Umakoti (The bride)

Belonging

Lindiwe woke up feeling nostalgic. She missed home so bad. Her heart ached for life back home. She hated being here this place was very backwards. No electricity, who the hell didn't have electricity anymore. Yes, the countries electricity support was in the gutter but she could still use it when it came back. She knew they could easily get it connected but they were all being hard headed saying they didn't want to be controlled by the government.

"Lindiwe please bath we need to go down for breakfast." Vusi said as he stepped out of the bathroom. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and his skin was still covered with drops of water. He looked so hot Lindiwe had to shake her head to remind herself that she hated the man. His brown skin look so good with the sun shining on it. She could only imagine licking it. "Lindiwe get ahold of yourself!" She yelled at herself in her mind.

"Thank you." Lindiwe said as she looked at him and got up to shower. "You looked like you at a funeral. This is your in-laws house I don't know what your parents taught you but this is not the way Umakoti must behave." Vusi said as he was putting on his shirt. He sounded very irritated and angry. Lindiwe ignored him and closed the door the water was nice and warm the geyser was gas operated so warm water was available. Lindiwe was not about to go boil water in the kitchen and burn herself. Yes, she was from the rural areas but she spent most of her time with her parents in the suburbs of KZN. They lived a very luxurious life until her father had to take over the chieftaincy after her grandfathers death.

She got out of the bathroom and dried up quickly. She put on the clothes which were laying on the bed. She put on simple makeup and brushed her hair. The wig was still securely glued down so she didn't have to do much there.

After a few minutes Vusi knocked on the door and said she must finish up. "Such a bossy fool" Lindiwe put on her sneakers and took her bag.

She followed Vusi to the main dining area. When they arrived everyone was already seated. Vusi pulled out a chair for her and she took a seat. Lindiwe could tell that everyone was talking about her before she arrived. But she didn't give a rats ass what anybody said. "Good morning Lindiwe it's nice of you to join us, finally." Nomsa say with a smirked. Lindiwe knew Nomsa from Their varsity days. Nomsa was a pain in the butt and anyway hated her but here she was married to her brother. The whole family was just a joke from the King Vusumuzi senior, the queen Nomathema, daughters Nomsa and Thembi then finally the prince and her husbands Vusumuzi junior. Lindiwe was about to answer Nomsa when the queen cleared her throat and motion for the servants to start dishing out. "We wake up at five o'clock sharp every morning Lindiwe and I would appreciate it if you followed our customs. I understand this was your first day and probably Vusi kept you up all night. But please be punctual from now on we have to set a good example for the staff and the people of our land." Nomathemba said in a very British accent. She had studied abroad for a while but getting a whole new accents in four years seemed a bit daunting to Lindiwe. "Yes my queen." Lindie said with her head bowed. She might not like the people on this table but they were now her family and she had to play nice to survive until she had a plan to escape.

The rest of the day was very boring. Lindiwe spent time with some of the ladies who were baking bread and then she went to help with cutting the vegetables for lunch.

About afternoon she was really bored, school was closed so she didn't have much to do. "Hey Lindiwe do you want to go with me to the seamstress to collect our dresses?" Thembi said as she saw Lindiwe wondering around. Thembi was not like her sister she was more calm and relaxed. She was married to riches businessman in their village but she was just down to earth. Her smile was inviting and joyful tone was what Lindiwe needed. "Yeah sure." Lindiwe said heading to the car. The drive was fun they talked about music, movies and other ladies in the village. Thembi had a lot of tea about officials and prominent figures. Lindiwe enjoyed her energy such a contrast to the rest for the family. She had judged Thembi too quickly, Lindiwe thought.