I BECAME HIS ZULU BRIDE

Nina's story* ( 37)

I followed Nina , and she led me to a place near the river . It was not me and Sthe's sacred oak tree of cause but a smaller tree , it provided good shade though.

I looked at Nina , waiting for her to begin , since I needed to know the reason she needed to talk to me so urgently.

"Do you know people think I grew up in a good home simply because my father was wealthy. He had many cattle and many wife's which means he has a lot of children.

I happen to be his 13th child and one of 15 female children that he has" . She began.

"What does this have to do with me ?" I asked her since I was curious . " Listen quietly Ajax , and don't interrupt me " I nodded to show I would do what she asks of me .

" Since we are so many we all wished to gain father's attention , I was among those who want his attention but he never gave it to me . The only time my father ever spoke to me was when he wanted to berate me for the wrongs I had done but he never praised the good I did" . After she said that her eyes clouded with sadness.

"This need to feel loved by my father grew with me as I became older , that is why I set my sight on prince Sthembiso , to me he was the only way I could gain my father's attention . My father loves power and he would do anything for it , so I figured , if I become queen then he'll finally look at me and tell me he was proud of me.

To achieve this I constantly chased after the prince but he never gave me the time of day" . It kind of got me mad that she was chasing after Sthe , while I was not in the picture yet .

"I conspired with the queen to get what I want , of cause I never told you this since we were rivals and all but my father was the strongest traditional doctor in our village.

There was nothing he could not do , the queen wanted more power , while I wanted my father to look at me so I went along with their plan not even thinking about the backlash of it all when it all comes back to haunt me.

My father promised the queen mother , spiritual powers that would keep her young and beautiful eternally". I was shocked by her words but it finally made sense to me what the queen mother , was talking about .

"Everything was going to plan til you came , your mere presence made our whole plan fall apart. The queen was beyond angry when prince Sthembiso , declared you would be his bride , I was devistated by the whole thing.

That is why I hated you so much , I hated that you took the only chance I had to be closer to my father".  I felt sorry for her when I heard her words.

" So the queen mother , came up with another plan which we agreed to. The plan was to kill you since you were an obstacle to us reaching our goal. It made me uneasy to take another life but the queen mother, convinced me , she said my father would finally see me , he would love me   .

The temptation was too sweet so I went along with her plan . We got a charm that would allow me to get Into your marital hut at night and finally kill you , but we did not expect you to also have spiritual backing that far surpassed that of my father" .

I frowned finally figuring out that the person who was in our hut on our wedding night was Nina.

" Since our first plan to kill you failed we thought to just poison you normally but the day we were supposed to do that you disappeared.

We sighed In relief thinking we finally got rid of you . We were wrong , prince Sthembiso , went crazy after he found out you were gone . Somehow he found out about our plan and we were severely punished.

My father was stripped of his wealth , I was flogged and tossed in the jungle for several days . The queen mother , was stripped of her tittle as queen , now the only people who still call her queen are those who still feel awkward calling her anything else .

Her punishment was going to be more severe but she fell ill mysteriously. No matter how much the doctors tried they could not figure out what was wrong with the queen mother".
I knew what was wrong with her but I would not tell Nina , she did not deserve to know.

" As you know I was chosen to become a bride by Sipho Lunga. The man is sweet , even after he found out what I had done he still forgave me , for that I fell in love with him .

I thought finally I could live happily , who would have thought my past deeds would come back to haunt me . No matter how hard we tried , I couldn't reproduce. I knew my husband was not the problem , the problem was me .

Despite all of this my husband insisted it was not my fault . His family was against me but he stood up for me ,his actions made me feel even more guilty".I sighed feeling truly sorry for her .

"Two years finally passed and his family suggested he should marry again , this made my whole world fall apart , my husband did not agree though I could see his longing to have a child to call his own .

Then the night before you came back my late mother visited me in my dream she told me only through your forgiveness can my life get back on track. So you see why I asked to speak to you so urgently.

Ajax , please find it in your heart to forgive me , I beg of you , whatever you need from me I'll provide . So will you forgive me?"

That question made me think very deeply. She had hurt me yes , but should I hurt her back ? My answer was very simple and it came from the depths of my heart.

" Nina, I forgive you and I hope from now on your life is nothing but peaceful. I want to ask one question though". "What is it ? " , "Do you still pine after your father's love?" She smiled sadly after I asked that .

" No , because I found someone more precious and that person loves me no matter what I do , my father is not so important to me anymore though I will always love him".

I was happy for her and I noticed we were both crying silently. She hugged me gently and I returned it . " Thank you Ajax" , hearing those three words I knew I had made a new friend .
_____________________________________hello everyone thanks for reading my story  honestly your support  makes it worthwhile to write  😘😘