MOAYW – Chapter Twenty

with Thozama Mqikela

@Mightyzama
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I had nowhere to run all I could do was sit there and let them do what they came to do. I was so scared and at the same time I was also so tired of all this drama that was just happening in my life. All my husband’s secrets were coming out one by one and to be quite honest I was happier when I didn’t know any of these things. It is true when they say ignorance is bliss. How long had Mthobisi been bringing people in and out of South Africa illegally, how long had he been involved in illegal mining? Should he have told me? I know there are some women who demand to know everything their partner does but is it really wise even if it is not criminal activity? Was I such a bad person that my husband could not even confide in me then? It’s just in women’s nature to blame themselves for everything that their men do.

Thinking about this a actually hurt. We both had good jobs and earned pretty good salaries, we were not rich but we had enough. What had driven my husband to be a thief, a liar, a smuggler and every other bad thing that he is? I just could not understand why he was doing all this. Maybe it’s in every woman’s nature we always want to know why? When you find out that your man is cheating the first question you ask is why? I guess sometimes there is just no reason why men do the things they do, they just do them because opportunity presents itself and I was just an innocent by-stander who unfortunately had to bite the bullet in the name of love. There were all these people involved in this and all this just made my head spin, I was confused, I so badly wanted to understand but none of this made sense. I refused to believe that I was so gullible and stupid not to see what was going on right under my nose, my husband must have been framed, someone must be doing this to him, but if that is the truth then how do I explain these men in our house right now. I had to accept the facts I am married to the world’s biggest liar, manipulator, and deceiver in fact my husband is every bad word that you can find in the dictionary and at this moment I wished that I had never met him. No one should have to live like this, this was unfair in every level. Its funny when you think of it, most women at some point wake up to the realization that their husband is a liar and master manipulator. O the joys of being a woman!

Two of the guys went in rooms to search, I screamed that the cops had already been here and whatever they were looking for the cops had most probably taken. They just ignored me and continued their search. I was still on the couch left with one of the cronies, I tried to make conversation trying to understand what was going on here but whenever I asked a question he would just look at me and smile. I don’t know why I was so scared of these men, I mean Somali men are tall and skinny. You rarely ever see a muscular one truth be told. They had no guns or knives, not that I could see them anyway but they looked scary. One of the guys came out with Mthobi’s gym bag that had been hidden in the ceiling with all the passports and contracts and told me that I had nothing to be scared of they were Mthobi’s friends and were not going to harm their friends wife they just needed a few things. With that they were gone with the bag and all the passports. I rushed to the bedroom packed a few clothes in an overnight bag and grabbed car keys and headed for the door. I had no plan I didn’t know where I was going but all I knew was I was not going to sleep in that house, no way hose. Who knew who was coming next and I had no interest in finding out who our next unexpected visitor would be. I realized if I went to the police then I will have to admit that Mthobisi or me had hidden evidence hence further complicate things for ourselves.
I drove out the complex and realised I didn’t know where I was going. I could not for the life of me figure out how they had been allowed to enter the complex? We have security so they would have needed permission to enter. It is one of those things where you ask yourself how people who live in a burgled could be burgled yet it happens so often. I couldn’t go to Andiswa’s house I had inconvenienced my friend enough. I could not go to my mother’s house because she would want to know what had happened. Only a foolish woman goes to report at her home because the last thing you want to do is tell your mother everything about the drama that goes on in your marriage because when things get back to normal between you and your hubby your mother will always look at him with those “you hurt my daughter” eyes! I honestly do not know why women do that. This is why you only share with your mother when it s absolutely necessary. I decided to call the last person I would ever call when shit hits the fan, my sister Naledi, blood is thicker than water.

Ok fine no family is perfect and neither is mine. To say my sister was surprised to receive a call from me would be an understatement we hardly ever talk we only see each other at Christmas lunches, funerals and weddings coz we just don’t get along, but I had no one else to turn to, she answered the phone by asking “who died Lesedi”? I said I was coming over I miss her kids I will be there in 30 minutes as I said this tears were rolling down my eyes and my voice was choking, she could hear I was not okay, she asked if I needed her to come pick me up, my sister is a horrible driver she failed her driver’s licence like 5 times already and she was now driving without a licence coz she had just given up on getting a drivers licence. I told her I was already on the way to her place she didn’t have to worry about picking me up, the last thing I wanted was ending up in hospital from having a heart-attack from her bad driving, the woman is worse than a taxi driver, she changes lanes right infront of another car in fact I don’t even think she uses the mirrors in the car before changing lanes, she drives fast I don’t know why bad drives always have to drive fast, it’s not enough that they suck at driving they just have to be fast just to torment the people driving with them. My sister stays in Winchester Hills which is in the South of Johannesburg; it’s about 30 minutes’ drive from me. I drove with tears running down my eyes, I had never felt so unsafe in my own house and all because of the one man in the world who had made a vow to love, cherish and protect me in front of my family and friends, at this present moment I was not feeling protected at all, in fact I was not feeling any of the promises he made on our wedding day, I was feeling unloved, uncherished and very unprotected. I got to Winchester Hills around 8. Lwazi my sister’s husband who is a Tenderprenuer, answered the buzzer when I rang the bell at the gate, he opened the gate for me.
Lwazi is one of the reasons why I hardly ever visit, he is a Xhosa man who brags about every single thing that they have which gets a bit annoying at times especially if you are going to brag about stupid things like buying a washing machine as if that is a greatest achievement on earth. he bought cars every now and again and when he did my goodness the whole world had to know, he would post pictures of his new achievement in all social networks I just had to unfriend him on all my social networks before I made nasty remarks and be known as the jealous sister-in-law. My sister came out to welcome me, she gave me a hug and said “Lee you look horrible, but what can I say I’ve always been the pretty sister” another reason why I just didn’t get along with her , she was nice the one minute and cold the next, Lwazi also came out he asked if I had come with Mthobisi I said “No” my sister said “good” she has never liked Mthobisi I don’t know why and frankly I didn’t care. Lwazi offered to take my bag, we walked inside the house my sister has thee most adorable kids a 8year old daughter by the name of Buhle and a 3 year old by the name of Sihle, she wanted her kids names to rhyme, Buhle and Sihle don’t ask why coz I also don’t know all I know is I loved those kids to bits, as soon as they saw me they ran up to me screaming “Aunty Lee” and hugged me. My family and friends call me Lee short for Lesedi. I was so happy to see them, this is how life should be fun and simple, not the complicated crazy horror movie shit that I had been living for the past week. Naledi told me they had my plate of food in the microwave I told her I had already eaten which was a lie but I honestly didn’t feel like eating. I sat with my sister and her husband for a few minutes and told them that Mthobisi was visiting his mom for the weekend she wanted to see him after the whole mining accident and I didn’t feel like being around her which they understood they knew how difficult my husband’s mom was.

My phone rang it was Mthobisi I had not heard from him the whole day I last saw him in court, I answered and told Mthobisi to hold, I said my good nights to everyone and went to the guest bedroom, Mthobisi asked who I was talking to, I told him his cronies had come to our place looking for something and they took the passports, he asked me to describe them to him, I did and he said he would deal with them, they had no right coming to our house and threatening me. “Deal with them? Who are you and since when do you deal with people?” I shouted at him. Mthobisi replied by saying “I’m your husband”. I told him not for long, I will be filling for divorce first thing on Monday, I refuse to live like this, with that I dropped the phone.

*****THE END****

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