MELAMINA THE QUEEN

CHAPTER 21

“A car worth three million? Uyayibaxa mtase.” Danny whines and I chuckle.

My husband decided to invite all our friends for an emergency braai at our house to celebrate his new house. I have never seen him this happy or excited. He was shocked when I got to his workplace but when the shock wore out, he started jumping around like a kid visiting Disney land for the first time. It was good seeing him so carefree and happy. It’s been a long time since I last saw him that way and I am glad that I can achieve such emotion by doing something so small for him. He shipped all our kids to my parents’ house because he said he wanted to get drunk without Nomandla there to stop his fun. Being the clingy princess, she would have rained on his parade.

“I feel like there are levels of being rich and then there is u Futhy who is on another league of her own. Like who wakes up and decides to buy their husband a car? Even if it’s worth 200k, I wouldn’t mtase.” Lindsay comments and all the ladies laugh.
“You married a millionaire. 200k is just change.” Noma responds and Lindsay rolls his eyes.

“He is a millionaire but I am not. I also know that he would refund me if I bought him a gift that expensive. I remember buying him a Hublot watch randomly and he wanted to refund me. And then he went ahead and bought me a villa at an island like it was nothing. Yuh. He gives me a headache all the time.” We all laugh. He has nice life problems with a husband who spoils him every chance he gets.

“We usually thank them with lingerie and new sex tricks when they surprise us like this. Is Kuhle going to do the same?” Xoli asks.
“Oww, he better.” I drawl and we break into laughter.
“The pap is burning.” Lisa states from the stove.
“Stir it, lovey.” Noma replies.
“If you wanna eat bread then fine.” She opens the pot and jumps back when she sees the pap boiling. We just laugh. We all know that she is still clueless about what goes on in the kitchen as she was six years ago.

“Are you trying to kill my wife?” Zenzo asks walking inside the kitchen and heading to his wife. He checks her hands and Lisa looks up to him adorably. My God. They are so cute together. Their love seems timeless. They are still the youngest couple in our group, so we sometimes treat them like milk.

“WE SAID FETCH THE OIL, SHAMASE, AND NOT HAVE A QUICKIE WITH YOUR WIFE!” Phila shouts from the backyard and the guys laugh. He just chuckles and turns to stir the pap. He closes the pot after that and walks out after taking the oil.
“It’s like watching a romcom with you two.” Thobeka swoons and Lisa just giggles.
“He is dramatic.” She brushes the comment away. “How is Lee doing?”
“Better. She is coming back to SA next week.” Noma responds and Lisa nods.

We continue drinking and preparing the pap, salads and some garlic loaves. I love this. Spending some time with my girls and just bonding with them. Our careers are so demanding, so we always treasure moments like these. When we are done, we move to the backyard. Kuhle is playing music from his new car and he is even dancing. Uyasazi ismanga? His friends are hyping him and some are dancing with him. I don’t know when my brothers in law got here but somehow they are now the ones busy with meat. We sit in the cabana and lay out the food in the table.

“Who do you think will get married first between your brothers?” Danny asks, looking at Lisa and she shrugs.
“Probably Nqaba. He has his sights on some princess.” The minute she says that, I am hit with a vision of him standing at the aisle smiling with his brothers. A bride walks down the aisle and the moment I am about to see her face, the vision vanishes. Someone shakes me and I look up to see Noma with a worried expression on her face.

“You zoned out. What is it?”
I smile. “Nothing tragic. I will be right back.” I stand up and as I pass the guys, Kuhle pulls me to him and dances with me. I giggle. He is so cute when he is this happy.

“You are honestly the best wife a man can wish for. I am glad God saw that I am worthy of your love, attention and affection.” His words warm my heart and I giggle. “I know I asked for a daughter but that was selfish of me. You continue to show me how much our life would be perfect even without the rascals. Thank you mama wabantwana bam. No one has ever made me this happy. Aibo. Ngiyajola, ngi happy.” Our friends and family all laugh while hyping us. He wipes my cheeks and I laugh because I didn’t even realise I was crying. “Uyathandwa mkami.” He kisses me and that just seals the deal.

“Okay. That’s enough. Stop kissing my sister or I will call Ndosi.” Gcino rains on our parade and we just laugh at him. I detach myself from my husband and head to where my brothers are standing. I slap the back of Gcino’s head and I am immediately hit with a vision of him lying on the ground shaking uncontrollably with white foam coming out of his mouth. “I was just kidding. I won’t call dad.” His voice startles me and I take a step back.

“Futhi.” Noma calls from behind and I turn to look at her. She takes my hand and drags me to the nearest bathroom. “What’s going on? You were weird when Lisa mentioned Nqaba and now you just look like you have seen a ghost after touching Gcino. What is happening? Are you having vision?”
I swallow hard and shake my head. “I need to talk to ogogo for a few moments. Keep everyone occupied for me.”

I walk out of the bathroom and rush to my prayer room. I immediately cover my head and shoulders with a shawl. I then light a candle and burn and incense before taking a deep breath. I kneel before my alter.

“I am here, bogogo. You have been trying to send me messages and I am here to tell you that I am listening. Help me see clearly so that I can stop the danger ahead.”

I feel my body growing heavy with every passing moment and I lie down on the grass mat. The moment I close my eyes, the visions come back crushing fast. I can’t decipher anything because they are all coming at once, bombarding me and overloading my brain. It doesn’t take long before it shuts down and I have a black out.

…

“This boy was ordained by the ancestors. We need to remove him from the equation if you want your will to prosper.” The village witch, Mahlabela, explained to the Queen Mother who nodded in understanding.
“So the boy must die. How are we going to kill him if he is protected by the ancestors?” the Queen Mother enquired.
“We have to do something subtle that they won’t see coming.  A snake bite will suffice. If that doesn’t work, we will lure him in the wild and set wild dogs on him.” The witch answered and then laughed in joy. “I need your blood to confuse the ancestors. Then I need the boy’s heart after his death. It will make me powerful and unstoppable. Also, they won’t be able to see where the attack came from.” The Queen Mother grinned.

Finally her plan was coming along. She didn’t wish for the death of her first grandson but his death was a sacrifice for the greater good. She wasn’t going to let anything weaken her family’s power. Princess Buhlebendalo was going to marry her son, King Dalamasu and nobody was going to stand in the way of her plans. The death of Busizwe was going to weaken her son and the princess would step in at his lowest and comfort him. The perfect seduction plan. She smiled widely and sat back.