NKOSENYE

17

NKOSENYE

17

THREE MONTHS LATER....

SMANGA

It's been a tough three months. There's no sign of Nontando and Mpendulo anywhere. I have looked all places, I even went to the airports to see if they haven't fled the country and nothing. I am slowly losing my sanity. I do not care about Nontando, I just want my son. And I fear that I will never see him again.
Ma-Gumbi:Smanga please eat, my son. You need the  strength.
Smanga:I don't want to eat.
Ma-Gumbi:Smanga please.
Smanga:No. I will not eat till I find my son. I don't even know whether he is okay wherever he is.
I pushed the plate away and continued hugging my legs close to my chest. I need a fix, to at least ease the pain. We are all at Nkosenye's house. Even my parents are still here, they wouldn't leave knowing that their grandson is missing. I go to the room I'm using and ransack the wardrobe. I know I put it here, where is it? Damn it! I lift up the mattress and nothing. I look everywhere and I don't find it.
"You're looking for it, aren't you?", Asks Nkosenye leaning against the door frame.
I scratched my neck roughly like there were insects crawling around it. My whole body started to itch.
Smanga:Where is it Nkosenye? I will do it once. Just give me please.
Nkosenye:No I am not giving you drugs. I threw them away.
I kept on scratching my body with my nails. You can hear the sound of them digging through my skin.
Nkosenye:Smanga you are hurting yourself.
He tried to touch me but I stepped back.
Smanga:Look how I am Nkosi. Just give me, one pull I swear.
Nkosenye:No, I am not giving you. I'm not letting you go back there. We are all hurt that Mpendulo is missing but drugs isn't the way Smanga. What if you die? What will Mpe say when he grows up if we find him? That his father died from drug overdose because he was missing? He will blame himself and think it's his fault that you died. Do you want that?
I shook my head no.
Nkosenye:Then get your head together. I don't like seeing you like this. Now you are going to take a shower and eat the food mom made you. After that we will continue with our search. We will find him bro don't worry.
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Nontando peeps through the glass door and notices that no one is in sight. She tip-toes inside the restaurant and finds food packed on a take-away. She quickly opens it and her mouth began salivating at the food she was seeing. It has been long without a proper meal, if she's not eating in the bins she's not eating at all. She takes a few bite of the meat and put it back inside. She looks around the room for what she can steal but sees nothing interesting.
"Yeeey, sela ndini. Futsek!!!!(Bloody thief. Get lost!!)" , A waitress shouts at her and she grabs the takeaway and spring out to her friends who were waiting for her and they run off to their hide out place.
Zine:What did you get?
She asks as she snatches the takeaway from Nontando. They all indulge in the food leaving Nontando's mouth watering with saliva.
Nontando:What about me?
Zine:What about you?
Nontando:I am hungry. You didn't leave any for me.
Zine:We are letting you stay with us for free. The best you can do is hustle for us. If you are hungry, there is the bin. I'm sure you will find something.
Nontando slowly went to the bin and started looking through what she could find, flies were buzzing all over the bin. She found a transparent plastic that had food and internally smiled. She opened the plastic and scooped it with her hands. The smell was off but she is hungry. She took the food in her mouth but quickly spewed it out as she felt it was rotten. She looked at the food and her stomach rumbled. She slowly ate it with a frown face, people who were passing by were looking at her and shaking their heads in disgust.
"Udla ukudla okubolile"( She is eating expired food)
"She probably ran away from home. Kids of today!"
"Look how dirty she is. She is disgusting"
"Let's leave before she asks us for money!! Sies!!!"
They clicked their tongues and quickly walked away. Nontando threw the food back in the bin and sat down in the ground feeling so defeated and lost. She has lost everything all because she couldn't accept that Smanga doesn't want her anymore. If only she didn't cheat, she wouldn't be here today. They would be happy with Smanga. She hasn't seen her son since the day she lost him. She has tried looking for him but it seems like those boys vanished from the face of the earth. She has turned to a complete street hobo, she has become so ugly. The clothes she is wearing are now so dirty and are slowly losing it's quality and colour..
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BONGA

I don't understand how a person can be in a coma for two months. No sign of movement or something. Noma's car accident scared me. She has been in a coma for two months. Doctors say she may wake up and she may not wake up. So her chances of survival are a 50/50 possibility. When I arrived at the scene I swear my knees became weak. I couldn't even recognise that it was her. The accident caused so much collision that she lost her leg. It just scattered on the road. And the blood..... I almost puked, at least she was unconscious. So she did not feel that much pain. But us who saw her are still traumatized, her head is bandaged. It's really bad, I don't even have hope that she will wake up. Not after when we were going to start spending the rest of our lives happily. I look at the position that she is lying in. Her ampute thigh is wrapped with a big bandage to minimise bleeding, and her other leg is raised in an extension fashion, resting on some board. I don't know what it's called.
"Sir visiting hours are over.", Said the nurse. I nodded and left with my heart heavy. I may be a bad person but I like Noma. I know our union isn't what the both of us wanted but we had warmed up to each other and willing to give it a try. That's when she told me that I should do anything to make sure that Nkosenye divorces her or kills himself; because she wouldn't divorce him. And I did just that, Nkosenye served her with divorce papers. It took them long though to figure out that I was behind everything. Smanga's girlfriend wherever she is, is carrying my baby. I made sure that I released inside her when I took off the condom. That way she will never forget me, and besides she will raise that baby with Smanga. I will only claim the child when she/he is older.
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Ngwenya:She will wake up dear please don't cry.
MaNgwenya:She has not lived enough baba. God cannot take my daughter away from me. Did you see the state she is in? She has no leg even. She'll have to put one of those fake legs.
Ngwenya: Please don't talk like this my wife. She will wake up and we will all deal with it. Let me make you some tea so that you will calm down.
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NKOSENYE
It seems like everything is on standstill. In these two months we haven't been able to find Mpendulo. We have looked all places, I am convinced they are no longer in the country. No one  can just disappear like this. Smanga is going through the most, he is losing his mind. He has even started to hallucinate. He is no longer the same Smanga that he was before. Noma is also hospitalized, I hope she doesn't wake up. I know I sound ev** for saying that but she is not a good person. Maybe she is paying for all the wrong she has done. I hear a lot noise coming from outside. I follow the voices and I find Smanga dragging Zamo outside like a piece of trash. My mother is busy reprimanding him. I hold him back and move him away from Zamo.
Nkosenye:What's going on here?
Smanga:Tell her to leave!!! This is all her fault!!! Nontando saw me with her and she ran away with my baby.
I sighed deeply and told mom to take Smanga inside. I know it's the anger and hurt speaking.
Nkosenye:I am really sorry Zamo about him. He is not in a good state.
Zamo:It's okay, I understand. I don't have a child but I can only imagine how it must feel to not see him for two months.
Nkosenye:I'm glad you understand. Let me take you home.
Zamo:No, it's okay. I will take a taxi.
Nkosenye: Please.
Zamo:Okay fine.
My keys were already in my pockets, we went to my car and I drove away. I kept on stealing glances at her.
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To be continued...