of all the characters here https://www.reddit.com/r/Book_of_Mimir/wiki/index/

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[ketso]

Episode 21

Zari, Fifi, Khanyi and I are in Fifi's kitchen preparing breakfast for the men we love. We have set up a playpen for Fifi's twins and my Khumo. They are actually making a noise and having a full-blown baby language conversation amongst the three of them.

"Girl, a whole set of twins? You are brave", Zari says to Fifi.

"We are waiting for you and Ona now. We've done our part - two of the best." Fifi says.

"Are you planning to have more?" I ask her.

"More what?!" Fifi says in shock and we all laugh.

We see Khabane come down the stairs. We all look at Khanyi.

"We slept in separate rooms!" Khanyi makes it known.

We laugh.

"But what's happening? Are you guys dating or?" Zari asks.

"We like each other. When we can spend time together, we do. But that's about it." Khanyi says, but she's blushing from here all the way to her wedding day in Tholoana Kingdom.

"Good morning", Khabane greets us.

"Heeeeeeyyyyyyy", us ladies.

Khabane looks at us as if we are being weird.

"I'll go sit with the kids. Y'all look like you were having a weird conversation", he says.

We still stare at him.

He leaves the kitchen...

Then we all burst into laughter!

We are busy in the kitchen shame. The guys come down the stairs making a noise.

"Khabane, you are here?" Tee-le has to be the one to point out the obvious.

"He's driving back home with Zari and I", Ona says.

"I didn't know that Reahile and Khabane were close", Tee-le says.

We are all laughing now.

"I'm close to Khanyi. Why are you acting like you don't know?" Bane.

Okay he's going to hold his own. Good for him!

"Eh monna... this is my baby sister. Why are you trying to pull a Maboko Seete when he met Tebza Seete. She was a young sweet hun too. Have you been taking notes?" Mohato says.

The guys laugh.

"What can I say? He gave me his gift of picking the best flowers from any and all gardens. Just look at her." Bane.

Everyone looks at Khanyi.

SHE IS BLUSHING!!!!!

"Wait 'til Thomas Ramaru hears about this", Rea says.

The moment goes from cute to hilarious instantly!

Ngathi ngiyabona.

We are all having breakfast now around the dining table. Khumo is glued to her father. He is eating and feeding her too. Rea has Mulalo on him and Mohato has Mohau with him.

"We are not giving Bane or Khanyi a baby because we don't want them getting any ideas", Mohato says.

"Hai guys, yekan' i'ngane! Hai bo! Kunini?! Sekuhlabeka mina manje", I say.

They've been going at them. They need to relax now. Hai bo!

"I'm with Thuli on this one. Y'all are just jealous that when you were at Khabane's age, you didn't know what you wanted and you didn't have a Khanyisa!" Fifi says.

"Eeeeehhhhhhh!!!" The guys say at the same time.

Zari giggles.

"Speak for your own men. I've always had my Zari. Akere baby", Mohato.

Zari blushes.

"Oksalayo, you were not making moves the way that Bane is. He's putting all your game- all three of yours combined- to shame!" Fifi.

We all laugh.

"But in other news, Fifi and Rea, congratulations guys. Your home is beautiful. Your babies are cute. And you are perfect for each other." I say, taking the heat off Khanyi and Bane.

"Absolutely! You guys have done amazing and we will never stop being here for you." Tee-le says.

"Thank you, guys. And please never stop visiting us", Rea.

We all laugh.

I get a call from a number I don't recognize. Truecaller tells me that it is Mandisa Tloung calling. Tee-le looks at me, noticing how disturbed I am.

"What's wrong?" He asks me.

I show him my phone.

His eyes also widen.

I answer the phone and put the call on speaker.

"Thuli hello."

"Hi Thuli. It's Mandisa. Khosi's sister. How are you?"

"Ngiyaphila Mandisa. Wena unjani?"

"Uhm Thuli... I have a lead on Khosi."

"A lead?" Me.

"Yeah. She's been lost. Nobody knew where she was. I have a lead now."

"Oh..."

I'm not sure what to do with this information. Everyone at this table is focused on this call.

"Thuli, I know you guys are not friends anymore. But I know that of everyone Khosi has ever met, you are the one person that really cared about her. That's why I'm telling you this."

"Mandisa, this is just a bit awkward. I haven't spoken to Khosi in over a year. In fact, the last time we spoke, we spoke through lawyers because she defamed my husband and me on that reality show she was on. So, it's a bit difficult for me to really care at this point."

She's silent for a moment, then she says, "You are married to your best friend's ex. From where I'm standing, you are not as innocent as you would like to think you are in all of this. So mawuzenza ngcono ngodadewethu -

I hang up.

I'm suddenly so angry!

I'm breathing heavily!

"Sis'Thuli". Khanyi says.

I look at her.

"Don't be angry. Surely, you've always known that this is how Khosi and her family would always view you. It doesn't make their version of the truth worth it. It makes how they view you worth it... between Khumo and Bhut'Tee-le, is there anything you'd want to change?"

I smile at her. I can't help it. She's right.

"Bane, you got a real one." Tee-le.

"I know", Bane.

We laugh.

Then Bane says, "Also, if people couldn't date Khosi's exes, there'd be no one to date. She dates one man, and we know she'll finish the squad. Isn't she the girl that keeps loving the crew?"

Wow!

Everyone else laughs. I still kinda have a soft spot for her, so I'm a bit touched.

Fifi notices then says, "Anyway guys, thanks for staying after the bash. Yoh, dealing with clean up alone is a bit -

"Thank God for kazi! The cleaning service was here at 6am." Khanyi says and we laugh.

"After breakfast, we can go chill by the pool to give the cleaning company some space to finish. Is that okay?" Fifi says.

"Thank God we are all soccer players. The body allows." Mohato.

"Bane, can you go topless?" Rea asks him.

"I play rugby. Khanyi hasn’t made a mistake here. Believe that!" Bane mara.

"Wooooooohhhh!" Us ladies gush over seeing Bane topless.

"Ey!" Mohato.

Shame, it's a nice morning.

...

Dikwe is in Venda with Tshianeo. I never know what's happening with the first wife. She's always been a non-factor in my life. She literally lives away from us and refuses to associate with us, so nje, I'm not interested in anything that has to do with her.

I've packed my three daughters in my car - two at the very backseat and one right behind the driver's seat. She's seated next to my son who is strapped in his car seat. Next to me and in my passenger seat is my mom. We are bringing Khosi home. We are travelling in my BMW X7.

Khosi is famous so people know who she is. We saw someone posting that they had spotted her in South Africa and she was looking bad. I then DM-ed that person and asked for information - where she saw her and all. I then asked if she could please stop posting about her. The girl actually helped me locate Khosi and now I'm on my way to KZN to find her. I had to tell my mom. She's Khosi's mother. She's heartbroken of course, but the key thing is to find Khosi.

"Mandisa", my mom starts.

"Yebo mah?"

"Am I bad mother?"

I'm quiet. What is she expecting me to say really?

"Or uKhosi uyena ogulayo? What is it about the way that you grew up that made Khosi feel she has to live the way that she does? Or did I perhaps miss something?"

I get what she means. We didn't struggle. We grew up in a township, but we were the family that had the big corner house in the township. We went to good government schools. We never went to bed hungry. We were not millionaires, but we were okay.

"UNobukhosi kudala athanda izinto, mama. And you never said anything about it. You just let her be. I never understood why you were too scared to tell Khosi that the way that she lives her life is not okay. It was never okay for her to sleep with people's husbands - regardless of the status of the marriage - but you sat and watched her do it, enjoying the benefits that came from it. Khosi started this thing of hers years ago... in high school already. When I said something about it, I was the jealous ugly sister. So, I also let her be. Bheka manje ukuthi she's paying a price for hurting all of these people she's hurt just because she wanted a luxurious life, and affording life was never good enough for her. You are not a bad mother. But you could have done more to stop this."

She's quiet.

"But mom, it's not fair to expect ncane to respect people's wedding vows when they don't respect their own wedding vows", that would be Sethunya, my first born. She and my second born, Lerato, look up to Khosi with all of their hearts. They are the slay queens of today. Sethunya is already making a living out of it, calling herself an influencer. Lerato is well on her way.

"So that's normal to you? You make money off hurting people and just tenaciously bulldozing people's lives just to get money? You open your legs to the highest bidder - regardless of who you hurt in the process - and think that work is normal?" I ask her.

"The purpose of work is to make money. The idea of having money is to have as much of it as possible. And not every influencer is sleeping their way to riches." Lerato.

"That just sounds like prostitution to me. Maybe show me an analysis of how much you actually make influencing for brands or whatever else you influence for, then show me how much men give you just because you are beautiful and you open your legs for them. I might change my mind on what I think about this topic." I say.

"So mama, you are calling us prostitutes?" Sethunya.

I want to say yes, but I'll simply exercise my right to remain silent.

...

We arrive in KZN in the early hours of the morning. We check into the Oysterbox hotel. I'm staying in a room with Pheello. Lerato and my youngest daughter, Relebohile, share a room. Sethunya and my mom share a room. I did that on purpose. I want her to see my mom pray and cry for the life that Khosi chose.

Pheello is not asleep and I don't understand why.

"Pheello, why aren't you sleeping?" I ask him.

"I don't feel like sleeping", my twenty-month-old child says to me.

"Well, you have to sleep now. It's late." I say.

"Are we going to talk to dad?" He asks me. He's not used to being away from his dad and not speaking to him at the end of the day. Dikwe is consistent like that. But he did say that the network in Venda - where they are going - is messed up.

I try to videocall him anyway. It's 2am. He may be asleep. But I try my luck...

And he actually answers.

"Baby? Is everything okay?" He asks me. He doesn't even look like he was asleep.

"I'm fine. We just got to KZN and your son refuses to sleep until he speaks to you. Sorry to call you so late", I say.

"It's okay, my love. Where's my boy?" He says.

I give the phone to Pheello.

"Hello papa", he says.

"Hello my boy. Why are you giving your mom a headache? You know that's my wife, right?"

"I'm not giving her a headache. I just wanted to talk to you." Pheello defends himself.

"Okay. How was your drive?" Dikwe asks him.

"Long. Mom and Sethunya and Lerato were fighting about prostitutes."

This child!

"Ey wena, Pheello!" I shout at him.

"What?! I don't even know what a prostitute is. I'm just telling dad that -

"I told you to not listen to old people's conversations", I say.

"You were talking in front of me and you were talking the whole way. I can't block my ears for that long".

I actually step into the attached restroom because I need to laugh. I'm not doing it in front of him.

When I come out of the restroom, Pheello is dozing off. I hear Dikwe telling him a story. The storytelling always gets my baby boy dozing off. He's such an amazing dad. I'm falling in love all over again.

When Pheello is fast asleep, I take the phone from him.

"You are an amazing father, you know that?" I say to my Dikwe.

"You've blessed me with one hell of a child. Thank you for that", he says.

"How's Venda?" I ask him.

"It's extremely hot. I can't even sleep. Neither can Fenya. He's not used to the heat. So I'm being a grandfather and staying up."

"Oh my... you have Fenya with you? You are being a mkhulu? Does this mean things are better between you and his dad?" I ask him.

"We still fight a lot. But I'm hopeful. He picked a good wife and I think she will bring us closer. She left Fenya with Neo because she and Leruo were going through some stuff."

"Oh my... I hope they'll be okay", I say.

"They better be okay. She's a good wife for him and he better make it work no matter what." He says.

"Okay my love. Anyway, let me sleep. I have a big day ahead of me."

"Sleep well, my angel. I love you." He says.

"I love you, myeni wami." I say then hang up.

It is 7am. I am at this meeting place that I'm meeting at with this girl who knows where Khosi is. I left my mom and the kids at the hotel.

"Hi", a young lady gets to my window and says.

It's her.

"Come in", I say.

She hops into the passenger seat.

"You good?" I ask her.

She nods her head.

"Thank you for meeting with me. I really appreciate this." I say.

"Sure. She doesn't look good. I just thought I'd let you know". She says.

"Where is she staying?" I ask.

"Under a bridge", she says.

What the?!

"Do you know which one?" I ask.

She nods her head.

...

I don't know what to say. I really don't.

I came to KZN on holiday after shooting the reality show that I was on. Then Tyson decided to cut me off financially, threatened me that if I so much as step back into Tholoana Kingdom, he will kill me. This is all because I mentioned our relationship on the reality show and his wife got upset. I'm up to my neck with lawsuits that he's not prepared to help me with. My car was taken away from me. I don't have a house. I only had ten thousand rands cash on me and I stayed in a motel - not even a hotel - for as long as I could. I don't have qualifications so I couldn't get work.

My second instinct was to try and find a man who can get me out of this situation. But honestly, they are all so scared of Tyson that the people who were willing to bite didn't know Tyson. If you don't know Tyson Archibald, chances are you are not a candidate for dating me.

It got to a point where I had nothing. Zero. Then someone broke into my motel room and stole EVERYTHING! All I was left with were the clothes on my back. I got kicked out of the motel room. Now, I sleep under a bridge.

Bridge life is not easy. Apart from being cold and fighting for a spot every chance you get, you have to choose the right people to sleep next to or else you will wake up to someone raping you or trying to be violent with you. You also have to fend for yourself in the worst possible way. You have to go beg on the side of the road just so you can eat. I've gone to bed having eaten only had a sixty-cents stocksweet. I've also gone to bed having eaten nothing. I've gone to shelters before and they've let me stay from time to time, even fed me. But you cannot stay there forever.

It is 7:30am. I'm already up and am begging for money from the morning rush traffic. Everyone is headed to work and are in a hurry. So, they will either give you money to get you off their backs, or they tell you that they don't have money. They are too stressed to just ignore you. You need to be very close to the window. Don't touch it, but be so close that they cannot ignore you. Sometimes, they give me food. Sometimes I get warm clothes. Sometimes I get money. The money I hide. The food I share. The clothes I wear in front of them. Sometimes they steal them and sometimes they leave me alone.

A black BMW X7 approaches. It seems to be slowing down as it gets closer. Great. I'm going to get a good tip. Eish, it's a TK number plate. I really don't need those people to look down on me and remind me what my life was like when I was there. And -

Oh -

No-

It can't be -

If I had the energy, I'd run away. I'm so embarrassed. I just cry instead.

"Hi sisi", she says to me.

I just cry. I can't help myself. I just weep.

She steps out of the car and hugs me. I'm filthy right now. Why is she touching me? I smell! She is so clean. She smells so good. Why does she still want to be associated with me?

I'm weeping in her arms right now.

"Come nana, let's get you home." She says.

"I can’t. Tyson will kill me if I ever set foot back in Tholoana Kingdom." I say through my sobs.

"Khosi, I'm here now. Let's go home. I'll take care of everything." She says.

I haven't been inside a car in months. I'm not sure if I even remember how to climb into one.

...

I'm in a shower at the Oysterbox hotel. Me. Khosi Thabethe. I thought this life was over for me. I'm using Dior shower gel on my body after months of not seeing shower gel at all. I'm using Dior face products on my face. My skin is even doing a happy dance right now. I never thought that this would ever be me again. But I'm crying. I'm balling in tears. I don't understand how I got here. I really don't. A girl like me was never supposed to get here. My cry is getting louder.

"Khosi, are you okay?" I hear Mandisa ask me.

I just cry. I weep!

"Mommy, why is she crying?" I hear Pheello say.

I'm sharing a hotel room with Mandisa and Pheello.

I just hear them leave the room.

After some time, I just dry myself, step out of the shower and lotion myself with Mandisa's Dior products. She is really living it up. Who would've thought that one day she'd be bailing me out like this? That her life would be more worth living than mine? Maybe this is done on purpose because shame, if the shoe were on the other foot, I probably wouldn't help her out the way that she has helped me out.

When I'm done lotioning my body, I step into the room. There is a pair of new underwear for me. It feels amazing on my coochie. The bra hugs my boobs perfectly. Then I wear the jeans that I find here - black skinny jeans. I wear the yellow t-shirt I find too. It's pure cotton. I love it! I wear the socks that I find here and the Stan Smith Adidas sneakers.

I find a wig here... top quality I tell you. And it's a 12-inch wet curl wig. I love my sister so much! I also find a new Apple iPhone.

My heart!

Dear World, I'm back!

I'm at breakfast now where I find Mandisa, all four of her kids and my mother seated and eating. Sethunya runs to me first. She hugs me super tightly. I've always loved my sisters' daughters. I'm scared of their mother as they are, so we've always felt like sisters.

"How are you, Miss Thang?" She says as she hangs onto me.

"I think I'm going to be okay", I say.

She leads me to the table. But I decide to dish up for myself first. I haven't seen food this good in FOREVER! I'm having everything!

I'm now back at the table. Pheello and Relebohile keep looking at me. The babies. They don't know what to say.

My mother is looking at me with so much disappointment.

"Mama, when do we leave?" Sethunya breaks the silence.

"Tomorrow morning. I want to sleep in today. I'm tired." Mandisa says.

"Can we possibly go to the spa today? With ncane?" Lerato.

"No", my mom.

We all look at her. Even Mandisa.

"Khosi is not wasting another cent of my child's money", my mom says.

"But gogo she's our mother", Sethunya.

"You can go and spend your mother's money." My mom.

"And ncane is her sister", Lerato.

"They are both my children. And if it's okay with you, I'd like to exercise my right to parent these two." My mom.

I'm in shit. Mandisa is probably in shit for helping me. Mandisa and I look at each other.

Her phone rings.

"It's Dikwe. I have to take this", she says then leaves the table. Pheello runs after her. It's his dad and he never misses an opportunity to speak to him.

We stay here in silence. I just eat.

"Ncane, maybe after breakfast, we can go chill by the pool." Sethunya.

"Ncane will come to you when I'm done with her", my mom.

Ai!

Sethunya and Lerato both give up.

...

[horax]

#tlounge zum thema #hatespeech (hier: Telekom Hauptstadtrepräsentanz)

[fishbloodab]

#mojitos 🍹🍹at T Lounge, frozen glasses even! #Xi'an #xian #china #shaanxi #xianease #tlounge (at 西安高新開發區)

[rws2871]

The Mercy Of Humans - Chapter 1: The Golden Rule

I had heard about humans. Everyone in the Galactic Confederation knew about humans. Descended from predators, they were often violent, even to each other. They were contrary, illogical, confrontational and worse, easily angered. In the three hundred narns since the humans discovered FTL, they had dozens of armed confrontations with many peoples, including several Confederation members.

Once, they had gone to war with a trade consortium because the Tloung-hi had blockaded the Ublot’s home system. A human cargo ship had contracts to deliver products to the Ublots and when they attempted to do so, the Tloung-hi destroyed them.

The Tloung-hi were unprepared for what happened next. Humans have a fetish for something they call ‘free trade.’ Add to that, humans as a whole took offense to the Tloung-hi destroying that one ship. You would have thought they were of the same nest but most of their people did not even know the names of the thirty some humans who died.

Several hundred human warships descended upon the Ublot system and completely destroyed the Tloung-hi blockade and then proceeded to hunt down any Tloung-hi ship within fifty light years. They only stopped when the Tloung-hi capitulated, offered financial restitution, and agreed to never attack a human vessel again. Needless to say, after losing more than a hundred ships, the Tloung-hi were fully prepared for the third demand.

When the Confederation offered the humans membership, the humans refused, citing the laws of the Confederation were incompatible with their Constitution, something about universal rights. I do not completely understand it all. But the Confederation leaders, those with real power, decided to isolate the humans and refused them passage in Confederation space. That did not work. The humans still travelled brazenly in Federation space and no members desired to challenge them militarily.

I sat outside the ruins of my home, holding my youngest hatchling, wondering when she would take her last breath. I was not alone. All over my planet, other parents did the same. Some already mourned.

It had been thirty-nine days since a series of solar flares had decimated my home system. Overnight, the planet’s infrastructure was completely destroyed. There was no power and little clean water. Crops failed and livestock died. What land not suffering severe drought was subjected to monsoons or hurricanes. Some of these hurricanes spanned entire continents.

In space, all our orbital platforms had failed. The largest had even crashed to the ground. Further out, past the fifth planet and in the asteroid fields, some platforms and factories survived. But not enough to help. We asked the Confederation for help but so far, none has come. Oh, they had promised to help. They claimed it would just take time.

Not in time to save billions of lives. Not in time to save my little Y’dochka. Tears fell down my face as I looked at my little girl. Her feathers had fallen out days ago. Her skin burned and painful to the touch. She occasionally regained consciousness, smiling up at me. Touching my face. Breaking my heart even further. I was helpless to save her.

I heard the crack of a distant sonic boom, then another. Dozens more followed. I looked up to see dozens, no hundreds of flaming paths as more debris entered the atmosphere. What now? More destruction? What had we done to displease the gods so?

But it was not debris crashing down. The objects slowed, changed directions and slowly I could see the outline of shuttlecraft. Ships I had never seen before. I stared in wonder as a second wave of booms cracked through the blistering heat. As far as the eye could see, ships dropped from space.

I felt a twinge of hope as one separated from the pack and slowed to a gentle stop over my home. Gracefully, almost delicately, the ship touched down. Steam hissed from exhaust ports and I could see the heat shimmering above the giant shuttle as the rear ramp lowered and dozens of beings ran out. Some pulling grav-pallets of cargo. One ran up to me and stopped.

Humans were the boogeymen of the Confederation . Nobody crossed them. Nobody really trusted them. Only criminals consorted with them.

Everyone knew that. I thought that. But I was wrong.

“Here,” the large human said as he dropped to my side. He had some sort of device on his shoulder that translated his words. “I have a medpac. We can save her.”

“But your medpacs will not work on Dalutians,” I answered. I dared not allow myself to hope.

“We planned for that,” the human waved a flashing metal wand over my child. “These medpacs are designed for your people. With the solar flares and your physiology, we knew we would need medicine for the burns and infections. Artificial skin to cover the worst. It has built in painkillers. But she needs fluids. I took a crash course on how to start IVs for your people.”

I must have looked stupid to the human. I just could not accept what was happening.

“Here. You are not as bad as her, but need some fluids, too. This has concentrated electrolytes and medicine to help you. Food will be ready pretty soon.”

The pouch he handed me, and it was a he as I had read that only their males had facial hair, was full of a cold fluid. I took the straw and drank greedily as I watched the man tend to my daughter. As he did, others dragged pallet after pallet out of the shuttle. Some started assembling some sort of prefabricated buildings while others ran through my little village, offering help where they found the need.

“Thank you,” I said softly. “I have nothing to repay you.”

“No need. We came to help.”

“But why? You are not part of the Confederation. My people have rarely even encountered yours.”

“So? You needed help. We had help to give,” the human never stopped treating Y’dochka. He had pierced the large artery in her left leg with a needle attached to a bag of greenish fluid. “Right now, there are over fifty cargo vessels in orbit with relief supplies and a dozen Nightingale class hospital ships. Once my people have the hospital built, we can treat the worst of your injured.”

“Even the Confederation could not… did not send this kind of help.”

“Shit, this is just the first wave. In a day or so, a hundred more ships will be here, then even more after that.”

“Your government sent so much?” I was dumbfounded.

“No. I mean, some of them are Terran Navy, maybe six cargo ships and all the Nigthingales. The rest are private ships with volunteers and donations from my people to yours.”

“Again, why? We are not allies. Your people even dislike the Confederation.”

“One, your people are not the Confederation. And two, we do not need allies. Alliances are political things and allies can betray you when it is in their best interest. We find that having friends is better.”

“But we are not friends.”

“We weren’t. But we are now. My name is Oliver Pierre.”

“I am Lakhul Solmnar. My daughter is Y’dochka. You said that most of your people are civilians?”

“Yep. An odd bag, too. Got two ships of nuns from the Sisters of Charity, four ships full of Mormons. They always show up where there are disasters. Two ships from New Damascus. They provided most of the medical supplies. About a dozen ships full of the crazy Vikings from Ny Österlen. They are the closest to your planet. And a bunch more.”

“I still find it hard to believe. Just… why you would help us.”

“There is a saying among some of my people. We call it the Golden Rule. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Then there are others that believe in karma. Hell, old David over there was Boy Scout. He always says to do one good deed every day.”

“I do not know this word, karma.”

“It is a belief that the good or bad you do in this life determines your next one. Put simply, ‘What goes around comes around.’ I don’t quite know if reincarnation is real. But why take a chance, eh?”

I did not know what to think. It was all so alien.

“Ok. I have Y’dochka stabilized. We can move her to the hospital. She might need to go up to one of the ships for full treatment. These burns look pretty bad.”

The human carefully picked up my daughter as if she was a precious toy. My people were barely half the size of humans.

I followed him as he trotted to this freshly built hospital. Everywhere I looked, humans were doing the same for others in my village. I felt hope for the first time in weeks.

Yes, humans were a bit scary. They were huge and powerful. They were descended from predators. Maybe they are a bit prone to violence at the smallest provocation, or even contrary, illogical, and confrontational. I say, so what? In our time of need, when our allies sent platitudes and empty promises, when the trade consortiums waited to pick over the corpse of our system, the humans sent help. Out of all the known peoples in the galaxy, only the humans showed up in our time of need.

I tell you that the humans are also kind, compassionate, selfless, and even friendly, though I still do not understand their humor.

Allies? The human was right. My people needed less allies and more friends. From this day forth, I would thank the gods for that lesson.

[dilmahfamily-blog]

Random acts of kindness are fun, and while we cross off No. 3 of our #12ThingsatChristmas promises ‘Do a random act of kindness’, we think that this is one thing on our Christmas List that we will continue during the year. We had a Tea Party for the children of the Reach orphanage at our The t-Lounge by Dilmah on Chatham Street. Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando built our family business around the unique philosophy of making business a matter of human service. This Christmas we decided that we would make our Christmas truly about giving, and so our list of #12thingsatChristmas is meant to share the true spirit of the season with those that may not have a joyful Christmas. Have you begun your list yet?

[itachi73]

Lunch: beef lasagna #foodporn #foodpornmy #tlounge #dilmah #lasagna #italian (at t Lounge by Dilmah)

[safrasahamed]

This is my office today. All the meetings happens here today. #srilankanfood #dilmahtea #negombo #negombobeach #srilankatourism #colombo #srilanka #aayushotelier #aayussolutiins #tlounge (at T-Lounge by Dilmah by the beach, Negombo, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2oHqTYgxku/?igshid=94ey4n1rjyv2

[starstonedxo]

Tea and a savoury waffle Time !. ! #dilmah #tlounge #cmb #SriLanka (at The t-Lounge by Dilmah)

[ketso]

Episode 20

Fenya is with Tshianeo, Dikwe's second wife. Leruo and I need to talk. Seriously talk. I'm cooking and he's texted me to tell me he's on his way. I've been seeing Paula everyday this entire week, talking and really understanding the beast I'm dealing with here. I'm finally ready to confront Leruo.

I feel his arms wrap around my waist from behind as he kisses my neck. Usually, I'd love him back and give as much as I get. But not tonight. Tonight, we are talking.

"Hello Dr Tloung", he says. He's feeling in love today.

"Sit down, Leruo. We need to talk."

He's puzzled.

I switch off the stone, move away from the stove, pour myself a glass of non-alcoholic wine and direct my attention to him. He's now sitting down and looking nervous about what we are about to talk about.

I go sit next to him, drinking my wine. He is looking at me to say something.

"Ushay'uPaula wena?" I start.

His eyes!

I know he's about to lie to him, so I say, "Before you answer that, let me make something very clear. If you lie to me, Leruo, I will divorce you. I will take my son and you'll never see us again. Think very clearly about your answer."

He takes a deep breath.

He looks at me.

He nods his head then says, "Yeah."

His eyes become watery.

"You have a problem, Leruo. I'm not going to sit here and ask you why or beg you to promise me that you'll never hit me. You have a problem and you need to get help. That's the only way that you can save this family."

"But Zamo, I would never hit you."

"You've already pushed me out of a moving car. You've already held me up against a wall with your hands pressing against throat and interfering with my breathing. You've raped me before, Leruo."

"Raped?"

"Yes Leruo. Raped. You've forced me to have sex with you after I said no. You've sworn at me and told me to be grateful that you made me a mother while forcefully having sex with me. That's rape, Leruo."

He looks away from me.

"I don't want an apology from you. I want you to get help."

He's quiet.

"Paula wants you to give her a divorce." I say.

He looks like he regrets Paula and I ever talking and getting along.

"Why aren't you giving her a divorce?" I ask.

"I don't want to divorce her." He says.

"I understand. I wouldn't want to divorce her neither. She protected your ass after you beat her black and blue. I will never be that kind. If you leave bruises on my body the way that you've done with Paula, I will ruin you, Leruo Tloung. You'll curse the day you ever smiled my way. Get help, Leruo! I'm not joking. Get help or you lose both your wives and all your kids."

I stand up, take my non-alcoholic wine and make my way to my bedroom.

I'm sitting on the bed and just thinking about my husband. He needs help - it's non-negotiable. He better get help because a man that abusive can one day wake up and kill you. I can never just die on my child like that, traumatizing him by him having to deal with the fact that his father killed his mother. Fenyais too sweet for that. And he's a good child. I don't want him turning to nyaope to deal with his father's craziness. Secondly, I'm pregnant. That's why I can only drink this sugar and not real wine. I haven't told Leruo yet.

He walks into the bedroom. He stares at me. His eyes don't move off of me until he sits on the bed next to me.

I look at him.

"I'll get help." He says.

I nod my head. I'm so relieved. At least he's not being angry and throwing me around.

"I need you. I need your support. This is not easy for me at all, Zamo. Please don't leave me." He says.

"I won't leave you. But I cannot be living with you, scared of you because any time you could harm me. Abuse is a disease. It gets worse. One day, you might even kill me. I don't want that. Fenya doesn't deserve that. You children with Paula don't deserve that. And I'm pregnant."

He's shocked.

I look at him.

He hugs me.

I hug him.

He cries. As he cries - loudly so - he keeps saying, "I'm sorry, Zamo. I'm so sorry."

I get emotional too. I just hold onto him.

"I need you, Ruo. Fenya needs you. Our baby on the way needs you. Please get better for us. Please", I say through my light sobs.

He holds me tightly.

We are now lying beside each other, facing each other. He's still crying, but not aggressively anymore.

"I hope we have a girl", I try to make the moment light.

He giggles then says, "Why?"

"Because Paula has two boys, I have Fenya... you already have three boys. You really want another one?"

He laughs. His smile is so beautiful and his laughter fills my heart all the time. This is how he got me all in love with him. He has a soulful laughter.

"I want a girl. I'm already raising a mini-you. I want a mini me too. And because your genes are so strong, maybe she will look exactly like your mom. Man, that woman is beautiful." I say.

He gets emotional.

"When last did you go and see her?" I ask him.

"She doesn't want me. I don't go where I'm not wanted." He says.

"She's your mom. So that doesn't make sense to me." I say.

"She's not a mother like you. She's a bad mother. She let her boyfriend beat her up and rape her in front of us. My mom would be lying in a pool of her own blood and he'd still –

Okay... it's beginning to make sense. I hold his hand.

"Zamo, I'm nothing like that man. I would never rape you while you lie in a pool of your own blood then beat up our child. And Zamo when I told my mom that he beats me up, she said I was lying. Why would I lie about that? Then she let that man rape my sister. My sister, Zamo! I would never do that to a person who is supposed to be my daughter. My sister was his daughter! Imagine what he would have done to me if I didn't run away and find my way back to Dikwe?"

"Baby, listen to me..."

He's crying.

"Ruo, look at me."

He looks at me.

I kiss his lips.

"We will get help together. Okay? You know I'm too in love with you. Uyazi nawe ukuthi ngiyagcwala ngawe. Even if I wanted to, I don't have it in me to make you go through anything alone."

He laughs.

He knows I love him.

"Can I arrange with a psychologist I know to take step one of your healing process?"

He nods his head, "You'll do it with me?"

"I'll do it with you."

He kisses me.

"I love you so much, Nomzamo Tloung."

I smile at him.

"I'm going to tell Paula that you are getting help. Maybe after you've gone through the process, she'll let you see her and you guys can talk, you know."

He nods his head and says, "Thank you so much."

"We will fix this, okay?"

He nods his head.

"Paula also asked me to fetch her boys because they have to prepare for school. She said she'd ask Renay, but she's also going through a lot right now. I told her that I don’t mind having the boys live here. Plus, Fenya loves them a lot. They'll be here until her treatment plan is done."

"Thank you for loving my children, Nomzamo. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

I just brush his face.

My phone rings.

I check who is calling.

"Your son is video calling. Are you good to answer?" I say.

"Let me go clean my face. You can answer in the meantime." He says, kisses me then heads to the toilet.

I answer the phone.

"Hello baby", me.

"Hello mommy."

"You good?"

"Yep. I'm going to Venda with Mama Neo and Khulu Dikwe."

"Really? When?"

"Now. Khulu bought me a new soccer ball and new soccer boots. He said I can join the football junior team at the team daddy played at."

The hell?! Shouldn't I be included in a discussion like that?

"Ey boy!" Leruo. He does look a lot better now. He lies next to me and comes into the camera.

"Daddy, I'm going to play soccer like you. Khulu bought me soccer boots and a soccer ball. He also said I can play in the junior team where you used to play."

I look at Leruo. He can see I'm slightly annoyed.

"Give your khulu the phone", Leruo says.

As Fenya runs with the phone to find his Khulu, I say to this one next to me, "Don't start a fight. Please."

He's already irritated.

"Leruo!"

"Okay". Him.

"Hello?"

"Dikwe, did you discuss with Fenya's parents that Fenya will be playing soccer?" Leruo mara! He just promised me that he won't start a fight.

"I'm his grandfather. I made a decision after seeing how skilled my little one is."

"Who did you speak to between Nomzamo and I about that? You are not in a position to make decisions of that nature for my son. You are not his parent!"

"Ey wena, Leruo!"

It's getting bad.

I do only what can save this situation now.

I undress Leruo, pulling down his pants. I start blowing on his penis.

He calms down. He stops yelling at his father. He is focused on breathing now and not the argument.

"Leruo!" The dad.

"Dikwe, I - I - I -

Lol, shame man, I'm torturing him.

"Leruo, what's wrong with you?!" Dikwe, shame.

Leruo just throws the phone aside.

"Leruo!"

Leruo moans.

"Dikwe, hang that phone up. Can't you hear them having sex?" Neo says.

I'm so shocked I jump up and run out of the room. Why didn't Leruo just hang up?! Yoh! How am I going to face these people again?! Yoh!

...

I've just fetched Lethu from school and we are headed into the house. My car is parked and all. Lethu jumps out the car and runs into the house. The helper must still be here because the door is open. I take Zolani out of his car seat, grab his baby bag then also head into the house.

I walk in and see Shack playing with Lethu. Lethu is excited to see his dad. I forgot that it's his week to have the boys. He lives in some apartment around here in Taung.

"Hello", I greet him.

"Hey." He says.

He seems to want more conversation out of me.

"I'll go pack their bags. I'm coming." I say.

"Can I help you?" He says.

"Have I ever needed your help, Meshack?"

He is silent. He looks at me. Then he says, "I just need us to talk. Please."

"No." I say then make my way upstairs. Zolani dived to his father the minute he saw him.

I get into Lethu's room and I start packing for him. I hear the door close. I fall apart. I don't why I'm being so emotional. I hate that I love him so much. I hate it!

I just feel him holding me. Then I'm the one who is undressing him. I'm the one who is asking for sex because also, it's been a dry six months. Now he has me against the wall and he is thrusting in and out of me. He turns me around and hits it from the back. I love every minute of it. I enjoy every thrust. I enjoy every emotion. I feel him tensing up and I feel my body getting to the happy place. It's how we get there together that has us both collapsing onto Lethu's carpet in his bedroom.

We are now both trying to catch our breaths as we lie next to each other.

After we've caught our breaths...

"Do you love her?" I ask him.

"No. I love you. Only you. She was a mistake."

"A mistake that you had a child with?"

"Yes. A mistake that I had a child with. I don't love her."

"You don't love her, yet you took the most intimate part of our marriage and shared it with her? Gave her what you gave me - a child. I'm supposed to be the only mother of your children. Why am I sharing that title with a mistake?"

He's quiet.

"Reneiloe, I'm so sorry. My love, I'm sorry. Please forgive me, Reneiloe. I'm nothing without you. You are my wife. You are the love of my life. I need you, Reneiloe. I need to be home with you and our children. Please." He says.

"You didn't have to hurt me like this, Meshack. I didn't deserve this."

"You didn't, baby. I agree with you 100%. I'm so sorry I did this to us. I was a dog, Reneiloe. There's no excuse whatsoever for what I did. It was all me and I'm so sorry, my love. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I promise."

I breathe.

"Please forgive me, Reneiloe Twala - mother of my children. Please forgive, my one and only wife. Please."

I'm crying now. But I want to stay strong.

"What are we going to do about your child? Because she will never live in this house. And I don't want her anywhere near my children."

"I understand. She's sick. She has bone cancer. The doctor says that she only has a couple of months left to live. There's nothing more that they can do for her."

Now I feel bad.

"How long has she had it?" I ask him.

"A year now. She's been fighting it and I've really tried to be strong for her. I don't like seeing her that way. Plus, after the mother embarrassed you on TV the way that she did, I cut off all financial support."

"You supported her financially, Meshack? Are you sure she was a mistake?"

"She was a mistake."

"One that you paid? We call those prostitutes!" I say.

He's quiet.

"So, after you cut her off...?" I want him to continue.

"She moved back home. Her home is in an informal settlement. She stays there with the child. They are far from adequate Healthcare and –

"So, Meshack... I'm going to stop you right there. You are never supporting that hood rat financially ever again. I feel for your child. She deserves a fighting chance. I miss you and I'm ready to forgive you. I love you, Meshack. So... I'll allow you to get a full-time nurse for her that will live with them at that house they live in. I'll allow you to pay for medical processes for her. But that girl..."

He looks at me.

"Nay, I'll do anything for you. You know that. I'm just worried that my daughter is dying. A few months from now, it will be as if she never existed. I don't want to not be with her in her final days. Please."

"Then she can live with you at your apartment. My only challenge is that her mother will come and go as she pleases."

"But I want to be here with you and our boys."

"She's not living here, Meshack. I'm not Thuli. I don't live with constant reminders of betrayal."

"Renay, please just think about it. That's all I ask. She can stay with us. Then we don't ever have to deal with her mother ever again."

I'm quiet.

"I'll think about it." I say.

He seems hopeful.

...

It's evening. I'm on a call with Thuli. Shack is in the playroom with the boys. He's moved back in.

"Girl, how did you forgive Yaya and raise Phendu?" I ask her.

"I don't know, Renay. I just did. The situation is angering tremendously when you think about the betrayal itself. Then, the baby smiles at you, proving its innocence in the situation by how much they trust that you'll do what's best for them... and you are just blown away."

"What if I can't love his daughter? She's dying, but I'm struggling to just open my home to her."

"She’s suffering because her parents were selfish and irresponsible. Genuinely. But Renay, she's dying. You may be angry now... but will you live with yourself when she's gone and you shut her out in her final days?"

"It's not fair that this is now put on me."

"You are right. It's not fair. Truly, it isn't. Buy Nay, she's a child. And as reckless as the parents have been, there has to be a reason why this is falling on your shoulders. There has to be. You going to need God, and prayer will be your best friend in this. There is a teaching and a purpose in all of this, Nay. Truly. You need to seek it."

I just cry.

"I'm dragging Tee-le to church this Sunday. Bring Shack and the kids. It will heal you in places you didn't know were even broken. Let's go." She says.

At this point, I'll do anything.

"Okay. Text me the details."

"I will. And Nay..."

"Yes?"

"Yinhle le nto oyenzayo. There's no shame in fighting for your family and forgiving your husband after he's made a mistake. Don't be ashamed. And you are not stupid for wanting his daughter to be comfortable despite how she came into existence. I'm proud of you and I'm here for you."

This honestly means EVERYTHING to me. EVERYTHING.

"Thank you, Thuli. I needed to hear that."

"I'm not just saying it. I mean it."

We finally hang up.

I turn around and I see Shack behind me. His hands are in his pockets and his face is facing downwards.

"What's your daughter's name?" I ask.

He looks at me. Then he says, "Nomusa."

I nod my head and say, "It's a beautiful name. Did you name her?"

He shakes his head and says, "No. Her grandmother did."

I nod my head.

"Will they allow you to take her?"

"They can't afford to take care of her. I don't think they'd stop her from living under better conditions."

I nod my head then say, "Will the mother agree to stay away?"

"I don't know."

"Is she going to be a problem in my life?"

"No. I'll deal with her."

"Okay. Tell the boys what you've done - especially Lethu because he's old enough to understand what happened. Tell them their sister has to come stay with us and tell them why. Then go fetch Nomusa. I'll prepare one of the guest bedrooms to be her room. On Sunday, we are going to church with all the kids."

"Church?"

"Yes, church. You clearly need Jesus because you are crazy enough to do what you've done to this family."

...

I'm at home. My car is written off after my car accident. I'm injured here and there, but for the most part, I'm okay. I have a moonboot to support my foot as my achilles is torn. At home, it just my mother and me. My sisters, Rehumile and Reannetse, live their own lives. Nnetse is a student with a shady boyfriend and Humi is married, but is struggling to have kids. She's had three miscarriages and three failed IVFs. We've been telling her to either adopt a child or consider getting a surrogate. She chose to adopt her husband’s children from infidelities instead. My dad passed away a few months after Reannetse was born. My mom has been struggling to move on ever since. I don’t blame her. My dad was an incredible man. I am yet to meet a man who is just like him. My mom stays here by herself. Nnetse lives in Cape Town and Humi lives in Johannesburg. My mom drove to Tholoana Kingdom and fetched me, brought me back home and is just loving me. I appreciate her so much. I spoke to Rofhiwa and told her I need some time away. She hired a more senior manager than me anyway and she will stand in for me too.

"Tshepi, I've made us some tea", my mom says as she walks into the TV room with a tray. It has tea and biscuits.

I smile at her and she sits next to me. The TV is not even on. I was just sitting here and wondering if the move to Tholoana Kingdom was the biggest mistake of my life.

My mom gives me a cup of tea with a smile. I accept it.

"How are you, my baby?" She asks me.

"Ke shup, mama. I'm just processing everything and wondering if I want to go back to Tholoana Kingdom", I say.

"I don't think you should go back. That place is just too much for you, my baby girl." She says.

I actually believe her.

As I'm about to respond to her, there's a slight knock on the door. The door is wide open, so the person was clearly announcing themselves. It's Phathudi dressed in a suit and is clearly coming back from court.

"Dumelang", he greets.

"Papa-Phatsima, dumela", my mom has always loved him. She forgave him for everything. And he knows it.

"Le kai, mama?" He charms her further.

"I'm well. Come in. I'll go make you a cup of tea too. The water is still hot."

He smiles at her.

She leaves us alone.

He sits on a couch next to me.

I look at him and bite my lip. He looks at me too. Then he says, "I heard about your accident and I heard that you were back, so I thought I'd come check up on how you are doing."

"I've seen better days. I miss Phatsima so much. And you were right, moving to Tholoana Kingdom was the biggest mistake of my life." I'm getting teary.

"Hey, come here." He says.

I go sit on the couch that he is sitting on and he holds me, allowing me to be vulnerable.

"She'd still be here if I had just chosen her and not my career." I say as I cry. He just comforts me, but does not say much.

After I've had myself a good cry, I get up from his chest and I limp my way to the toilet to clean my face. I'm wearing leggings and a long t-shirt. My body is quite full and I fill out pants with my curvy slim-thick body. Phathudi has always loved me in tight things so I know I'm turning him on right now - married or not. That accident saw my lose braids out of my hair and it created patches. So, I cut all of my hair off... it's VERY VERY VERY short and I've died it white-blond. I look good. Broken, but good.

I clean my face and blow my nose. I hear my mom and Phathudi chat. His tea must be ready. Then when I step out of the toilet, my mom has taken her cup of tea and disappeared into the house somewhere.

I sit down next to him and take my cup of tea. He's also drinking his tea.

"So wena? Ujwang? How are the wife and kids?" I ask him.

"I miss Phatsima. I miss you. A lot. The wife is great, but she's not you. The kids are great - kids are always great. But I won't lie, I miss the family that I had in you and Phatsima." He says.

I look at him.

He looks me.

"You can't say things like that to me, Phathu", I say. But I will admit, I'm being coy.

He smiles at me.

"You asked me and I'm telling you the truth. I miss you, Retshepile." He says.

I blush.

I don't even know why.

He was a bad fiancé to me.

But I do want to be wanted.

"So, I have a favour to ask of you." I say.

He looks at me to continue.

"Ke kopa ngwana." I say.

His eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

"Hear me out before you say no", I say.

He puts his cup of tea down.

"I want a baby. You and I had Phatsima and she was perfect. I want to have another baby and I want you to be the father of my child. I won't be a problem, I promise. I'll look after the child myself. I'll stay away and invisible from your wife. She won't even know that we have another child together. I won't bother you. And if you don't want us to have sex, it's okay. We will go to a specialist, you'll ejaculate into a cup, your sperm will fertilize my egg in a tube or whatever they do, then it will be inseminated inside of me, and –

"Retshepile, stop."

I breathe and look at him.

"We can't replace, Phatsima. You do know that, right?"

I nod my head.

"We can have ten babies if you want us to have them. I'll never say no to making and having children with you. But, they'll never be Phatsima."

I swallow hard.

"Ha o batle ngwana to replace, Phatsima. Right?" He asks me.

"I miss Phatsi with all of my heart. I'll never forget her. She will always be my first-born child. But I have to move on. And I'd like to have a baby." I say.

"Okay. You do know that I'm not just going to make a baby with you and just leave. I want to be part of that child's life." He says.

"And if your wife says no?"

"It's my child. She has no say."

I run my hand up his thigh. His body becomes hot and his eyes become smaller. He puts the cup of tea aside then starts kissing me, rubbing his hand against my body under my baggy t-shirt.

"I'll give you a baby", he says between our kisses.

I stop kissing him and look at him.

We are holding hands now.

"But, I have a condition." He says.

I look at him to elaborate.

"I want us to get married." He says.

"How? You are already married." I point out.

"I'm married traditionally. We haven't signed. I can still have another wife." He says.

"Phathudi! You want more than one wife? Sithepu?"

I'm so shocked.

"Kea o rata mama-Phatsima. And if I give you a child, no other man will raise my child with you."

Bathung!

"I'm honestly shocked. And will your wife agree? We do need her permission." I say.

"Let me deal with my wife. The important thing at this point is... will you marry me?"

Yoh!

...

I'm getting dressed for dinner. I'm taking my mom out. She never eats out and we haven't really gone out since I got back. So tonight, I'm treating her. Insurance also finally paid out for my car and I was able to get a new car. I got a Mercedes Benz C250. I opted for this car as opposed to the big car that I previously had because I wanted to get my mom a new car too. She's been driving her Toyota Corolla since before I graduated from university. I phoned Mercedes Benz and asked what they can give me with what I had budgeted. I wanted two vehicles. I bought my mom's car - Mercedes Benz A250 sedan - cash, then put a deposit to my C250 so I'll be paying next to nothing as a monthly for my car. Mom's car is black and mine is white. She was beyond excited when both cars arrived. I cannot drive yet because I'm injured. But she will be driving us with her new car. She said she'd give her Toyota to her brother.

"Retshepile! Let's go!" She yells.

I roll my eyes. I quickly finish up my make-up then I head out, grabbing my bag and purse.

I get into the living room, ready to leave, and my mom is still on the phone with people telling them that I bought her a Mercedes-Benz. My sisters have already been phoning me and asking me if I've won the lottery. I've never been in the business of explaining myself to anyone. I'm not about to get into that business now.

We finally leave and we use my car because I won't be driving in a while and mom will be using her car to go to work and meet up with friends. My mom is a teacher, and she has a life. She and her friends have girls’ trips and once a year, they do international trips. My mom is driving. We chat as we make our way to Dihlabeng Mall to go have our dinner.

"Humi is getting a divorce", my mom tells me. It took her long enough. Her husband has been in prison for six years now.

"She's going to need us", my mom says.

"For what? Kgape has been in jail for six years already. She's been on her own." I say.

"Bathung, Tshepi. Divorce is not easy." My mom says.

"It's not life-threatening neither. She'll be fine."

She looks at me, judging me. Then she focuses on the road again.

"She says she can't afford the house and the cars and the schools anymore. So for the kids to continue going to school at their fancy private school, she has to sell six cars and remain with one, then sell the house and move to a three bedroom house." My mom says.

"So her divorce is going to be difficult because she has to sell cars and a house. Why did she need seven cars? And why did she need a seven-bedroom mansion? She's the only one who can drive now, so she only needs one car. She lives with just her husband’s kids, so she doesn't need a mansion."

"Tshepi, have some mercy!"

"No mama. Humi has never been the brightest smartie in the box. She doesn't think. She doesn't have foresight and she has kids she’s committed herself to looking after. She hasn't even found a job yet. Kgape kept making money for her from inside prison. What is she going to do when the money runs out? Bother Nnetse and I?"

"She's your sister, Retshepile."

"You've always babied her the most and she's older than Nnetse and I. Hai mama."

"Tshepi -

"I don't want to talk about Humi anymore."

She's quiet.

Then she says, "What's happening between you and Papa-Phatsima?"

I start laughing. She smiles. Then I say, "He says he wants us to get married."

"Heh eh wena!"

"Yoh mama. Phathudi wants me to be his second wife. Imagine!" I say, still laughing.

"So, will you marry him?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Because I know Phathudi. He doesn't just forgive. I hurt him. And I embarrassed him. I won't be happy in that marriage. He will make me pay for what I did. The only thing I want is a baby."

"Ngwana?"

"Yeah. I'm ready. I asked him. He said he'd give me one if we got married."

"But how do you want a child out of wedlock?"

"I want the child and not the husband, mama."

"Retshepile!"

"I'm having my baby. If Humi is allowed to be pathetic, then I'm allowed to have my baby."

She's quiet. I guess the bit about Humi hurt her feelings. But it's true.

"Phathudi just doesn't know it yet. I'll initiate an affair with him. And we'll just have sex until I get pregnant." I say.

"So, you want to trap him?"

"I don't want anything from him. I just want a child. After I have the child, he can go back to his wife and kids."

"Tshepi, what did Tholoana Kingdom do to you?"

Silence.

...

Fikile and I are on our way to Fifi's house. Thomas and Mthunzi have gone to collect the meat from the butchery. Today is Fifi's and Rea's housewarming. Mfundo took the boys and went to sort out the snack bar. The planning of this thing is making me feel this is an event. But Fikile is a bit down. Her boys left with Mfundo too.

"Have you spoken to Khanyi about all of this?" I ask her. She's been very stressed about this issue.

"I speak to her telephonically every day. She's been at Fifi's house since that night. I spoke to Fifi and she says she's fine, but we all need to talk." She says. Before I can respond, she says, "I don't understand what Sibongiseni was thinking, Koena. I don't get it. If he wants Khanyisa back, why doesn't he just talk to me. Since when is Sibongiseni afraid or hesitant to come to me and tell me he wants her back? Why bring Latifah and Sibongile?"

"If he came to you, Fikile, Ungavuma wena ngoKhanyisa?" I ask her.

She's sighs. Then she says, "Khanyisa is old now. It will be her choice. If she wants to go back to her parents, she will say so."

"I get that, Fikile. But I'm asking you... Wena Fikile Ramaru, if Sibongile and Sibongiseni say they want Khanyisa back and Khanyisa wants to go back to them, what will you do?"

She takes a deep breath then says, "there's nothing that I can do. I'll have to let her go and support her. I'll always love her."

"How will you feel, though?" I ask her.

"Honestly, it will feel as if my womb has been ripped out of my body."

I actually hold onto my stomach. I felt that.

"I wept that night, Fikile. Thomas had to stay up all night and just hold me as I wept through the night. My body was hurting in places I never even knew existed. I don't want to lose any of my children, Koena. I don't. But if I have to let them go, I will. Maybe at some point, I must just accept that my children are my three boys. My two girls... any day, they can be taken from me. As much as I love them, I have to prepare myself."

This really makes me sad.

"I eavesdropped on a conversation between her and Thingo. You know they FaceTime all the time."

She looks at me with a hopeful face.

"She loves you, Fikile. You are her mother. She recognizes you and only you as her mother. She called Sibongile by name throughout their conversation and when she spoke about you, she kept saying 'my mom' - not even kazi."

I see her be a bit more hopeful.

"She's angry that Sibongiseni for doing what he did. She's angry that they disrespected you. And she wants to kill Latifah." I say and we both laugh.

"I'm beginning to get worried about that statement. She threatens to kill Latifah so often that I'm beginning to feel like she means it." She says then we laugh.

"But I also need a word with Latifah. Usenyathel' inyoka emsileni manje. I never wanted to have issues with that girl because I love and respect my brother with all my heart and soul. But now, we have a problem and now, she will tell me what her problem is with Khanyisa."

"Not at the party today, neh", me.

She just focuses on the road then says, "Not my kids! Angihleki when it comes to my kids. She's officially poked a bear out of fucken hibernation."

Yoh hai! Yoh yoh yoh! Lord, let us not see a movie at a today.

My mom, Mthunzi's mom and Fikile's mom slept over at Fifi's and Rea's place last night to help with the mqombothi. They are already a scene and a half.

It's 4am now. When we arrive, we will slaughter and open the house properly. Then it's the party with friends. May God be with us today.

Fikile and I arrive at the house just after 04:16am. We bring out the groceries and take them into the house. It's raining. I'm worried about the event, but I also remember that young people don't give a shit. They'll party in the rain.

"Mama, is that everything?" Nene asks me.

"No, there's more in the boot. But get the boys to fetch it." Fikile says.

The three of us laugh.

We walk into the house and make our way to the kitchen. She briefs us, "I sorted the dough for lidombolo yesterday. We can just cook it and prepare it today. Khanyisa made samp, pap and rice. Now we are busy making meats, salads and other sides. The gogos are making ulusu."

"So much food?" Me.

"The whole of Tholoana Kingdom is coming. The entire royal house is already here." Nene.

We walk into the kitchen and it's so busy and buzzy. There's also cooking happening in the kitchen that's in the cottage outside. Khanyisa is with the gogos outside, cooking with the black pots. As to where they found izinkuni is beyond me. Nene is also there in the mix.

Fikile found something to do and now she's busy. I find a knife and help her chop too.

"Hey", some woman says.

"Weh! Sonia, you are here? Where is vrou number one?" Fikile says and laughs.

"She's too busy for us. And apparently she doesn't like you." This Sonia person says as she grabs a knife and starts chopping with us.

"Why? What did I do?" Fikile.

"You don't have to do much to be hated by that one", Sonia says and they laugh.

"This is Koena. Koena this Ona's second wife, Sonia. The cool wife." Fikile says.

We laugh together.

We chat about until Ona's mother calls all the people with the Mohale surname to go talk to their underground gang.

The Mohales leave then we, non-Mohales, keep going here.

Mthunzi and Thomas walk in, soaking wet. They are followed in by Mfundo, Thingo, the three Ramaru boys, Zothile, Nene's son Liso, and Mbali - the honorary boy.

"Thathani. Natsani! All of you." Nene attacks them with medication. She's a doctor, so we trust. But Thomas and Mthunzi laugh, obviously at how she speaks and honestly, Fikile and I are over reprimanding them on this. Fortunately, Nene is such a trooper. She doesn't even care. They all drink up. Then she recommends that they get dry clothes. Each person brought things for their man and kids, so they are sorted in no time.

"Hello mommy", Khanyisa attacks Fikile with a hug and love. She has an NFR raincoat on with Reahile's name on the back. It's wet. She was cooking with the gogos outside.

"Hello my baby. Uzogula wena!" Fikile.

Khanyi still has her hands wrapped about Fikile.

"I'll be fine, mama. The gogos bahlekisa njani", she says.

"We miss you. Ubuya nini kini?" Fikile.

"I had to help udadewethu. Uyazi mos nawe ukuthi izandla azikho. As they settled in, Rea couldn't live on takeaways bandla." Khanyi says and we all laugh. She's such a funny child.

"But I'm coming back soon. Don't worry." She says.

"Good. Nathi we miss you, phela." Fikile.

"Is that my baby girl?" Thomas.

"Hello papa", she says and now ambushes him with a hug.

"When are you coming home?" Thomas.

"Bakithi! Let the child visit her sister. Hai bo!" I say.

"Thank you, Aunt Koena." Khanyi says and we laugh.

"Nooooo... I miss my daddy-daughter dates." Thomas.

Fikile laughs as she serves Thomas, Mthunzi and Mfundo with tea.

"Siyabonga babekazi wesizwe", Mfundo says and we laugh. Now that I think about it, all these kids call her kazi.

Thomas is rubbing her bum. These two!

The Mohales join us again. Rea and Fifi finally greet us and bring the babies to us. They are growing so much and so fast.

We greet them with plenty of love.

"Hai bo, asidleni phela! The umqombothi is brewing and overflowing. Livumile icamaku." My mother-in-love says.

Kana she's getting married soon. We'll be doing this for her soon.

"Can we have dikahari hle? I've been eyeing those since I could smell them." Ona says and we laugh.

They do smell nice. I can relate.

"Heh eh wena! Dikahari for breakfast? There are eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomato, croissants, cereal –

"I want dikahari. That's all I ask." Ona. Remo is in shock.

"Count me in. I'd also like a plate. With pap and cabbage, hle." Khotso.

We are all laughing.

"I think all the men would appreciate some pap, cabbage and ulusu. Dikahari lezo." Mfundo. Imagine!

"Ey, aniphakeleni la bantu! Akudliwe. This house will be full of strangers now now then we will really run out of food. Akudliwe before kudakwa!" My mother-in-love. I'm glad people find her funny and not forward or offensive.

Lol!

All women are in shock. But we dish up and the men are happy. Us ladies, we stick with food that was meant to be eaten in the morning - except for the grannies.

As we are within our meals and laughter, Latifah, Sibongiseni and their two kids walk in. Yaz I don't know what the children’s names are.

Fikile's aura just changes and the Mohales suddenly look ready to protect her.

"Sanibonani", Sibongiseni says, looking straight at Fikile.

"Why did you bring this one here?" Okay, Mthunzi's mother needs stay out of this.

"Mama- "

Mthunzi tries, but...

"Hai Mfundo. This thing of people wanting to be diplomatic about everything makes it okay for people like this girl to walk over people and do as they please phez' kwama khanda wabantu. And then the AUDACITY! THE AUDACITY to show up here just nje as if she didn't just try to remove Khanyisa from her home because unomona!"

"Umona?" Okay, Latifah is entertaining this and disrespecting elders in our presence.

"Yebo! Umona! Your children will never have what Khanyisa has. They'll never be half of her. And it eats you up. Every time you see Khanyisa, you ask yourself "why not my kids? When is Fikile taking my children and giving them all of this?" Shame dade, it's not coming! So, you thought you'd ship her away from her father and Fikile, umyise le kwa-hell to Sibongile. Wrong me if I'm correct".

This woman! She’s watching too much Gomora, and in her head, Zodwa is her friend.

Latifah is losing her temper. Sbo is looking at her wanting answers too.

"You are not welcome here. Bayasaba ukuk'xosha angisho? Mina ngiyakuxosha ke on their behalf. Voetsek! You are not welcome here!" She says.

Latifah looks at Sbo.

"Can we talk?" Sbo says, looking at Fikile, Thomas and Khanyi all at the same time.

Fikile walks out first.

Thomas and Khanyi follow. Sibongiseni walks out last after them.

Eish.

"Wena! You are still here?" Mama - my mom - says to Latifah. Please! She does not need this kind of influence.

Latifah just walks out.

"Is everything okay?" Khotso asks.

"Wena! Don't you dare! And stop staring at my child. Wakuhlula nisajola angisho!" Fikile's mom.

These grannies are going to give us a headache today. Can the party just start!

...

13H30

My house is full of people and vibes. Someone organised a glass tent. I don't know who and I don't know why. But it's there. There's a buffet set up of food. A lot of food. There is a whole snack bar that the kids have invaded and are overindulging in everything sweet and unnecessary. Suddenly I'm glad that my twins don't what sweets are yet. Then there is an actual bar! Full of alcohol! Guys! People are partying and having fun though.

Reahile found the Tholoana Kingdom people that remind him of home, so he has deserted me.

I go look for Khanyi because she wasn't okay after baba and Latifah left. But I bump into kazi first, so...

"Hello gorgeous" me.

She and my dad were being inappropriate as always.

"You know PDA has an age restriction, right?" I say.

They laugh. My dad takes Mulalo from me. Mohau is somewhere with Khanyi. He stays in her arms.

"Are you okay? Both of you?" I ask them.

They both smile at me.

"No matter what, always know that you've done a brilliant job with us and you continue to do an amazing job. No one can ever tell you otherwise. I still need a phone call from you guys every day. Khanyi aspires to be exactly like kazi and wants a husband just like you, papa."

They laugh. I continue, "Ranwedzi insists on being next to you all the time. Gundo always says that his best friends are his parents. I'm not even joking. Ask him who his best friend is and he says it's his mom and dad. Rendani can't even leave your bed. You guys are amazing parents. I only pray to be half of you to Mohau and Mulalo. You are incredible. We are all blessed to have you. Screw Latifah! We've never liked her anyway." They laugh. Then they hug me.

"I love you guys", I say.

"We love you, baby girl." My dad says.

Now, I'm looking for Khanyi. I find her under a giant umbrella with my child wrapped in a blanket and sitting between her crossed legs... with Khabane lying his head on her thigh. These kids and rights! This place is full of old people and this is normal for them?

"They make a nice couple neh?" Rea says to me. I didn't see him stand next to me.

"I'm just scared of what will happen if my parents see this instead of us." I say.

"Bane mara", Aus'Tebza too.

But she's charging to them yelling, "Khabane! Wahlanya?!"

We follow her.

"Ey Luna! Respect us! What's wrong with you?!" Aus'Tebza.

Bane is not even bothered.

"Bane, what will you say when Fikile and Thomas see this?" Good, she's scared of them too.

"But we not doing anything, mama." Bane mara.

"Stop this. Get your head off her thigh! And if you can't behave, I'll make you come sit with your dad and I?"

"Mama!"

"No Khabane. Be respectful. Bathung!"

Bane sits up now.

Both he and Khanyi are not bothered.

"Khanyi, two minutes tu." Me.

She gets up, bringing Mohau with her, and we walk to the outside cottage.

"What's wrong?" She asks me.

"I was checking up on you. You've been down since Latifah and Baba left." I say.

"Oh that? Kazi slapped Latifah". She says.

"Wooaaaaahhhhh!!!!" When did Rea get in here?!

But he closes the door and listens in.

"They were telling each other off then kazi got fed up and slapped her. It was that mpama that makes one eye cry." Khanyi says and we laugh.

"But kazi went off at baba, hey. It actually broke my heart. Then we found out that Aunt Noni and the jealous one are in on this too. Then found Sibongile and convinced her to get my child, convincing her that kazi didn't deserve to raise her child and she must go get her child back, kazi can't tell her anything."

"What the hell?!" Me.

"Dude. Something is wrong with these people. Like, Sibongile didn't even want me. Or she couldn't afford me. Whatever. Kazi took me off her hands. How could she disrespect kazi like that because people she doesn't know convinced her to?" Khanyi is really hurt.

"You know, my mom once traded Mohato and I in for drugs and some dangerous deals she got herself into. She told them that we are princes and if they need money, they must phone the Mohales and they'll get what they want. Then we'd be forced to live in these dodge hotels with scary men who were selling drugs and prostitutes until my mom would come up with money to buy us back. Sometimes, we'd witness them beat her up and sell her to dangerous men. And she didn't give a shit. Our lives became stable when our dad found us. But my brother suffers terribly from mental illness because of that. Our parents are people too - they can be fucked up because of their selfishness." Rea says.

Khanyi seems taken aback then says, "Why do they just have us? Just because biological clocks are ticking or they decide to be reckless one night, they make us and bring us into chaos. We don't ask to be born. They conceive us. And then this is how they traumatize us? It's not fair! Having kids should be more than competing about age, societal expectations and whatever else puts pressure to have kids they cannot afford - not just financially, but emotionally too." My Khanyi.

I just hug her. She hugs me too, almost sobbing in my arms.

Rea hugs us both.

"Bane is here for you", Rea says and we laugh.

At least he made the mood a bit lighter.

"You going to be okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah. Bane and I are going for a drive." She says.

I take Mohau from her saying, "My child, please."

Rea laughs.

"Enjoy", I say.

She laughs and dashes out.

The rest of the day and night is mingling and catching up. I spend most of my time with Thuli and Zari. They are sleeping over with Mo and Tee-le.

The day ends when the sun comes up for the next day.

[archinspirace]

T lounge — studio pha Praha / 2014 www.studiopha.cz/t-lounge publikováno: www.contemporist.com www.archdaily.com foto © Filip Šlapal