Phakade Lami (My Forever)

Chapter 20 (Nomashenge)

In the living room of this small beautiful home that looks more like a rural house, situated in the peaceful yet treacherous town of Ameva and when I tell you that the area boasts of vast beauty, it truly does and a beautiful woman with cute dimples and a purple bead around her wrist sits opposite her mother in law, who has her reading glasses on and her “communication tool” in her hands that looks like the one that Aunt Nokubonga was holding.

“Nomashenge my child and the first Makoti of my family and the one that shall bore for my child, handsome and beautiful children, she says as she lowers her reading glass to meet the beauty standing in front of her and I personally tell you that Nomashenge was a goddess of beauty and it’s true what they say, South African women are beautiful.

“Thank you Ma”, she says with a tiny voice as she looks down brushing her foot on the carpet, something that her sons possibly inherited from her.
“I know that I’m not wealthy like your family... or at least well off like them, but I am just a simple woman that had to make sure that her children get what they want in life... I made sure that all my daughters and son got married so that they don’t end up like me... Benjamin never knew his father and in my days as a prostitute I hardly ever knew anyone’s name... I was only interested in their money 💰 and nothing more but something about his father left an impression... he was the first man that spoke with me about his problems... he told me that left his hometown because he wasn’t ready to take responsibility or follow in the footsteps of his father... because he felt that life was more than just “Eastern Cape” and he wanted to explore the beauty of South Africa and he may have looked tough but he was the sweetest and I remember that night I smiled like a madwoman... he had this charming aura that your husband also has”, she says with a smile making Nomashenge to looks down with some shyness and second hand embarrassment, since she was generally a shy woman, and used to keep to herself.

“But before he left... he left me with this”, she says as she shows her the communication tool and slowly hands it over to her) I don’t why he left me with It or maybe he knew that he had already knocked me up with a son, she says with a joking smile.
“But he told me that it was a tradition in their place that this must passed down to the chosen daughter in-law from her mother in law and it’s called a Fimbo... in that way the mother’s honour and somehow position has passed on to the daughter in law... I give it you so that you will give it to you daughter in law that has been chosen”, she says it with a smile as she hands it over to her daughter in law.

As Nomashenge holds on to the communication tool (Fimbo), she immediately sees a flash of images appearing, showing a village and two beautiful young women with one having a colourful bead and the other one, a single colour and a man very tall with a light skin and tiny eyes.
She comes out of her “seer episode” to see her mother in law, looking at her with a concerned look and asking that what could be the problem.
She quickly comes up with an excuse telling her that, she mustn’t bother and that her mind was a bit far than usual.
Her mother in law slowly nods her head as she looks at her through her reading glasses with an examining eye and as for Nomashenge, she knows that they is more to communication tool that what meets the eye.

Years later, Mabutho is about seven years old with Nkosi about five years old and Nganono still at the age of three, and their playing around in the yard with their mother, who is heavily pregnant with Zimele and Bab’Dlamini massaging her feet, it’s been one of those days where they have some peace in the house and they is no quarrels or argument that sometimes require intervention from their nosy neighbours that Nomashenge hates with passion or the church that has since branded Nomashenge a witch due to her gift of seeing people’s lives, deaths and futures.
They sit down peacefully until she decides to break the silence.

“Baba... I wanted to tell you or rather ask you something very important”, she says with a tiny voice as if one asking a monster of a man.

“Something important like what... Nomashenge”, he says as he focuses on massaging the legs of a swollen pregnant woman and to be honest out of all, Nomashenge’s pregnancies, this one was the one that brought her husband closer to her somehow.