Echoes Of The Heart

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Seated

seated

hmmmmmm,,, I guess she eventually fell into Martin's trap called love,,,, let me fold my hands and observe how its going

I hav wanted to ask dis ooo @chimmy: which country are u from?

Continue please... We are ready for you

Lemme go and buy pawpaw,i'm coming...

Interesting, following

Echoes of the Heart – Part 2 In a battle of the mind and the heart, it is the part that’s more vulnerable that concedes first. For Sibusiswe, it was never a question of which part won over the other for if she had to live, the two parts had to exist in harmony. But when love comes, it neither knocks nor seeks permission, and it certainly knows no boundaries. Sibusiswe had clocked a month at M&M Law firm and she took delight in having survived without much event. Apart from the constant game of hide and seek she played with Martin and Ted, Sibu stay at the firm was free of drama. You were born unlucky and you will die unlucky. The very blood flowing through your veins is the curse that will live with you till the day you die. How could she ever forget her aunt’s ominous words that haunted her through the night and day? Despite being the only family she had, Aunt Tafadzwa treated Sibu like her greatest nemesis. Months would go by without the two talking to each other unless there was something the thirty-eight year old woman needed from her; then she would call to shamelessly announce her demands, like she did one Friday afternoon. Sibusiswe was attending to a client on the work line when the first call from her aunt came and so she ignored the call. Only twenty minutes remained to lunch tie, I will call her then, she had reasoned as she did her best to ignore the vibrations. Unfortunately Aunt Tafadzwa went on to give her fifteen more missed calls before she could finally run outside to take the sixteenth call. She could only imagine the rage rising up her aunt’s oesophagus, ready to explode the moment she answered the call. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how long I have been trying to get in touch with you?” Sibusiswe had to slightly pull the phone away from her ear to keep the enraged woman from blasting her eardrums. “How can you change jobs without telling me? Do you think you can run away from me just like that?” her aunt unleashed her fury, sparing Sibu no chance to return the favour. “Where the hell are you? Come to the gate right now. These idiots won’t let me in unless I tell them I have an appointment.” The idiots in question being the two security guards stationed at the gate who worked under strict instructions to only let into the building identifiable people and those with appointments. Aunt Tafadzwa definitely did not fall into either category. Sibu’s eyes widened in surprise and trepidation, “You are here?” She asked the obvious question, taking a few steps forward to get a clear view of the gate in the distance but since the massive gates were closed, she could not see anything apart from the two guards seated in their booth. A loud bang on the gate sent her running in that direction. When she got closer to the gate, she gestured an apology towards the visibly upset pair of men in uniform before removing the card which was hanging around her neck, holding it to the machine and waiting for the small gate to open. The moment she stepped outside the building, she was met by a woman glowing in rage. Sibu was not sure if the red stamps all over her face where a result of the cold or the effects of the skin lightening creams eating away at her melanin. Dressed in a chitenge wrapper with a matching top swallowing her whole upper body, Aunt Tafadzwa grabbed Sibu by the ears and dragged her to the side, away from the gate. Reasoning that protesting would only get her in more trouble, Sibu could only lower her head to cushion the pain if only just slightly as she was being dragged. She lost her footing for a moment and a shoe came off her foot in the process. When her aunt finally came to a stop, Sibu almost breathed a sigh of relief but her joy was short-lived because upon releasing her ear, she was slapped hard across the face with such force that she went tumbling to the ground. Wide-eyes, she reached out her hand to touch the assaulted area, slowly rising up from the ground in embarrassment. Apart from the guards and a car parked on the other side of the gate, there were no people in sight. What would happen if any of her colleagues saw her like that? “That is for making me wait out here in the cold and subjecting me to that kind of treatment by your guards.” The angry woman snapped, fuming from ear to ear and daring the guards with her eyes to try and interfere in her business. “Is that a new watch you are wearing?” Aunt Tafadzwa roughly grabbed Sibu’s hand to examine the wrist watch. With tears welling up her eyes, Sibu struggled to keep her mind working against the ringing sound coming from her ears. Everything was happening so fast. “What the hell is going on here?” Someone grabbed Sibu’s hand from her aunt’s painful grasp. It was Martin. He had her shoe in his hand. Where the hell did he come from? Sibu thought. “Martin,” was all she could manage as she wished for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. “Who the hell are you and why are you causing a scene in front of my father’s firm?” Martin fired at the woman with vengeance. “Guards!” he turned towards the two guards who had been watching the scene wide-eyed through the glass screen of their booth. They quickly fumbled out of the little room the moment they were summoned. “What the hell are you doing while an employee is being physically abused right in front of you?” Martin snapped, his hand still holding on to Sibu’s. “Martin please,” Sibu pleaded, desperately trying to free her hand from his grasp but Martin would not let go. “Who do you think you are to interfere with how I choose to discipline my niece?” Aunt Tafadzwa retorted, sizing him up with her lips curled tightly. “She is your aunt?” Martin turned his gaze twowards Sibu. She nodded. “Yes she is so please don’t interfere and let me handle this myself. It is none of your business. Please…just pretend you did not see anything, I am begging you…please.” The pleading look in her eyes tore at Martin’s insides. What was really going on? Martin searched her face and all he could see was fear written all over her features. He wanted to take her into his arms if only to keep her from trembling so much. He could feel the dread coursing through her body from her hand. Is this the same woman that had defiantly rejected him numerous times? Sibu took advantage of Martin’s befuddled state to free her hand from his grasp, stealthily moving away from him to stand in front of her aunt. “I am very sorry aunty,” she put her hands together and raising them up as if in prayer, she rubbed them up and down with her head shoulders hunched forward as she begged her aunt for forgiveness. Martin could not believe what he was witnessing. “What do you think you are doing?” He was eyeing her contemptuously. He reached out to grab her hands and stop her demonstration but she quickly tossed his hand away, continuing her show of obeisance to her aunt. The guards seemed at a loss for both words and actions. They just stood at attention with only their eyes moving from Sibu to Martin. “If your family wants to put up a show, I suggest you move it far away from these premises,” Martin warned, his face tightening to the point of uniting his perfectly shaped eyebrows into one straight line. Without saying a word, Aunt Tafadzwa pranced angrily to the other side of the road with a nervous Sibu following closely behind. Martin was shaking his head slowly in disbelief as he watched the pair cross the road. And just when he thought he had seen enough drama, Sibu went straight down on her knees the moment they were out of the road. She remained in that position with her head bowed down as her aunt went on a tirade; poking Sibu’s head every now and then as she continued talking. He could not make out what was actually being said but the body language was enough to cause indignation to rise up his spine. “What’s up with those two?” A girl in a school uniform joined Martin by his side. She was watching the scene unfolding across the road with lividity. “Shouldn’t that woman be arrested or something for abuse?” the teenager asked. “How can something like this be happening in front of a law firm?” “Don’t look at them Mwiche,” Martin put his hands on the girls shoulders and turned her around. “Watching them will only make her feel even more like a victim. It’s their family matter, there’s nothing we can do. You need to go home now. Mum will have a fit if she discovers you didn’t go straight home from school.” Mwiche chuckled. “That’s exactly what Clement said a minute ago.” She said, waving her hand at the driver waiting in the car just a few feet away. Martin looked around to see if there were any other people in sight apart from them and the guards. He felt some form of relief when he couldn’t spot a soul in sight apart from the vehicles passing through the road. “But are you really going to let that girl get treated like that?” They both turned to look across the road. Sibu was now up on her feet, slightly bending to wipe the dirt off her jeans where she had been kneeling. She then straightened her back, removed something from her jacket and handed it to her aunt. “Did she just give her money?” Martin’s little sister asked, looking very shell-shocked. “I don’t know what’s going on there but whatever it is, it’s very twisted.” Martin was shaking his head. “Let me escort you to the car, I can’t look at that shit anymore.” He took his sister’s hand and led her back to the car. After saying goodbye to Mwiche, Martin went back inside only to appear a few minutes later in his car. He parked on the spot where Clement had been parked and he waited for Sibu to finish her case with the mad aunt. Martin didn’t need to wait for long because after receiving the money and delivering a bit more of her onslaught verbal diarrhoea, Sibu’s aunt had turned around and walked away, leaving Sibu alone to nurse her wounded pride. Martin could hardly recognize the eighteen year old girl standing across the street looking so dejected and defeated like a leaf on a hot summer’s day. That girl was not the feisty young girl that always stared down at him and challenged his manhood every chance she got. That withered looking girl made his heart ache to a point of no return. Instead of envisaging holding her naked body all through the night like he always did, the girl in front of him made him want to hold her tightly in his arms and drive her pain away. When five minutes had gone by and Sibusiswe had not moved from the spot her aunt had left her, Martin got out of the vehicle and walked to where she was. Sibusiswe kept her eyes glued on her aunt’s retreating figure as a storm of tears poured down her eyes. She was fixed on the task at hand that she did not hear Martin approach because the next thing she knew, he was grabbing her hand and leading her towards his vehicle. “Don’t even try to fight me,” Martin warned her sternly as he quickly got them across the road. He opened the front passenger door and shoved Sibu inside before she could further protest. “Belt,” he instructed before banging the door and moving to his side of the vehicle. By now Sibu had stopped crying and was starring wide-eyed at Martin. “Where are you taking me?” She asked, finally resigning to put her seat belt on since Martin had already set the car in motion. “I am taking you to a place I know you will love,” he replied nonchalantly. Sibu bolted up in her seat. “Have you lost your mind? I have a job to attend to Martin!” she yelled at him. “Calm down, I already asked Peggy to take care of it while you are gone.” “What?” He was impossible. “I told her that my father sent you on an errand so you don’t have to worry about anything. I can tell what’s going through that mind of yours.” He chuckled lightly. “Relax,” he reassured her. Martin put on some music and Mozart’s Requiem in D minor filled the car. Sibu reclined her seat and tried to relax. “Wake me up when we reach wherever we are going.” She laid back and closed her eyes as the music filled the air. Martin got her cue and raised the volume slightly. After driving for a few minutes, Martin watched Sibu take off her pumps and raise her feet from the floor of the vehicle only to curl them up on her seat. Before she could completely hunch herself into a ball, Martin noticed the tears. Had she been silently crying all along? He wondered, not sure if he should say something or remain quite. He was not very good with touchy-feely things. The only time women ever cried in front of him was when they were either cussing him for breaking their hearts or begging him to take them back. In both instances, he never cared much about how they felt. He was sure of his feelings so he didn’t need to know or understand theirs. But what was this situation? How the hell was he expected to respond? Despite all the confusion going on in his head, there was one feeling Martin could neither deny nor suppress; the ache in his heart upon seeing Sibu in such a state. What exactly was this feeling? He placed his hand over his chest as a sombre and troubled expression played on his face. He curled his hand into a fist and repeatedly, yet softly hit it against his chest as if to stop his heart from feeling whatever it was threatening to feel. If there was one thing Martin was most afraid in life, it was feelings. Sentimental feelings and Martin existed in two parallel universies. Putting both his hands back on the steering wheel, Martin blinked profusely as if to wake himself up from whatever spirit was threatening to overpower him. He didn’t need to look in Sibusiswe’s direction to imagine what she was going through. The force she was using to try and keep her pain under wraps was causing her body to shudder almost violently against the seat. He too could feel the pressure from where he was seated. Martin took a deep breath and kept his eyes right ahead, his hands tightly holding on to the steering wheel as if to keep it from slipping away. With just classical music playing in the background and no words spoken between them, Martin drove like that the rest of the way. Martin had driven for close to an hour when he finally brought the car to a stop. He got out of the vehicle and stood outside to give Sibu chance to compose herself. Inside the car, Sibu slowly opened her eyes which were now swollen from crying for such a long time. When she looked out through the windscreen, she was impressed by the scenery around them. It almot took her breath away. “What’s this place?” She was now standing behind him. Martin had both his arms tucked in his pockets with his legs spread apart as if in deliberate pose. As she took in his frame, Sibu wondered what time he had taken off his jacket. There was something a little safe with his jacket on and something completely unsafe with it off. With his now exposed light blue shirt clinging to his broad shoulders and compact upper body, and his well-fitting dark blue pair of trousers whispering promises of long chiseled legs, Sibusiswe struggled to maintain focus of her surroundings. There should be a law against being that good looking, Sibu mussed to herself. “Where are we?” She asked as she came to stand next to him. Martin turned in her direction, his hands still in his pockets. Sibu blushed and immediately looked away at the sight of his buffed up chest threatening to reap through the tight white vest under his shirt where he had left the top buttons undone. “It’s my secret hideaway.” Martin cheerfully announced, loving the reaction on Sibu’s face. “It’s the first piece of land my father put in my name. I always come here whenever I need to clear my mind. What do you think?” A few meters from where they were standing were beautiful young palm trees lined up into a narrow aisle that went on as far as the eye could see. To the right of the hedge was a thirst provoking orchard with bounty fruits yelling a near harvest. To the left where ready to harvest vegetables that seemed to be doing surprisingly well in spite of the weather. About six yards away from the cabbages was a small but beautifully designed two story cabin towering over everything else that caught Sibu’s attention. “Are there people that live here?” Sibusiswe asked. “Yes, the caretaker,” Martin supplied. “It’s refreshing isn’t it?” He had his arms stretched out with his head pulled slightly back to allow the fresh air to reach most parts of his body. Sibu mimicked his actions. “It’s very beautiful,” she said. “Who would have thought that there’s such a place in Lusaka? I guess there really are perks to being friends with rich folks.” Martin was more than glad to see her smiling. His plan to cheer her up had worked after all. “I can only imagine what it would be like watching the sun set in over such a beautiful scenery.” Sibu muttered. “Thank you for bringing me here Martin. I don’t care what your intentions are for bringing me here but…I needed to see something like this to remind me that there are still beautiful forms of life on this earth…kind of makes you want to live again.” Martin grinned proudly, completely missing edge to her tone during her last remark. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were looking forward to spending more time with me,” he teased. “I was wondering when the douche in you would wake up,” she teased back, not daring to look in his direction. “You never disappoint.” They both laughed. “So are you going to tell me what that was all about?” Martin asked after a while. The smile on Sibu’s face disapeared immediately. Noting the hesitation, Martin tried again. “What did you do that was so bad that you let your aunt treat you like that?” “I wish I could tell you everything…but today is just not the day. I just want to take in this scenery and forget about everything that happened today.” Not one to pressure any woman into divulging personal information that might cause his heart to betray him, Martin only nodded and quickly changed the subject. Perhaps the less he knew about her the better. The last thing he needed was getting attached and messing up his already laid out plans for the future. Women were just too complicated for his brain cells. He already had enough on his plate memorizing all those statutes. As Sibusiswe allowed herself to get lost in the scenery before her, she couldn’t help feeling a great sense of respect and gratitude towards Martin who had made it possible for her to forget about her sorrows even if just for a little bit. It was the first time anyone had ever taken the time to do something for her. Although she suspected that he might have ulterior motives for appearing as her knight in shinning armor, she resolved to only focus on the good part of the experience because her mind had had enough misery for a day. When Sibu finally came back to reality, it was to find Martin behind her, his back resting against the car with both hands back in his pockets. The manner in which he was smiling at her gave Sibu pause. for the first time she could see sincerity in his eyes. Since when did he start looking at her like that? She blushed profusely, debating whether to take her eyes away from him or maintain eye contact. If she broke contact, he would know he had some effect on her, and if she kept looking at him, her eyes might betray her. With her heart nearly leaping out of her chest, unconsciously, Sibusiswe brought her hand to her chest. It was her inert defensive mechanism shielding her from harm…. How else could she stop her heart from feeling things it was not supposed to? Just in those few seconds she had lost herself in the embers of his smile, Sibusiswe’s heart sent her mind to slumber. Never before had she felt so vulnerable. And still, Martin kept smiling. He was silently taking pleasure in watching the mixed emotions playing on Sibu’s face. However, just as he was about to climax from the rewards of his well laid out plans, something in Sibu’s eyes sent shivers running down his spine. Was that fear he had just seen in her eyes? And just why did that make him uncomfortable? * * * July, 2015 Saturday mornings were always a hype of activity at Chilenje market. Both shoppers and marketeers went about their business in committed shrew. The perversely undecided winter sun relentlessly assaulted Sibusiswe’s windscreen and crushed onto her forehead, forcing her to drop the sun visor in frustration. Parked by the side of the road overlooking an array of shops on the other side of the road, Sibusiswe straightened her back in her seat and kept her focus on one specific store where an unsuspecting woman fortuitously attended to her vegetable stand in front of her fully stocked shop. It was Aunt Tafadzwa. In tight fitting blue skinny jeans and a tight red top, Aunt Tafadzwa put most women her age to shame. Her forty-nine year old form was very different from the slightly overweight woman with a passion for oversized clothes she had been eleven years ago. It seemed time had somehow awakened a sense of fashion in her and given her a flair of youth that had eluded her all those years. Now that she was just a whisper away from the fifties, she was intent on negotiating her case with time and nature till they succumbed to her wiles. How unfair could life be? Sibusiswe thought as she watched her aunt enjoy a hearty laugh with two of her customers. Gripping her hands around the steering wheel as the contempt boiling up in her stomach threatened to overwhelm her, Sibusiswe shut her eyes and curled her faced to half its size. She finally stepped out of her vehicle and walked towards the store. Aunt Tafadzwa’s smiling features graduated into a frown in record breaking time the moment she laid eyes on Sibu. The make-up on her face was perfectly on point, as if done by a professional. I wouldnt put it past her to use a professional make-up artist every single day , Sibu thought as she glared at her aunt. Aunt Tafadzwa handed over the plastic bag of vegetables to her customers and reluctantly said goodbye to them, taking her time as if there was no one waiting for her. “You have never visited me on your own volition. Who has died?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked whilst walking back into the store. Sibu followed her inside and offered herself a stool while her aunt sat on the one behind the counter glaring at her. “You still carry yourself like a rich madam despite being divorced,” her aunt commented sarcastically looking at her immaculately attired niece. Sibusiswe was dressed in a long white dress that contoured around her body in eye catching fashion despite the mid-length fur-collared red coat she had on top. “I guess some things are hard to get rid of…” Sibu replied, looking down at her red and white striped stilettoes for a second before looking up at her aunt. “…like your attitude towards me despite all the years I’ve spent slaving for you.” She fired back, her eyes unflinching against her aunt’s disdainful glare. “I never asked you to do anything you didn’t think you needed to do,” Aunt Tafadzwa retorted. “Don’t you think it’s about time you stopped playing the victim card?” Sibusiswe scoffed. “Victim you say?” She said a few expletives under her breath. “I never forced you to marry Martin,” Aunt Tafadzwa growled. “You had fallen head over heels in-love with him even before I suggested marriage to you. Now, just because your marriage failed miserably, you want to blame me?” Sibu could feel the rage rising up inside. She silently willed herself into calming down. “It is true I was in-love with Martin but I never wanted to get married to him. I would have easily taken care of my feelings and walked away but your threats forced me to marry a man I knew for a fact wasn’t good for me. Having feelings for someone does not mean you have to marry them. But because of you, I had to get married to him.” Aunt Tafadzwa came down from her stool and stood resting her hands on her waist defiantly. “I never forced you to marry Martin!” she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at her twenty-nine year old niece. “I made you a proposition and you made the choice yourself. You could have refused and we could have gone on with our lives.” Sibusiswe couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You call it a proposition I call it a threat,” she thundered. “But I am not here to argue semantics with you. What happened, happened…nothing can ever change the past…but I certainly intend to change the future.” She laid it thick for her aunt. “What do you mean by that?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked. Putting her white fur clutch on her laps, Sibu leaned back against the shelves behind her, not caring for a second abbout the products she was probably crushing. She crossed her arms over her chest and crossed one leg over the other. “I am done catering to your every whim and demand aunty,” Sibu barked. “The deal we made was that if I marry Martin, I get to see Henry through high school and Tammy through college. I did that. I kept my end of the deal and now it’s time for you to keep yours. You promised you would leave me the hell alone and stop making crazy demands if I sent your children to school. But that text you sent me last night and the manner in which you commanded me to prepare funds for Henry’s college fees infuriated me.” “Do you think you have any right to get upset?” her aunt asked. “Stop it!” Sibu got up from the stool so fast she dropped her clutch to the floor. “This is exactly what I am talking about,” she remarked. “…you guilting me into making decisions every chance you get. The only reason I went through that tumultuous marriage was to free myself from your malice. Yes it was a decision i made but only because you left me no choice! I understand you are mad about what happened to your sister but I am done paying the price for something I had no control over. Every day and night I beat myself over it…I don’t need you to constantly remind me of my sins. You claim my mother would have taken care of you and your children if she were alive but do you think she would have wanted you abusing her only child in this manner?” “Abusing you?” Aunt Tafadzwa’s small eyes danced in furry. “You call marrying a handsome and impossibly rich man like Martin abuse?” She laughed bemusedly. “Yes, making a fourteen year old do all those things you made me do for your family is what the law calls child abuse. And there’s a word they use to describe forcing someone to marry someone they didn’t want to just so it can benefit you.” “You act as if you didn’t benefit from the marriage,” her aunt fired back. “Just look at you,” she said, running her and up and down in Sibu’s direction. “…looking all high and mighty like you are better than everybody else. If I told Martin what you did, do you think he would have insisted on marrying you in the first place? Thanks to me you got to enjoy such a high class life and married the most sought after man in the country. Any normal person would be grateful, but not you. You have always been a selfish ungrateful wench ever since you were little. And thanks to that selfishness of yours, my sister is now six feet under!” She was furiously pointing and digging at the floor with her feet.” “Do not bring my mother into this,” Sibusiswe told her aunt. “I promised myself that I will not let your emotional blackmail get to me today. I did what I promised to do; I sent your children to school. Tammy is the same age as me and she is now working. It is now her time to send her brother to college. I will be leaving the country in a few days and there is nothing you will say to me that will stop me. I just don’t care anymore…I just don’t give a dame any more. Seek a witch doctor to deal with me like you’ve always threatened to do or kill me yourself with your bare hands, I don’t care. I know that as long as I am alive, there is no getting out of this hell I set up for myself and you polished for my comfort. But I am done with you…so either you let me go in peace or I drag you down into this hell with me.” “You think it’s easy to just walk away from your family just like that?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked, seeming much unperturbed by her niece’s threats. Sibu scoffed. “Has there ever been a time you considered or treated me like family? If what you and your children are to me is family, then I will gladly embrace being alone in this world.” She bent down to pick up her clutch, and taking a deep breath she said, “I came here to say goodbye, not to fight. My walking away from you does not mean I have forgotten about my sins. I just think I have paid you enough and I would like to battle my own demons on my own terms. You take care of yourself and your family.” And with that, she turned to leave. “You think running away will absolute you from everything? What do you think your husband’s family will do when they find out that you only married into their family for money?” Her aunt’s voice roared from behind. Sibu stopped. “I never said I was running away,” she said with her back still turned. “I am simply removing some weeds from my hell. It is my hell after all, only I get to decide the company I keep while I await my pending doom,” and turning around, “you no longer get to call the shots.” She declared. “You are done. You and I are over. You can say whatever you want to Martin’s family, see if I care.” With that, she walked out of the shop, leaving her aunt reeling in bridled rage. Putting on her invisible triumphant shoulder pads, Sibusiswe walked out of the store with her head held high. She was busy busking in her glory over putting her aunt in her place when something blocked her path right outside the store. It was her former mother-in-law, Mrs Temwani Mwewa. To say she was looking unpleased would be an understatement. With her brows arched upwards going all the way and stopping only a few inches short of her hairline, and with her lips parsed into a long thin line, the fifty-five year old woman was a vision only found in children’s nightmares. “Fancy finding you here Sibu,” Mrs Mwewa said, arching one eyebrow further into her hair. All Sibu could do in that instant was stare in disbelief at the woman who had made it her hobby to make her marriage life unbearable. Why did she have to be there at that particular moment? And how much of the conversation with her aunt did she hear? “Bana Martin, mwaiseni !” A very cheerful Aunt Tafadzwa came out of the store to gleefully welcome her former in-law and seemingly good friend. Since when did the two become so close? Sibusiswe wondered as the two women shared a hug. A cold streak of chagrin ran down Sibusiswe’s spine as flashes from her past threatened to crush her head into little pieces.

Seated

What exactly is going on, dont really understand.

D story abt d past and present were not properly separated. Its difficult to differentiate

wat exactly did sibu did dat made her to subject herself to wahala like dis?

I don't understand

Hmm, next pls

Echoes of the Heart – Part 3 Pain. If you had the power to keep yourself from feeling it, would you embrace it? They say that pain is a mechanism our brain employs to protect us from impending danger; that despite its unpleasantness, its aim is a positive one. But what happens when you become so accustomed to pain that you become immune to it? Living in my self-imposed prison, pain to me had become a familiarity, a feeling I desperately clung to and pined for as if for dear life. While others existed for the ultimate goal of attaining happiness, for me, such a thought in itself was a sentence to eternal damnation. I was so engrossed in my pursuit of penance and delusion of safety promised to me by the haven I had created for myself behind the walls of my prison that I was completely unaware of the power of love and what it could do to this hell I had perfectly crafted for myself. Thus, when the walls came tumbling down, I was neither prepared nor willing to accept the changes that came with this thing called love. But as you might already know, when love comes, it does not knock and it does not seek permission. But how was I to know that? * * * After running her errands in preparation for her upcoming trip, Sibusiswe decided to pass through Sibeso’s home in Chelstone, off Palm Drive. It was the only place she could think of where she could get the thoughts that had been troubling her the whole day out of her mind. “Is your husband home?” Sibusiswe asked as Sibeso ushered her into the house. The pile of mens and children’s shoes by the side of the passageway leading to the living room reminded Sibu of a time when such a scene spelled home for her. The loud aroma of freshly cooked Okra that filled the air seduced Sibu’s senses and made her stomach growl in expectation. “Whenever you ask about my hubby’s presence, I know that you have some pent up awful things to say about your former mother in-law,” Sibeso remarked as she sat on the arm of the red leather sofa that Sibusiswe had just thrown herself on. “Fortunately for you, he isn’t home.” Sibeso said. “He left with the kids just after having supper, said he’s going to get some ice cream for them since we ran out…but I know he has other plans in mind.” And whilst standing up she added, “I have some food that remained from dinner, want me to warm it up for you? I know how much you love okra.” Sibusiswe shook her head. “If I let you get to the kitchen then you and I won’t get to talk before your husband and the kids get back. Just get me a glass of juice, the usual.” She then reached forward and grabbed the remote control from the table and switched from Disney Junior to Discovery ID. “How is Maleficent?” Sibeso shouted from the dining room. Maleficent was the nickname the two women had secretly given Martin’s mother thanks to her make-up style and mannerisms that mirrored those of Angelina Jolie in her iconic role as the villain in the Disney film. “How did you know that I had seen her today?” Sibu shouted back. Sibeso appeared just then with a glass on juice on a small tray and laid it before her friend. “Because I am your best friend and I know that she is the only species capable of draining the life out of you…apart from Martin of course,” she said and went to seat on the single seater couch adjacent to the one Sibu was seated on. “You said something about your hubby having other plans,” Sibu said, fully turning her body around to look at her friend as she sipped from her glass of juice. “He is not cheating on you, is he?” Sibeso cackled. “Of course not silly,” she said. “At least to the best of my knowledge, he isn’t. But, even if he was, taking Mapalo with him would be a dumb move on his part.” She chuckled some more. “That girl is a parrot and a human PVR, even DSTV has nothing on her. She will come and offload everything she sees and hears before I even ask.” The two women enjoyed a hearty laugh as Sibeso went on to gush about her adventures as a house wife and mother to a five year old girl and four year old boy. “So what happened with Maleficent today?” Sibeso finally asked. “She didn’t come to pressure you about Jacob’s custody issue did she?” “Not today,” Sibu replied. “One of these days you should tell her off or I will. If not for you she would have no precious son to boast about. I would love to see the look on her naturally pissed off face when she learns the truth. That should shut her up for the next fifteen years. “I know right,” Sibu snickered. “But still, that’s the one thing about my life I like to remain private. So, about my day today…the most unbelievable thing happened that made my blood turn black.” Sibeso looked at Sibu expectantly. “What happened?” she asked. “I had just finished declaring war with my aunt and was ready to bounce back to my car when right outside the shop, I bumped into Maleficent.” Sibeso gasped. “What the hell?” “I am telling you!” Sibu answered. “What could the two women who hate me the most in this world be possibly plotting…suddenly acting like the best of friends hugging and laughing as if they were never at logger heads before. That whole episode today made me really nervous. I feel like there is a war being plotted out there and I am the only one unarmed. Do you think I’m being paranoid?” Sibeso shook her head. “I don’t think you are being paranoid sweetie; I also think something is off with those two. They hated each other so why are they suddenly being Twilight with each other?!” “How can I find out what’s going on before it’s too late?” Sibu asked. “Knowing my aunt, she must be the reason behind this kind of development.” “How about asking Mwiche?” Sibeso suggested. “You two still talk, right?” “Yes we do, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.” Sibu answered. “She had called me last night just to check up on me…and I even made a blunder, imagine.” “What kind of blunder?” A wide-eyed Sibeso asked. “I accidently mentioned my trip to SA while we were talking…thing is, I have not yet told Martin about it. She must have called him the moment she got off the phone with me because he has been calling me incessantly since.” “And why haven’t you told him yet?” Sibeso asked. “Because I kind of feel bad about taking away his son even if it’s only for a short while,” Sibu replied. Sibeso scoffed. “You think two years without seeing your son in a short while?” Sibu was momentarily at a loss for words. “Now that you’ve put it like that…” Sibu raised her shoulders. “But this is an opportunity I can’t afford to miss Sibe. You know very well how the past years have been for me in terms of career advancements. I really need to do this.” “Pass me that remote,” Sibeso asked Sibusiswe. Sibu was about to hand it over when she changed her mind. “What do you want to do? It better not be because you want to change the channel.” “I don’t know why you are so addicted to these crime channels,” Sibeso remarked. “Only people that want to commit the perfect crime get hooked on such shows. If it’s Maleficent you are plotting to kill, please count me in,” she joked. Sibu grabbed a cushion and playfully threw it at Sibeso who caught it in time to avoid being hit. “Will you tell Martin who you will be staying with in South Africa?” Sibeso asked, a mischievous grin playing on her face. “Whatever evil thoughts are going through that head of yours, stop,” Sibu warned. “There is nothing going on between Ted and I. We’ve always been good friends and Martin knows it…not that I care about what he thinks. We are way passed the point of interfering in each other’s lives.” “Do you think Ted feels the same way?” Sibeso asked. “What do you mean?” Sibu asked. Sibeso sat up straight to drive her point across. “Tell me Sibu, why would a guy that good-looking, rich, well educated, smart, a great career, and has everything going well for him still be single up to now?” She asked. “What has that got to do with me?” Sibu retorted dismissively. “Maybe he just hasn’t found the right woman yet but that doesn’t mean that woman is me. Ted and I sorted out our issues a long time ago. He made it very clear what his feeling were…are towards me so stop trying to dress up an innocent friendship into something perverse and unfitting.” “If you say so,” Sibeso shrugged her shoulders, not convinced in the slightest by her friends monologue. As Sibusiswe drove back to her place that evening, her mind wondered back to the past, to the moment in time when her world had slowly started spinning out of control. If she could go back in time, would she be able to see the signs and stick to her resolve to safely guard the walls around her? If she had that chance, would she still make the same decisions? “You look like shit,” Conrad noted the moment Martin joined them at the bar. For a man who cared about appearances as much as the air he breathed, Martin was looking a little worse for wear in his ill-fitting grey t-shirt and suit pants which he must have obviously forgotten to take off after knocking off from work. He never ever wore anything casual on a suit pant. Being an extremist in most areas of his life, Martin’s wardrobe consisted of full on office wear which were mostly suits and full on casual wear which comprised mostly jeans and t-shirts …and these two categories never ever crossed borders, until that Friday evening at the bar. “I think he killed someone and kept the t-shirt as a trophy,” Nelson Chanda teased his boss. Nelson had joined M&M just two years ago and managed to successfully ingratiate himself into Martin’s social cycle. “I am kind of forced to agree…” Kondwani Musaba chipped in. Being the only one in the group not a lawyer, Kondwani was the least outspoken of the four friends. Martin rolled his eyes dismissively at his three friends. “Go on, take jabs at your boss now. This is the only time you get to have your revenge.” Conrad handed Martin an already opened bottle of Castle Lite. “But serious man, what happened to you?” He asked, looking down at Martin’s muddy slippers. Martin ran his hand through his head and sighed heavily. “My ex-wife happened,” he said and took a sip of his beer before laying the bottle back on the counter with a thud. “What happened with Sibu? Did she finally ask for child support? Knowing her, it should be a tag so high even you wouldn’t afford it.” Nelson joked and won himself disapproving looks from everyone. “My bad,” he raised his hands in the air. “What did she do?” “It would be nice if she asked for some money, any amount that way I would feel less guilty towards her.” Martin was saying. “But Sibu being Sibu, she still refuses to accept any form of financial assistance from me, even for my own son. But that’s not why I am upset….” “The Sibu- effect,” Conrad said before Martin could finish what he was saying. “Sibu-effect?” Kondwani asked, looking from one friend to the other. From all their expressions, it was obvious he was the only one in the dark. Conrad and Nelson were now laughing to their hearts content, much to Martin’s chagrin. “Can you two behave?” Martin warned. “Sorry man,” Conrad patted his friend on the shoulder as he tried to control himself. “You must be the only guy at the office who doesn’t know about the Sibu effect,” Conrad had turned his attention to Kondwani. “Is that a good or a bad thing?” The innocent looking and soft spoken Accountant asked. “It depends,” Nelson laughed but immediately froze the moment Martin threw a stern look in his direction. “Let me tell you about the Sibu-effect my dear friend,” Conrad said to Kondwani, excitement written all over his face. * * * February, 2010 Sibusiswe felt the world spin around her as she came out of the doctor’s office. The distance from the office to the waiting area seemed very long. She struggled to get her bearings correct, her head throbbing from the news she had just received. Holding on to the nearest wall, Sibusiswe shut her eyes and waited for the world to stop spinning. “Are you alright Mrs Mwewa?” Doctor Sanjay had come out of her office and found her patient in that position. Holding her by the shoulders to steady her, the doctor said, “This is the first time I have informed a married woman that she’s pregnant and seen her react in such a manner.” She slowly helped Sibu walk through the waiting area filled with people and led her outside to where her car was parked. “I think I am fine now,” Sibusiswe rubbed her hand over her eyes and was more than glad to regain her stable relationship with gravity. “Is this something you need me to keep from your husband?” The doctor gave Sibu a knowing look. “I have been a family doctor for the Mwewa’s for over seven years now and….” For a moment, Sibu wondered about the meaning of the doctor’s words until she caught on. “Oh no doctor,” she started shaking her head but stopped when the dizziness threatened to return. “It’s not what you are thinking,” she quickly corrected whatever conclusions the doctor might have arrived at. “This is definitely my husband’s child, definitely,” she repeated. “It’s just that…apart from some personal issues….I am currently a student…and I was kind of hoping to wait a little before starting a family.” I actually don’t want a child right now…not right now . This will complicate everything. Sibu lamented. As Sibusiswe drove back home, she wondered about the next step to take and settled on talking to her husband first before making any decision…although she already knew what his reaction would be. She parked to the side of the road and picked up her phone to call Martin. However, upon looking at her call logs, she changed her mind. “Isn’t it better to tell him in person?” She said to herself. Throwing her phone on the passenger seat and getting back on the road, a mischievous grin playing on her face. By the time Sibusiswe was arriving in Kitwe to see her husband who for the past two weeks had been living in their Kitwe vacation home whilst overseeing their latest building projects, it was already past midnight. Martin’s car parked in the car park just in front of the two story house told her that he was at home. She would have not been surprised if she didn’t find him home since he was a man that loved the night scenery of any town he visited. She grabbed her phone and bag and headed to the house. Opening the door with her spare key, she encoutered a half awake – half asleep fifteen year old Charles. Charles was Martin’s cousin from his father’s side. Martin had asked the boy’s father to take care of the house when there was no one visiting from Lusaka. They had built the house as a cheaper alternative to constantly living in hotels and lodges since the family was constantly travelling to Kitwe to take care of the many businesses they had there. Charles was petrified to see Sibu standing there before him that for close to a minute, he just stood there gaping at her. “What’s wrong with you?” Sibu looked bemused. “You look like you have just seen a ghost.” Unconsciously, the fifteen year old looked at Sibu and then towards the stairs leading to the master bedroom where Martin was supposed to be sleeping. Then he slowly started shaking his head in horror. Sibu didn’t need to ask to know. “It’s fine Charles,” she reassured him, keeping her voice steady. “Where’s uncle?” She asked the boy who was now sweating profusely despite the cool weather from the showers outside. “He…he…he is..in…Ndola,” Charles stuttered. “He…went to see mum,” he gushed the words out. “Okay, you can go back to bed now.” Sibu placed a hand on his shoulder to let him know he wasn’t the one in trouble. “Sorry I disturbed your sleep. I will take care of everything here.” She forced a smile as she headed upstairs, leaving a petrified Charles rooted on the spot. Sibusiswe took a deep breath before opening the door, bracing herself for whatever awaited her on the other side. She carefully opened the door and was immediately greeted by two completely naked bodies sleeping soundly on the bed she had once lain in. Because Martin liked sleeping with the lights on, the room was properly lit to reveal everything in sight. She could see two used condoms posing on the floor in their wrinkled glory. The bed was surrounded by littered pieces of his and her clothes, a pile of beddings was tossed at the foot of the bed, with Martin’s shoes on one side, and the woman’s on the other. The scene before her was a portrait of sordid Babylonian encounters brought to life. It was a milieu of quenched lust and lasciviousness, the ambiance of which lashed at Sibu’s insides with ferocious vengeance. She didn’t need to check to confirm if it was her husband lying there and snoring like there was no tomorrow. The body language of the two screamed of diddled romance as each lay on further ends of the bed facing away from each other, a pillow deliberately placed on the woman’s face. She was just another addition to his long list of flavours. Sibusiswe moved closer to the bed and slowly lifted the pillow off the woman’s face. It wasn’t anyone she knew. The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, beautiful with intelligent looking features, just his usual style. She does look like me ten years from now , Sibusiswe thought as she put the pillow back over the woman’s face and walked to the side of her husband. Martin, oh Martin, she slowly shook her head whilst taking in her husband’s naked frame. Pushing back the tears, Sibusiswe walked over to the wardrobe, opened it and took out a duvet. She walked to the other side of the room where a huge white two-sitter couch lay in front of a 32 inch smart TV. She removed the three layered colourful cushions from the sofa, and posing herself as if for body viewing, she closed her eyes to sleep. A hot tear came out of the side of her closed left eye. When Martin woke up the next morning, it was to the smell of familiar scents and aromas. He slowly sat up and found his partner from the previous night enjoying some breakfast on a well laid out tray. “Did you just make yourself breakfast in my house?” Martin glared at her disdainfully. “You needed to be out of here before my cousin wakes up.” He grabbed his wrist watch from the side of the bed and checked the time. “It’s now 8 o’clock and you are still seated here acting like a madam. I told you I am a married man.” He got out of bed and and was about to reach for his clothes on the floor when he found nothing. only then did he notice the changes in the room. Apart from the bed, everything else in the room was in immaculate order, way better than it had been for the past two weeks. “Did you clean this room?” Martin asked before spotting a pile of fresh clothes laid out on the arm of the sofa on the other side of the room. He scoffed. “If you are campaigning for marriage, you are barking at the wrong guy…what did you say your name was again?” “Gloria,” the woman answered as Martin went to put on the fresh clothes anyway. “I think you are being rude and making a lot of wrong assumptions,” Gloria said from the other side of the room. She put her tray down on the bed and glared at Martin. “I didn’t make this breakfast and I didn’t touch anything in this room apart from my clothes,” she said. “When I woke up I found a lady cleaning the room, she told me she was your cousin or something. I was about to leave but she insisted that I have breakfast first because she would be in trouble if you discovered that she let a guest leave without eating.” With one leg into his pant and the other half-way through, Martin paused and turned around. “A lady?” he threw a questioning look at Gloria. “There are no women that live in this house, only my uncle and his son. What lady are you talking about?” It was Gloria’s turn to look puzzled. “She looked young, tall, and very beautiful with very long hair. At first I thought she was one of your women but she was very kind to me.” “Oh shit!” Martin forgot about his state of undress and tried to move but went crushing down to the floor, face first. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” he repeated as he struggled to put his leg back into his trousers. “You need to get out of here right now if you want to live.” He finally succeeded with the trousers and was now rushing towards the door. “What’s going on here?” A very confused Gloria asked from behind him. Martin paused for a second at the door. “That kind woman that served you breakfast is my wife.” He said between clenched teeth as the woman responded in frightened countenance. “If I were you, I would be rushing to the nearest hospital to get an antidote for whatever you just eat. You need to leave, now!” he said and bolted out of the door, taking the stairs two at a time. He found a bamboozled Charles down the stairs. “Where’s my wife?” Martin asked. Charles pointed towards the kitchen where sounds of plates clicking against each other could be heard. “I thought you were dead,” He was visibly shaken by how things had turned out. “Why do you think I am in shock right now?” Martin said as he ran towards the kitchen. For the first time ever, he was frustrated by the size of the house. Charles went weak at the knees when he saw the woman his cousin had brought home when he thought he was fast asleep. She was carefully walking down the stairs so as not to be heard, her shoes in her hands. “You are still here?” Charles whispered at the woman. “Is it safe?” Gloria mouthed the words as she looked around the house. Charles nodded and she quickly took the rest of the stairs down. Martin’s cousin helped her to the door and quickly closed it behind her, taking a deep breath and rested his back against the very door in relief. What the hell was going on? He thought as he tip-toed back to his room, making sure to lock his door behind him. “Sibu,” Martin nervously called his wife’s name from the entrance of the kitchen. He needed an early exit in case something came flying in his direction. Sibusiswe put down the plate she was washing and turned off the water in the sink before turning around to face her husband. “Martin,” was all she managed as a response. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the sink, waiting to hear whatever Martin had to say. She certainly wasn’t going to make it easy for him. This is not how I expected things to go , Martin lamented to himself. What the hell I’m I supposed to say? Why isn’t she saying anything? Why isn’t she throwing things? What I’m I supposed to do ? Next thing he knew, he was down on his knees, and with his hands raised above his head as if in prayer, he begged her forgiveness. “I am sorry Sibu…I am sorry babe…I will never do it again….” He went on like that for close to two minutes while Sibu remained rooted to her spot, watching his performance with a blank expression on her face. She was indeed a tough audience to impress. “Don’t even think about giving that oh the devil made me do it kind of nonsense.” Sibu finally snapped. “This time I can vouch for the devil because while you were busy dejuicing someone’s daughter, I had engaged the devil in a little tete-a-tete . I needed to know why he’s so bent on messing me up all the time…” her voice started to shake a bit from stifling her tears. “…otherwise, why would I be six weeks pregnant for someone like you?” Saying those words out was like a trigger that opened the floodgates she had been desperately tying to keep shut. How many more tears did she have to waste on him? Never before had Martin been so conflicted. The stellar announcement made him pause with his hands in the air as he starred at his wife in both anguish and euphoria. Not sure which emotion to settle for and still on his knees, Martin lowered his head further down as he begged his wife for forgiveness in absolute obeisance. But Sibu was not fazed in the slightest. She was looking down at him like a bundle of poop that she needed to get away from as fast as possible. “Clean up your shit before you even think of talking to me,” she commanded in clear cut vociferation. “You reek of condoms and recycled vagina.” She then grabbed a towel from the rack, dried her hands and threw it down to the floor before walking away, deliberately bumping into Martin and sending him falling off to the side as she squeezed herself out of the kitchen. It was then that Martin realized he had forgotten to put on a shirt. Martin managed to get up from the floor with some difficult but by the time he was outside, Sibusiswe had already driven off. * * * “And that my friend is what is known as the Sibu-effect,” Conrad proudly announced. He was now on his feet, standing next to an astound Kondwani with his arm resting over his shoulder. “It is a phenomenon or a type of reactivity that occurs when a man has been caught naked in bed with another woman by his wife and the said wife then proceeds to make the two breakfast in bed, thus putting the man in a state of confusion and trepidation…with a slight hint of pee on his pants as he grovels in despair begging for retribution.” Conrad drollery summarized for his mates as Martin looked on in disquietude. Kondwani gasped. “You peed on yourself?” he asked Martin. Martin stretched his hand and smacked the back of Conrad’s head. After his friendship with Ted had faltered years back, Conrad had somehow taken over the spot as Martin’s close friend, a development that did neither of the former friends imagined possible. “Of course I didn’t!” Martin defended his honor. “Yes, maybe I did think about it but it never happened. However, to this day, thinking about that incident makes the hairs at the back of my neck stand.” “Whatever happened to the woman she caught you in bed with?” Nelson inquired. “I have always wondered about that.” “Oh yeah, me too,” Conrad too chipped in. “She lived, if that’s what you are all insinuating with your questions.” Martin retorted. “But I had to ask my secretary to anonymously keep calling the woman just to check if she was still alive before I could finally start eating food from home.” “And she never divorced you even after finding you like that?” Kondwani asked, looking a little overwhelmed by all the information he had just heard. “Before I could even commerce project beg until no shred of pride is left in you when I reached home, she looked me in the eye and told me that she was only staying because she needed my money and she wanted to give our child a proper family so there was no need for me to grovel before her. She was curt and brutal…up to now I still don’t know what i was most sorry about; that I had done something like that to my wife and let her catch me in such a state, or that I had put her through so much pain that she no longer gave a dame about my indiscretions. either way, it hurts like hell,” he hit his hand against his chest repeatedly as a somber expression materialized on his face. “I don’t know whether I should give your wife…ex-wife a medal or get a restraining order against her just so I can protect myself from ever meeting her.” Kondwani the accountant lamented. “I respect her a lot…but at the same time I am very afraid of her.” “Me too my friend,” Martin said with a far-off expression on his face. “Me too,” he repeated. “Your ex-wife is hard core,” Nelson remarked. “She got a self-proclaimed bachelor to marry her in the shortest space of time and then she went ahead and dumped him at a time when he least expected it. There should be a superhero named after her somewhere in the world or even a word should be added in the dictionary in her honour,” and after pausing for a bit he added, “Sibu: the act of not giving a dame when a man repeatedly cheats on you; when used in a sentence, Martin was Sibu’d by his ex-wife…or, Most women of the 21’st century practice sibulity.” Three men gaped at Nelson as they shook their heads in shared incredulity. “You know what has always bothered me,” Conrad brushed Nelson off. “How is it that a woman that claimed to have married you for your money refused to take even a single penny of your money in alimony?” “You think I have never asked myself that?” Martin said. “That’s what pisses me off the most, that despite being married to her for five years, I know nothing about her. I know without doubt that something is going on with her but I have no idea what it is. Last night Mwiche told me that she spoke to Sibu and that she accidentally let on that she will be leaving the country in a few days. We have a child together yet she hasn’t even bothered to inform me. I have been trying to call her since last night but she won’t take my calls.” “Is that why you left the house looking like that?” Nelson asked. “I got home and found my mother waiting for me,” Martin replied. “As usual she wanted to start talking trash about Sibu but I just wasn’t in the mood. I grabbed the nearest thing I could find and bolted out of there.” “Why does your mother hate your ex-wife so much?” Kondwani asked. The three of them looked at him snippily. “His mother hates any woman that gets close to her son,” Conrad supplied. “But it was worse for Sibu because of two reason; one, she was Tonga, and two, Martin was crazy in-love with her.” “Oh,” was all Kondwani could say in response. He knew someone exactly like that. “So where is Sibu going? Are you going to let her go with your son?” Nelson asked. “She is going to SA…and yes, if she is going then I will have no choice but to let her go with him…that was the agreement we made. She has full custody…because it was my way of thanking her and apologizing for everything I did to her…and of course because I trusted her to know she would let me see Jacob whenever I wanted. Both her parents are late, so she is a sucker for family. I had to give her full custody to protect her from my mother…just in case of any eventualities.” “But what were you thanking her for…you said something about thanking her? We all know why you needed to apologize…but thanking her…” Nelson quipped. “…for allowing your sorry ass to cheat on her while you were still married to her? Nelson once again won himself disconcerting looks from his buddies. Martin looked at Nelson in indignation. “You do know I stopped carrying a gun around with me the day after you joined the company, right?” He said. “Don’t tempt me right now,” he cautioned him. Kondwani and Conrad enjoyed a hearty laugh at the expense of their friend. “Isn’t Ted also in South Africa?” Conrad later asked as realization dawned on him. “That’s why you are this worked up, isn’t it?” He starred at his friend in apprehension. The look of trepidation on Martin’s face confirmed Conrad’s suspicions. “Are you talking about Ted, the one whose father is…” Kondwani was saying. “Yes, that same one,” Nelson cut in. “When I joined the company I heard rumors about you guys fighting over Sibusiswe. Apparently you betrayed him and stole her from him.” Martin starred lividly at the imprudent Nelson. “You know, for a lawyer you lack tact Nelson, sometimes I wonder if you are a friend or foe.” He said. Nelson snickered. “I just say it as it is,” he said without the slightest hint of mortification. “So it is true about what went down between the two of you?” He pressed on unashamedly, again winning himself austere countenance from everyone. “I don’t know about what you heard and frankly I don’t give a dame. However, if you must know; yes it is a fact that both Ted and I were in-love with Sibu but it is also a fact that she was always in-love with me and never with him.” “So why are you nervous about the possibility of the two of them meeting in SA?” Nelson persisted. Martin glared at him, completely befuddled by his lack of savoir faire, “I never said I was nervous,” Martin lied. “This is the first time I am going to be very far from my son and that worries me, a lot. Is that information enough for you Mr Nasty?” Nelson only chuckled in response, pleased with the fact that he had managed to get under Martin’s skin. “You know, sometimes you talk as if you only have one child. I wonder what Veronica feels about that.” Conrad said. Martin scoffed. “Veronica is an opportunistic bitch who thinks that just because her parents forced her on me then that makes her my wife. There is no woman on the face of this earth that will ever take Sibu’s place in my heart.I have made that point clear to her every single day but she still ain’t leaving.” Kondwani thought about asking Martin an obvious question but reasoned that he needed some liquid courage first before daring to ask his boss such a bold question. He knew everyone else was dying to know as well and so he put his trust in the bottle. “If you loved your wife that much,” Kondwani started after gulping down the contents of his bottle. “If you loved her so much, why did you treat her like that?” Conrad and Nelson shared a knowing looks, both impressed by Kondwani’s courage despite it’s liquid nature to ask the question they had all dared not ask. As his friends waited for his response, Martin starred at the contents of the bottle in front of him, his mind taking him back to the time when all the plans he had laid out for himself started falling to the ground…a time when his heart had developed a mind of its own and forced him to acknowledge some truths he was not yet ready to confront. If he could go back in time, would he do things differently?

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Echoes of the Heart – Part 4 I loved my life before I was made aware of things I lacked. I looked forward to each day knowing I was drawing closer to the end. I lived only for her forgiveness And I vowed to do everything in my power to earn it Day after day, I wished…no, I hoped the price of life I owed was reducing But perhaps that was my sin…. I should have been content with just breathing. I thought I was content…and I believed it too. However, how was I to know that the one time… The very first time I found myself in a cloudy storm that I lose my way? They told me that love was a good thing Yet all it did for me was push me to the brink of death. The moment I tasted it, I wanted more…and more…and more. I developed expectations… I discovered feelings in certain parts of my body I never knew existed And before I knew it, All the debt I had paid before went obsolete. Suddenly, there were two things I longed to have; Her forgiveness…and my freedom. Was I asking for too much? * * * Summer 2004 “So where’s Junior taking you tomorrow?” Sibeso had just arrived from work. After banging through the door like a thief on the run, she dropped her handbag on the floor of their tiny living room and rushed to the kitchen where she could hear Sibusiswe preparing supper. Sibu who was trying to thoroughly mix mealie-meal with the slightly heated water in a small pot rolled her eyes in consternation and sarcastically answered, “Oh yeah, my day has been gre-a-t thank you for asking dear friend of mine. How was yours?” Sibeso waved her hand in the air dismissively as she sat down on the one of the two chairs by their small kitchen table that also served as a dining table. “Yeah yeah yeah whatever…. If you truly cared about me you wouldn’t have called me in the middle of the day, tell me that one of the coolest guys in the country asked you out on a date and then ask me to wait for the rest of the details…now that’s just wicked, it’s pure evil Sibu and you ought to be ashamed of yourself! Can’t you see how much weight I have lost in just these few hours trying to keep myself from going insane? My metabolism is having a field day!” Sibu laughed so hard she had to hold her hand to her stomach as she tried to get her breath in order. “You are such a drama queen Sibe. Calm down,” she said, putting a lid over the pot and resting the cooking stick on top before joining her friend at the table. “I am sorry I left you hanging like that but I had to attend to some clients that came during lunch so I couldn’t stay on the phone.” Sibeso was frantically nodding her head, urging her to get straight to the point. “Umhu, yeah, yeah, so what happened with Martin, what did you tell him when he asked you out? How did he even ask you out?” Sibu grinned, “You know that guy,” she said. “He is so full of himself so he just shamelessly came over to the table where Peggy and I were having lunch and asked if I had any plans for the long weekend. I told him I did of course and….” “Hold up,” Sibeso held her hand out and gawked at her friend. “You told him what?” “I told him I already have plans. You and I both know what he wants from me and I am never gonna give it to him. You think I am the only girl he’s asked out in that company…and outside? He has slept with almost everything that gets wet between the legs and he thinks he can add me to his long list. No way.” Sibeso’s incredulity at her best friend’s words could not be hidden from her face. “What if he is serious this time?” She asked. Sibu scoffed. “Can you hear yourself? You should really stop watching those dramas, they are messing up your reality Sibeso.” Sibeso turned her chair around so she could look at her friend directly. “Tell me, from the time he started asking you out or showing interest in you, have you seen him with any other girl?” Sibu thought for a moment. “Well…now that you mention it….” “Exactly!” Sibeso hit her hand on the table causing Sibu to almost jump from her chair. Sibu was shaking her head slowly. “You are really bent on dating Junior vicariously through me, aren’t you?” Sibeso nodded unabashedly. “You dating him is as close to reality for me as it will ever be and I won’t allow you to take this away from me!” Sibu laughed and shaking her head she said, “You truly have no shame my friend…no shame. But if you must know, Martin didn’t buy that I have plans….” There was a glimmer of hope radiating through Sibeso’s eyes. “After I told him I already have plans, he blatantly told me to cancel them,” Sibu continued, “Can you imagine that? …said I still owed him for last week when he took me for a drive after that Aunt Tafadzwa incident.” “He is right you know,” Sibeso opined. “Last week was the first time I saw you come back home smiling after such an episode with your aunt. You should have seen yourself Sibu, you were glowing. You can keep denying it for all I care but I think you have already fallen for Martin.” “I haven’t fallen for him at all,” Sibu countered. “That day I was just feeling a little grateful because of what he did…there is nothing more to it. It wouldn’t have mattered whether it was Martin or someone else, I would feel the same kind of gratitude.” Sibeso jeered at her friend, shaking her head and letting her tongue hang out. “Keep lying to yourself and let those cobwebs from between your legs multiply till they keep you from walking. Just go out on one date with the guy even if it’s just to say thank you…and let’s see how thing go from there. The problem with you is, you will say no now but then keep beating yourself up about it whilst wallowing in self-pity…it’s like you take pleasure in being miserable. You and my mother must have been sisters in your previous lives…you are both allergic to good things.” That night, Martin was all Sibusiswe could think about as she kept pondering what to do about his offer…or rather, his demand for a date. “I didn’t bath today and even though I brushed my teeth, I chewed a lot of garlic so don’t even think about doing something funny with me,” Sibu warned Martin when he came to pick her up at the flats the next morning. Martin snickered as he held the door open for her to get in. “You are something else Sibu, you know that?” He had leaned in to address her before closing the door. “I guess I should have warned you that I love the smell of garlic on a woman…” he smirked, pulled back and closed the door while Sibu reeled in her seat, her face hanging like that of someone about to cry. Outside, Martin grinned in delectation as he walked back to the driver’s seat. Martin had just gotten back on the highway when he turned to Sibu and saw the manner in which she was seated. He couldn’t help laughing. “You need to relax Sibu,” he said. Sibu had her legs closed tied together and her handbag deliberately positioned on her laps, with her hands resting on top. “You do know that it’s hard for me to try and do something to you whilst I’m driving and keep us both alive, right? Although…” his eyes went to where her bag was resting. “…although I have been told that I work perfectly well even with one hand….” he playfully stretched his hand out in her direction and thus sent Sibu wailing in protest as she rolled her body into a ball, fear written all over her face. Martin bust out laughing, taking his hand back onto the steering wheel. “I will scream and jump out of this vehicle if you continue acting like this Martin.” Sibu warned. “C’mon Sibu, seat back down comfortably…you are making me feel bad now. What kind of monster do you think I am?” Martin’s face suddenly turned grim and sober. Sibu was looking over at him contritely…had she perhaps overreacted? She sat back down properly. “Do you really think that I am sort of sex maniac or something?” Martin asked. “Well, you haven’t really done much to reprobate the rumours,” she answered. “Up until now,” Martin said. “I didn’t mind such rumours…actually thought they made me look cool. Such rumours saved me from having to explain myself to girls about why I never bothered to call them the next day…but when I see you constantly push me away, there’s a pang in my chest I just can’t explain…and there you go again,” he pointed at her. “I can literally see your thoughts on your face! You are thinking I bet he tells all girl’s that …aren’t you?” Sibu’s face flashed red. “You caught me,” she admitted and smiled shyly. “Wow, I will never be able to win your trust will I?” There was something about that realization that tore at Martin. When Sibu looked over at Martin, she felt the disappointment radiating from every part of his body. For a moment she entertained the idea of getting to know him on her own terms instead of what she had heard about him. What could be wrong with getting to know a friend better? She silently reasoned. “So where are you taking me today?” Sibu asked after they had been driving for a while, with Usher’s Confessions playing in the background. “We are going to Livingstone….” Sibu jolted in her seat in astonishment. “What?” she asked. “You are kidding, right?” Martin shook his head. “No chance,” he replied. “I knew that if I told you in advance, you would refuse to come along…and don’t bother about the doors, they won’t open even if you try.” Sibu sat back in exasperation. “It is foolishness on my part to have trusted you,” she said curtly. “I am coming back today whether you like it or not, with or without you…I will find my way back. Don’t even dream about us spending the night there.” “I was actually hoping to spend the long weekend there,” Martin said nonchalantly. Sibu looked at him peevishly. “You can stick to your plans; I will stick to mine too.” “What scares you the most about spending time with me Sibu,” Martin asked. “That I might be using you for my own selfish reasons or that you might actually end up falling for me?” “You really don’t expect me to answer that do you?” Sibu asked. “It’s a rhetoric question…but I wouldn’t mind getting an answer.” “Well you won’t. I just wish for once you could stop being so self-centred and think about other people’s feelings as well.” “I did think about your feelings Sibu, I did,” Martin asserted. “But during these few months I’ve known you, I have learnt that you are not in the slightest interested in dating anyone, not me, not anyone else. You will do anything to avoid getting attached to anyone. If I told you what my plans were, you wouldn’t have even given it any thought. I like you, a lot…and I intend to do everything possible to make you start considering me.” “Considering you for what Martin, us dating? Do you even think that’s possible? You only have a few more days left till you go back to the UK and you expect me to believe that your intentions with me are honourable?” “I won’t go back to the UK if you don’t want me to…or we could go back together. I will do anything you want.” Martin announced. Sibu gapped at him in disbelief. “You are really going all out in your mission aren’t you? Is this how hard you work to get women in bed…or is it just me that’s thrown you off your game?” “I am not playing games with you,” Martin said. “If you like, you can just agree to be my girl…we don’t have to sleep together…although I wish we could kiss or something…” Sibu threw him a disdainful look before he continued, “…and when the time comes for me to leave, let’s see if I will go or not…and if you are impressed, then you can think about whether to go with me or continue being my girl while I finish school right here. What do you say?” Martin’s words seemed to move Sibu into slight perturbation. “Why would you make such radical decisions just to be with someone you hardly know? Would you believe yourself if the tables were turned?” She asked. Martin laughed softly and shaking his head he said, “I too wouldn’t believe…I can’t even believe that I just said those words to you but they just came out. That’s how desperate my heart is to have you. Ever since I met you there hasn’t been a moment that has gone by that you haven’t crossed my mind. Sometimes I feel like I am going crazy…like I am losing my mind. Many times I have talked myself out of it thinking it’s just an obsession because you’ve been rejecting me…which could be true because it’s the first time I have been so out-rightly rejected by anyone. You broke my pride…so at the beginning I guess it was a matter of restoring my injured pride but after that day at work…with you and your aunt…it became something else…something more…and I feel like I am going to lose my mind if I don’t possess you.” “Possess me?” Sibu asked. “Do you even hear yourself? Who uses such words to win over a woman? Do you think I am some kind of property?” “I am trying to be honest with you, that’s how I feel and I know it doesn’t sound nice but that’s the most overpowering feeling I keep having. I can’t tell you its love or that I have fallen head over heels in-love with you…I have never been in-love before and I don’t plan to. All I know is that I feel for you more than I have ever felt for anyone, ever. I have never used flowery words before and if I tried now, you definitely wouldn’t believe any of it.” Sibu was at a loss for words and wondered what to say or feel in response. Should I be upset? Should I feel insulted? What would I have preferred to hear? And just why do I feel so confused? She could barely do any form of thinking since her mind was running out of control. She could not tell whether Martin was being honest or just playing his cards well. She had no way of knowing unless she threw caution to the wind and dared to try. Up until then, she had not even considered being in a relationship with Martin. She was not looking for a relationship and she did not want or need one. But what was that feeling in her heart threatening to crush her to pieces if she didn’t stop to listen? Sibu hit her hand over her chest as if to force her heart to do her bidding. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she did not hear her phone ring from her bag. “Check your phone,” Martin tagged her. Sibu immediately recovered and removed her phone from the bag. When she flipped it open, she found it was Ted calling. “Hi Ted,” she said the moment she had the phone to her ear. Martin tensed up in his seat, gripping the steering wheel angrily. “Hi Sibu,” Ted said from the other end of the line. “What are you up to?” he asked. Sibu looked at Martin before responding. “I am heading out of town right now. What’s up?” There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I see,” sounded the resignation in Ted’s voice. “Are you with Martin?” He finally asked. After a pause, “yes,” was all Sibu could manage for a reply. “I see,” came Ted’s response. “How long will you be gone for?” Another pause, then, “hopefully today,” Sibu said winning herself a look of excoriation from Martin. “Is that Ted?” Martin asked and without waiting for confirmation, he grabbed the phone from Sibu and held it to his ear. “Hi Ted,” he said. “Martin,” Ted said between clenched teeth. “Sorry I couldn’t hang with you guys this long weekend,” Martin said. “I am desperately trying to win the heart of the owner of this phone so I’m pulling all the stops necessary. Wish me luck buddy!” There was a long silence from the other end. “Ted, are you still there?” Martin asked. All along, Sibu was staring at him in incredulity. “Yeah, I’m here,” came Ted’s snippy reply. “You guys have fun,” he sounded unconvincing. “I have to go now.” And he ended the call before Martin could give a response. With a smirk on his face, he handed the phone back to Sibu. “That was very childish,” Sibu immediately chastised him after getting her phone back. “Did you have to do that?” Martin’s features suddenly hardened. “I know it was childish, but I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t stand you talking to another man while I am right next to you.” “Ted is not another man; he is your friend…and also my friend. You deliberately made it so that he can have some sort of misunderstanding, I don’t appreciate that Martin.” Martin glared at her. “Why do you care what Ted thinks is going on between us?” Sibu didn’t answer immediately, but when she eventually did, it was to say, “I happen to like Ted…I just don’t want him misunderstanding me or thinking I am some type of woman.” “So being with me makes you some type of woman?” Martin queried her. Sibu shook her head. “That’s not what I meant,” she tried to redeem herself. “Then why do you openly lead Ted on while you shut me out completely any opportunity you get?” Sibu couldn’t provide an immediate response. “I guess because it’s easy for me to trust Ted….” She finally managed. “I will make it so I earn your trust Sibu…I promise,” Martin declared with such conviction it gave Sibu pause. * * * Two months had gone by since Sibusiswe had last seen Martin. The mood at home between Sibeso and Sibusiswe one Sunday afternoon had gone sour after the two girls had engaged in a heated argument about Sibu’s choices concerning Martin. Sibu was seated on the railing of the balcony, her back resting against the wall and her feet hanging from either side of the railing as she sulked in the aftermath of the exchange. Sibeso on the other hand was lying down on mat, her legs raised and her feet resting against the outside wall of their living room. For Sibu and Sibeso, the balcony was the best part of the house. The girls had been excited when they discovered that their apartment had access to one of the four balconies in the building. Five minutes had gone by without a word being shared between the two. For a moment Sibu focused her gaze on the activities happening down below while Sibeso kept tapping one foot against the wall, du du du pa pa pa as if sounding off whatever melody was playing in her head. Frustrated from the unending silence, Sibeso suddenly dropped her feet to the floor and jolted her back up, glaring at Sibu who had also turned to look at her. “Are you seriously going to keep avoiding the topic like this?” Sibeso finally snapped. “I don’t like how you rate every decision I make childish,” Sibu fired back. “Just because you are a few years older than me doesn’t make you wise. I think I am old enough to know what is best for myself.” Sibeso got up from the mat and went to sit on the other end of the balcony railing, and after mimicking Sibu’s sitting position she said, “I did not say all those things because I thought I was wiser than you Sibu,” Sibeso tried reasoning with her visibly agitated friend. “I am just trying to look out for you,” she continued. “You are just too young to raise this child on your own. You need to let Martin know and I am sure he will gladly take responsibility for the both of you. Had you not insisted that he leave for the country, he would have stayed here with you.” Sibu pulled her head back against the wall, brought her hand to her forehead and sighed heavily as she mulled over Sibeso’s words. “What if he thinks I am trying to trap him or something?” Sibu’s tone was riddled with emotion. “That night in Livingstone…” she shut her eyes and curled her face all up wishing to drive the past into oblivion. “I don’t know what happened…or how it happened…and ever since, I have wanted nothing but to kill myself except…except, I can’t even afford such luxury. I guess this pregnancy is the punishment I get for throwing caution to the wind and giving in to urges I had absolutely no idea I was capable of feeling.” Sibeso dragged herself forward and reduced the distance between them. She reached out and took Sibu’s hands into hers. “So what if you made a mistake?” Sibeso said. “The problem with you Sibu is that you always only focus the negative. You are assuming Martin won’t want the baby, but….” With her arms still locked into Sibeso’s, Sibu shook her head, two heavy drops of tears slid down her cheeks. “He knew all along that I would give in and I did…he got what he wanted and I know Martin…I can bet he has already forgotten I exist so…how do you expect me to drop him a bomb as big as this one? What I’m I even supposed to say, hey Martin, remember that night…that one night you had your way with me…well, now I am pregnant! Does that sound as melodic to you as I does to me?” Sibu asked sarcastically. Sibeso reached out her hand and used the back of it to wipe the tears from Sibu’s face, one hand still holding on to the other hand. “You are pregnant for Martin?” A voice came from the entrance leading to the balcony and sent both girls scampering to their feet. They didn’t need to ask to know who the overly dressed woman in a royal blue suit with a matching fedora hat so huge it threatened to swallow up the whole place she was standing in was. Her pink spool heels felt right at home with the pink blouse peeping through the jacket and the pick feathers on top of her blue hat. The girls could easily picture bees having a jolly good time inside her pink and blue designer handbag. She was glowing in pollination bliss. “Mrs Mwewa…” Sibu and Sibeso said at once. “Did you just say that you were pregnant for my son?” The woman asked sternly. “Wait,” Sibeso suddenly regained her composure. “How did you get in here? Did you just enter someone’s house without permission?” Sibu tried to nudge her friend but Sibeso wouldn’t have any of it. She could tell from the woman’s demeanour that she wasn’t there for a friendly visit and she certainly didn’t look like a Jehovah’s Witness coming to deliver good news to them. The loud stench of her overpriced costume was enough to announce her intentions without having her open her mouth. “I kept knocking but there was no response and when I tried to open the door, it actually opened and so….” Mrs Mwewa shamelessly tried to explain her presence at the balcony. “What are you doing here ma’am?” A very nervous Sibu asked. “You must be our dear heroine,” Mrs Mwewa said scathingly. “So your pregnancy is the reason my son has been insisting on coming back to this god-forsaken country to finish his studies?” Sibu was shaking her head frantically. “No…no…Martin doesn’t know….” “Why are you here Mrs Mwewa?” Sibeso asked curtly. Mrs Mwewa glared in Sibeso’s direction, unimpressed by the girl’s rudeness. “Who are you by the way?” she aimed her sharp edged eyebrows at her. “I am Sibu’s elder sister and I am the owner of this little house you just broke into.” Sibeso retorted. Mrs Mwewa scoffed. “Broke into?” Her vampire flamed lips gashed. “Anyway, apologies for entering your fortress in such a manner but the only reason I came here today was to speak to the young lady here who happens to be your sister.” She turned to Sibu. “Is what I heard correct; are you pregnant for my son?” Sibu kept her mouth shut, not sure if telling the truth was the right thing to do in that situation. “Yes she is but your son doesn’t know yet,” Sibeso had no time to think. “Then that’s great,” the over-groomed woman surprised both girls with her response. Unfortunately, the feeling was immediately brought to a murderous end by the woman’s next words, “we will get rid of that baby today and Martin is never to find out about it, do you understand me?” Instinctively, Sibeso moved to stand in front of Sibu, shielding her from Martin’s mother as if her presence in itself was a danger to the unborn child. “How typical,” Sibeso said. “And just what makes you think you can throw a few words around and we would do your bidding just like that?” “Because there is no way in hell I’m letting my son have a child with a Tonga woman and dent the whole Mwewa clan. I did not raise my son just so he can be the reason I fail to hold my head up in public. No grandchild of mine will have Tonga blood and whatever other strange blood flows through this girl. Your aunt told me that your father knocked up your mother and then ran away from his responsibilities,” Mrs Mwewa deliberately raised her voice for the sake of Sibu who was still hidden behind Sibeso. “Don’t you think that if she had done the right thing and gotten rid of such a man’s child then we all wouldn’t be here having this kind of conversation?” Sibeso could feel Sibusiswe tense up behind her. That breathing told her that her friend was about to lose control. If one wanted to see Sibu reach the peak of her anger, all they had to do was say something bad about her parents, especially her mother. Although Sibu rarely shared information about her parents, Sibeso knew enough to know that they were a forbidden topic and only one looking to receive her wrath would dare provoke her in such deliberate fashion. Mrs Mwewa was fishing for trouble. “I think you should leave,” Sibeso warned the woman. Mrs Mwewa sneered, busking in the effects of her verbal diarrhoea. “Did I say anything wrong?” She raised her shoulders. “Perhaps if the mother was not so dumb and the father so stupid, the daughter wouldn’t have a hard time making obvious decisions.” “I think you should leave my parents out of this,” Sibu appeared from behind Sibeso, her face beaming with furry. “There is nothing you can say that’s going to make me get rid of this pregnancy so you can just leave,” she showed her soon-to-be nemesis the door. Mrs Mwewa scoffed once again. “There is a reason I am known as the iron lady around town. If you think I am leaving this place without making sure that baby doesn’t exist anymore, then you are about to have a very long day,” she said and moved back into the living room where she offered herself a seat. Sibu and Sibeso remained behind gaping at each other in total disbelief. Sibu rushed into the house and Sibeso followed her closely behind. “If you are staying, then I will be the one leaving,” Sibu announced to the woman comfortably siting on their red cushioned straw armchair as she headed towards the door. She slipped into Sibeso’s slippers that were by the door and quickly bolted out of the house. The sudden announcement brought Mrs Mwewa up on her feet. “Where do you think you are going young lady?” She followed Sibu who was now rushing through the corridor leading to the staircase at the far end. “Stop right there Ms Hangaala,” Martin’s mother shouted as she gave chase, her slim frame playing to her advantage. “I am not yet done talking here.” “Sibu!” Sibeso had followed the two women outside, angst written all over her face. Standing at the top of the stairs, Sibu waited for a group of boys and girls that lived in one of the apartments on their floor to pass before she could rush down. Unfortunately, Mrs Mwewa took this opportunity to catch up to her. She grabbed Sibu by the hand to keep her from running. In her haste to free herself and run down the stairs the moment the staircase was free, Sibu twisted her left leg and missed the top step, her slipper slid off her leg and it was at that moment Mrs Mwewa decided to let go of her hand, sending her tumbling down the stairs like a ball. “What have you done?” Sibeso pushed a very shaken Mrs Mwewa aside and ran down the stairs to check on her friend who lay lifeless at the bottom, her whole body facing down. The first thing Sibeso saw was a deep cut at the corner of Sibu’s forehead where blood was coming out. “Sibu! Sibu! Can you hear me?” Sibeso held Sibu by the head and tentatively checked if she was breathing all the while shouting for help. “Call an ambulance or something. She is pregnant for God’s sake!” Sibeso shouted at the group of teenagers who were coming down the stairs after hearing her screams. Mrs Mwewa remained rooted to the spot at the top of the stairs as she hugged her handbag like a box of Oxygen, looking down at the scene below as if from another dimension. She started shaking her head in horror as reality of what had just happened slowly begun to dawn on her. Sibeso was looking up at Mrs Mwewa with eyes filled with so much abhorrence that the latter’s knees turned into jelly and before she knew it, her legs gave way. “No!!” A tear stained Sibusiswe struggled with Sibeso to get the phone from her. “I am begging you Sibeso don’t tell him a thing, please….” Feeling the effects of the surgery, Sibu gave up the fight, dropped her hands to her sides, and slid back into bed, her hand clutching her stomach as she grimaced in pain. “Fighting with me in your condition is not a good idea Sibu,” Sibeso said as she helped her friend get comfortable in bed. She dropped the phone on the bedside table and sat down in her chair in resignation. “I won’t call him now, but I will call him later no matter what you say. There is no way in hell I’m letting his mother get away with this!” Sibeso roared. “But it wasn’t her fault,” Sibu argued, her voice weak from pain. “Are you kidding me!” Sibeso snapped. “I saw that woman push you down the stairs. I saw it with my two eyes.” Sibu was frantically shaking her head. “No she didn’t,” she insisted. “I was the one trying to free my hand from her grasp…just that she let it go right at the moment when I needed her to keep holding on.” “And you think that wasn’t deliberate?” Sibeso countered. “That woman was chasing after you to get you to abort and you think she would let an opportunity to get her way pass just like that?” “I don’t care anymore Sibeso,” Sibu said as tears welled up her eyes. “I don’t care…all of this…everything that’s happening…it’s all happening because I broke a promise. This is my punishment. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking…it’s just that…for a while, I thought that maybe…just maybe….” Her phone rang just then and both girls turned to look at it. Sibeso quickly flipped it to see who was calling while Sibu looked on wide-eyed. “It’s Martin,” Sibeso announced. Sibu immediately started shaking her head. “No…no, don’t answer it Sibe,” she desperately pleaded. “Why is he calling right now? Did you….” She threw her friend a suspicious look. “I swear, I haven’t called him yet!” Sibeso raised her hand to pledge her innocence. “I am the one that called him,” said a voice from behind them. “You don’t know me…but I know you,” the young girl announced, her hands in the pockets of her jumper and a smile playing on her face. “My name is Mwiche, I am Martin’s sister.” The school girl candidly announced.

Still observing

Good one from Nwiche...someone must hear this...someone who owns the baby...the solution is coming

Mrs Nwewa must be a mad woman dressing like she's okay...she's really out of her mind...she really wanna kill the baby

Just because of her tribe...she don't wanna see her as daughter in-law...even if she didn't push her...this is what she wanted

Martin doesn't care much about girls until he met sibu...he never thought of it that much until the love things began to grow in him

Martin ur mother has done something grievous

u loved him but u were just pretending

nice move by Martin's sister but who brought her to the hospital

I hope she has not lost the baby

next update let see the action Martin would take

Following

Echoes of the Heart – Part 5 “Martin won’t stop calling,” Mwiche said to the two women starring at her in astonishment. “I came home from my extra lessons a few minutes ago and I overheard my mother talking to someone on the phone about what happened to you. Martin asked me to keep our mother away from you…but today was kind of….” the school girl scratched the back of her head as she searched for the right words to say. Sibusiswe’s phone started ringing again. Sibeso grabbed it from the table before Sibu could stop her and ran outside to take the call. Mwiche walked over to the bed, removed her backpack from her back and put it down next to the chair she was now sitting on. With her chin resting on her hands and a grin on her face, Mwiche starred at a very startled Sibu, taking in every inch of her resting frame. “You are very pretty,” the cheerful teenager commented. “Definitely my brother’s type. You look young, how old are you?” “Aren’t you a little too young to be meddling in your older brother’s business?” Sibu asked. “My brother and I are very close,” Mwiche informed Sibu. “I am the only person in the world he trusts 100% and we talk about almost everything. He also told me that you’ve been ignoring his calls ever since he left so he asked me to keep an eye on you.” “Keep an eye on me?” Sibu asked, her eyebrows raised as she looked at the girl. Mwiche nodded nonchalantly. “As in stalk you,” she said matter-of-factly. “But if it makes you feel any better, the stalking was only restricted to who you were seen hanging out with…as in if there were any men hanging around you, Martin wanted to be informed…I think that’s why we missed the fact that you were pregnant or that my mother would pay you a visit.” Sibu couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “We, who’s we?” Mwiche laughed. “That’s Clement and me. Don’t worry it’s not some strangers following you around. Clement has been with our family for years now, he’s practically family.” “Who the hell is Clement?” Sibu asked. She was completely taken aback by the girl’s shameless behavior. Could it be that she didn’t know how wrong her actions were or could it be that she simply felt entitled to do whatever she liked given her family background? “Clement is my driver. He’s such a good soul,” the school girl provided. “Listen Mwiche,” Sibu put on a stern face. “Don’t you know that what you and your brother…and your driver are doing is illegal?” “Well,” Mwiche sat up and raised her shoulders. “You might choose to look at it that way but I choose to look at it as looking out for my brother’s interests since he’s away. You are the first girlfriend he’s ever had so you can imagine what he must be going through.” Sibu was dumb folded. “I am not even his girlfriend!” She said. “But arent you pregnant for him?” Mwiche asked…and immediately put her hand over her mouth the second she realized her blunder. “I am so sorry….I didn’t mean to….” “Just because I slept with your brother, once, doesn’t make me his girlfriend. If Martin considered every girl he slept with his girlfriend then he would be the world’s worst playa. So what if I got pregnant, that still doesn’t make me his…and besides, there’s no pregnancy any more so there’s no need for you to hang around me anymore.” “I beg to differ,” the girl confidently answered. “Martin intends to come back to Zambia and marry you.” Sibu sat up in bed, completely forgetting about the pain for a moment. “What did you say?” “I said Martin is coming back, I am sure your friend will come and update you…I believe that’s why he called. He is so mad at mum he no longer cares about seeking her permission to come back.” “You gotto be kidding me,” Sibu sulked. Outside the hospital, Sibeso answered the call from Martin. “Sibu are you alright? Is the baby okay?” Martin’s words came crushing down into her ears. “Martin this is Sibeso, Sibu’s friend.” “Ah, is Sibu okay…the baby? Where is she? What exactly happened? Where are you right now?” “Calm down a bit and let me answer one question at a time,” Sibeso answered. “We are at the clinic right now, somewhere close to home. Sibu is fine…but she lost the baby…thanks to your mother.” She deliberately stressed the last four words. “Shit!” Sibeso could hear something being hit from the other end of the line. “Is it possible for me to talk to Sibu?” Martin’s voice was raw with emotion. “Not right now,” Sibeso replied. “She is pretty shaken up and…she isn’t yet ready to talk to you.” “She is mad at me isn’t it? Oh my God…what have I done?” She could hear him pacing to and from. “How could my mother…I can’t believe this is happening….” “Although I blame your mother for what happened, Sibu doesn’t agree with me. She thinks it was just an accident. And she isn’t mad at you pe se… She is just confused since everything happened so suddenly.” “I know…it all happened so fast…but i wish she could have at least told me about the pregnancy then I wouldn’t have come here and nothing like this would have happened.” “That’s exactly why she never told you in the first place.” Sibeso said. “Besides, she didn’t really think you were serious about her given your…er…past.” There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, and then, “I know,” came Martin’s tired voice. “That’s why I am coming back next week. I just need to sort out everything here first and then come back for good. Sibu has been through a lot already and the last thing I want is to add more to her problems. I won’t let anything like thing happen again, I won’t.” Sibeso was grinning like a child that had just been handed her favourite candy bar. “I knew you weren’t completely a jerk…oops…I mean…” Martin laughed, “I know exactly what you mean. Tell Sibu that I will call her again and this time she should pick up, okay? I think I will go crazy if I don’t hear her voice after everything that’s happened.” “Don’t worry, I will make sure she answers this time.” Sibeso assured him. “Thanks Sibeso, take care of her for me. Talk to you later.” “Bye.” ********** Aunt Tafadzwa had just finished peeling her pile of sweet potatoes and was ready to put them on the brazier when her attention was caught by the Pajero that parked into front of her house. Living in the backdrops of Kanyama, cars like that could only be seen during funerals and weddings…and there was nothing like that happening in the neighbourhood that fateful morning. Thus, when a posh looking woman wearing an expression that could only be matched to that of one forced to drop her nose in a pile of cow dang came out of the vehicle and stood outside her grim wired make-shift gate, Aunt Tafadzwa was forced to pause her activities and stare in awe at the scene unfolding before her. For what felt like an hour, the woman just stood there glaring into the yard from over the short hedge as if the act itself could get the gate to open without her having to lift a finger. Aunt Tafadzwa could not make out who the woman was given that half of her face was covered by her gigantic sunglasses. However, even without the shades, her shiny lips, neatly styled razor cut, DVF gown with well-matched shoes and purse said she was someone from another universe. As Aunt Tafadzwa looked on from Inside the yard, wondering whether the rude looking woman was going to come in or not, she put her cooking tools down and waited for the woman to make a move. Mrs Mwewa wondered why the woman staring at her was not coming over to open the gate for her. She tried motioning for her to open the gate but the woman only shrugged her shoulders in response. Does she expect me to touch this filthy looking thing she considers a gate? Mrs Mwewa thought as she hovered her finger over the said gate, her face ridden with disgust. “ Nga tauleingila bwekela eko ufumine, ” Aunt Tafadwa shouted from where she was standing, her hands resting on either side of her waist. She speaks Bemba ? Mrs Mwewa said and smiled instinctively as she removed her sunglasses. “ Mulishani mayo,” she greeted. “Are you going to enter or not?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked again, not bothering to mask her irritation. “If you put your hand on the gate and push it forward, it will open.” Stubborn woman, how can she not be fazed by someone like me ? Mrs Mwewa stretched her leg, pushed the gate using her foot and entered the yard. “How may I help you?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked sternly. “Are you Bemba by any chance?” Mrs Mwewa asked. Aunt Tafadzwa threw her an are you serious kind of look. “You spoke Bemba earlier….” Mrs Mwewa provided. “Only because I assumed you are Bemba. It’s typical of Bemba women to act the way you did when they visit someone’s home.” “I find your stereotyping offensive,” Mrs Mwewa shot back. “Had I not spoken Bemba, would you have entered the yard on your own? You stood there close to five minutes acting like the Queen of England, expecting the whole lot of me to come running to you…. You do know that even the Queen removes her own poop from her ass with her own hands right?” Okay, I get your point,” Mrs Mwewa said. “I didn’t come here to fight with you…I came all the way here to negotiate with you.” “Negotiate with me? Do you know me?” “I got to know about you two weeks ago,” Mrs Mwewa answered. “Is there somewhere we can sit?” She was looking at the Mango tree in the corner of the yard where a mat was laid out below it. “Do you have a stool or something? I am not a mat person.” Aunt Tafadzwa wanted stared at her peevishly, her nose enlarging in the process. She grabbed the stool she had been sitting on whilst preparing her food and carried it to the tree. She placed it down to the side and sat down on the mat. Mrs Mwewa removed a piece of cloth from her purse and laid it on top of the stool before sitting down as Aunt Tafadzwa looked on discordantly, offended by the woman’s out-right impolite behaviour. “So how may I help you?” A belligerent Aunt Tafadzwa asked. “Don’t you know who I am?” Mrs Mwewa arrogantly asked. Aunt Tafadzwa threw her another peevish look. “I’m I supposed to know who you are?” Mrs Mwewa was outraged. “I am on television and in the papers almost every week, my family too. Are you telling me you don’t know who Mr Martin Mwewa is?” “No,” came the curt response. “We own half of the property in this country. Gosh, don’t you read or watch TV?” “What do you want from me?” Aunt Tafadzwa completely brushed her off. “Haven’t you heard anything about me or my family from your niece?” The disappointed woman asked. “Did Sibu do something against your rich family?” She asked sarcastically. “As a matter of fact, she did.” “And so you came to me to complain?” The woman wasn’t moved in the slightest. Mrs Mwewa’s chagrin grew a few inches wider. “I take it you and your niece aren’t very close…I thought you were the only family she has.” “Look here Mrs Mwelya or whatever they call you,” Aunt Tafadzwa snapped. “What exactly brings you here?” The plutocrat representative cleared her throat noisily. “Your niece got pregnant by my son, were you aware?” Finally, there was real emotion on Aunt Tafadzwa’s face. She was petrified, but only for a few seconds. “Sibu, pregnant?” she scoffed. “I think you have the wrong girl.” “Sibusiswe Hangaala, eighteen years old, works as a front desk manager for M&M, and the breadwinner of Tafadzwa N’cube’s family. Did I get it right?” “Sibu is pregnant?” It seemed the truth had finally sunk in. “No wonder she’s been avoiding me like crazy these past few months. I hope your family is ready to pay for damages…like you said, that girl is the breadwinner of this family. I certainly won’t accept some bastard child into the family. Your son will have to take full responsibility.” As Aunt Tafadzwa was talking, Mrs Mwewa gaped at her in total disbelief. “Is that all you have to say to me?” She asked. “No wonder the child went off and seduced the first rich guy she came across. I can only imagine what it must be like being raised by someone like you.” Aunt Tafadzwa gawked at her visitor, her arms up on her waist. “If you insist on insulting me, then I will go to the nearest TV station and tell anyone willing to listen that the son of one of the richest people in the country raped my niece and made her pregnant.” “What?” Mrs Mwewa was up on her feet. “You heard me,” Aunt Tafadzwa stood up as well and faced off with the stranger. “Didn’t you say that you are some big person and your family owns this and that? If you thought coming here in your fancy clothes and car would intimidate me into ordering my niece to leave your son alone, then you got your calculations all wrong. I had no idea my niece was so talented…” and speaking in a lower register, more to herself than her guest, she added, “she went and caught herself a big fish and thought she could hide everything from me….” “What did you just say?” Mrs Mwewa asked. Aunt Tafadzwa blinked, waved her hand across her face and smirked. “Never mind that,did you come here to talk about the marriage?” “What marriage?” Mrs Mwewa didn’t take well to being deafen at her own game. “You think I am going to let my precious son marry someone like your niece? You must be deluded.” “Then why are you here…and what do you intend to do about my niece whom your precious son has defiled?” Mrs Mwewa scoffed. “Defiled?” She muttered. “Anyway, I think you and your niece need to sit down and catch up because that girl had a miscarriage only a few days ago and I am not surprised she chose to keep it a secret from you.” Aunt Tafadzwa froze. “I came here to tell you to keep a tight leash on her because if she continues to mess up my son’s life, I will personally see to it that her life becomes more miserable than it already is. No one messes with a Mwewa and gets away with it. Who does she think she is…shaking up my son like that.” “It is true that Sibu and I have some issues but if there is one thing I know without needing any proof, it is that she wasn’t the one that did the chasing. If anything needs stopping, it should be your son. From all that rich education he’s been getting, did he skip the class on using protection?” The two women stared at each with enough intensity to charge any dead batteries lying around. “I heard that you are a marketeer,” Mrs Mwewa relaxed her features a bit. “What if I offered to open up a shop for you in a good location, fully stocked, can you promise to convince your niece to stay away from my Martin?” There was a sudden glow in Aunt Tafadzwa’s eyes as she mulled over the things she had just heard. Mrs Mwewa smirked upon seeing the effect of her words on the shabby looking woman standing before her. But then Sibu’s aunt suddenly turned serious as she looked up at Mrs Mwewa. “Why don’t you give me some time to think about it first,” she said. “I think I still need to talk to my niece first so I can understand what’s going on.” “How long do you need to think?” Mrs Mwewa asked. “…because this offer is only open for a very short time.” “Two days, give me two days tops.” She said. Mrs Mwewa opened her purse, took out a business card and handed it to Aunt Tafadzwa. “Call me in two days’ time on any of those numbers and I will tell you where we can meet. I don’t see myself coming back here….” she made a face as she looked around the surroundings. Aunt Tafadzwa examined the business card in her hands. “I will call,” she said as a smile started playing at the corners of her lips. * * * “So you got knocked up by some rich bloke and you decide to keep it a secret from me?” Aunt Tafadzwa had summoned Sibusiswe to her house in the early hours of the next morning after her encounter with Mrs Mwewa. Sibu was taken aback by her aunt’s words. “How did you….” she stuttered. Her aunt scoffed. “Do you think there’s anything about you I don’t know?” He retorted smugly. Auntie….” Sibu started to explain. Aunt Tafadzwa brushed her hand in the air to shut her up. “I already know that you miscarriaged so there’s no need for you to look at me like that.” Leaning forward in her brown tattered couch in her living room that didn’t suit to be anywhere inside a room meant for receiving guests, Aunt Tafadzwa glared at Sibu threateningly. “Did you think that getting rid of the baby would keep me from finding out?” She said in a menacingly low tone. “Instead of running around like a headless chicken, you should have been more careful. Do you hate me that much that you got rid of such an opportunity that would have propelled my kids and I up the social ladder?” Sibu was slowly shaking her head, not believing the direction the conversation was taking. “Aunt, I just lost a child and all you seem to care about is climbing the social ladder?” Sibu angrily rebuked her aunt. “Am I really your niece? Gosh, is this the way to treat the only child of someone you constantly claim you loved with your life?” There were tears welling up her eyes. Aunt Tafadwa’z eyes danced around in renewed excitement. “How dare you, with that dirty mouth of yours bring my sister into this?” she roared. “If you had not killed my sister in the first place then we wouldn’t be having this kind of conversation.” Sibusiswe lowered her gaze and starred at the floor guiltily. Her aunt smirked in satisfaction. “Your future mother in-law paid me a visit,” she suddenly announced. Sibu looked up at her in disbelief. “Mother in-law?” she quizzed her aunt. “Yes,” Aunt Tafadzwa replied nonchalantly. “The mother to the father of your child.” “She is not my future mother in-law auntie,” Sibu corrected her. “Says who?” The woman curtly responded. “She came here acting all high and mighty, throwing a few figures around like am some sort of fool. But she really underestimated me,” she grinned proudly while her niece looked on with a puzzled look on her face. “Instead of falling for her short term stupid offer,” Aunt Tafadzwa continued, “I came up with a long term plan that will turn us into billionaires.” What are you talking about?” Sibu finally asked. Her aunt had this faraway look on her face as she plotted in her mind. “What is the current status of your relationship with this Martin guy?” She was now looking at her eighteen year old niece expectantly. “I am not in a relationship with him auntie.” Sibu said between clenched teeth, putting emphasis on every single word. Aunt Tefadzwa looked like she had just accidently swallowed a bitter pill. “What do you mean you are not in a relationship?” She asked. “Mrs Mwewa already told me everything so don’t even think about lying to me,” she warned sternly. “You are still as selfish as ever. If you think you will keep such a blessing only to yourself while my family languishes in poverty then you have another thing coming.” Sibu was dumb folded. “Are you even human?” She got up from the sofa that was threatening to swallow her whole bottom and was more than ready to fly out of the room when her aunt’s next words brought her to an immediate halt. “If you marry Martin even for just a few years and do what I want, I promise to let you go…I will forget everything about the past. You get your freedom…and I get some riches.” For a moment, Sibu stood there frozen on the spot with her back to her aunt. Freedom . The word played around in her head. She had never dared dream of such a thing before…. Freedom, the word echoed in her head. “ I think you should do as my mother says,” a voice commanded from behind her. Sibu turned around.

Ted has got a competitor who has taken over 4 some time...martin,his competitor is loosing right now

Martin did cheat on sibu and then divorce...he shouldn't have cheated on the woman he claimed to be her only woman

Tefadzwa is another nonsense woman of stupidy...treating her neice like she's not important...tefa is a looser

Just like nwewa,tefadzwa is so heartless...they are now birds of the same feathers...heartless in common

Sibu has been a good girl who has got some love in her heart...she has got a story to tell about her mom...her own side of the story

On sibu's side of the story about the accusation against her...we will know whether if that was an accident or just accusation

Sibu has got sibe as a good friend who cares 4 her...nwiche is another girl who cares 4 sibe...nwiche is around,like to protect

Sibe...so many things in the past being remembered in the present...in the present u wanna push aside that wicked aunt...so tell me more,fine girl

but wait oooooo am confused here,,, which pregnancy is dis one again dat martin didn't know about? the last one we read,,, it was written dia dat Sibu left d doctor's office to go and meet Martin in dat vacation house were she met him in bed wit anoda woman and she was already Mrs den,,,, but dis one is diff oooo @chimmy come and answer me ooo,,, am confused

Aunty Tafadzwa is a real monster and damn selfish. Its unfortunate that she met a naive Sibu cos I found it funny that she could control Sibu with just an accusation that she killed her sister

Mrs Nwewa what you did was wrong

Pls Sibu tell us d event that led to d death of ur mother that makes ur aunty to be taking undue advantage of u like this

Uhmmmm

Ireoluwa Emmanuel wrote:

but wait oooooo am confused here,,, which pregnancy is dis one again dat martin didn’t know about? the last one we read,,, it was written dia dat Sibu left d doctor’s office to go and meet Martin in dat vacation house were she met him in bed wit anoda woman and she was already Mrs den,,,, but dis one is diff oooo @chimmy come and answer me ooo,,, am confused

I think this is b4 they got married

What kill her

Continue please

Echoes of the Heart – Part 6 “What did you just say?” Sibusiswe turned around and glared at her cousin. Although the two of them were age mates, Tammy liked to act as if she was older than Sibu, always bossing her around and making crazy demands. “I think you heard me,” Tammy retorted. “I think mum has done more than enough for you to repay her by marrying the most handsome guy in the whole country…and rich too. I think you are just trying to be difficult just because you want to keep the good fortune all to yourself.” Sibu was befuddled by the girl’s audacity. “Do you even know exactly what it is that I have to repay aunt for?” Her cousin snickered. “She already told me that she is the only reason you are still alive. Shouldn’t you try harder then for someone whose the reason you are standing there acting like you are better than us?” “First of all, I do not owe your mother anything,” Sibu fired back. “The only reason I have allowed her all these years to push me around is because I made a conscious decision to be good to her because she is only a means to an end…not that I owe her anything. I can simply wake up one day and decide to change my mind. “Secondly, this should be the last time you talk to me like you own me or something. I am the only reason you are even able to utter such long sentences in English so show some respect to your benefactor. Now if you will excuse us, I would like to have a mature conversation with your mother and I would appreciate it if you would leave the house and go as far away from here as possible.” The eighteen year old pouted and sulked whilst glancing at her mother for help but the woman paid her no attention, afraid to antagonize her niece lest she refused to accept her damed offer. “Go and take care of the stand at the market.” Aunt Tafadzwa instructed her daughter. They had a stand in the market selling vegetables where Aunt Tafadzwa spent most of her day. It was Sibu who had given her capital to start the small business. Kicking her legs and throwing her hands in the air in a tantrum, Tammy did as her mother instructed and left the room in a huff. Sibu went to sit back down. “You were saying that if I marry Martin and did something for you then you would me alone….” Aunt Tafadzwa took the seat opposite her and with a face beaming of renewed hope, she addressed her niece. “Yes, get Martin to marry you and you can divorce him later…as long as you give me enough money to open up a large store and you send my children to school.” “I like Martin quite alright aunt but I am not in-love with him and, even if I was, there was no way I would allow myself to be stuck for life with a man like him. All he does sleep around with anything in a skirt and the only reason he is mentioning marriage is because…” “So he did mention marriage after all.” Her aunt interjected, instantly making Sibu aware of the blunder she created. “Not to me, he hasn’t,” Sibu replied. “But as I was saying, the only reason he’s mentioning marriage to me is purely because it is the only way he can knows to make me really his property.” “Isn’t that the reason why everyone marries in the first place?” Her aunt replied matter-of-factly. “This is a golden opportunity for you to make something of yourself Sibu.” Sibu sneered at her. “There is nothing about this whole arrangement that is for me. Everything is just about you. If you think pushing me to the edge like this is making me pay for what happened in the past, then you are mistaken. “The more you push me like this, the more you make me feel like I have done enough to free myself of the sins you’ve been capitalizing on.” She stood up. “Keep doing this and one day I will walk away from all this without feeling an ounce of guilt, because you would have made it so.” And she left, leaving behind a befuddled Aunt Tafadzwa. “You will marry that boy even if it costs you an arm and a leg young lady,” She said as she watched her niece disappear from the yard. It had been four days since Sibu had heard from Martin. The last their had spoken was when he called her at the hospital and Sibeso had blackmailed her into taking the call before she disappeared out of the room. “I don’t need you to turn your life around for me Martin,” Sibu had argued with a belligerent Martin who had just informed her of his plans to come back to Zambia. “You are only thinking about yourself right now and not about me.” “I am doing this for the both of us Sibu,” he had insisted. “Why do you always have to be stubborn about everything?” “I am being stubborn,” she answered back. “I just happen to know what I want and I know for a fact that I am not yet ready to get married. I am only eighteen for crying out loud.” “You will be nineteen in a couple of months,” Martin said. Sibusiswe paused and starred at her phone for a bit before putting it back to her ear. “How would you know that? I have never spoken to you about my birthday before.” “Because I meant it when I said I loved you and so naturally I took an interest. Now do you see what I mean?” Sibu blinked and blushed, finding the revelation a little fluttering and at the same time reminding herself about how cautious she ought to be when talking to Martin. He had this tendency to throw her off guard every now and then. “Sibu are you there?” Martin’s voice came through the receiver. “Yeah, I’m here,” She quickly came back to her senses. “Are you feeling sick? Are you okay babe?” He was sounding almost out of breath, his reaction again taking Sibu by surprise. From the time she had met Martin, Sibu had trouble figurng out what was truth and what was lie from his mouth. Placing a finger on either either of her closed eyelids, she answered, “I am fine,” and she sighed heavily. “And please don’t call me that….” “You gonna have to get used to it from now on,” he replied smugly. “I just feel so shitty because I didn’t even know I was going to be a father and now my child is gone…it’s just so unfair.” Sibu didn’t know what to say in return. “Anyway, I should be home either Friday or Saturday so….” “Martin,” Sibu said in a pleading tone. “Please I beg of you, don’t do this. I am not going to marry you even if you come all the way. I want to go to school, take care of a few things and live my life the way I want. The idea of marriage has never ever crossed my mind even. And most importantly, I am not in-love with you.” “If you don’t love me, then why did you decide to keep my baby? You could have easily gotten rid of the pregnancy and I would have never found out…but you kept my baby Sibu.” “I have my own reasons for keeping the pregnancy and it has absolutely nothing to do with you. I did it all for myself…not because I wanted to…but because I had to.” “What do you mean by that?” Martin inquired, concern arched all over his words. “This is exactly what I mean when I tell you that we can never be.” She said. “We barely know each other an…. there are things about me that you would hate if you knew of them…I hate myself because of that and I can’t imagine what others might think if they ever discovered that about me…I won’t marry you Martin, I mean it.” “There is something I haven’t told you…maybe I should just come clean right now,” Martin had said. “I did a background search on you a few days after you joined the company.” “What?” Sibu exclaimed as fear registered into her eyes. “Background check…you said….” she stuttered. “Yes…I know, it’s very low of me and I am sorry but Sibu, you don’t have to worry about a thing.” He reassured her. “If you are having reservation about us because of what happened with your parents then I can promise you that you don’t have to worry about something like that with me.” Sibu sat up in her hospital bed, her heart pounding very fast. “You know about my family?” Sibu asked, tears streaming down her eyes suddenly. “Yes,” he answered. “I know a bit about what happened between your mother and father and that you don’t know who or where he is.” Sibu almost missed a heart beat. “Is that all you found out?” She waited. “Yeah, is there something I missed?” Martin laughed. “That time I did that because I was mostly curious but now that I know you, I don’t even care about all that. I just want to start my life afresh with you Sibu. I must have lived my life the wrong way… I don’t want to die like this….” he let his voice trail off, his somber tone sending chills down Sibu’s spine. “Why are you talking like that Martin? That’s so unlike you.” She said. Martin went quite for a moment and then, “It’s nothing babe,” he was trying to come off cool but his shaking voice betrayed him. “Is something the matter with you?” She asked again. “Are you perhaps sick?” “No, of course not!” He replied a little too quickly and loudly, masking his voice with a laugh. “Have you forgotten who I am, I am Martin Mwewa…I never get sick. Listen, I need to go now,” he was speaking fast now. “I have a lot of stuff I need to get done before I can leave this place.” And then he paused before adding, “I love you Sibu. Take care of yourself and see you soon.” He cut the call before Sibu could say anything in return. Sibu was left wondering what had just happened and why Martin had suddenly changed. However, not wanting to consciously think about him, Sibu shook her head and brushed off the nagging feeling that was threatening to engulf her. She grabbed the medical magazine that was lying on the bedside table and opened to read. *** As he had promised, Martin arrived in Lusaka the next Saturday morning. He collected his car keys from Clement who had been waiting for him at the airport and he drove straight to his work place where he knew Sibu would be working half day. She was engaged in a call with a client when he walked entered through the doors of the receptionist and walked straight towards her. With her mouth wide open from Martin’s unexpected entrance, Sibu lost concentration on her call and the female client could be heard from the other end of the line calling out for her. “Yes, yes, am here.” Sibu blinked and got back to the call. “I am sorry about that ma’am,” she quickly apologized. “I will ask Attorney Williams to get back to you as soon as he gets out of the meeting. My sincere apologies for the inconvenience…yes…” she nodded as she listened to whatever was been said into her ears. “Yes…I will do that. Thank you Ma’am. Have a lovely day.” And she hang up. When she finally looked up to check where Martin had gone, she found him standing right in front of the reception desk looking directly into her eyes with a huge smile on his face. Sibu looked around the hall area if there were any employees around and she saw a group of four siting by the lounge area that appeared to be in some kind of meeting except they had put whatever business they had at hand to stare closely at her and Martin. For the past month or so Sibu had done her best to dull down the rumors about her relationship with Martin, insisting incessantly that there were just friends and that nothing was going on. Most of the ladies had done enough to inform her willy-nilly that if anything at all was going on, she was nothing but a pawn in Martin’s extensive collection of women. “What do you think you are doing?” Sibu leaned in and whispered to the smitten looking Martin. His elbows were now resting on top of the desk while his face was perfectly positioned in the palm of his hands with his eyes dancing wildly like a child begging a parent for candy. Completely taking her by surprise, Martin put both hands on the desk and raised his feet from the ground to lean in and plant a wet one on the lips of the unsuspecting Sibu who was now up on her feet. By the time she thought of pulling away, the damage had already been done and their audience looked more than entertained. “You had no idea how much I had missed you!” Martin said the moment his feet landed back on the carpeted floor. Sibu silently prayed for the ground to open up and swallow her as she stood there looking all flustered from head to toe. She had her hands to her mouth as she looked in the direction on the onlookers; while the two gentlemen were grinning, the two ladies were looking at her with extremely sour expressions. Martin had just made her the target of envy, jealous and gossip that was going to rock the office for the coming weeks and months. “I really hate you,” Sibu muttered. Martin smirked. “I know, but I love you enough for the both of us.” He declared. He then moved one of the landlines closer to him and dialed a number. “What are you doing?” A worried Sibu asked. “Calling Peggy so she can come and take over from you while….” Sibu tried to reach out and grab the phone from him but Martin moved back so she couldn’t reach where he was. “Peggy it’s me, Martin.” He said the moment Peggy answered. “Boss?” Peggy was definitely surprised. “Come to the reception right now and take over Sibu’s shift. She and I have some important business to take care of.” “Huh?” Came the reply. “Right now Peggy!” Martin said sternly and ended the call. “Are you trying to get me ostracized in this place?” Sibu asked. Martin went round the table, grabbed her handbag from under the desk, took her by the arm and led her towards the exit. “The more you resist the more attention you draw to yourself,” Martin warned, and for sure they were still the center of attention. Sibu winced in embarrassment as she sunk her head low and allowed herself to be led away silently. Martin’s car was parked right outside instead of the parking lot. He opened the front passenger door for her, helped her safely inside and went around to his seat. “Where are we going?” Sibu asked as they got in motion. “To the hospital,” Martin announced. “I need to make sure for myself that everything is okay with you.” “There’s no need for that….” “Yes, I already know you are going to say but it’s not like I asked for your permission.” He replied. Sibu made a face. “That’s the problem with you, always want things done your way and when they don’t you sulk like a little boy.” Martin stared at her, a serious expression on his face. “Name one positive thing you know about me Sibu.” He said. She was surprised by the question. “Now why would I do that? I am sure there are plenty of girls out there willing to stroke your ego at the bat of an eye.” Martin was shaking his head. “That’s not what I meant…I mean, you carried my child in your stomach, don’t you have even a single positive thing to say about me? Every time we talk, there’s always something negative you say about me. I’m I really that terrible kind of human being in your eyes?” Sibu was mute, her eyes wondering about as if searching for a network signal. It didn’t look like Martin was going to give up so easily. He parked to the side of the road and then turned to her. “I am serious Sibu. You and I really need to have a serious talk. Sometime’s you act like I forced you to sleep with me in Livingstone yet I had stopped so many times to ask if you were alright…I wanted to give you a chance to change your mind but you never did. I have never done anything like that before…I have never cared about such things before.” “Are you trying to brag to me about the many women you’ve conquered?” Sibu glared at him. “I hate the fact that you think of me in the same breath as those other girls you’ve bedded. Every time I think about that night I feel like killing myself.” She pushed back the tear. “I am sorry you feel that way Sibu and it was my mistake mentioning it in the first place. But you of all people should know that ever since I met you I haven’t been with anybody else; not here not abroad so why are you still giving me a hard time?” Silence again. “I know my past with women is not very impressive and I understand why you might be skeptical about my intentions. But people change Sibu…sometimes you encounter something along the way that forces you to reevaluate your life. You came into my life just around the time something like that was happening in my life and for some reason you became the rock I desperately want to cling to.” Sibu was now looking at him with concern in her eyes. “What exactly is going on with you Martin,” she said. “You said something mysterious and in those lines even the last time we spoke on the phone. Do you perhaps have some strange disease?” It was his turn to operate on mute. Sibu suddenly straightened her back and looked at Martin as fear registered onto her face. “It’s not AIDS right?” She asked. Martin frantically waved his hands about. “Hell no it’s nothing like that! Why would you even…oooh,” he said as realization dawned on him. “I guess I kind of deserve that. But I have always been careful….” She threw him a look that immediately made him change the direction of his speech. “That night with you was the only time I was reckless.” He explained. “I swear!” He added in response to her intense gaze. “And just to be sure I get tested every now and then but you can’t be 100% sure even with protection. If you don’t believe me, we can go together for a test and you can see for yourself. I haven’t been with anyone else except you since the last test I took.” “You are assuming that I am negative,” Sibu said. That seemed to shake Martin up. She laughed as she looked at the expression on his face. “I am kidding, relax. I had a test done just after discovering I was pregnant and just to make sure, I had another one done just recently.” “I think it’s gonna take a while for you to trust me, you have no idea how much that hurts.” He said in a very low voice. “So you are not going to tell me what’s going on with you?” Sibu asked, getting back to their previous topic. “Just like you never wanted to talk to me about your relationship with your aunt…I wish we would not talk about it…for now…but I will tell you everything when I’m ready.” His bit about her aunt really got to her and so she conceded. “I wont ask…I will wait for you to tell me.” “Thanks,” Martin responded before starting the engine and getting back on the road. Martin took her to his family’s doctor in Longacres and had her undergo a thorough check up, sticking to her side to every room she entered except to the bathroom where she had to supply samples for tests to be done. After being told to come back the next day for some of the results, the two of them were about to leave before the doctor stopped Martin. “You and I still need to talk,” the doctor had said to him. “I got the report from….” “I know doc, I know, I will call you to make a plan.” Martin deliberately cut her off and continued leading Sibu away. He drove them to his secret hideaway which was no longer a secret any more. This time instead of looking at nature, they entered the cabin to relax in the expensively furnished but small living room. Martin threw himself on the sofa the moment they entered and patted the space next to him for Sibu to join him. Instead, she threw him a look and took up space on the single seater right opposite him. Not one to be so easily discouraged, Martin got up and went to squeeze himself right next to her on the small couch, holding to to her to keep her in position as she desperately tried to get away from him. “Keep rubbing your body against mine like this and we will be talking baby number two very soon,” he warned her, looking into her eyes and forcing her to blush profusely as the meaning of his words sunk in. Like a switch being turned off, she stopped writhing against him and sat up straight but only to have Martin scope her up, fill up the whole seat with his body and then lay her onto his laps, tightly wrapping his arms around her waist from the behind so she could make no movement. “Wow…I think we could have twins in this position,” he commented deliberately and himself a new bout of protest from an embarrassed Sibu. “There you go again,” he admonished her. “You really have no idea the kind of fire you are starting with your seductive moves Ms Hangaala.” “You have such a dirty mind Martin. Can’t for once take your mind off the gutter?” Sibu said, putting her movements to another immediate stop. “Let’s make a deal,” he said. “I will stop being a jerk if you promise not to say anything bad about me today…how about that?” She contemplated his suggestion for a moment and then said, “Sounds doable.” Martin then reached out to the tiny tea table right next to the couch and grabbed the remote control, turned on the tele and settled for a music channel. “They play old music here,” Sibu commented. “First it was classical music and now it’s this…I think there is an old man living inside you.” “Since you made a promise, I will choose to take your comment lightly and say that I am actually wiser than most fellas my age,” he proudly said. “But I find this kind of music more meaningful than the rubbish they sing these days.” “I kind of agree,” she said and with that they went on to talk about many other things and before they knew it, it was dark outside. Somewhere during their long chat, Sibu had dozed off and Martin had carried her to the guest bedroom on the ground floor, scared he might wake her up if he tried to carry her upstairs to his room. Sibusiswe woke up hours later and jolted up in bed. The room was dark and she had no idea for a second where she was. She searched around her for her phone and found it on the bedside table, flipped it to check the time. It was 9PM. What the hell? She thought as she rushed out of bed towards the door. She stopped when she reached the door because she could hear Martin’s voice, sounded like he had company. Not wanting to come out and reveal herself, she stood by the door and waited. “I heard what you said last time doc and I wont have it. That’s like a death sentence on it’s own and I might as well settle for something I have control over. I won’t the surgery, I won’t look for a donor and I certainly won’t be subjecting myself to all those medicines. Give them to someone else who doesn’t mind being a prisoner for life. I just need two years tops, you told me I can have that…you promised me…no, no, no…listen doc…I know what you mean quite alright but…no, I never agreed with your suggestions, you said a transplant was the best option and I just kept quite. That doesn’t mean I agreed with you….” A transplant? Sibu froze. What kind of disease required him to get a transplant? “Your threats don’t work with me doc,” Martin continued after a long pause. By now Sibu was aware he was talking to someone on the phone and she sufficed it was the doctor that had attended to her a few hours ago, the one he had promised to call back. “If you even dare as much as tell my mother I will sue that goddamn place for billions of money and then get your licence.” She heard him say from the other side of the door. “I am sure you don’t want that to happen. I will come to your home tomorrow but only to talk about what I need to do in the meantime…not about that transplant thing. Have a good night doc.” “How sick are you?” Martin quickly turned around to find Sibusiswe standing behind him. He had not heard her come out of the bedroom and he didn’t like the look on her face. Pity. That was the last thing he needed from her. “When did you…how long were you….” he fumbled for words, completely taken aback by her presence in the room. “I think I heard all the important bits,” Sibu supplied. “I just want to know what disease you have that’s so bad it’s requires a transplant…and why you are refusing it.” “Sibu,” Martin said her name pleadingly. Sibu put her hand out. “If you are not going to tell me then I am leaving.” She walked passed him and grabbed her hand bag which was now lying on the arm of the sofa they had been siting on. She was about to open the door when Martin’s voice made her pause. “If I tell you, will you agree to marry me then?” he said. Sibu turned back around and gaped at him. “Is this some kind of joke to you? Do you think marriage is something you can talk about in this situation?” “Spending the rest of my life with me means everything to me Sibu,” he remarked. “And how long is the rest of your life Martin, two years?” She asked austerely. “All the way to the end you think of only yourself. I am going.” She opened the door and walked out but Martin was quick behind her and he held on to her hand. “You think I haven’t thought about you?” He asked her. “I have seen you suffer at the hands of your aunt and I thought marriage with me would free you from her clutches and allow you to live your life how ever you want…even if I am not here.” “Marrying you is not enough to buy me the kind of freedom I desire in this world Martin,” she lamented. “You have absolutely no idea….” “Then let me know what I need to know Sibu, let me know!” he tagged at her hand. For a moment Sibu just stood there starring at him. Never before had she seen such desperate in his ever confident eyes. But her truth was not the kind a man like him could handle, especially now given his circumstances. “So you still won’t tell me?” Martin could see the firm decision in her eyes. Sibu nodded her head slowly. “I can’t,” she said. For the first time in his life, Martin felt defeated.

Feeling it

hmmmmm,,,, but Wats happening to sibu,, wat exactly is she going thru dat she can't say?

Ur saviour

While don't u give ur daughter to him

Hmm what happen to him?

Martin has got to do things just to make sure he's in a serious relationship...and then the transplant thing showed left

It's looking like he's delaying to explain to her about the transplant things...whatever it is,explanation time

He's falling in love without looking back...after being a player 4 some time...he wanna change to some kinda real lover

Sibu don't wanna do this with him...but something else is happening in emotional things...she has got a lot to tell

Sibu don't wanna do the marriage things just 4 doing sake...she just wanna do it 4 love,not 4 wealth...she has got some love in her heart.

Why are you so scared Sibu

Echoes of the Heart – Part 7 I would have given anything to give this man standing before my heart, my soul and my body. I would have stopped the hands of time just to capture this moment in my head and replay it for life. I would have taken a leap of faith and thrown caution to the wind just to hear his heart beat fast against mine. I would have paid any price to belive every word falling out of his mouth without any inhibitions. And most of all, I would have laid down my life if he allowed himself to lean on me… If only…. If only…my life was mine to give away. I still had a ransom to pay. * * * “So do you now understand why I also have certain things going on in my life that I don’t feel so comfortable to share with you…yet?” Martin said. Sibu wasn’t comfortable with that arrangement but she had no right to argue because Martin was right. “I understand…I get you…but are you sick?” Martin pursed his lips. “Do I look sick to you?” He said in his usual confident tone of voice. “I heard what you said on the phone….” “You never heard the whole conversation,” Martin said. “That conversation was not about me.” Sibu didn’t look convinced. “You are really going to stick to that story no matter how much I press ins’t it?” Martin tenaciously moved his other arm and put it on top of her hand he was still holding and starred at it for what felt like an eternity. “I just need you to trust me when I say I mean well and that my feels for you are real.” Sibu hesitated before responding, “I get you,” she said unconvincingly. “But can you let go of my hand now,” she was looking down at the hand intertwined between his hands. “I will only let you go if you promise to at least think about my proposal.” Martin insisted. Sibu sighed. “I can’t….” “I suggest you really think wisely before you respond,” he cut her off before she could finish her response. “Remember, we are out in the middle of nowhere and I am the only one with a car.” She scoffed. “If that was meant to scare me, then I am sorry to disappoint you. I have seen so much hell in my life that a little darkness doesn’t scare me.” She again tried to free her arm from his grip but he didn’t budge. “How about just spending the night here,” Martin suggested and won himself a glacial stare from Sibu. “I promise I won’t touch you,” he raise one arm up to swear. “I will take the upstairs bedroom and you can go back to the guest one.” “I would be a fool to even consider sleeping in the same building with you after what happened before….” she was blushing. Martin was smirking excitedly. “You still think about that night don’t you?” Sibu took that moment he was lost in his thoughts to finally release her hand. “Because of those few hours of pleasure, I got pregnant and then lost the baby. Of course I think about that night…but certainly not in the ways you are imagining.” “And what ways could those be?” He still hadn’t lost his smirk. “The fact that you thought about whatever I could be imagining means that we share the same thoughts, except…you chose to look at them from my point of view, but the same thing.” He shrugged his shoulders in satisfaction. Sibu brushed him off with a shake of her head and started walking away from him towards the direction they had come from. Martin immediately gave chase. “Are you seriously thinking about walking out here alone this late in the night? I don’t know whether you are brave or insane Sibu. Wait here and I will go get the keys.” Martin ran back into the house and came out a few seconds later with keys in hand. Sibu looked like a very pleased woman. “You are a very stubborn and cruel woman.” Martin said as he drove them to her place. Sibu ignored him and started playing with his radio. A few minutes after dropping off Sibu, Martin was driving himself home when he received a call on his cell. It was a strange number. “Hello,” he greeted the caller, using one hand to drive while the other attended to the call. “”Is this Junior Mwewa?” the female caller asked. Martin was taken aback. It was rare for people to address him like that. It was either Martin Mwewa Junior or just Junior, if not Double M like most of his close buddies preferred to call him. “May I know whose calling,” he answered. “This is Sibusiswe’s aunt,” the woman revealed. Martin’s leg hit on the brakes accidentally, extremely surprised by the unexpected call. Did Sibu give her my number? What could she be calling me about? Martin thought before finally responding. “Aunt Tafadzwa?” He asked, getting his hold There was a strange laugh on the other end of the line. “So you remember me?” the woman asked. “Even if I wanted to, there was no way I can forget that scene you put up at my workplace. Is there any particular reason you called?” Martin was cold as ice in his delivery. There was a brief pause from the other end of the line. “Is that the way to talk to your future mother in-law young man?” Aunt Tafadzwa roared. “This is what happens when you let maids raise your children.” Martin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What did you say?” He asked. “You heard me,” the woman snapped. “Come to my home tomorrow, you and I need to talk. I might not be Sibu’s mother but I am the only guardian she has.” Guardian my ass. She is your guardian and you are her burden, Martin said in his head as thought about what he had learnt when he had asked someone to investigate Sibu’s background. “What time do you want me to come?” Is what he said to her instead. “Come at 9 at my stand in the market.” She said. “I am sure you already know where it is. And don’t tell my niece about this call or the meeting, okay?” Clenching his teeth tightly and mouthing a few expletives, Martin ended the call without offering a response. Being a Sunday, there were only a few stands operating the next morning when Martin showed up at the market. In her screaming lime green top, it was easy to spot the naturally angry looking woman from the few women operating their stands. Aunt Tafadzwa excitedly waved her arms in the air and called out his name the moment she saw him, attracting attention from everyone around. It finally dawned on Martin why she had asked him to meet her at such a place. Martin curled his face up in irritation and slowly walked towards her. “Son in-law,” she loudly said and picked up a stool to give to him. Martin looked at the stool in front of him and instead of siting, he looked back at her and said, “what do you want to talk to me about?” The smile on Aunt Tafadwa’s face quickly faded. “If you really want to have my niece, you will have to develop a new approach with me. I am the only person capable of persuading her to marry you, you know.” She said smugly. Martin looked at the woman in puzzlement. “What do you mean by that?” He asked. He wanted to wipe the proud grin from off her face. “That’s all you need to know. I don’t owe you an explanation,” she replied. “For you to make Sibu yield to your wishes, there are piles and piles of layers you would need to peel off and no matter how hard you try, you will never reach the bottom…but, I know just what button to press to get her to agree.” “Why are you telling me all this?” He quizzed her. “Because we both have needs and we can help each other out.” “Huh?” “I heard you are an intelligent man, don’t plat dumb with me.” “And exactly what would you like to receive in return for this help you are offering?” Aunt Tafadzwa looked around her to check if anyone was looking at them and then moved closer to Martin and whispered, “I convince Sibu to marry you and you give me ten million Kwacha in cash as a thank you.” Martin pulled away from her as if he had just been struck by lightening. “Is this some kind of joke?” He shouted and everyone around turned to look at them. “That is peanuts compared to what that child owes me. She will never be able to pay me back even if she had seven lives.” Aunt Tafadzwa stated, “What did she do to you that is so back it turned you into this kind of woman? That girl is your own niece. Don’t you feel bad treating the only thing your sister left behind in such a manner? Don’t you have any shame whatsoever?” Aunt Tafazdwa’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. “Don’t act smug with me when you have no clue about what’s going on. Did you ever hear Sibusiswe complain about how I treat her?” She paused and waited for Martin to respond but nothing came. “Shouldn’t the fact that she’s never said anything to you tell you something about the kind of relationship we have?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked. The first thing that came to Martin’s mind was Sibu’s remark; Marrying you is not enough to buy me the kind of freedom I desire in this world. What had Sibu meant by that? Martin thought. “You are intelligent after all,” Aunt Tafadzwa said upon observing Martin’s reaction. “And you are deluded if you think you can use me to profit from your daughter’s unhappiness,” he replied curtly. I am going to leave this place and pretend this conversation never too place.” And with that, he turned to leave. * * * It was late at night. In a long, dity and narrow dark street, an owl let out the most melancholic cry and could be seen flying off into the night sky there after. But right there in the middle of the darkened street stood a little girl, about 5 or 6 years old. She had appeared out of nowhere and the fear radiating from every inch of her tiny frame was chilling to the heart. Alone in the ghastly environment, a black cat appeared from the pile of waste just a few feet away from her. Despite the darkness, she could make out two big shimmering eyes starring at her for a few seconds before turning and disappearing into the night. The little girl froze in horror, her head pounding so hard and her heart beating loudly. Just then, a foreboding sound from behind her could be heard and it went – pong, once and stopped. She quickly turned in that direction only to find nothing but darkness glaring back at her. She had just turned back around when the noise immediately started again. It went pong, pong, pong this time around. Each pong sounded closer than the previous one. She gasped and then froze again, afraid to look back. As the noise slowly kept getting closer, the little girl held her breath in, shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable. But just when she thought her world was coming to an end, a woman dressed in a long white gown appeared right next to her and took placed her arm over her shoulders from behind. The noise immediately came to a stop. Looking up at the familiar face, the girl instinctively smiled back. However, no sooner had the feeling of safety crept through her tiny little frame than it disappeared. As if transposed into time unknown, the scene before her completely changed and the woman was nowhere in sight. For a second, the child who now appeared slightly older than before found herself standing in the middle of a whole new street. For a moment she just stood there trying to make out her bearings. Unlike the grisly scene she had earlier been confronted with, the long wide street she was now standing in was lit with lights everywhere and was filled with cars coming from all direction. She was standing right at the intersection of it all. As if suddenly awakening from a delirium, she sensed the danger around her and could now hear the screams and cusses from drivers and pedestrians alike. She tried to move out of the road but her feet were stuck on the tarred ground. She could not move. She tried to open her mouth to scream and wail for help but her mouth wouldn’t open. Moving her arms around erratically to catch someone’s attention, she felt the ground below her crack. She stopped moving, looked down and realized she had very little time before the ground opened up and swallowed her into the abyss. And suddenly, the bright day had turned into night. Bright lights from an oncoming vehicle approached her from the distance at record speed. She could see nothing else except those headlights shining at her into blindness and she could hear nothing but the incessant hooting from whoever was behind the wheel. Shaking all over in fear of the impending doom, she shut her eyes and waited for the end to come, again. “Sibu!” A voice called out to her but she could not risk opening her eyes. “Sibu! Sibu! Get out right now!” Came the desperate plea from whoever was calling out to her. She could feel someone shaking her rapidly and fearing that the ground might open up, she immediately opened her eyes. “It’s that dream again isn’t it?” Sibeso asked Sibusiswe who was lying in bed and soaked in sweat. She removed the bedding’s covering her friend and went to open the window. “When did they start?” Sibeso asked when she turned around from opening the window. She grabbed a face towel from where it was hang to dry and used it to wipe the sweat off her best friend’s face and neck. There was nothing but horror written on Sibu’s face. “You are burning too much,” Sibeso noted, placing her hand on Sibu’s forehead to get a good feel of her temperature. “Let me get you a glass of water first….” she was getting up to go to the kitchen when Sibu grabbed her by her arm. “Don’t leave me alone,” she implored Sibeso in a deeply shaken up voice. Sibeso complied and sat back down, starring at her friend in unrestrained commiseration. “Why are the nightmares back Sibu? What happened to you to bring them back when they havent bothered you in the past five months or so? Which one was it this time?” Sibu swallowed hard before responding, her throat was dry from her nightmarish struggles. Despite the dehydration, she could not risk even for a second being alone while Sibeso went to bring her water. “I think I have an idea as to why the dreams are back,” Sibu said. “I lost track of things and became selfish again.” “What do you mean you became selfish?” Sibeso asked. “Don’t tell me you think this is about your relationship with Martin? I don’t know what happened between you and your mother Sibu since you’ve never told me the whole story…but, I do know that no mother would want to see her child suffering the way you’ve been all these years. “Every time something good happens in your life, you pull back in fear and out og guilt. How sure are you even that things happened the way your aunt told you they did? That evil woman could have cooked up lies just so she can turn you into her slave for life…and it’s worked. You still haven’t remembered anything from that day?” Sibu shook her head. “I haven’t,” she said solemnly. “I have tried so many times to force myself to recover the memories but I’m still blank. I have no choice but to believe her. I know she is not a very good person…but she can’t be so evil as to lie about something like this…at least I hope.” “I can’t put anything past that woman. I’m telling you, something is not right. You don’t look so good, let’s go get some water from the kitchen.” Sibeso got up and extended her arm to her friend which she took and was helped out of bed. Sibusiswe was on her lunch break with Peggy at work when her phone rang. It was a foreign number. The only person that ever called her with a number like that was Martin…and Martin was back in town already. “Who is it?” Peggy asked upon seeing the puzzled expression on her colleagues face. “I don’t know,” Sibu replied. “It’s a foreign number, London.” Peggy’s eyes immediately sparkled with excitement. “Could it be Ted?” Sibu had not spoken to Ted ever since their last conversation the day before he left for school. It had been one of those exchanges that implied they would never speak to each other again. He had been disappointed, and she had had her dignity shattered. “It can’t be him,” Sibu said with a far-away look on her face, her mind going back to that last exchange that left her feeling like she would never be able to look him in the eye ever again. “Is it true what Martin told me?” Ted had called her outside the office and confronted her about the night she had had with Martin. “What did Martin tell you?” Sibu had asked. “That you guys slept together,” he spat out the words like a bitter pill he didn’t want to taste. Sibu was caught off-guard by his bluntness but she was even more hurt by the fact that Martin had already told people about that night when she had not told a soul. But what had she expected? To him she must simply be a new name added to his list he couldn’t wait to brag to his friends about. “When did Martin tell you that?” Sibu fought back the tears, her voice coming off like a whisper. “So it’s true,” Ted said disdainfully. “How could you?” Sibu could hardly look him in the eye. He was reeking of contempt from every part of his body and the hurt in his eyes was so heartbreaking for her to handle. In as much as she wanted to think of that night with Martin as a mistake, it was something she had consciously allowed herself to be a part of. Yes, it had been a weakness on her part. She knew very well what Martin was capable of and what being with him would imply. She had known all that and still allowed him to control both her body and mind. It was not a moment she was proud of…and it certainly hurt even more hearing someone else’s opinion so directly. “Since when did you become so weak?” Ted continued his attack on her virtue. “These days you can cry just as easily as you can open your legs.” He said curtly. Sibu looked at him with tear-filled eyes. She couldn’t believe it was the same Ted talking to her like that. “Ted?” She said as two drops of thick tears rolled down her cheeks. “I know very well what I did…it’s my life. But what right do you have to talk to me like this?” “You are asking me what right I have?” He had snapped. “I seriously thought that you and I had…that we had….” he searched for the right words to say. “Anyway, all that doesn’t matter anymore. I guess I am just disappointed that you turned out to be just like everyone other girl out there. You are nothing special.” Sibu wiped away the tears with her hands in unhinged furry. “I don’t know what you thought you and I had going on but I never did anything to suggest something like that was going on. I thought you were my friend and I treated as such. But I guess now we both know what we really think of each other. Have a good life Ted.” And with thatm she turned and walked away. “Sibu….” She had heard him call out her name from behind but she never bothered to stop or look back. Sibusiswe was convinced from that point on that the two of them would never speak again. So could he really be the one calling her? “Well, aren’t you gonna answer it?” Peggy asked Sibu again. Sibu finally answered the call. “Hello,” she said hesitatingly. “Sibu, It’s me…Ted.” She was indeed surprised. “Yes Ted,” she said, her voice turning ice cold. “What do you want?” “I guess I deserve that,” Ted said. “I was a real douche.” “Why did you call?” Sibu asked. There was a somewhat long pause from the other end of the line. “I wanted to apologize for the nasty things I said to you before I left.” His reply finally came. When no response came from Sibu’s end, Ted went on. “I had no right to come at you like that…I guess I was just mad…I was jealous that you picked him over me. I had really thought that I had a chance with you.” Sibu could hear him clearing his throat, fighting to get the words out without breaking down. It was clear he was still hurting from what he felt was a betrayal on her part. “Ted….” she said. “I know, I know.” Ted cut in. “I was the one who had his hopes up and I might have misconstrued your behavior…but, I didn’t call you to talk about my feelings. I just wanted to apologize to you because I didn’t like how were we left things off. I think you are a good girl who didn’t deserve to be treated like that. I was a jerk for a moment…but that’s not who I am. I hope you can forgive me for everything and allow me to be your friend again. Do you think you can do that?” Sibu did not respond immediately. “I am asking for the impossible aren’t I?” Ted interpreted her silence. “No, it’s not impossible,” Sibu finally replied. “I was just thinking…you really said pretty soucy things to me and it’s ….” Ted sighed heavily from the other end of the line. “I had told myself never to speak to you again,” Sibu continued. “But your apology really means a lot. I can’t promise that things between us will get back to the way they used to be…but I am going to try to forget the past and get to you know all over again.” “Oh, thank you so much Sibu.” Ted could finally breath a sigh of a relief. “I promise to make it up to you.” “You don’t have to….” “By the way, I am sorry about what happened…Martin told me about the baby. I had no idea….” “Thanks,” Sibu said. “It all happened so fast. Any way, enough talk about the past.” “How’s Martin doing?” Ted quickly changed the topic. “Why are you asking me about Martin. Aren’t you his best friend? Don’t you guys talk?” “Him and I aren’t so close any more…you know.” “Oh,” Sibu said, sensing she was the reason behind the tension. “I am sorry Ted….” No, no…it’s not your fault.” Ted replied. “I guess we are both a little immature. He didn’t even tell me he was leaving. I only heard about what happened to you through a mutual friend of ours from over here. “I am not sure who withdrew from the other first; it could be me…it could be him but we are not cool anymore. At first I thought you had made a terrible mistake picking him…but even I have to admit that he’s different ever since he met you. I just hope that you can convince him to have the surgery….” “Surgery?” Sibu asked, unconsciously getting up from her chair. “What are you talking about?” “Shit,” Ted cussed. “He hasn’t told you about that yet?” “Told me about what Ted?” A deeply perturbed Sibu asked. “Are you talking to Ted?” Martin’s voice came from behind Sibu. Sensing danger, Peggy slowly stood up. Looking around only to find that their table was the centre of attention in the cafeteria. Sibu turned and found a visibly upset Martin glaring at her. “Give me that phone,” Martin said and snatched the phone from her hands before she could put up an protest. “What surgery is he talking about Martin?” It was all Sibu could think about. Martin was shocked by the question and wondered just how much Ted had told her. “Are you for real Ted? Is this how far you wanna go? What did you tell Sibu?” Martin was yelling into the phone. “Hey Martin, calm down,” Ted tried to reason with him. “It’s not what you think. You need to calm down man.” “You want me to calm down after catching you calling my fiance behind my back?” Martin snapped. Sibu moved closer to him and in a low voice said, “you are causing a scene Martin. You need to calm down.” Martin looked around and saw what she was talking about. “Isn’t lunch break over by now?” He shouted to the room and sent them all scampering out, including Peggy. “It’s not like that man,” Ted voice came through the phone. “I only called her to apologize for something that happened before I left.” “What happened between you and Ted?” Martin was looking at Sibu accusingly. Instead of answering, Sibu grabbed the phone from him and put it to her ear. “Let’s talk another time Ted.” And she cut the call. Martin was looking at her like she had just punched him in the face. “What did Ted mean when he said something happened between you two?” Martin asked sternly. “That’s not important right now.” Sibu snapped back. “Ted said something about me convincing you to have surgery…he thought I was privy to such information and when he realized I wasn’t, he refused to divulge anything more.” That bit of information seemed to sit well with Martin. He finally relaxed his taut features. “Is that all he said to you?” “Yes,” Sibu answered. “What is going on Martin? You are sick aren’t you?” “I came to show you something,” Martin feigned nonchalance. He took Sibu by the hand with the intention of leading her outside but she refused to budge. “I am not moving from here until you tell me what’s going on.” She removed her hand from his grasp and crossed both her arms over her chest. With his back to her, Martin sighed heavily, put his hands in his pockets and slowly turned to face her.

Continue please and been long time man

hmmmmmm,,, does Martin really want to die? why are dey begging him to Hav d surgery?

Next pls

Martin why can't you just do the surgery

Martins what exactly is wrong with u healthwise

I guess Martin is not willing to share his problems with Sibu so she would'nt start pitying him or agree to his proposal out of pity. What i don't get is why he's refusing a surgery which is likely to save his life

@chimmy its two days now without a new update. Guys are waiting oooo

sorry guys

Echoes of the Heart – Part 8 “I just need you to tell me what’s wrong with you.” Sibusiswe implored him. “I know now for a fact that you are sick but I don’t understand why you won’t tell me what you are suffering from. Is it that bad?” Martin walked over to her, took her hand into his and led them to sit down. “Sibu, Sibu, Sibu….” he said whilst playing with her hand over the table. “There’s that look in your eyes…one minute I can swear on my life that you love me…and the next minute, you treat me like a plague you wanna avoid for life.” “Stop trying to change the topic Martin,” Sibu said forcefully. For a moment, Martin paused whatever he was doing with her hand and just held on to it like that, starring hard at their hands entangled together and yet it was so clear his mind was somewhere else. “If you don’t tell me, I know someone somewhere who would be willing to tell me if I begged him properly.” She threatened him. And then very slowly, he led her hand to the table, carefully placed it down and withdrew his hands under the table. “Yes I am sick Sibu,” he finally admitted, suddenly sitting up straight and delivering the devastating news in the most casual tone he could cook up. “I have a kidney problem and the doctors think getting a transplant is the best thing for me.” Despite her implorations, she never really expected him to come out with the truth right away, but looking at Martin standing there, there was an unsettling feeling that had crept up on her and she couldn’t get rid of it. “You are serious, right?” She was studying him closely. Martin was looking at her bemusedly. “You need to learn to trust me, Sibu. Why would I lie to you about something like this?” “Then why do you look like that?” She was gesturing towards his whole demeanour. “What, you want me to be all sad and feeling sorry for myself just because I have a terminal disease?” He asked. “Not exactly,” she replied. “But you don’t look sick at all and you act like there is nothing serious going on with your health.” “It’s not that serious, yet…” he answered nonchalantly. “And I have been doing enough to keep things under control.” “You mean like partying and drinking?” She said sarcastically. Martin only laughed in response. And then a thought crossed Sibu’s mind. “Your conversation with the doctor that night…and what Ted just said…does it mean you don’t want to have surgery?” The expression on her face had suddenly turned serious. Martin had dreaded this moment but it had finally come. “I told you about the disease Sibu but that’s all I’m gonna say.” “Why won’t you have surgery when it will help you live? I just don’t understand that. Is it because you haven’t found a donor?” She asked. “Tell me something Sibusiswe,” Martin leaned his back against his chair. “Why are you so concerned about my health or my wellbeing in general?” The question was so unexpected and Sibu struggled to give a response right away. “Because we are friends,” she had finally managed. “I am just concerned about you as Ted is.” “There we go again, Ted.” Martin bleated. “What’s up with you and Ted? Are you sure nothing happened between you two? Why does he feel the need to call you all the way from there and then talk about me?” “He didn’t call to talk about you, don’t be so conceited.” She replied. “And just like the way you and I are, he too is a friend.” She was now up on her feet and ready to go. Martin got up as well. “So does that mean you slept with him too?” he asked. If looks could kill, Martin Mwewa had just been turned into a fossil. “You said just like us,” he shrugged his shoulders innocently. “Okay,” he moved closer to her and closed the distance between them. “It was a bad joke,” he placed his hands on her shoulders and much to his surprise; she did not flinch or protest like she normally did whenever he initiated physical contact. She was just looking at him with the same murderous expression on her face. It was Martin’s turn to feel uncomfortable. He dropped his hands from her shoulders and put some distance between them. He was looking at her suspiciously. “You were not planning on hitting me in the balls were you?” He asked, looking down at her foot which was busy tapping the floor. “I am going back to work,” Sibu said to him before turning to leave. “I met your aunt over the weekend,” Martin’s announcement brought her to a complete stop. Sibu immediately turned back around and walked back to where Martin was standing, his hands back in his pockets as a satisfied grin appeared on his face. “Figured that would get your attention,” he said. “Are you kidding me?” An angry Sibu shouted. “Oh no, I wasn’t lying about your aunt. I really met her on Sunday. She called and said there was something she needed to talk to me about. Tell me, is that woman your real aunt?” Martin asked, for the umpteenth time. “What did she say to you?” Sibu’s voice was husky and shaky. “There, that look again.” Martin was pointing at her face. “You always get like this whenever your aunt comes up. You act like she is more of a nemesis than aunt.” “What did my aunt say to you Martin?” She repeated the question, this time placing emphasis on every single word. “Nothing important, she said she was curious about me and just wanted to know me better.” He lied and she wasn’t buying. “You lying to me means that she said something worse,” Sibu muttered. “Why won’t you tell me what she said to you?” Martin had somehow successfully landed himself into a hole. “Because it’s not that important Sibu,” he said. “She just wanted to know how far our relationship has gone and she said something about being on my side and looking out for me if you give me a hard time.” Sibu still looked unconvinced. “I know my aunt and I know for a fact that that does not sound like anything she would say…well, maybe she might have said something in those lines but I know there is something else she said to you that you are not telling me.” “Sibu….” He tentatively reached out for her hand. “Never mind,” she said dismissively. “Even if you don’t tell me, I will find out.” And with that, she turned and walked away. Left behind, Martin brushed his hand through his hair in frustration. “How did that happen?” He scolded himsef. Just like she had promised Martin, Sibusiswe went directly to her aunt’s house that evening after knocking off from work. “I knew you would bring yourself home soon,” Aunt Tafadzwa passed the snide remark the moment she opened the door for her. That phrase had unconsciously become her welcoming remark to Sibu. “Why did you ask to meet Martin aunt and what did you tell him?” Sibu had offered herself a seat and she went straight to the point the moment she was settled down. “Typical Bemba man,” Aunt Tafadzwa said as she too sat down to face her angry niece. “They all talk too much.” “Aunt,” Sibu called out to her, a grave expression on her face. “For how long do you intend to run my life like this? What do I have to do that will satisfy you and make you leave me the hell alone?” “I am glad you asked that question my dear,” her aunt replied. “You claim to have done enough for me yet here I am still languishing in poverty. My friends at the market are busy upgrading and they now own shop yet all I have is that small stand which isn’t even mine to begin with.” “And how is that my fought?” Sibu asked. “I gave you money to start the business ; did you also want me to take care of every little thing for you?” “Have you forgotten that you are the reason my family is this poor?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked. “If not for you…and if not for all the hospital bills I had to pay for your recovery, my children and I wouldn’t have to depend on you for anything.” She always knew when to bring up those words in a conversation and after so many years of using them, she had come to master their exact effect. Sibu sighed heavily and let her head fall back on the sofa. She had no more fight left in her. Every conversation she had with her aunt somehow always led to this particular conversation. How was she supposed to win an argument when she was disadvantaged from the get-go? There was only one person who knew what happened that day and that person was bent on using that information against her till the day she died. “You said that if I marry him,” Sibu sat up straight and had a new kind of resolve in her eyes. “That if I send my cousins to school and set up a business for you then you will let me go, right?” Aunt Tafadzwa was grinning from ear to ear. “Yes, yes, you’ve thought wisely my dear.” She was nodding her head excitedly as she spoke. “Marrying a man like him will set you up for life.” More like set you up for life, Sibu thought to herself but loudly said. “I will marry him,” she announced to her very delighted aunt. “But only I get to decide how much money you get from that family,” she added before her aunt could say anything. She could tell she was itching to give her five cents on the topic. “You will not under any circumstances make any financial demands from Martin or any member of his family,” She went on. “If I hear that you contacted any one of them behind my back, I will cancel this arrangement and disappear from your life, to hell with the past and all that talk about penance. Have I made myself clear aunty?” Aunt Tafadzwa didn’t look pleased at all with the terms that came with it. “The way you sound…and the way you are looking at me, who can tell that you are my niece? Tsk.” Sibu stood up. “After draining me of my blood and sweat, do you still think that there could ever be such a relationship between us?” She said. “To me you will always be the person that put a price on my mother’s life and made me pay every cent of it using my blood.” She then picked up her handbag and left the house. During the time Sibbusiswe walked from her aunt’s house to the bus stop, she had made two major decisions in her head and she committed to delivering on one of them right away. At the bus stop, instead of getting on a bus, she took a cab and told the driver, “Longacres please, Mirabell Hospital.” “Why did you ask me to come to your house doc?” Martin asked Dr Sanjay once they were sited in his living room. “It’s so quiet today,” he noted. “Where’s everyone else?” “My husband and the kids are at the other house.” She was gesturing towards the back of the house where they had built three more houses for their extended family. “His parents are visiting so everyone seems to be spending more time there.” “I see,” Martin said. “So, what was so important it couldn’t wait till morning?” “We found you a donor,” the doctor said. Martin grumbled and stood up in frustration. “I knew it.” He said. “What was I expecting?” And he started walking towards the door. “You need to ask me who the donor is,” the doctor said to his retreating figure. “I really don’t care,” Martin responding without looking back. “But I think you should care,” Dr Sanjay insisted. “You know who the donor is.” Martin paused and then slowly turned to look at the doctor. The question was written all over his face. “Your girlfriend, Sibusiswe Hangaala.” She provided. Martin gaped at his doctor in response. “What do you mean by that?” He knew what he had heard, but he hoped he had heard wrong. Unfortunately, Doctor Sanjay wasn’t privy to his heart’s desires and so she repeated, “Sibusiswe came to see me at the hospital just as I was knocking off and demanded that I have tests done on her to see if she can be your donor…thing is, I already knew she was a match….” the doctor nervously added the last part. “Did you push her into….” Doctor Sanjay waved her hand in the air to deny the incoming accusation. “We ran a lot of tests on her the last time you came with her…I just happened to check and…. I never told anyone about it, not even you or her until today. It was just a by-the-way thing before but now it’s turned out like this.” Nothing was making sense to Martin. Why would Sibu do that ? “Isn’t she your girlfriend?” The Doctor asked. “What?” Martin asked, looking extremely disturbed. “You asked why she would do that?” Dr Sanjay answered. “Oh,” he said, “I thought I said it in my head.” “Why don’t you sit down?” Without protesting, Martin went back to sit. “She never mentioned whether she wanted to keep the donation private or not…I assume she would have preferred the former but since I know you, I figured you would want to know lest you threaten to shut down my practice again.” Martin stood up again. “This is very confusing…it doesn’t add up,” he said. “I have to talk to Sibu first. I think this is some sort of bad joke. I hope you didn’t get her to sign anything.” Doctor Sanjay winced in embarrassment. “What?” Martin asked upon seeing the doctor’s reaction. “She forced me to get her to sign the papers and threatened to inject herself with anything she could lay her hands on in the hospital if I refused to do what she wanted. I asked her if you knew she was going to be your donor and immediately sensed she hadn’t since she couldn’t give me a straight answer. I suggested talking to you first and that’s when she went berserk. I really believed her when she said she would inject herself. Her eyes were searching my office for any weapons. She is one scary girl.” “Are you even a doctor?” Martin yelled at her. “How can an eighteen year old make you do something like that?” “She might be eighteen but her mind is older and wiser than the both of us put together.” The doctor could recall the spine—chilling moment Sibu had looked into her eyes and made the threat. She had never before seen such determination in a teenager’s eyes. “Do you even know what her IQ is?” Martin huffed and left the house in furry. * * * Not wanting to disturb Sibusiswe who was now sleeping in the bedroom after coming in from work in a very bad mood, Sibeso had finished preparing supper and had just dropped her body on the sofa with a plate in hand when someone knocked at the door. It was not one of those subtle and respectful knocks that people usually get on their doors. This one was loud, irritating and was so powerful it would have knocked the door right off its hinges if it continued any longer. Sibeso put her plate down on the table and got up to check on the rude visitor in frustration. She could hear Sibu tossing and turning in her sleep from the noise and so when she opened the door, it was not with a welcoming smile. For a second, Sibeso’s huge frown almost made Martin forget why he had come there in the first place. “I need to talk to Sibu,” Martin said the moment he recovered and shoved himself passed Sibeso and entered the house. “What are you doing here?” The noise had obviously awakened Sibu. “What have you done?” He fired at her right away. “What do you….” “Doctor Sanjay, she told me!” He yelled. “You do know we live in a flat, right?” Sibeso reminded Martin. “These walls have ears so I suggest you tone it down or we gonna have to print tickets next time you visit to accommodate the large audience.” She then picked up her plate from the table and headed to the balcony, closing the door behind her to give them some privacy. Sibu’s attitude seemed to raise Martin’s blood pressure even more. She simply shrugged her shoulders and went to occupy the same spot her friend had been in. “Is that the only reaction I am going to get from you?” Martin asked, sitting down as well. “What do you want me to say?” Sibu said nonchalantly. “I have no plans of becoming a widow just after a year of marriage. What sort of fool do you take me for?” “How the hell do you expect me to…wait,” that’s how long it took for her words to sink in. “What did you just say? Did I hear correctly?” A smile slowly crept onto his face. “I’m I really….” Martin was up on his feet, one hand pressed on his mouth in disbelief. Sibu instinctively smiled back at him, but unlike his pure genuine smile, hers was riddled with joy and something mysterious. “Yes, I will marry you…but only if you agree to have the surgery.” She said. …because that’s the only way I can lessen my guilt towards you and some else. She added silently. And then suddenly, his smile mirrored hers before completely faded into oblivion. “What are you so afraid of Martin?” Sibu got up and walked over to him. Martin avoided her gaze, looking down at his feet with both his hands now in his pockets. “The doctor said you don’t want to have surgery because you don’t want to live like a patient for the rest of your life; forever taking meds despite having a new kidney…and so you would rather die. Is that correct?” “Would you live such a life yourself Sibu?” Martin asked. The question startled her. “For me death is a luxury I cannot afford,” she said in a very solemn tone, quickly turning her back to him to avoid eye contact. “But we are not talking about me,” she said, sitting in the same spot as before. “I think you are just being a coward.” “What?” Martin was incandescent in his delivery. There was something else she had said he wanted to address because he had heard it before but her last remark made everything else seem less important. “I am a coward?” He hissed. “How does getting to decide how or when I die make me a coward? Do you have any idea what it’s like living a life dependent on drugs? Every little thing I do, every decision I make, I have to consider my health first. You’ve seen how I’ve lived my life so far, do you think someone like me can survive such a restrictive lifestyle? It’s as good as being dead!” “I knew you were a spoilt brat before…I just didn’t know it was to such an extent,” Sibu chastised him, much to his chagrin. “Do you have any idea how many people out there would kill to have the same opportunities as you but here you are taking everything for granted.” “I never asked anyone to donate their kidney to me,” Martin stated. “And I most certainly never imagined receiving one from you. Look at me, do I look sick to you?” “That’s beside the point,” Sibu argued. “I don’t even think you did any research to find out how your life will change after surgery. You just heard a few lines from the doctor, you didn’t like the sound of them and then you made your decision. Have you even tried reaching out to people that have had such transplants before? You are even lucky you got the diagnosis on time so you’ve had enough time to adjust your lifestyle and live a much healthier life. Who says your life has to change dramatically just because you have to take meds every now and then? It only takes a few seconds to drink medicine and if you have someone by your side, you won’t even think of it as such a hustle.” Martin said nothing in response. Everything she had said was right. They were the same words Doctor Sanjay had tried telling him but she never gave her the chance to finish. However, there was something about those very words coming from Sibu’s mouth that made him want to listen. There was something in her voice that gave him hope that life wouldn’t be so bad after all. From the moment he had been diagnosed, he had done everything possible to erase any memory of it…to go on with life and pretend as if nothing was wrong. Even in those moments when the pain came, all he had to do was get a quick fix for pain and sleep everything away. Tomorrow was always a brand new day and thanks to Sibu who had appeared in his life like an accident; his days had become even brighter. “What made you change your mind about marrying me?” was what Martin asked when he finally spoke. “What happened to all those reasons you gave, love, school and what not?” “I can easily change my mind again if you like,” she threatened him. “No, no, no,” Martin pleaded. “Please don’t.” Sibu laughed. “I am a woman, changing my mind is a major part of my operating system. You should get used to it.” He too laughed. “But seriously, what made you change your mind?” He asked again. “My aunt did everything in her power to convince me,” she said jokingly. “She didn’t threaten you, did she?” Martin asked. Sibu laughed. “Even if she did, it’s not like I would tell you…because that would just defeat the whole purpose.” “Oh wow, that hurts real badly,” he held his hand to his heart, feigning pain but smiling at the same time. “Your aunt really scares me. She is like a villain in a soap opera. Instead of Aunt Tafadzwa, you should be calling her Aunt Maxine…the female version of Max from No One But You.” “I would say the same about your mother,” Sibu said. “How are you going to convince your parents to let you marry me? I am not exactly the kind of woman you introduce to a family like yours. Your mother has already made her feelings known…explicitly.” That part hadn’t crossed his mind yet; his father was not a problem…it was his mother he had to worry about. He had not spoken to his mother ever since the nasty exchange they had had after he returned from abroad which ended with him being kicked out of the house. Mrs Mwewa never thought her son would actually leave which was why she was more shocked than anyone else when he actually did. Coming from a very poor family background, Martin’s mother operated under the assumption that anyone poor that had sights on her son did so with ulterior motives. Being ten years younger than her husband, everyone naturally assumed she had married him for his money; something Martin had come to learn was a fact when she had gotten drunk during his fifteenth birthday celebrations and told him that she would have not been attracted to Martin Senior in the first place if not for his money but that didn’t mean she never loved him as a man…only that the money made her look in his direction. With a background like that, Mrs Mwewa was suspicious of any girl that tried to get close to her son. “By the way,” Sibu was now resting her head on Martin’s lap as the two of them made themselves comfortable on the biggest chair in the room. “Why does your mum hate Tonga’s so much?” Martin giggled. “Oh that,” he said whilst playing with her hair. “It’s a long story…but the short version is; her mother died when she was twelve and her dad remarried another woman just two months later who ended up mistreating my mother and her siblings. That woman was Tonga by tribe.” “Oooh,” was all Sibu could say in response, finally making sense of the things she had heard. “How about your name, it doesn’t sound Tonga.” Martin said. “It’s actually Ndebele…well, it’s also found in the Eastern province, but it has the same meaning in any language.” “What does it mean?” Martin asked. “It means blessing. The original name is actually Sibusisiwe… but when I was in pre-school I had a teacher who insisted on calling me Sibusiswe and ended up putting it on all my school documents and here we are….” “I kind of like Sibusiswe better, the other one is too long,” Martin laughed. And just like that, the two of them chatted all the way to midnight when Sibeso finally gave up braving the mosquitos outside and crushed their party to go to bed. That following weekend, Martin decided to visit his parent’s home to talk to them about his marriage. His mother was excited to have him home thinking he had decided to come back. However, her hopes where shattered during dinner when Martin finally launched his marriage campaign. “I have decided to get married,” Martin had announced to the unsuspecting audience consisting of his parents and young sister Mwiche. “Marriage? You?” Martin Senior scoffed. “Is this some kind of joke?” “Junior,” his mother was giving him a warning look to shut up . Mwiche was the only one responding in excitement. “Is it who I think it is?” she asked her brother. Martin was all smiles when he replied, “of course it is. She finally said yes!” Mwiche clapped her hands excitedly. “I am going to be your flower girl ka? ” Martin laughed. “Have you ever seen a flower girl as old as you?” Mwiche’s excitement dulled down to a zero as she dropped her shoulders and head in disappointment. “You are serious?” His father finally gave him his full attention. “Yes dad, I am serious.” Martin answered confidently. “Is it that girl at the reception?” Martin senior asked. Three faces gaped at him in astonishment. “How did you….” Martin was asking. His father smirked. “Is there anything I don’t know,” he answered smugly. “I see you take after your old man,” he was smiling proudly. “She is young, fresh, and beautiful…and quite intelligent I hear.” His wife was glaring at him in disapprobation, making their two children bust out in laughter. “I don’t like her,” Mrs Mwewa vomited. “Have you ever liked anyone honey?” her husband asked. “Honey!” his wife complained, the thick foundation on her face almost melting from anger. Martin and Mwiche chuckled surreptitiously. “What about school, are you really going to drop out?” His father asked. “Of course not,” Martin answered. “I will continue from here.” “Why are you suddenly in such a rush to get married?” His mother asked. Before it was because he thought he was going to die but after the recent developments, he only had one thing in mind; “Because I love her and I want to marry her before any man beats me to it.” He was as assertive as could be in his response. His father was smiling at him proudly. “That’s my boy,” he said as he raised his glass to him and the two of them toasted, earning themselves a glacial stare from one woman and a smile from another. “Doesn’t she need to college? I am not very comfortable marrying my son off to a high school graduate. And I don’t like where she comes from.” Mrs Mwewa pressed her case. Martin had been waiting for that. “We already talked about that mother,” he said. “She will apply for the 2010 intake. We will try to find a house close to campus so she can easily move to and from home. And as for where she comes from…you can’t seriously blame her for being of a certain tribe just because you had a bad experience with one person of that tribe. That’s just unfair; she did not chose to be born of her parents just as I never chose to have a tribalist mother.” “Martin, watch your tone with me,” his mother roared, it was the only thing she could hit him with since he was coming off as a wise-ass. “This is exactly why I don’t like that girl. In just a few months she’s changed you to this person I can no longer recognize.” “I actually like who he’s become now,” his father chipped in. His wife gaze was enough to freeze anyone it landed on but after so many years, Martin senior had developed immunity against it. “Ever since that girl came into his life he’s matured.” He continued as if there was no lightening close to him threatening to light up the whole house. “He doesn’t party like he used to and he’s finally stopped being such a mama’s boy. I was worried you would turn him into a sisy with all your whining and meddling. You are forgetting that if I hadn’t disobeyed my parents, you and I would not be having this conversation right now. Leave the boy be.” And with that declaration, he got up and went upstairs. His wife went after him to continue their war behind closed doors. “He’s in big trouble,” Mwiche said with a mischievous grin on her face. “I know,” Martin said, looking up the stairs from the top of his wine glass. That same evening at the N’cube’s residence in Kanyama, Aunt Tafadzwa welcomed into her home a visitor that appeared to be in his mid-fifties. He was well groomed and smartly dressed, definitely not anyone in Aunt Tafadzwa’s circles. “You still look as radiant as ever Tafadzwa.” The man was obviously trying to ingratiate himself into her favour. “How long has it been?” Aunt Tafadzwa was wearing her usual visitor smile. “Eighteen years I think.” She replied. “It’s been that long isn’t it?” The soft-spoken man said. “What brings you here so unexpectedly? I thought you would have forgotten us by now.” Aunt Tafadzwa said. “How can I ever forget you my dear? If anything, I thought you were the one that forgot about me. Every time I tried to get in touch with you, you would either cut my calls or ignore them altogether. I use to send letter before but when I noticed you weren’t writing back, I gave up.” The woman was blushing in embarrassment like someone who had been caught doing something bad red-handed. “Well, I thought it was a prank call and sometimes when you called I was probably busy and couldn’t attend to the phone.” “I see,” the man said, obviously unconvinced by her words. “One time a girl answered the phone and said she was your niece…I didn’t know you had a niece.” Aunt Tafadzwa looked like she had just swallowed something bigger than her oesophagus could handle. “My niece…? When was that? I don’t have any niece.” “Yes, that’s what I thought,” the man replied. “As far as I know…Mi..riam….” he struggled to say the name. “…she was…your only sister…and she never had children…as far as I know.” The frog in Aunt Tafadzwa’s mouth was growing bigger by the minute. Any longer and hell would break loose in her mouth. Her face was starting to change colour. “Yeah…you are right…she…she…never…had any…any children,” she was stuttering and laughing nervously. “I think you of all people would know if she had any children. You were her fiancé after all.” By now, it had become apparent to the man that something was not right. He was searching Aunt Tafadzwa’s face intently. He’s not suspecting me, is he ? Aunt Tafadzwa thought. Calm down Fadzwa or the wonderful future you just earned for yourself will blow up in your face before you even get to smell the dollars.

Observing

hmmmmm,,,, Dats sibu's father,,, dis aunt tafa balewa or wats her name sef is sometin Else ooo

Wickedness of the highest order

comment oo

@chimmy pls come continue

continue pls

Wicked aunty ooo

Echoes of the Heart – Part 9 It had indeed been eighteen years since Lance Hangaala had seen Aunt Tafadzwa. It was no secret that she wasn’t a fan of him. He had been nothing but a Taxi driver when he had met and fallen in-love with her sister Miriam. Not one to keep her thoughts to herself, Tafadzwa had confronted him behind her sister’s back and told him to take a hike because she didn’t want Miriam to languish in poverty. A beautiful and intelligent girl like her deserved a rich man to spoil her for life, Tafadzwa had said. How could he ever forget those piercing words? However, despite her treatment of him, Lance understood to some extent why Tafadzwa wanted her elder sister to get married to a rich man. He had seen first-hand how Miriam struggled to take care of her sibling and herself from the little money she was making working as a secretary. And so when Miriam eventually disappeared from his life without a word, he did not resent her. Despite his broken heart, there was still a huge part of him that missed her and kept longing for her. Unlike her sister, Miriam had been a kind and loving woman who always put the interests of others ahead of her own. That was the reason why he had fallen for her. But when she left him in the most cruel manner possible, he had been left with a lot of questions whose answers could only come from her. When he had begged her to never let him go but to be patient with him while he looked for a better job, she had put her arms around his neck and told him she didn’t care about anything else as long as he remained by her side. That was the kind of woman he knew her to be. Even when a dear friend of his offered him a job in Botswana with a better pay, he had turned it down, afraid to leave the country just in case Miriam had a change of heart and came looking for him. But when two, three, four years went by and there was no trace of her, he had finally given up and left town. The news of her demise came to him at the most unexpected time in his life. It was the day before his wedding when he sat down to catch up with some old close friends of his that had traveled the distance to attend the wedding. Curious about her death, Lance had searched high and low for Tafadzwa’s contact information but all efforts to communicate with her proved futile. “You really look very different now Lance,” Aunt Tafadzwa quickly tried to change the subject. “Life in Botswana must be good for you.” Lance chuckled. “I guess you could say that,” he said. “It was tough the first couple of years but after a while, new opportunities came by and I tried to make something of my humble life.” “I really can’t believe you are the same man who had dry and cracked lips with those tone trousers you liked wearing…and those nasty looking sandals you wore with wire supporters.” She was laughing as if she was sharing in a good memory. The only thing her guest could do was smile awkwardly. It was obviously a part of his past he was not very fond of. It had after all costed him the love of his life. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so poor, Miriam would still be alive. How much had he looked forward to having a little girl that looked exactly like her beautiful mother…big bright eyes with a matching personality? He had believed in that dream but it had come crumbling down even before he had the chance to lay down the first brick. There was nothing much about the past to make him smile but obviously there was enough to make his former almost sister in-law cackle like that. It was not that he was ashamed of his past; he was glad he had gone through all those hardships because they had made him the kind of man he had become. However, despite the life lessons that came with those experiences, they had left painful footprints that refused to go away no matter how much wind blow against them. So how could he possibly look back to those days and laugh so heartily? “I have wondered all these years about Miriam’s death,” Mr Hangaala said. “That is why I paid you this unexpected visit.” “You came all the way to Zambia just for that?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked. She was going to do everything possible to avoid answering certain questions. “No, my wife and I came for some other business but I took the opportunity to look you up and just check up on you.” He said. “You are married now, that’s wonderful. But why didn’t you come with your wife?” “I didn’t think it would be appropriate Fadzwa.” He muttered. “Oh yeah,” she said in feigned embarrassment. “So are you not going to tell me about how Miriam died?” He had already sensed that she was avoiding every question concerning Miriam. Aunt Tafadzwa fumbled with the table cloth laying on the arm of the sofa she was sitting on, taking it off the sofa and then laying it back again…and then playing with its edges. “You know…she was my only sister…the only family I had so talking about her death is not very easy for me.” “I understand,” Lance said, dropping his suspicions a notch. “I am very sorry for making you go through this…but I feel like knowing might help me get some kind of closure.” “Why do you still think about a dead lover when you are obviously happily married now? Does your wife know about my sister?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked, diverting the topic once more. “My wife knows,” he answered. “I told her everything before we even started dating. She knows why I am here and she understands.” “Well, if you must know,” Aunt Tafadzwa said to him. “It was an accident. It was a hit and run so we don’t know much about it. They never caught the culprit.” She was looking at Lance’s face to study his reaction…and probably check if he was buying her tale. Unfortunately, this well-to-do version of him was a difficult man to read. Perhaps if he had been in his usual rags, she would have put him right where she wanted him to be; out of her house. “Did you ever go back to the police to check if they had made any developments…in terms of catching the culprit?” Aunt Tafadzwa was visibly surprised by how well Lance Hangaala could articulate himself. Compared to the stammering fool he had been all those years ago, the man looking at her questioningly had the demeanour of a very learned person. Perhaps…had I made the wrong calculations in keeping the knowledge of his daughter away from him? But how was I supposed to know that you had finally made something of your sorry self? But who cares anyway ? Aunt Tafadzwa plotted silently. Looking at that cheap Corrolla parked outside, he is not even slightly close to the level of the Mwewa’s. Those are the big fishes I should be worrying about…not this God forsaken rich man wanna be. Dressing a frog in a suit does not make it human. It still is what it is, a frog. She thought as she scanned him from his head to his shoes, her face looking like she had just smelt something rotten. “This is Zambia we are talking about Lance,” this time she didn’t bother to hide her irritation. “Or perhaps has living in a foreign land made you forget about where you came from?” She asked accusingly. She had finally succeeded in making him uncomfortable. “I can sense that this is clearly a very sore topic for you and I should apologize for that. I think it’s best for me to get going now.” And he did get up immediately without waiting for her response. “I also need to wash some vegetables for sale at the market tomorrow. It’s already late as you can see….” Standing up in the process. “So I won’t be able to show you out. You should pass my regards to your family.” Lance Hangaala got the signal and left the house without uttering another word. Once he was inside his vehicle, he sat down for what felt like minutes and watched Aunt Tafadzwa’s house like it held the answers to all of his questions. He had this strange look in his eyes when he shook his head and finally drove off. Aunt Tafadzwa had been looking at him through a crack of the curtain the whole time. “Was that Sibu’s dad?” Tammy came into the living room in her night dress, a mischievous smile playing on her face. “What are you still doing up this time?” Her mother snapped at her. “Does Sibu know that her father is still alive?” Her daughter asked. She was obviously enjoying the moment, watching her mother looking all tensed up and shaken. Still peeping through the curtain, “Of course she knows that he’s alive,” Aunt Tafadzwa said. “She just prefers telling people that he’s dead to avoid questions because she thinks he abandoned her mother when he discovered she was pregnant.” “I guess it’s thanks to you she thinks like that isn’t it?” Tammy said to her mother who was now breathing a sigh of relief as the car outside disappeared from view. “You are one evil woman mother,” Tammy proudly said to her mother, delivering it like it was some kind of compliment. Aunt Tafadzwa gave her a look as she dropped the curtain and went to throw herself on the sofa in relief. “I have never heard you refuse the money that Sibu brings here,” she retorted. “In fact, you whine and demand for more from her.” “I guess we are both evil…except,” she was talking with her eyes dancing about excitedly. “It’s not my fault, it should be my genes.” “Shut up and go to bed or keep talking and I tell Sibu to forget about giving you money for college. Your choice.” That threat was enough to send Tammy straight back into the bedroom. Her mother grinned in satisfaction and then slowly closed her eyes to sleep. In the first week of January the following year, Martin Mwewa Junior and Sibusiswe Hangaala were wed. * * * The first year of marriage for Martin and Sibusiswe Hangaala was exactly what it was supposed to be, a honeymoon phase. After Martin’s successive surgery, Sibu had put down her guard for a while and allowed herself to busk in marriage bliss. It was as if she had been born again. She could laugh easily and she laughed a lot. Through Martin, she had come to experience the true meaning of love. Martin had found himself completely enamoured by his new bride. The ease with which she had offered to donate her kidney and sked that it be kept their little secret made him fall even deeper in love with her. Where else could such a woman be found? The times she had relentlessly and happily cared for him after his surgery proved to him that he had been right to go against his mother and stick to his decision to settle down with her. Because of her, he had become a better man. Unfortunately, like many other marriages, the honeymoon phase eventually came to pass. The new lifestyle that was greatly dependent on drugs as a means of safeguarding his new kidney proved to be too tasking for the wild hearted Martin. Now that he felt strong again and back to normal, he saw no importance in religiously taking pills and that eventually gave rise to a constantly nagging wife. “I feel just fine Sibu!” had become the bone of contention in the home of the newlyweds. “That is not the point Martin,” Sibu would argue. “Just because you feel fine does not mean you have to stop taking your meds. We had an agreement and you promised….” “Yes, we are back to those promises again,” Martin would snap back. “Listen, I am tired. The whole week, if I am not studying, then I am at work. I think I deserve to have the weekend to rest and do whatever I want to unwind.” “I understand that…I am just saying that you should at least reduce the amount of alcohol you consume and continue taking your medication.” “I miss the fun-loving and I don’t-give-a-dame Sibu that I married. What happened to you?” Martin would give his wife the most disgusting look. “I can’t recognize this nagging woman you’ve become. I am going to sleep at Conrad’s tonight.” He would then grab his gear and leave the house. Eventually, sleeping away from home became a habit. Instead of striving to resolve Martin’s struggles and his change in behavior, Sibu withdrew from the world and from her husband, believing that his behavior was some sort of punishment she was receiving for having deceived herself into choosing happiness and neglecting to pay her debt to her mother. “It’s you, isn’t it?” She would say to her mother’s tombstone whenever something bad happened. “What the hell was I thinking…thinking he would change just because he had married me?” She would cry out to her mother. “He never sleeps home, he parties every night and sleeps with any girl he can get his hands on. When I complain he shoves money in my face like that would erase everything. “Where you mad at me for being so happy while you were lying here in this cold earth mother? I know…I am shameless for constantly disturbing you like this but whether you like it or not, I am still your daughter you know.” When she was not crying her heart out to her mother, the only other person she could talk to was Sibeso. “Why don’t you try counselling?” Sibeso had once suggested to her. “You guys are still young to be growing apart like this. The problem is you married too young and Martin was obviously not yet ready for this kind of commitment. I think the fear of death must have deceived him into believing he could handle such a huge responsibility like marriage, but let’s face it….he is still immature. The both of you need to get professional help before it’s too late. “I think he regrets the marriage Sibe,” Sibu confided in her friend. “Now that he’s alive and well, he must regret marrying in such haste.” “I don’t think he regrets the marriage…pe se,” Sibeso would said. “I do however, think that he feels emasculated by his reliance on meds and so he is taking it out on women out there…like he’s trying to prove a point or something.” “You sound like a shrink,” Sibu laughed softly. “Does his family even know that he was sick?” Sibeso asked. Sibu nodded. “They do. They were even present during the operation. They just don’t know that the kidney was mine.” Sibeso gaped at her friend in shock. “Why don’t they know such an important fact?” She asked. “If that mother in-law of yours knew what you sacrificed for her son, she will definitely start treating you with respect. She is also a major reason why Martin is acting like this. She keeps forcing him in the company of these tuma girls from rich families as if he is still a bachelor. What demon resides inside that woman must be very short and an angry one.” Sibu sighed heavily and said, “I just can’t wait for school to open so I can keep myself busy. If Martin wants to kill himself, let him go ahead and do so. I am done trying to be a hero when he won’t admit he needs saving.” “You applied under which school?” Sibeso changed the subject. The mood always seemed to go down whenever took of Martin came up those days. “Humanities and Social Sciences.” “I thought you wanted to do Law?” “Ah, I changed my mind. I think it’s time I started moving my life away from Martin. Let him leave his own life and I will leave mine. My aunt is a headache enough on her own. I don’t need all this drama in my life.” “Speaking of Maxine ,” Sibeso laughed, like she always did whenever they called the woman by her nickname. It would take some time to get used to it. Sometimes they would even talk about her in her presence and she would have no clue whatsoever that she was the subject of discussion. “Does she know about the problems between you and Martin?” Sibu sneered. “Why would she care about that…and why would I even tell her? The only thing that woman cares about is money. Can you believe she wants me to buy her a plot in Meanwood?” “What?” Sibeso exclaimed. “Yes, and who is going to build on it once it’s been bought? Me!” “That woman will never cease to amaze me,” Sibeso said with a disconcerting look on her face. “I bet the devil looks at her every morning and shudders. She is a real contender to his throne that one.” And in one of those moments that had become rare, Sibu laughed. * * * Winter of July 2015 Martin anxiously waited for Sibusiswe to show up at the restaurant where they had scheduled for their meeting to take place. She had finally called him back after ignoring his calls for two days and asked that they meet at the new restaurant in town, a place Sibu had deliberately picked because it held no memories for the two of them…and also because it would be packed with people so the two of them wont have to get into mellow-dramatic conversations…as it always happened whenever they met. Martin was anxiously tapping his leg on the floor wondering if SIbu would show up or not when he looked up and saw her enter the restaurant. She looked as radiant as ever as evidenced from the many heads of men that had turned to steal glimpses of her. Wanting to make his interests known to the public, he quickly got and waited for Sibu to reach his table. He proceeded to wrap her up in a hug, a move that caught her by surprise but not wanting to draw even more attention to herself, she quickly hugged him back and then sat down. “What’s this I hear about you traveling to SA?” Martin launched his attack the moment they were both seated. Sibu chuckled, thinking about how some things never changed. They had been divorced for four years already but he still treated her like she was still his wife. “Did you just laugh?” Martin asked, his eyebrows going up in confusion. “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh,” she said. “I wish I had a good reason…but I am just going to be honest with you…I didn’t know how to broach the subject to you. I didn’t want you to think that I was taking advantage of our custody arrangement by taking your son away for such a long time.” “Ooh,” Martin said, surprised by her quick admission. He had been more than ready to fight it out with her especially since he could smell Ted all over the issue. “And Ted,” he said, his voice had dropped to a much lower register as he relaxed his back against the chair to feign nonchalance, his fingers slowly tapping the table. “Are you two still in contact?” Sibu could see right through his charade…trying to play it cool when he was obviously dying to know the answers deep down.She had feared he might put two and two together and it hadn’t taken that long after all. “Yes,” she answered. “We kept in touch over the years.” She knew Martin wanted to hear more but she still kept her response as brief as possible. She didn’t need to ask him what he was thinking, it was written all over his face. “So are you planning on seeing each other?” He asked. “Martin,” Sibu put on a serious face. “You do know that we are divorced right? And that you cannot ask me certain personal questions?” Martin was embarrassed by the questions but he couldn’t help himself. Not knowing what was going on in her life eat at him every night and day. What wouldn’t he give to have her look at him the way she had done during that first year of their marriage? Those memories haunted him every single day. Like a fool he had allowed his pride to overshadow his love for her and by the time he had realized what he had done, she had walked out of his life and never looked back. The thing that baffled Martin the most was how easily Sibu had given up on him. It was as if a switch had gone off inside of her. She had stopped talking and had withdrawn into a world he had no access to and even though she had continued attending to him as a wife, her flesh was there but her spirit was not. She had left him long before she had said those three painful words to him; Sign these papers. However, out of everything that had transpired, the question that still haunted Martin was; Why had it been so easy for her to give up on him? Looking at her sitting in front of him, she looked happier than she had been when they were married so how could he really bring himself to ask her such a question? That morning in Kitwe when she found him with another woman in bed had been the tipping point. He had for the first time recognized that things would never be the same between them. “I understand you hate me now,” Martin had started to say when a waitress came to their table to take down their order. She was smiling loudly at them but they were both too absorbed in their own thoughts to take notice. they gave her their orders without looking up at her and off she went, disappointment written all over her pretty face. “I don’t hate you Martin,” Sibu corrected him the moment they were alone again. “You and I…it was a mistake from the beginning.” “A mistake?” Martin couldn’t hide the disappointment he felt upon hearing those words. “Is that really how you feel Sibu?” He asked, his voice slightly rising and then lowering immediately when everyone turned to look at them. He was waiting for her response with bated breath. Sibu sighed and rolled her eyes. “Martin,” she said, sitting up straight and putting her hands together over the table. “We’ve had this conversation so many times before. Why do you keep insisting on going back to the past every time we meet? It’s about time we both moved on with our lives don’t you think?” “Easy for you to say because there’s always been a man hanging around in your life.” He said and won himself what he had come to call the Sibu shot. “I am leaving,” she grabbed her bag from the empty chair next to her and as she stood up she said, “This is why I was dreading meeting you. Somehow our conversations always end up the same way.” Martin quickly stood up and grasped her hand. “Please, I’m sorry Sibu…please…sit down.” He motioned to the chair she had been sitting on. There were a few people in the room looking at them, thus, not wanting to create a scene, Sibu sat back down. “Let’s talk about Jacob, he is the only reason we are meeting today.” She said. Martin wasn’t happy about the direction the conversation had taken but he relented. “Cool, let’s do that. How long are you planning on staying over there?” “So you are you okay with it?” Sibu’s eyes were sparkling with excitement. She had been so worried about him not allowing her to take Jacob with her. “Do I really have a choice Sibu?” He asked. Sibu was surprised by his remark. “It’s not like I can go back in time and change the arrangement we made about Jacob’s custody.” He explained. “Even when I knew it was absolutely stupid, I still went ahead and gave you full custody.” “So are you saying you have changed your mind now?” She asked, growing very concerned. Martin was hesitant at first but then he replied, “I am not saying that I have changed my mind,” he was speaking a little slowly, placing emphasis on his words as he spoke. “I am just saying that just because I made that decision back then does not mean I am happy with it. Jacob is my son too so what father wouldn’t want to have custody of his only son? “I miss that boy every single day and it hurts not being able to see him whenever I want. But I made that decision and I am sticking to it because it’s the only way I felt I could make things up to you and him. You know very well how obsessed my mother is with him. He was her first grandchild and the only Mwewa grandson. To this day she still fights with me over letting you keep him.” “So why don’t you and Veronica try to have another child? Maybe it will be a son this time around…who knows?” She suggested nonchalantly. “You guys have been together for such a very long time…is it seven or eight years now?” Martin felt like a dagger had just been plunged into his chest. He could not tell if she was being sarcastic or serious but he was willing to place his money on the latter. How could she so easily speak about another woman in his life without showing any ounce of jealous whatsoever? Why was he the only one feeling like his heart was reaping apart? “I have told you several times that Veronica and I are not together.” Martin said forcefully. “I know we said we shouldn’t talk about anything else but you brought this one up yourself so I will explain; Veronica and I dated on and off way before you and I even met and I only started seeing her after we started having problems and it was only a couple of times. But that’s all, there was nothing serious going on between us.” Martin could tell she really wasn’t interested in hearing whatever he had to say but she just sat there silently with a completely blank expression on her face. “She and I never married.” he continued explaining nonetheless. “She thinks we are married just because we temporarily live together and she had my child, but we are far from being together or let alone married. Her parents just left her and the baby at my door and demanded I take responsibility.” “I actually wanted to tell you that I changed my mind,” Sibu said when it appeared Martin was done with his monologue. Sibu’s word’s brought an instant smile on his face but it was a short-lived one. “Something came up just yesterday so I decided that instead of two years,” Sibu was saying. “I will just be gone for about a year or less.” That was definitely not what he had been expecting to hear after saying all that to her. He was giving her the are-you-kidding-me-right-now look and she pretended not to notice. “That means you get to see your son sooner than initially expected!” Sibu announced excitedly. Unfortunately, she was the only one excited. “Is that the only thing you are going to say to me after everything I just told you?” Martin asked. Sibu put her hand over her forehead and heaved a long sigh of frustration, deliberately making a whoooooosh sound as she let the air blow out of her mouth. She then proceeded to rub her hand against her eyes, thinking deeply before finally speaking. “Martin,” her voice sounded heavy and tired. She dropped her hand and rested it against the table. “Is there a part of you that thinks that there’s a chance of us getting back together in future?” She asked him. “Of course yes,” he answered enthusiastically. “I know I have no right to expect something like that but I have changed Sibu. I stopped drinking and partying like I used to a year after you left and I take my medication religiously. The only thing keeping me busy is work and I only go out once in a while to hang out with my friends. There hasn’t been any woman in my life since you left, I swear to you. I am not asking you to take me back right now…I am willing to wait, to give you time to think…to heal …but I beg you Sibu, don’t shut me out of your life completely, please.” As Sibu listened and watched Martin speak, she couldn’t help thinking about the days when he had spoken the same sweet words to her and convinced her that the world wasn’t such a crazy place after all. back then she had looked into his eyes and believed every word he had uttered. She had put down her guard and allowed herself to be lost in his promises. For the first time in her life she had allowed the past to be were it belonged and she experienced happiness for the very first time in a very long time. But who would have known that the very heart that had showered her with that kind of love would be the same one that would drown her and then drag her back to the very hell she had been grappling with all those years? And now he wanted her to give him a second chance? How? Picking up on her silence, Martin continued talking. “I know that I was the one who messed up big time. I was going through some things and instead of trusting that you would always be my side and that nothing would change, I got scared. I started acting out. I am not trying to make excuses here… I know very well what I did and how much it hurt you and I am going to pay for that for the rest of my life. But Sibu, you are also not blameless when it comes to how things turned out between us.” “What do you mean by that?” Sibu asked. So he had her attention after all, Martin thought. “Sibu, did you even want to get married to me or someone forced you?” He asked her. “There was a time when we had a huuuge fight and you said something in those lines…and it wasn’t just that one time….” “No one forced me to marry you Martin,” she answered. “I made the decision on my own and we got married right away. Perhaps I said those things out of anger.” “Then why did you give up on me so easily?” He asked. There was guilt written all over Sibu’s face. “You know it too don’t you?” He had read her mind. Sibu was flustered, but only for a moment. “You never gave me any reason why I should keep trying.” She said. “For a whole year I did nothing but nag and beg. I spent long nights crying alone in bed while you enjoyed yourself in hotel rooms but still I kept trying. One day I woke up and completely hated the person I had become. You too, you hated who I had become. I asked myself why I even bothered when the person I was trying to look out for didn’t even care about what happened to him…or what happened to us. Out of everything, I found giving up the easiest thing to do.” “It wasn’t because things had turned out the way you had expected them to?” Martin asked. “I guess so…to some extent. I admit, I had a lot of reservations getting into it and when things started happening like that, I thought… what did you expect Sibu ? It was like a self-fufilling prophesy…like an accident waiting to happen.” “I see,” a visibly hurt Martin responded. Like an accident waiting to happen …he bitterly mulled over her words. “You think I never gave you a reason to keep trying but Sibu…from the beginning, you never gave me a chance. Even after we got married you never trusted me enough to talk to me about whatever was going on in your family. Everytime you received a visit from your aunt, you would stay in a foul mood for a whole week and no matter how much I tried, you wouldn’t open up to me. To you I was always the playboy that would one day disappear from your life. So many times you made me feel like I wasn’t good enough for you…like you were just waiting for the walls to come crumbling down so you could pick yourself up and walk out. And you did exactly that.” Finally, his words seemed to be getting to her. Were those tears making her eyes shimmer in the day light? Sibu quickly lowered her gaze when sensed Martin starring at her. She blinked back the tears and then looked back up again. “I am sorry,” she said, her voice a little husky from the unshed tears. “I didn’t realize you felt like that. I guess I was just so wrapped up in blaming you for everything that was going wrong in our marriage I forgot to look at myself. I didn’t even think you would notice something like that.” Her lips were quivering as she spoke and her hands were shaking slightly. “Hey, hey….” Martin laid his hand on top of hers to comfort her. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said and he moved to occupy the seat next to her where her handbag was resting. He removed the bag and put it on the table and then he sat down and put his arm around her shoulder.” For a moment, it felt like it was just the two of them in the room and they stayed like that for about three minutes while Sibu struggled to regain her composure. Martin’s efforts to comfort her only seemed to be making her situation worse; the tears wouldn’t stop coming. He had removed his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. “Sorry for the intrusion.” It was the waitress carrying a try of their food in her hands. They had been so wrapped in their conversation that they did not realize it had taken that long for their food to arrive. Sibu cleared her throat and slowly sat up. “I will keep this,” she was talking about the hanker in her hands. Martin shrugged his shoulders to tell her he didn’t mind while the waitress placed their food on their table. She was smiling seductively at Martin the whole time she was going about her business but he was too busy watching Sibu to notice. “Can you be any more obvious?” Sibu snapped at the audacious waitress. She couldn’t believe she still had to deal with the same nonsense she had had to deal with every time she went out on a date with Martin. The waitress immediately tightened her expression and threw Sibu a contentious look before walking away. Martin was grinning in his seat. “What are you smiling about? Did you just cum from all that flirting she was throwing at you?” Sibu directed her anger at him in her stead. Martin laughed. “You are being unfair Sibu,” he said. “She was the one looking at me. I never even looked at her. You are the one who saw whatever it is you saw. But,” he started smiling again. “I don’t know why your reaction just made me so happy. You are actually jealous.” He stated happily. Sibu blushed. “No am not!” she protested. “She just caught me at a bad moment and then she was acting like I’m not even here. She almost spilled souce on me.” She pointed to the drop of tomatoe souce on the table just close to the edge.” “I don’t care what you say I still think you acted out of jealous. For a moment I was scared that you would never give me a chance but this moment is just the one!.” He was very excited. Sibu was looking at him and slowly shaking her head. “There you go again acting like the world revolves around you.” And she picked up her folk and started eating her food. Martin was already chewing his food loudly and carelessly in celebration of his victory. Sibusiswe was driving back to her place when she sensed a car following her. It was only 4pm but whoever was behind the wheel of that vehicle appeared intent on following her wherever she went… because even after driving around her neighborhood three times, the car was still behind her every time she looked into her rear view mirror. This was not the first time she had felt like someone was following her. She had had suspicions before but quickly brushed them off thinking she was just being paranoid. Who could be following her like that? It wasn’t as if she was a celebrity or political figure. Granted, her marriage to Martin had put her in the spotlight for a certain period of time but it wasn’t to the stalker kind of extent. And so, she parked her vehicle at the entrace of a random house and waited to see what the driver of the dark blue Jaguar would do. Sibu’s heart raced as the car slowly drove passed her and then disappeared when it turned at the nearest corner. She could not make out the driver’s face. All the windows of the expensively polished vehicle had been tinted.

The person inside the car following sibu could be either Ted or her father just saying ma mind

Martin you really fucked up

Still following ride on

hope ur aunt is not at work again

Her Dad is the one trailing her. Ride on please. Thanks

I Hav dis feelings dat her father is d one on her trail

Hmmm so sibu father is alive, this ur aunt is wicked

still waiting

That should be her dad

Echoes of the Heart – Part 10 “May I help you?” Asked the man that had opened the small pedestrian gate of the house Sibu was parked in front of, obviously mistaking her for a guest. Sibu rolled down her window and said, “Sorry, I think I got the wrong address. The house I am looking for should be a couple of blocks behind…I must have passed…really sorry for the inconvinience.” She then reversed onto the street and drove back in the direction she had come, all the while keeping check for any vehicle that might be following her. Later that evening, Martin came to collect Jacob so he could spend the night at his place before he left with his mother the next morning. Sibu had to fight the urge to talk to him about having been followed because she feared Martin would take that as licence to involve himself in the affairs of her life under the guise of protecting her and his son. Once Martin and Jacob were gone, Sibu called Sibeso to offload. “I don’t even think today was the first time Sibe,” she told her friend. “You remember that day I went to see my aunt, while I was parked by the roadside watching her store, I had seen that same vehicle parked behind me and when I looked, I found some strange guy looking directly at me. I just brushed it aside, didn’t think much of it although the guy did give me the creeps. When I was done with my aunt, I found himhe still parked there except this time he made himself busy reading a newspaper.” “Are you sure it was the same vehicle?” Sibeso said from the other end of the line. “It could have just been some random person parked behind you. Who would be following you around really?” “That’s what I also want to know,” Sibu replied. “I am very sure it was the same blue car. That first time I was able to see the driver’s face through the windscreen but not this time…but I am very positive it is the same car.” “Maybe it’s Maleficent,” Sibeso suggested. “She is the only species I can think of in your life capable of doing such a crazy thing. Maybe she is trying to dig up some dirt on you so you can get her son full custody of Jake.” “I thought about that too…she is the only one that came to mind. Aunt Tafadzwa is too money hungry to hire someone with such an expensive ride just to follow me around. Unless I really managed to piss her off when I declared war against her and this is her sick and twisted way of getting revenge.” “ Ummm, ” Sibeso said. “I doubt its Maxine, that one is the juju voodoo kind of person,” and laughing, she added, “She would rather get a quick fix than waste time following you around, for what?” Sibu let out an airy laugh. “You are right. But this thing is really making me nervous.” “You will be out of town by tomorrow so you wont have to deal with Maleficent’s nonsense for some time…unless the stalker decides to follow you to South Africa…then we will know it’s Martin that hired him to spy on you and Ted.” “Martin is immature but I know for a fact he isn’t capable of such craziness.” “He did hire a PI to look into you before, didn’t he?” Sibeso reminded her. “Isn’t that the same kind of crazy?” “Ah,” Sibu sighed. “I just don’t know what to think any more. It’s not like I am some rich person or the daughter of some rich guy and…Sibeso…” she paused in mid-sentence, her voice dropping to a whisper towards the end. “What is it Sibu?” Sibeso asked, her voice filled with concern. “Did he follow you home? Why have you gone quite? Sibu…should I call the police for you? If you can’t talk just say ‘um’ and I will know. Can you hear me?” “Sibeso,” Sibu said in a very low register. “Could it be my father?” “What?” Sibeso was caught by surprise. Sibu’s father was a forbidden topic between them. Sibu had never initiated talk of her father before. “What if it’s him?” Sibu asked again. “After all these years Sibu, what could he possibly be looking for? It’s not like you have any more kidneys left to give if he’s looking for a donor. Besides, didn’t your aunt say he was some poor bloke who ran away because he couldn’t afford such a huge responsibility as a child? What would a guy like that be doing driving around a Jaguar?” “Maybe he has money, it’s been twenty-eight years since.” Sibu said. Sibeso scoffed. “Yeah right, if he is rich, then I am Jill Gates, Bill’s long lost daughter. Stop killing yourself over who might be following you. If they meant to do you any harm, they would have done so by now. I am sure it’s Maleficent. We all knew that eventually that Botox would launch a war against her brain. She’s finally lost it.” “I hope you are right,” Sibu said unconvincingly. “Of course I am right,” Sibeso replied with conviction. “What time should I come to pick you up for the airport tomorrow?” “Ten,” Sibu replied. “Martin will bring Jacob straight to the airport since he’s spending the night with him.” “What if he decides to hold him hostage so he can keep you from leaving?” Sibeso asked. “He wouldn’t do that Sibe. You really sound like an anti-fan these days,” Sibu said. “Aren’t you the same person that used to get excited every time you heard his name?” “I was a kid then!” Sibeso yelled, obviously embarrassed by the memory. “Blame it on the raging hormones. It was better before I knew him personally. Knocking up that crazy bitch was the last straw for me. I just feel like kicking him in the nuts every time I lay eyes on him so he can never breed again.” Sibu chuckled. “You are nuts my friend. Go and attend to your hubby before he starts wondering about who’s keeping you busy this late. Goodnight, see you tomorrow.” “Goodnight sweetie. I love you, sweet dreams.” Sibu laughed. “You are doing that for the benefit of your husband isn’t it?” Sibeso laughed back. “ Kaili …you know,” she said. “He is busy giving me the eye so I had to thicken the plot for his imagination.” She whispered into the phone. “I give up,” Sibu said laughing. “Goodnight, love you too. I will see you tomorrow.” “Didn’t think I was just gonna drop Jake off and leave did you?” Martin said to Sibu. They were standing outside while Sibeso and Jacob remained inside to wait for the check-in call. Sibu was not surprised by Martin’s behavior. She had expected that much from him. If he would have it his way, he would also move to South Africa for the whole year. “I will be popping in and out of SA to see you guys. There is no way I am going to let a whole year go by without seeing my son.” “I know, you have every right to,” she told him. “For real? You don’t mind?” He had not expected her to agree so easily. “Why would I mind?” she said. “As long as you stay out of my life and just do what you came to do.” That sobered him up immediately. “What?” Sibu said upon seeing his reaction. “You had other ideas in your head didn’t you?” She called him out. “I can try to accept the idea of you seeing other men Sibu…but not Ted, please.” He pleaded. Sibu stifled a scowl. They were back to that topic again. “I already told you that nothing is going on between Ted and I.” “Yet, nothing is going on yet but I know for a fact that Ted loves you. He told me to my face so many times and he had been waiting all these years for me to screw up so he can make a move. You are not going to date him, are you?” He was searching her face. “I am begging you Sibu…not Ted.” “Why do you hate Ted so much?” Sibu asked. “You two used to be so close for so long.” “I hate him because he is a better man than I am,” Martin confessed. “That fact pisses me off real bad. I hate him because I know he can easily take you away from me. If I had played a fair game back then, you would have gone to him and not me. I knew that and so I took you on that trip to Livingstone. He had openly told me how he felt about you the night before we traveled…I couldn’t let him have you.” Sibu didn’t know what to say in response. She already knew that Ted had feelings for her, but only so much as a crush and not anything deep. But listening to Martin, she was for the very first time learning about just how deep his feelings might be. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “Sibu, did you even hear a single word I said?” Martin called her back from her reverie. “Were you thinking about Ted?” “No, of course not,” she lied. Fortunately for her, Sibeso appeared right at that moment. “Time to check in,” she announced. Just then Jacob too appeared, ran towards his father and wrapped his arms around his long legs. Martin scooped him up from the ground and poked his nose playfully. “You will come to visit us daddy, right?” the little boy asked. “But of course!” Martin replied cheerfully, forgetting for a moment about the fears that had been running through his mind. “Quickly say goodbye you two, we have to go back inside now.” Sibu said. Martin put his son down and lowered himself down so they could have a little mano-a-mano while Sibu and Sibeso went back inside to look after their luggage. “You remember what we talked about last night my son?” Martin said. “I do!” the boy replied enthusiastically. Martin motioned for him to take him through it. “1. I have to protect mum from all men,” he started the list. Martin was nodding his head proudly as his son said out the list they had entitled ‘duties of a good son’ the previous night. “2, I have to tell any man that tries to talk to mummy that she is married. 3, I have to give you a weekly update of everything we do, and the last one…I have to take lots and lots of pictures with mum!” he had spread his arms wide to indicate quantity. Martin clapped the minute he was done. “I am so proud of you little man. Your mother’s brain and mine created a genius. Put it here….” he put out his open palm and Jacob did accordingly before they headed back inside. “I will call you when we arrive,” Sibu said to him. “I won’t even get a goodbye hug?” And without waiting for a response, he closed the distance between them and held her tight in an embrace that lasted longer than Sibu would have liked. “You are going to delay them,” Sibeso roared from the sidelines. Martin reluctantly loosed his arms around her and Sibu quickly freed herself. “Take care of yourself Martin,” she said and then moved to Sibeso and hugged her tightly. “Let’s chat everyday my love,” she said to her friend. “I am already missing you.” Sibeso was already tearing up. “If I didn’t know any better,” Martin commented as he watched them still tied in a hug, upset that she had been fighting to release herself from him the whole time while she seemed to be taking her dear time with Sibeso. “If you cry then I’m gonna start crying too and then Jacob will as well,” Sibu said whilst fighting back the tears and forcing a smile so that Jacob does pick up what was really going on. Every time he saw his mother upset, he would mirror her emotions. Sibusiswe proceeded to hold on to her son’s hand with one hand while the other attended to their luggage that consisted of one big suitcase and her handbag. Martin hugged his son for the last time before finally letting them go. “Don’t forget to call me!” He shouted to Sibu before they disappeared from view. “ Tsk tsk tsk ….” it was Sibeso looking Martin up and down with a scowl on her face. “If you loved her that much, why were you such a jerk to her?” She asked him. “I was young and stupid then,” Martin answered and started his walk back to the parking lot. Sibeso ran after him and the two of them walked together. “You really hate me these days don’t you?” He asked her. “Of course I do,” Sibeso replied honestly. Martin glared at her and then laughed. “I see you still haven’t turned those lemons in your mouth into lemonade,” he teased her. “I thought motherhood turned all women soft.” “It actually does the opposite mind you,” she corrected him. Martin thought about what she had just said for a moment. “You might be right,” he finally said. “Sibu has become a thousand times harder to crack ever since she learnt she was pregnant.” “Who can blame her,” Sibeso said. “She caught her husband in bed with another woman the very day she went to share the news of the pregnancy with him. You are lucky she didn’t cut off your balls,” she moved her eyes to the area in question and Martin instinctively used his hands to cover the area. Sibeso laughed. “Relax,” she said blithely. “They are safe…because I am a mother now.” She assured him. Martin laughed and relaxed a bit. They had finally reached the car park. * * * Sibu had planned on using her stay in SA to work and relax as much as possible since she had left all the sources of her problems behind. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case for in Ted, she found a new source of frustration. For the first three weeks or so, Ted had not said anything about his feelings to Sibu. At the office, the two of them interacted as colleagues and at home, they got along well as friends. He took them out on tours of the country whenever they were not working and together with Jacob they experienced all sorts of fun. Jacob had been distant towards Ted for the first couple of weeks but Ted’s friendly personality was hard to ignore after some time. The little boy was forced to finally open up and the two of them became the best of buddies, much to Martin’s chagrin. “He is a really cool guy dad,” Jacob once said to his father when he called. “This is what the adults call betrayal Jake,” Martin admonished his son. “It’s first degree betrayal.” “It’s not like that dad,” the five year old tried to reason with his father. He just takes us out to show us around because there is no one else to show us the city. You understand, right?” “I don’t,” Martin sulked. “Where’s your mother? Give her back the phone, I need to talk to her.” “Are you mad at me dad?” “Yes I am. Let me talk to your mum.” “Okay,” the little guy looked very disappointed as he walked back into the living room from his playroom to give the phone back to his mother. “Where’s mum?” Jacob asked Ted who was sitting alone watching TV. “I think she’s gone to the bathroom,” Ted answered. “Someone wants to talk to her?” “it’s dad,” Jacob replied, holding the phone out. Ted got up and went to collect the phone. “I will talk to him while we wait for mum okay,” he had put his hand on the phone to keep whoever was on the other end from listening. Jacob simply nodded with tears in his eyes and then walked back to his room, his head down like a defeated man. “Why are you torturing a five year old into being your spy?” Ted said the minute he had the phone to his ear. “Can you imagine the kind of pressure you are putting him under? When will you grow up Martin?” “Where’s my wife?” Martin voice blasted through the phone. “Why are you answering her phone?” Ted laughed. “Calm down, she’s slightly indisposed at the moment…but you and I can talk while we wait. I am sure there should be something we can still talk about considering we used to be best friends.” “I have nothing to say to you Ted. Do you think I don’t know what you are plotting?” Martin growled. “Oh, so you know,” Ted said sarcastically. “That makes things a little easier for me then. You are right, I am still in-love with Sibu and in case you’ve forgotten, she’s not your wife anymore, she is your ex-wife.” “Don’t you have any shame man?” Martin asked. “How can you go after my wife when you and I used to be friends? What sort of position will you put Sibu in if at all you succeed in pursuing her….you want her to be the woman that married her ex-husband’s best friend?” “There’s the difference between you and me right there,” Ted was saying. “You care too much about what people think and I don’t. So what if people argue semantics and give unnecessary opinions? Everyone knows that we were both interested in her from the get-go and we both had fair chances of winning her heart except you cheated and gained the upper hand. God, you almost ruined her life! Bottom line is, I have no qualms whatsoever asking her to be my wife because I don’t owe you a thing. You and I are no longer friends and, if at all you considered me a friend, you would have backed off years ago when you saw that she liked me better than she liked you.” “You really have some nerve Ted,” Martin burst out. “She will never be your wife as long as I am alive.” “Good,” Ted retorted. “With your health history and lifestyle, that won’t be such a problem for me.” “hmm hmm,” Sibu deliberately cleared her throat to announce her presence in the room. She had already heard more than enough. Ted quickly turned around and found Sibu awkwardly smiling at him. “Is that Martin?” she asked. “Son of a bitch,” Ted could hear Martin cuss before rudely ending the call. Ted looked shaken. “How long were you standing there?” he asked. “Not long enough,” Sibu lied. “I just came in and heard you talk about health history. From your tone of voice and from the color of that phone you are holding, I figured it could only be Martin.” She was forcing herself to smile in order to hide her tired and weary looking eyes. He removed the purple covered phone from his ear and held it out to her. “I think he’s already cut though….” “It’s fine, as long as he talked to Jake.” She took the phone from him. “I am going to go upstairs to lie down for a bit. We had quite a crazy day today.” “I know,” Ted nervously smiled back at her. He was not convinced she had only heard the last part of the conversation. “You should rest,” he said. “I have some work I need to look at also, so….” “Yeah, let’s chat later then.” And she turned and headed upstairs to her room. Ted knotted his fingers into a fist. That was not how he had wanted her to learn about his feelings. Dame that Martin, he silently cussed as he watched Sibu’s figure disappear up the stairs. Ted confirmed his suspicions the very next day when Sibu’s attitude towards him changed. She had become distant and avoided being anywhere were they would be just the two of them. This went on for over a week until he decided he couldn’t take the pressure any more. He accosted her at lunch time at work and took her somewhere where they could talk in private. They found the perfect spot at the rooftop of their office building. There was a bench there that was strategically placed for anyone sitting there to view the city uninterrupted. They both sat down. “You know what I want us to talk about, right?” Ted said. “I do,” Sibu admitted. “Your behavior since that evening,” Ted was saying. “Should I take it as some sort of response?” “What response?” Sibu asked. “My feelings,” he said. “I know you heard what I told Martin. I am still in-love with you Sibu.” He had turned his body to face her. “I know,” she said, her face still facing forward and her shadowed gaze fixed on the buildings in the distance. “I need to know how you feel about me,” Ted pressed on. “I know a lot has happened over the years but not once did my feelings change. If anything, they have grown stronger. I know there was a time when I thought I had a chance with you but I am not so sure about now. The moment you heard about my feelings, you went mute on me and started acting distant.” “That’s because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings Ted. All these years I only thought of you as a friend…nothing more.” “I know, that’s why I am willing to give you time to start thinking about me as something more than just a friend…like a man who’s interested in you, a man who has feelings for you.” Ted….” she had started to protest but he wouldn’t give her a chance. “I don’t think that evening was the first time you learned about my feelings for you Sibu,” Ted said. “There were so many times in the past when I tried to tell you…I think I told you enough for you to have picked up on what I meant. You just chose to ignore it. I have seen how awkward you got whenever our eyes meet ever since you arrived here. You act nervous or uncomfortable whenever we find ourselves in an intimate situation. You knew all along and I think that the only reason you kept avoiding confronting the truth was because you knew that there is a possibility you might like me too.” “It’s not like that Ted….” “Then what is it about Sibu?” She was silent, her gaze still shadowed by whatever thoughts running through her head. Ted waited, keeping his gaze closely on her. “I don’t know Ted,” Sibu finally spoke. “My life is just a complete mess and I just don’t have the time to think about dating right now.” “I think you are just making excuses,” he told her. “You’ve had enough time to date from the time you came here.” “I don’t think that constitutes dating,” she argued. “Apart from calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, everything we’ve done from the time you came is what lover’s do. If you had time to do all that, then you have time to date Sibu.” He could tell he had cornered her. “I thought I was done dealing with lawyers,” she said. “What do you mean?” Ted obviously missed her point. “I always feel like I am on the stand.” She said. Ted laughed. “Well, I think you can hold your ground quite alright. Is that why you don’t want to date me…because I remind you of your ex-husband?” “No,” Sibu replied a little too quickly. She had taken the bait. “What do you mean No?” Ted asked, his face wrinkling into a smile. “Then you just don’t like me?” “No, I mean….” she was clearly flustered. “You know what I mean Ted. Why are you trying to be difficulty?” He was grinning triumphantly. “Because I want to know what you mean,” he insisted. “I know what you are doing,” she called him out. “Stop treating me like a defendant.” “Sibu, look at me,” he said. She turned only once to look at him and then turned back. Ted placed his hand under her chin and slowly turned her face to look at him. He kept his hand there while he talked. “Look me in my eyes and tell me that you absolutely have no feelings for me. Tell me that you don’t like me and I promise you…I will not mention my feelings to you ever again.” “I am not going to play Tom and Jerry with you,” she tried to get up but Ted placed both his hands on her shoulders and kept her down. “Um um,” he was smiling and shaking his head. “You are not getting out of this one so easily. “What do you want me to say Ted?” she asked. “Nothing between us will change even if I tell you that I like you. Even though you are no longer close with Jacob’s father, you two used to be friends. What sort of woman would that make me if I dated you? I have enough drama in my life to add more to it.” “I don’t think that’s such a big deal Sibu.” He countered. “All our friends know that Martin is the one that went after you despite knowing how I felt about you. If anyone should be shamed, it’s neither you or me, it’s him. If you say yes, and if it bothers you that much, we can continue living here where nobody knows about our past and you wont have to go back to that place. Unless you tell me that you are still in-love with Martin, because I am not buying all these excuses you are giving.” “I am not in-love with Martin and I can promise you that we are never ever getting back together. He thinks he’s still in-love with me but that’s just Martin being Martin. When someone tells him he can’t have something, that’s when he wants it more. Now more than ever, I am convinced that’s the only reason he married me.” “Then if you know that, why do you care so much about his feelings?” “Because he is the father of my child.” “And that will change if you marry me?” he asked sarcastically. She scowled at him. “Sibu,” he took her hands into his. “You like me, don’t you?” he asked. “Look at me…no, don’t look away.” “Yes, I like you Ted,” she finally admitted. “You are a great guy, any woman would be lucky to have you….” “But,” he added for her. “But I don’t plan on ever remarrying. I just want to raise my son in peace.” “Jacob will grow up and set up a family of his own,” Ted said. “What will happen to you then? Grow old and die alone? Do you have any idea how lonely it can get being alone? Ask me, I can testify. I have spent the past seven years waiting for a woman whom I know likes me but doesn’t have the guts to admit it.” “I just admitted it,” Sibu said. “I like you but I just don’t want to remarry.” “Why don’t you want to get married again?” Ted asked. “You said that you have enough drama in your life, could it be something to do with your aunt?” Sibu gaped at him, wondering what and how he knew about her aunt. “I heard about what your aunt did at the office years back when I was in Zambia and then I remembered something you had said during the interview. There was something about what you said that has bothered me all these years. I know you wont say it directly…but you constantly refer to it, unconsciously in conversations. I want to know what that is Sibu…what is controlling your life so much that you would feel you don’t deserve or need anyone’s sympathy?” This was the first time someone was directly confronting her about her past. For years Martin had tried to get her to open up about her past but he had no clue exactly which part of her past affected her so much? However, from just one sentence she had unconsciously uttered seven years ago, Ted had managed to pick up something specific to query her about. “Sibu, I know you heard me,” Ted called out to her. “I need to go back to work now, lunch break is almost over.” Sibu said, completely avoiding eye contact as she quickly turned to leave. Ted ran after her and caught her before she stepped through the door. He held her by the shoulders and had her back pressed against the wall. “What are you doing?” She tried to turn her face away but Ted’s face was so close, only a few inches away from hers and with his arms on either side of her pinning her back, there was no room for escape. Ted kept his gaze on her quivering lips. His thoughts were written all over his face and Sibu could smell his intentions from every part of his body. “I am very different from Martin,” Ted leaned in further and whispered the rest of his words close to her ear. “I won’t let you walk away from me when I can obviously tell that something is up. I am not trying to compare us…I just need you to know that if you are going to try to get rid of me, you will have to develop a few new tricks. Sibu, I don’t care about whatever drama lies in your past or in your life. I don’t care if you had an affair, if you don’t get along well with your family…or if you killed someone…. All I care about is the woman standing right here in front of me, right now.” he deliberately brushed his lips against the edges of her ear, causing her to wince in bridled pleasure. Even though she knew that Ted was just saying things for the sake of it, his words gave her some kind of comfort, hope…for a moment, he gave her hope. It was as if she was meeting him for the very first time. She desperately wanted to believe every word he was saying despite the hard lessons she had learnt from her past. She wanted to look him in the eye and see what lay behind them. Would she the see the truth if she dared? Slowly, very so slowly, Sibu raised her head to look into Ted’s eyes. He was smiling down at her reassuringly. he was begging her to believe him…and she wanted to…if only for a moment. How long had she waited for someone to say those words to her? “You are thinking about kissing me…” Ted teased her, drawing his face closer to hers and brushing his lips against hers. Sibu tried to move her face away but she almost ended up locking her lips against him, again. “I don’t know what you are talking about…” she said with her eyes flickering up and down his face. “Doesn’t this sort of thing constitute sexual harassment Mr Attorney?” She nervously tried to make light of the moment. Ted was grinning. “I’m sure it does,” his masculine voice drawled closer to her skin. “But I am also sure that there’s a law somewhere that would explain the meaning of you constantly wetting your lips like that…I think it’s called the Law of Attraction .” Sibu’s face turned red. She tried to look down, away from his eyes but her eyes landed on his lips instead. Until then, she had had no idea he had such deep brown eyes or that his lips were so thick and smooth. How could she keep her senses about her when looking at him so closely made her feel so dizzy. Before she knew it, his lips were hard on hers. With one hand cupping the back of her head and the other grabbing her waist, Ted tilted her head back and drew her towards him by her waist, sealing whatever distance had been separating them. Although she kept trying to fight him off, Sibu could feel her resolve slowly slipping away as Ted brought her straight into his world through his lips. He had started hard, his lips working fast against hers but when he felt her fight him, he paused and pulled her head slightly back to look into her eyes. Her eyes told him a different story. Sibu couldn’t hide her disappointment when Ted pulled away. When was the last time she had felt a man’s breath hard against her? When was the last time her heart had throbbed like this? For how long had she yearned for the kind of warmth that was radiating from Ted’s embrace? Ted didn’t need any more persuasion. Placing his hand back at the back of her head, deliberately gliding his fingers deep through her mane of hair, he drew her head towards him and laid his lips against hers, his movements slow and deliberate this time. As he slid his tongue slowly through her warm and inviting lips, Ted felt her body quiver underneath him and as if driven by a force unknown, he drunk from her and she from him. She placed her arms over his shoulders and with her hands she held on to his head and locked him in position. A bolt of lightening reaped through Sibu’s body, melting her insides as Ted quenched his yearning thirst from her and she from him. If Ted had not moved his arm from around her waist to drive her further deep against him, she probably would have not known just how much her hunger rivaled his. That realization bolted her right back to reality. Quickly unlocking her arms from around his neck, Sibu stepped back and away from Ted, the sudden realization of her response to him almost freezing her in horror. “I should really get back to work,” she stuttered before running off, leaving Ted dazed and confused. The only thing Ted could think about at that moment was, she kissed me back…she kissed me back! That night, Sibusiswe’s nightmares returned with full force after two long years. and they continued for nights that followed.

Hmmmm, still observing

new episode

Echoes of the Heart – Part 11 Two weeks had past since Ted and Sibu’s passionate kiss. Ted had expected her to avoid him at all cost after that but Sibu surprised him by doing the opposite; she had become friendlier than usual and talked a lot…she talked about everything except what happened that day. Fearing that he might scare her away if he pressured her any further, Ted laid back and patiently waited for her. She still had a lot more months remaining of her stay in the country. Eventually, she was going to have to talk to him about it. He hoped that when that time came, it would be by her initiative and that it would be something worth waiting for. Fortunately for Ted, he didn’t have to wait that long. Ted had stayed up in his study working on one of the biggest cases he had been assigned that year when he heard little Jake calling out his name. He sounded desperate and Ted suspected he was crying too. That night he had been in a very bad mood so his mother had suggested that they sleep together instead of Ted’s room where they usually slept together. Ted quickly ran up the stairs and found Jacob standing outside his bedroom. “What’s wrong little man?” Ted got down on one knee and quizzed the crying boy. “It’s mum,” he said in between sobs. “She is crying in her sleep and she wont wake up…no matter how much I shake her.” Ted was up on his feet and running to Sibu’s room. He found her sweating and turning and tossing in pain in her sleep. “No…no…no…no,” she kept saying, her whole body convulsing in what appeared to Ted to be either pain or fear. “Sibu, Sibu,” Ted kept calling out her name whilst shaking her. She finally jolted up and was wide awake, but still writhing in pain against Ted’s embrace. He tightened his hold around her and kept repeating soothing words to her to calm her down. “Are you okay mum?” Jacob’s little voice asked. It was only then when her son spoke that Sibu realized he was in the room and immediately, she calmed down. She then moved to hold her son in her arms instead. “I am okay my love,” she assured him, stroking his hair as she tried to soothe him. “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just having a bad dream. Don’t be scared, okay? Mummy is very sorry.” “I am sorry I couldn’t protect you from the monster mummy.” Little Jacob told his mother as he returned her hug. “You did my son, of course you did,” Sibu said. “I got completely better the moment I laid eyes on you.” “I did?” he asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Yes you did.” Sibu released him from the embrace and held him away from her before planting a kiss on his forehead. “I love you so much my baby,” she said and then hugged him again. “I love you too mum,” Jacob replied. And holding him slightly away from her she said, “Why don’t you go to Uncle Ted’s room for a little bit while I talk to him about something?” Jacob turned to look at Ted. “You won’t take long, right?” the five year old asked his potential step-father. “No I won’t buddy,” Ted stroked his hair playfully. Both Sibu and Ted watched as Jacob disappeared from the room. Ted got up and went to sit next to her. “What’s going on with you Sibu?” he asked her. “Jake told me you’ve been having these nightmares quite a lot these past two weeks. What scared you this much and keeps you awake?” Rather than look around the room for something to use, Ted took off his vest instead and used it to wipe away the sweat covering her whole face. “You asked me last time why I can’t remarry,” Sibu said, her voice a little slowed and pained from the horrors she had just been fighting. “This,” she was pointing to her wet hair. “This is the reason I don’t have the luxury to date anyone.” Ted looked confused. “What do you mean by that?” “The nightmares always start whenever I do something that makes me really happy. I saw a shrink once and she told me it’s a psychological issue…that I let my fears take over because of the guilt I’ve been holding on to.” “What guilt Sibu?” Ted asked. Sibu had lived with Martin for years but she had never gotten the strength to open up to him. Before, it had been because of his weak health, she had given the excuse that her problems might only add more pressure to him. And then later it was because she feared he would not be able to understand. He was not the type of person to deal with such great emotional issues. He had told her numerous times that he was not a touchy-feely kind of guy so how was he ever going to understand such complex feelings that she too could not understand even though they were happening to her? But with Ted, she did not need to think twice. She was not sure whether it was the look in his eyes or the warmth of his embrace every time he held her in his arms…but with him she felt safe…she wanted to open up to him. For the first time in her life, Sibu felt like relying on someone, and so she confided in Ted. “I was about fourteen years old when I lost my mother.” She started. “My aunt says I killed her…. According to her, I used to be very stubborn and wild. She says I gave my mother a lot of pain. I don’t know if it’s true or not since I can’t remember much from around that period of time. I lost my memory immediately after the accident.” “Accident?” Ted asked. Sibu nodded, “Yes, I was told that my mother was killed in an accident while she was chasing me with some boy I was fooling around with. My aunt says I was so infatuated with that boy who was older than me that on the day my mother died, we were planning on running away together but she caught us…and…and…” she shut her eyes and sighed heavily, tears welling up in her eyes. Ted moved even closer to her and held her hand while she narrated. “We were at the bus stop that day with my boyfriend, desperately trying to get away from my mother who was chasing us. I was the the first one to step foot on the bus but before my boyfriend could get on, my mother had caught him and was pulling him and hitting him, trying to keep him from following me. “In anger, I stormed out of the bus and pushed my mother away from him but there was a car coming from the other direction and it went over my mother, killing her instantly.” It wasn’t the kind of story Ted had been expecting to hear. When she had first mentioned killing her mother, he had thought it was metaphorical…and not so literal. He was petrified. Sibu was watching him the whole time. “You are afraid of me now, aren’t you? Suddenly, I am this strange women you wish you had never met isn’t it?” She was saying the words with a smile on her face but the tears in her eyes told a whole different story. Wasn’t that the same look she had never wanted to see in Martin’s eyes if he ever discovered the truth? Had he known the truth, she would have never had a chance with him. He had liked her because he thought she was different…innocent, he had told her. There was completely nothing innocent about her life. Immediately, she regretted having opened up to Ted. Now she was going to lose the one person she thought she could count on without being judged. With a grim expression on his face, Ted asked, “Did the police ever get involved?” “They did,” Sibu replied. “My aunt said that she convinced them that it was my boyfriend that had pushed my mother. Many times I tried to get her to tell me which jail he is serving in but she says she has no idea where they took him. She warned me never to go searching because it might draw attention to me and that would be a problem for her because she had lied to protect me. But why do you ask?” “Because I don’t buy any of it,” Ted spoke with such conviction it caught Sibu by surprise. That was not the reaction she had been expecting. “You don’t believe it happened like that or you just don’t want to believe that the woman you like killed her own mother so she could run away with her older boyfriend?” Ted was now up on his feet, Sibu could hear his mind thinking and making mental calculations. He was pacing back and forth, his face slightly tilted with his middle finger tapping the center of his forehead like he always did whenever he was working on a very hard case. And suddenly, he moved closer to the bed and knelt down before her, taking her hands into his. “Sibu, don’t you know yourself?” he asked her. “Huh?” Was all Sibu could say in return, wondering where this was going. “When I first met you, I remember thinking how different you were from girls your age. I was greatly impressed by how well grounded and mature you seemed. I was not the only one in that room that day who had been impressed.” “What has that got to do with what I just told you Ted?” Sibu asked, visibly confused by what was going on. Ted was shaking his head slowly, a dampened and irritating look playing on his face. How could Sibu not have seen through something so obvious? He wanted to lash out at her for being so gullible but managed to keep his cool about him. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed hard and heaved heavily; “I do not think you did any of the things your aunt said you did,” he said. She flashed him a puzzled look. He had not expected less. “I am saying that your aunt must have taken advantage of your loss of memory and lied to you about what happened that day,” he explained. “Why would my aunt make up such a big lie? What would she gain from making me believe that… I had killed my own mother?” Even before she had finished the sentence, she grasped exactly what Ted was trying to say to her. “No, it can’t be….” she was trying to convince herself more than she needed to convince him. “She can’t be that cruel,” she was slowly shaking her head in horror. “One time when I was fifteen, she even dragged me to the place where the accident had taken place and dared me to ask anyone working around there about what had transpired. I was so petrified I couldn’t dare ask anyone. I was so afraid of what I might hear. Why would she risk taking me there if she knew those people might tell me the truth if they saw something?” “Because she knew from the very beginning that you would not ask,” Ted said. “You were young and naive and she played you to your fears. Everything you know about that day is according to what she told you. Do you think that if we go to the police right now they would have records of that accident?” Sibu was looking at him wearily, every muscle in her body gripped in terror. “Are you saying that there was no accident?” she asked. “I don’t think that’s something she would have made up. I know she is an evil person, but I don’t think she would go to such extremes to lie to me about how my mother died. This is her sister we are talking about after all. I really want to believe everything you are telling me…but this is just too good to be true…it’s just too easy. “I have lived with this guilt for so many years,” Sibu lamented. “…and not once did I bother to question my aunt because it didn’t seem possible that she could fabricate details of her own sister’s death. You should see her, she really hates me and holds me responsible for what happened. There is no way someone can dislike another person that much based off something they made up…there’s just no way.” “You never questioned anything because you never spoke to anyone about it,” Ted provided. “I never did,” Sibu said in a whispered voice, a faraway expression on her face and with tears falling from her eyes. Why had she never questioned anything? Her thoughts went back to all those times she had had conversations with Aunt Tafadzwa over her mother’s death. Now that she thought about it, her aunt had every reason to lie to her…she just didn’t know why she would feel justified in tormenting her own niece in the most cruel way possible. Seeing her like that broke Ted’s heart. He brought her into his arms and held her there tightly. He wanted to take the pain away from her and shoulder it in her stead. As if a sudden thought had occurred to her, Sibu tilted her body away from Ted’s and looked at him with a tear stained face. “If that’s not how my mother died, how then did she die?” she asked. “That’s what we need to find out. If my suspicions are correct, it means your aunt had something to do with the actual death of your mother and she forced you to take responsibility because she needed to shift the blame from herself. Did you ever find out what sort of people you used to hang out with before the accident?” “There was no one for me to ask,” Sibu answered. “My aunt moved us to a whole new neighborhood immediately after my mother’s death. I have no recollection whatsoever of who used to be my friend.” Ted was wrapped up in deep thought as he mulled over what Sibu had just told him. He got up from the bed and went to stand by the window. He pulled the curtain half way and opened the window so he could feel some fresh air over his face. Sibu remained seated on the bed looking at his back. “What are you thinking about?” She asked him. Ted slowly turned to face her. “I want to know the truth Sibu,” he said. “I wont believe for a second that you are capable of doing what your aunt claims you did.” “What if I had really been that sort of person Ted,” her voice was heavy with worry and fear. “One of the reasons I stopped myself from asking any more questions is because I was scared of finding out the truth…then it would be like experiencing everything all over again. What if I only changed out of guilt for what I had done? Maybe…maybe I subconsciously know what I did and I changed my personality because of regret. I was a teenager…anything is possible.” Ted was busy shaking his head the whole time she was talking. “No way, that’s not possible.” He insisted. “You mentioned seeing a psychiatrist earlier,” Sibu nodded. “I saw one behind Martin’s back.” “Did she ever try to help you regain your memory?” “She wanted to…but I was too scared to try. I wanted the nightmares to go away so I thought she could help me without me having to remember what happened…but it didn’t work.” Ted then moved back to the bed and sat on the edge, one leg crossed over the other. “Your nightmares,” he said. “What do you see in your dreams?” “There’s one main one that comes every now and then,” she explained. “But then every once in a while I have one that’s so confusing. My age changes in these nightmares, sometimes I am young, about five, sometimes ten, and sometimes I am fourteen years old. One minute I am standing alone on this dirty street in the middle of nowhere…it’s like a neighborhood somewhere but it’s so dark I can’t see clearly,” she had her eyes shut as she tried to recall the elements of her dreams. “There are these funny sounds around, they are scary but every time I turn to look I find nothing. I always feel like something huge and heavy is coming to grab on to me and right before it does, a woman appears out of nowhere and holds me by the hand. The scary thing instantly disappears and I am not scared anymore. “I cannot make out the woman’s face. I am looking up and trying to see her face but there is so much light from somewhere out of nowhere that I can’t make out her face. But just as I am starting to feel comfortable and safe, the woman suddenly disappears and I find myself standing in a whole different street. “Unlike the street before, this one is clean but instead of a neighborhood, this one is on a highway. Cars are moving in all directions. Next thing I know one moment, they all suddenly disappear and the day changes into night and I am still standing all alone in that same spot rooted to the ground. I cannot move, literally. There’s a car heading towards me with a full beam on and the driver accelerates the closer he gets…or she gets to me. I can feel the ground below me suddenly start to crack but I cannot move because I am scared….” Sibu is writhing in fear as she talks and there’s sweat on her forehead now. Ted reaches out to her and places his hands on her shoulders. “I am here with you Sibu,” he says to her softly, pressing his hands deeper into her skin so she can feel his presence. “You are safe,” he assures her. “I am right here.” Sibu managed to calm down and she continues, “The ground is about to open wide open and I am trying to reach out for something but there is nothing there. I am crying and praying for someone to help me but no one comes. Just as the car is about to run me over, I wake up.” And she opened her eyes in stark relief, her breathing high and heavy. Ted moved his hands so he can hold hers and then he says to her, “And you always wake up just before the car hits you?” “Yes…when there is no one there to wake me up, I struggle in that same spot for a long time and the car somehow never hits me until I succeed in waking myself up right before it comes.” “What did your shrink say could be the meaning of the dream?” “Fear…she said there is something I must be scared of in my life…or that it might have something to do with what I cannot remember. I never told her about the accident so I figured she must be right. It has something to do with the accident. She couldn’t give me a proper diagnosis because I wouldn’t open up to her about everything.” “What do you think about trying again?” Ted suggested. “Therapy?” Sibu asked. “You want me to remember what happened that day?” There was fear in her eyes. “I don’t know Ted….” “I understand why you might be scared Sibu,” Ted was saying. “But I am here with you now. You are not alone. And I told you before, I don’t care what you think you did in your past. I promise I wont let you get hurt while we try to find out what really happened. I need you to trust me. Can you do that for me…for us Sibu?” he pleaded. Sibu reluctantly nodded. “Thank you,” Ted said, grabbing her into a hug. “I am going to be with you throughout this ordeal. Just trust me and let me take care of everything.” “What are you planning to do” Sibu was suddenly feeling hopeful. “I am going to get a few days off work and travel to Lusaka.” “Shouldn’t we go together?” “I don’t think it’s necessary right now. I just want to confirm with the police first if there’s any record of that accident and then I will go to that bus station and your old neighborhood as well. I am sure there will be one person there who at least remembers something.” “How are you going to manage to do all that alone?” She asked. Ted was smiling at her bemusedly. “Are you that worried about me?” he asked. “Now you are not afraid to show your feelings ey. I have a couple of people I trust that can take care of certain things. Don’t worry about it.” In response, Sibu wrapped her arms around him from behind. That gesture on her part almost brought tears to Ted’s eyes. He patted her hand lightly before resting his head on her arms from the front. They stayed like that for a while. * * * Ted stood back in his perfectly fitting grey Armani suit outside Aunt tafadzwa’s shop while the woman baptized him in a full body scan, her eyes excitedly dancing about in their sockets. “How may I help you young man?” She put on her angelic smile reserved only for such moments. She was making mental calculations of her daughter’s wedding theme. The potential groom looked more than ready to wait for her daughter on the other end of the aisle. “I would like to have a word with you in private ma’am,” Ted said to the under dressed woman. She might have lost weight everywhere else but her stomach still seemed to be having issues against her. Ted had to consciously do everything possible to keep his gaze from looking down at the layers of stretch marks popping out from under her tight blouse. With her hopes still high, Aunt Tafadzwa smiled and said, “let us go in and talk,” she gestured towards the inside of her shop. Ted followed her behind. “Are you here about my daughter Tammy?” She finally blurted out once they were inside, unable to keep the excitement to herself any longer. She had always wanted her daughter to find a good and intelligent looking man like this one instead of those vagabonds she kept hanging out with. “Your daughter?” Ted asked, “I am afraid I do not know your daughter ma’am.” Aunt Tafadzwa’s face expanded. “If you are not here about my daughter, then why are you here?” She quizzed him. “I am here to talk to you about your niece, Sibusiswe,” he informed her nonchalantly. Aunt tafadzwa stood up in a huff. “Sibu is not here,” she hissed. “She traveled to South Africa. You should leave now, I am a very busy woman.” She went to stand by the door to see him off. Unfortunately for her, Ted remained seated, a smirk on his face. “I already know where Sibu is,” he told the angry woman. “As a matter of fact, I left her at my house in Cape Town.” “Then why are you here?” She roared. “I thought it would be polite for me to talk to the only guardian of the woman I intend to marry…I thought we could get to know each other slowly.” Aunt Tafadzwa folded her arms and glared at Ted in disbelief. “You want to marry Sibu? Are you kidding me? Why would a fine young man like you want to get married to a divorcee with a child?” “Is there a law somewhere against that?” Ted asked. “I thought she was your niece, shouldn’t you be a little more supportive?” “I see what’s going on here?” Aunt Tafadzwa was saying. “So she told you a few lies about me that’s why you came her with such an attitude isn’t it? If you have nothing better to talk to me about, I suggest you leave right now.” “Something better?” Ted pretended to be mulling over her words. “How about we talk about the supposed accident that killed Sibu’s mother? Does that sound like a better topic?” Aunt Tafadzwa was a ball of fear. She was stiff from fear. “Why would you want to talk about something like that?” Her voice was shaking terribly. Ted got up and buried his hands in his pocket, a bemused smile on his face. “I just told you, I am her fiance. I intend to know every little thing about my future wife, especially the things that keep her awake at night.” “If you don’t leave….” “Why are you suddenly getting all worked up?” Ted said as he watched the woman break into a sweat. “Sibu told me everything about what you told her…about how her mother died.” Aunt Tafadzwa froze. “She told you? Sibu told you?” She didn’t believe him. “There is no way Sibu could have talked to you about something like that.” “Oh my, but she did,” Ted said with a grin on his face. “She told me about the boyfriend she was with while she supposedly pushed her mother to her death. She told me about how you dragged her to the place of the accident and how you kept her from talking to anyone about it.” Aunt Tafadzwa could feel the walls around her crumbling. She was shaking from her very roots. “I think you should sit down,” Ted advised, using his leg to point towards the chair she had been sitting on. “I need you to leave,” she said for the umpteenth time. “I am not feeling so well.” She was holding her hand to her forehead. “I always get like this whenever talk of my sister is brought up. Why cant you let the poor soul rest in peace?” Ted wanted to laugh out loud at her audacity and her little performance but instead he said, “I am not leaving this place until I tell you what I came here for. For years Sibu has killed herself over the guilt of what you made her believe was the truth.” “I did not make her believe anything, I told her the truth!” she yelled. “She is just an ungrateful selfish wench out to make me seem like a bad person just because I made her pay for what she did to my sister.” “And what exactly did she do?” Ted asked. “Give up this act because I already know the truth. I came all the way here to find out the truth and I did. There is nothing you can say that will ever convince anyone that Sibu had anything to do with her mother’s death.” “I don’t know what you are talking about,” was what Aut Tafadzwa said with her mouth but her body was shaking so badly she had to seat down. Ted was looking down at her with a frown on his face. “You should be ashamed of yourself for using your fourteen year old niece like that,” he rebuked her. “Don’t you have no soul? How can you be so wicked towards your own sister’s daughter? You killed your sister due to your own selfishness and pinned the death on her only daughter. Are you even human?” “I never meant to kill her!” Aunt Tafadzwa yelled. “It was that brat…I wanted to get rid of that brat but Miriam was so foolish she jumped in and sacrificed herself.” She cried. “My sister was beautiful and smart. A lot of men wanted to marry her but she kept turning them down because of that stupid girl. I just wanted her to get married to a rich man so that the family can get out of poverty. “I was a single mother with two children that were starving and yet my own sister could not sacrifice herself to marry a man willing to take care of all of us because she needed to set a good example for her precious daughter. The man was not even that old, a twenty-seven years age different isn’t such a big deal when a man has so much money as Mr Ngulube did. I had to do something about it! It was the only way for us all to survive.” Ted couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After all these years, there was no sign of remorse from Sibu’s aunt. He was baffled. “And you thought pushing her daughter in front of a car was the right thing to do to force her to marry some rich old man just so you and your children can live in comfort? Don’t you see anything wrong with that kind of reasoning?” Aunt Tafadzwa was growling under her breath. “I knew what I was doing was wrong but what could a mother do? I had to look out for my own children’s interests. That bastard child of hers wasn’t even supposed to be born. I tried so many times to get Miriam to abort but she just wouldn’t listen. At least my children were born in marriage even though their father turned out to be a useless man. That father of Sibu was a nobody back then. He is busy prancing around like a rich man these days after ruining my sister’s life. He will die not knowing he had a daughter. That’s what he deserves for ruining my sisters life.” “Sibu’s father is alive?” Ted asked in disbelief. Aunt Tafadzwa froze when she realized her blunder. She had been so wrapped up in her hate that she let that information slip. “No…you heard wrong, that’s not what I said.” She stammered. “Since we don’t know where he is, I was just talking hypothetically.” “Sibu thinks that her father is dead!” Ted shouted. “That’s what she tells people because she doesn’t want to admit that he didn’t want her. She knows very well that he is alive somewhere.” “You just said that he will die not knowing he had a daughter because that’s what he deserves for ruining your sister’s life…yes, I remember everything,” Ted said upon seeing the shocked expression on her face. “It’s a weakness of mine…others think its a gift but I tend to remember everything I hear and see. You made Sibu believe that her father had rejected her when he has no idea she even exists?” “It was the only way to keep her from searching for him. She had to keep working to feed my family. It was her fault after all that the sister who was supposed to be taking care of me died trying to save her. Well, she saved her and so she had to take my sister’s place. I had to make her useful. I couldn’t afford to have her running around the country searching for a useless man.” “And when you discovered he was doing fine now, why didn’t you tell Sibu or him? I don’t doubt Sibu could have left you to suffer while she lived in luxury with her father?” The woman scoffed. “That might might have risen from the flames but he is not all that. Martin’s family had way more money than anyone else.” “So you forced her to get married to Martin for money?” That was a revelation Ted had not been expecting to hear. Aunt Tafadzwa had a triumphant smirk on her face. “Umhu,” she said. “You thought your future wife was some innocent woman being abused, right? But she married Martin out of greed, I never forced her. In exchange for a few certain monetary benefits, she agreed to Marry Martin and when she was done with him, she dumped him like a hot potato.” “You are sick,” Ted was looking her disgustingly. “You are kidding yourself if you think I am going to believe the crap coming out of your mouth.” “Ask her yourself. Since she tells you everything, I don’t doubt she will tell you the truth.” “I didn’t come here to listen to you badmouth my woman,” Ted snapped. “Before I tell you why I came here, I need you to tell me where to find Sibu’s father.” “And why would I do such a foolish thing? How am I possibly to benefit from giving away such vital information?” “Because at some point in that twisted mind of your, you are going to have to face the fact that you are an evil person that needs to repent. Sibu did not ask to be born. She was just a kid that was unfortunate enough to have you as an aunt. Just because your children were not born out of wedlock does not make them better than those that weren’t. What gives you the right to decide something like that?” “I am not guilty of anything because I did everything in my power to ensure that my children were well taken care of. that’s what a mother does.” “You bring shame to every woman out there who’s a mother. You took that same right from your own sister when you decided it was okay to throw her only daughter in front of a moving car. You should pray that nothing like that ever happens to your own children. Whether you don’t tell me or not, I will find out where Sibu’s father is and I will let him decide what happens to you.” “Are you going to tell Sibu about what we talked about?” She called out to him from behind. Ted stopped and with his back still to her he said, “Of course I will. She deserves to know the truth. It’s been a long time coming.” Aunt Tafadzwa’s face was riddled with fear for the first time that day. She might have managed to manipulate her niece all those years but it was only because she had allowed her out of guilty, but now that the truth was out in the open, she shuddered at the thought of what she might do to her and her children to exert her revenge. Sibu was the kind of person to do exactly that. When Ted returned to Cape Town, he sat Sibu down and told her everything he had discovered back home. He had never before seen a woman break down in tears and cry as much as Sibu did that day. To watch the woman he had come to consider as one of the strongest women break down and crumble right in front of him, Ted failed to hold back his own tears. He would have paid any price to transfer her pain to himself. That’s how much he loved her. While Jacob was sleeping alone in Ted’s room, Ted held Sibu in his arms until she finally cried herself to sleep. Not wanting to leave her side, he stayed with her all through the night until Jacob came to join them in the early hours of the morning. Ted motioned for him to stay quite, moved to the side and called the little man to sleep between him and his mother. “Is mum not feeling well?” Jacob whispered in Ted’s ear. “Yes, but she will feel better when she wakes up in the morning so don’t disturb her. Let’s all sleep quietly. “Are you going to sleep here with us?” Jacob asked. “You don’t want me to?” he asked the five year old. “I want you to sleep here,” Jacob whispered back. “You are the only one who can chase away the monsters when they attack mum in her sleep. I don’t want you to go.” Ted smiled and ruffled his hand through Jake’s hair. “That’s my boy,” he said. Six months later, little Jacob was to open the door to his father while his mother and Ted were cuddled up on the sofa watching TV. “Mum, dad is here!” Jacob announced excitedly to the room. At first Martin could not see anyone is sight since the two of them were hidden by the back of the huge sofa they were sleeping on until they both looked up when the announcement was made. “What the hell?” Martin said upon seeing the two of them appearing cozy from behind the sofa. “Are the two of you….” his face was turning green from furry but before he could burst out, Sibu got up from the sofa and ran towards her son who was laboring with the bundles of toys his father had brought for him. “How about we move these to your play room my love so you can play with them while your father and I talk?” She picked up most of them and carried them to the playroom with an excited Jacob closely following her behind, oblivious to the storm brewing between the two men engaged in a face off behind them. “I see you haven’t forgotten where my house is,” Ted greeted his old friend. “It would have been nice if you had called first instead of popping up unannounced. You could have saved yourself a lot of embarrassment.” Martin walked over to where Ted was now standing. “What did you do to convince a level-headed woman like Sibu to do something this crazy?” “I would think that I was old enough to make my own decisions,” Sibu said when she joined them. “Aren’t you going to sit down?” She nonchalantly asked Martin as she sat down herself. Martin sat down without incident, choosing to sit as far away from Ted as possible. “Are the two of you cuddling and making out in front of my son?” Martin asked. “Jacob is old enough to understand what’s going on so don’t drag him into this,” Sibu said. “I shouldn’t drag him when the two of you are busy doing God knows what right in front of him? I thought you were smarter than that Sibu.” He snapped. “Spare me the insults Martin. I did not do anything morally questionable in front of my son. Why don’t you just tell us what’s really making you upset instead of using Jacob so shamelessly.” “I asked you Sibu…I begged you not to….” Martin lamented. Sibu could tell he was really hurting from the discovery. She never wanted him to find out in such a manner. She had planned on telling him everything once they returned home. How was she to know he would just pop up at the door unannounced like that? “I am sorry Martin,” Sibu said. “Why should you apologize to him Sibu?” Ted shouted from where he was seated. “You don’t need to explain anything to your ex-husband about who you are dating when he has already set up home with some skunk from God knows where.” “Hey you better watch your language man,” Martin warned from his other end. “Veronica might be a lot of things but she is still the mother of my second child.” “Set your priorities straight man,” Ted said and got up to head upstairs. “Where do you think you are running to?” Martin had run after him and pulled him back by the collar. “What do you want me to do?” Martin asked Ted who was now facing him. “Tell me what you want from me so that you can leave my wife alone Ted.” He said in a pleading tone. “I know things between us haven’t been good in a very long time but you and I used to be friends man. How could you do this to me?” “I did not do anything to you Martin,” Ted countered. “When will you get it through your head that Sibu is not your wife anymore and that you are never getting back together?” Sibu remained seated in spot while the two men exchanged words. She had her head hanging between her legs and kept rocking her body back and forth as if to shut out their voices. “You might think that you’ve won now just because she’s living under your roof but I can promise you that I will get her back no matter what it takes.” Sibu could not take it anymore. She got up and quietly walked out of the house, the two men oblivious to the fact that she was no longer in the room. “Do you even love Sibu or you just want her back just to fulfill some idea in your head because you failed to make her stay the first time around?” Martin landed a punch across Ted’s face. Instead of retaliating, Ted had this smirk on his face. “If there was no child in the house, I would have taken you out right now but I have an example to set for my son.” “Your son?” Martin was burning in rage. “How about having your own children instead of claiming another mans. Or is that too hard for you to do Ted? Is that why you’ve remained a bachelor all these years?” “Don’t flatter yourself Martin,” Ted fired back. “I can easily make arrangements to make a baby right now because there is a woman in this room that wants me. That’s more than can be said for you?” Ted was looking to where Sibu had been seated but his eyes widened in surprise when he couldn’t find her. “Where did she go?” Ted said, mostly to himself than to Martin. “How should I know,” Martin muttered. “Isn’t this supposed to be your house?” His eyes searched around the place. “If you are going to behave like this every time you come here, I hope today will be the last time you will show up at my house,” Ted said sternly. “You really think you are all that don’t you?” Martin glared at his former best friend. “I was once married to that woman before and I can make it happen again. We have a child together for that matter. Even you should know that there are just certain bonds that cannot be broken.” Ted scoffed at him. “If that bond was that strong, the two of you should have never divorced in the first place…and she certainly wouldn’t have told me that I am the only man to have ever made her feel safe and happy.” That seemed to soak Martin up wet. “Sibu told you that?” He regretted the question the moment it came out. “Did you even know the woman you had married? You had a woman like that right next to you yet you never even noticed the scars on her heart. And you keep calling yourself her husband…I would be ashamed if I were you.” And with that, he stormed off to his room. “You can play in Jacob’s room for as long as you like,” Ted shouted as he took the stairs to his room. Martin could not get himself to move. He remained where Ted had left him and drifted off in his thoughts as Ted’s words echoed from every corner of his mind. You had a woman like that right next to you yet you never even noticed the scars on her heart. And yet you keep calling yourself her husband…I would be ashamed if I were you. What did he mean by that? Martin wondered.

Hum clash of the Titans on the way

haa aunty u wicked o

What's up with that night mare sef?

What's up with the night mare now

hmmmmm,,,, this Ted is really a patient guy oooooo,,,, Infact his name suppose to be patience

This woman is wicked for sure, mmm

He was competing with martin who was celebrating before now...before now he was the one like the defeated

Martin was the weaker lover who rushed everything...without even taking some time to personally/generally learn about love

Who does that? Huh...maybe is huh that does that...martin was in haste to found love when he couldn't love himself

Ted took this opportunity of his not being faithful to his wife...looking 4 the way her heart to let her know about his love

Sibu is among those natural lovers that has got love in their heart...always ready to love everyone...she saved someone

Sibu saved martin when he has chosen the worst about his health...she gave him something special that gave life to him

Sibu has got sibe as the real friend like sister...sibu has got jake the intelligent son...sibu has got ted the strong lover...tafadzwa is a stupid nonsense

Echoes of the Heart – Part 12 THE CONCLUSION The morning before he was to travel back home, Martin asked to meet Sibusiswe at a restaurant close to Ted’s place. “Why didn’t you tell me that you and him were now seeing each other?” Was the first question Martin fired at her before she could even sit down. For a man that usually carried himself like an Emperor of the Universe, Martin was looking a little worse for wear that day. His eyes were sunken deep and had huge circles around them like a man deprived of sleep for too long a time. There had only been one time when Martin had looked like that and that was the day after his surgery. Something inside Sibu broke. She wanted to reach out across the table and hold his hand but she also knew that doing so would only complicate things further. And so she sat back and opened her ears to listen. “Why did it have to be Ted Sibu? Of all men in the world…why him? Was I really that bad to you that you would do me like this?” Martin was on the verge of crying but he kept fighting away the urge. The last thing he needed was to appear like a weakling in front of the woman who already thought the worst about him. “Martin,” Sibu slowly started. “My relationship with Ted has nothing to do with you.” Martin knotted his hand into a fist upon hearing her words… My relationship with Ted. All along he had prayed and hoped that despite everything he had heard and seen…that perhaps it had simply been a bad dream…that nothing was really going on between them and just like she had done in the past, Sibu would tell him that nothing will ever happen between her and Ted. But the ease with which she delivered the confirmation threatened to tear his insides to pieces. He was suddenly awakened to the reality of just how much power lay in words because in just those few words, Sibu had managed to break his heart and shutter whatever little hope he had desperately clung onto ever since their divorce. Somehow, Martin had convinced himself that if he truly changed for the better and became the kind of man that would be good enough for Sibu, he thought that without a doubt she would take him back. For the first time in his life he had made a commitment to become a better man and he had stuck to it. He might not have been perfect, but he had done his very best to make up for all those times he had made an already lonely woman even lonelier. He had worked on his weaknesses and did eventually become a good man so why did things turn out this way? Why could Sibu not give him a second chance? “All those times I hurt you,” Martin’s voice was shaking and his lips were quivering. He took a deep breath, raised his hand to cover his mouth but immediately realized it too was shaking and so he quickly lowered it and hid both hands under the table. Sibu’s eyes too became watery. “I apologized,” Martin continued, forcing his voice to sound firm but despite his effort, he could not hide the huskiness. “I have spent the past years doing everything I can to make up for having been a bad husband to you. I changed for you Sibu…so why…I don’t understand….” “That’s the problem Martin,” Sibu interjected him. “You changed for me, not for yourself and certainly not because you felt you needed to change. There was never a time I asked you to change. All those times we fought over your wild behavior, it was only because I cared about your health, not about me. It was for your own good.” Something she had said lit Martin up into full attention. “Was there even a single time you genuinely cared about me Sibu?” He asked her. “What is that supposed to mean? After everything you and I went through, can you honestly ask me such a question?” “I said genuinely….” Martin explained himself. “Yes, on the surface it appeared as though you cared but I can count the number of times I felt real genuine care from you. It was during those first few months after our marriage and then you completely gave up on me.” “Martin,” Sibu had started. “Let me talk Sibu,” Martin sat up straight in his chair. “All these years I solely accepted responsibility for how things ended between us but you know what Sibu, you are not innocent in all this. It’s like from the moment you agreed to marry me, you had already set a deadline in your head. “You entered into marriage with such a mindset and you sat and patiently waited for the walls to come crumbling down. And when they finally did, you did not hesitate to raise your white flag. You had already given up on me even before I had started to fail so I never stood a chance with you. I know that you are stronger than the average woman out there but I have never seen a woman embrace pain as well as you did Sibu.” Sibu looked upset, not because he was throwing accusations at her but because there was truth in what he was saying. She had indeed given up on him even before he had started failing their marriage. But how was she to explain to him that she had a lot going on in her life at that time? “What, you don’t have anything to say now?” Martin asked sarcastically. “I don’t get you Sibu, I guess I never will. I tried so many times to get you to open up to me but you never gave me a chance. I am intelligent enough to know that a woman does not turn out to be like you just from genes. I was attracted to you because I knew you were different…but whenever I tried to discover just what made you different, you would shut me out completely.” Sibu slowly raised her eyes to look at him. “Even if I had opened up to you, do you think you would have understood?” “How about giving me the chance to fail first instead of failing me before giving me the test?” Martin returned. “That was always the problem with you Sibu; you made assumptions about me in your head and you convinced yourself that there was no redemption for me. I trusted you with my life but you on the other hand were more than ready to turn your back on me the moment a chance presented itself to you.” “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Sibu picked up her hand bag from the floor and was about to get up but Martin gripped her hand and looking up at her he sternly whispered, “If you want to see just how mad a man on the verge of collapse can get, I dare you to walk away from me Sibu.” Sibu looked around and noticed they had become the center of attention in the sparsely populated restaurant. “Let go of me Martin, you are hurting me,” she muttered. “Say you will remain seated until we are done talking that’s when I will let go,” he negotiated. Sibu put her bag back down and Martin released her hand immediately. “You still haven’t changed,” he commented once she was settled down again. “Always walking away whenever you are forced to confront your weaknesses. I was the fool for always letting you have your way back then. I thought I was being supportive by not pushing you harder to confide in me. Ted was right, how can I call myself your husband when I hardly even know you? In just these few months you’ve been together, you managed to open up to him more than you ever did all those years we were together.” “What did Ted tell you exactly?” Sibu asked. “Are you really worried about me finding out your secrets?” Martin looked even more broken. The disappointment in his eyes ran deeper than the human eye could see. “I am just dying to know, why was it so easy for Ted? What is it about Ted that made you put down your guard and bare out your soul to him?” Sibu could not come up with a response. She had lowered her gaze and kept her focus on the glass of juice in front of her. “As someone that was married to you…someone you never gave a chance to at least help heal whatever scars you’ve been carrying all these years, I deserve to know why I never stood a chance.” He implored her. Instead of answering him, Sibu started crying. The guilt had finally gotten to her. “Is it that bad?” Martin asked upon seeing the tears streaming down her face. “Did you really think so little of me that the thought of revealing it to me makes you cry?” “It’s not like that Martin,” she tried to wipe away the tears with the back of her hands. “Here,” Martin had taken a hanker from his pocket and laid it on the table in front of her. “I am sorry Martin,” she cried some more, trying hard to keep her voice down so as not to attract attention. She grabbed the hanker and quickly wiped away the tears. “Sibu,” Martin tentatively reached his hands across the table but she kept hers to herself, shaking her head slowly . “I remember,” Sibu was saying. “That time we met at that restaurant in town in Lusaka…you mentioned something about this as well but I just didn’t want to think about it. It was so easy for me to place all the blame on you…on everyone else except myself. I always thought I had a reason for doing things the way I did but not once did I try to explain my reasons to you…or to anyone else.” She lamented. “You are right,” Sibu continued. “If I had opened up instead of keeping things to myself…if I had given you a chance instead of waiting for you to disappoint me…maybe things would have turned out differently between us. I was so wrapped up in my own world I did not realize that my actions were hurting you in the process.” “Sibu,” Martin called out her name. Sibu stopped talking and looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. “What was going on in your life that was so bad you felt I would not understand if you opened up to me?” Finally, here was a chance to tell him what he had deserved to know all those years ago. Sibu finally opened up to her ex-husband and told him everything. Suffice to say, Martin was left befuddled by the information Sibu had poured out to him. “My gosh Sibu,” Martin said once Sibu was done with the story. “You really have a way of making a man feel like the worst bastard to have ever lived. What sort of man had I been to you to make you believe that I would have not understood if you had opened up to me and told me all of this a long time ago?” “I am sorry Martin,” Sibu replied, the sincerity in her eyes tore deeper into Martin’s heart. “It was just my fears and insecurities,” she explained. “You have to understand, at that time I didn’t know as much as I know now.” “And yet you still managed to confide in Ted and had him help you dig out the truth? I too wish I had been given the same chance.” Every part of Sibu was soaked in guilt. “I know,” she openly admitted. “I know that now. I wish I had a better excuse Martin….” “Me too Sibu, me too.” Martin echoed her. “I am very sorry Martin,” Sibu repeated. “I wish I had a better reason to give…but things just happened like that. I don’t know why it was so easy for me to open up to Ted…all I know is that at that time, I couldn’t make sense of why someone like you would be interested in me? Even though it was obvious your feelings were real, I just couldn’t let go of my fears. I kept expecting things to fail I guess that was why I gave up so easily. I was so scared that you might find out what I thought was the truth about me and then leave. “When you live with a secret like that, you always have to be on your toes…always cautious just in case you get discovered. I didn’t have enough confidence that you would understand. I mean, how could you? I too thought I was guilty of what my aunt told me. I still haven’t recovered my memories from that time and if not for that neighbor whom Ted spoke to that used to be close to my mother and aunt, it would still just be my word against my aunt’s. I am truly sorry Martin…now I know…” “I wish I could say it’s alright but it isn’t.” Martin replied. “It really is not okay Sibu. Unfortunately, it is a little too late for me right now. It just breaks my heart to know that all that was going on in your life and I had no idea.” “I am sorry Martin,” Sibu repeated. “Then again, I guess you could say I never created an environment for you where you could feel free to talk to me about such things.” “No Martin,” Sibu moved to sit next to him and proceeded to take his hand into her. “This is all my fault. Now I know. I was young and dumb and so insecure back then. I didn’t trust myself enough so how could I trust someone else?” Martin then fully turned to face her. “What if we could make things right Sibu?” he asked. “Now that we know where we both went wrong, don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to at least work things out?” “Martin,” Sibu started to protest but Martin could see her message in her eyes before she could even finish. “Please hear me out,” he pleaded. “I really love you Sibu and I know now that there was a time you loved me enough to worry about losing me. There is no way I am going to let you go now after everything I have heard today. I can only imagine where we would be today if only you had opened up to me and allowed yourself to love me without all those inhibitions.” “There is no way for us to know how you would have reacted if I told you that I wasn’t the person you thought I was.” Sibu argued. The disappointment was back in Martin’s eyes. “I see,” he stated painfully. “Even now, you still have so little faith in me.” “That’s not what I meant Martin and you know it.” “What do I even know Sibu, what?” he growled. “No matter what I do or say it will never be as good as Ted. Am I lying?” Sibu sighed heavily. “Whatever you think about me Sibu, I don’t care and I don’t even want to know.” Martin said sternly, slightly leaning forward to deliver the message close to her face. “I have spent the past three years trying to make amends for what I did,” Martin was saying. “Now it’s your turn Sibu. You owe it to yourself, to me and to our son. If you think that I am going to leave you and Ted be, then I suggest to give up right now because I am not going anywhere. “I will do everything in my power to resurrect those feelings you had for me at one point in your life.” And whilst tapping on the table with his car keys he added, “I will try even if it keeps me. I promise you.” He then opened up his wallet, took out a couple of bills and threw them on the table before walking out. With a heavy heart reflected through her eyes, Sibu watched Martin’s determined back disapear from the restaurant. When she left him, she had promised Ted that she would cleanly end things between her and Martin, how was she going to explain just how complicated things had gotten? She rested her face into the palm of her hand and sighed heavily. *** Everything around her had come to a standstill and only Veronica’s high pitched voice echoed though the four walls of the now empty restaurant. “If your mission was to come here and insult me, you could have at least gotten your wardrobe choice right.” The woman’s bloody lips taking up half of her face and the long fake lashes threatening to drown the rest of it made it even harder for Sibusiswe to look at her. Was that the kind of beauty they kept talking about these days? Sibu thought. “All those pearls and fancy clothes make you look pathetic and ridiculous.” Veronica continued her attack. Sibusiswe could only shake her heard as she took in the insults. There was something about Veronica’s face that made her look as if she had been born naturally drunk and upset. She could literally feel her IQ figures drop in numbers just from listening to the woman run her mouth. “I find it hard to get offended when classy looking people attack me,” the ghetto born diva continued her attack on Sibusiswe. “I didn’t ask to meet you so I could attack you,” Sibusiswe said, still maintaining her poise – much to Veronica’s chagrin. “There you go again,” Veronica was close to snapping now, her long reptile-like nails digging into the beautiful expensive furniture of the high class restaurant. She hated everything about the restaurant her nemesis had picked just to reel her in. “That tone of voice,” her venom-like tongue hissed, “how the hell am I supposed to feel offended when you sound so melodic and corny?” Sibusiswe couldn’t help laughing. “You seem to be under the impression that I came here for an attack,” she said. “I don’t think I have ever given you any reason to feel like that. If anything, I have been more than civil during all our interactions. You on the other hand have done nothing but antagonize me every step of the way. If anyone was looking at us, they would think I was the other woman.” Veronica rolled her big round eyes, forcing Sibusiswe to move her drink away lest one of her gigantic eye lashes decided to take a dive in there in protest. It can’t be easy for the pair to try to make a woman like Veronica look beautiful, Sibu laughed silently. Those poor lashes… she sympathized. Perhaps she would have felt a little less offended if her husband had left her for a better woman. She didn’t even have to be good looking. She just had to be easy on the eye and clean. Just how many layers of make-up did the eye have to beat to get to the woman’s actual skin? The make-up was literally wearing her, not the other way round. “I can hear you thinking awful things about me,” Veronica put her arms across her chest defensively. “It must hurt your pride knowing your husband left you for a woman like me, er?” Sibusiswe smiled wryly. “As a matter of fact it does, I won’t lie.” Veronica looked confused, not sure whether to get offended or not. Why did her already tiny IQ shrink every time she was faced with this woman? “Having said that,” Sibusiswe continued, “I don’t regret the divorce. I only feel bad for….” Veronica raised her hand to shut her nemesis up. “I am really not a fan of yours Sibu and I would pay any amount of money just to get you to shut up so I can leave. The only reason I agreed to this meeting is because you and I need to come to a conclusion about Jacob. I am not comfortable with this arrangement of my husband constantly having to meet you whenever he is picking up or dropping off Jacob.” “When are you going to get over your insecurities Veronica?” Sibu asked. “Martin and I have been divorced for over four years now. Apart from Jacob, I have no other business whatsoever with him. Unlike some women, I don’t find married men attractive. They reek of another woman whenever I am talking to them.” “You might think that but Martin is a very kind man,” Veronica was saying. “He might still have lingering feelings…you are the mother of his child after all.” “You’ve been with Jacob’s father for eight years now, four of which were during the time he was still married to me…and you are telling me you still don’t know him that well?” Sibu asked. Veronica shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “What do you mean?” She flapped her lashes at her rival. “Martin is not a kind man. You can call him anything else…but kind isn’t one of them.” Sibisiswe replied. “Anyway, I didn’t ask to have this meeting with you so we could talk about your husband.” She deliberately stressed the words. “I want us to talk about something you might actually find pleasing.” “And what is that?” “From now on wards, I would like it if you were the one responsible for Jacobs welfare…and by that I mean bringing him back to my place after his visits to you. I do not wish to have any more contact with Martin.” Veronica took a moment to mull over what she had just heard. Again, she wasn’t sure whether to be happy or concerned about such a development. Isn’t that what she had always hoped for? She had been on Martin’s neck the past years trying to get him to let her take charge of that situation but he never relented. What was really going on here? Something didn’t seem right. If you even knew half of it, you would be using your fake lashes to hang yourself woman, Sibusiswe thought as she watched Veronica silently battle her demons. “Is this what they call in the movies psychology reverse?” Veronica asked. Sibusiswe had to hold her hand to her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud. “It’s actually….forget it,” she gave up teaching the vixen. It wasn’t her job anyway. “I am being sincere with you Veronica,” Sibu said. “Martin might still have a soft spot for you but he would never leave me for you. I am not the kind of woman to get her husband stolen by another woman. I always protect what’s mine.” Sibusiswe scoffed once again. “You know what’s funny,” she said in a very calm yet menacing tone. “That Martin will not be coming back to me by my own doing. With your own tongue, you will beg him to get back with me.” “Keep on dreaming,” Veronica hissed. “Over my dead body, you get it? Over my dead body.” And then she got up to leave. “If you say so,” Sibusiswe replied nonchalantly, looking out the window towards the blue Jaguar still parked in the same spot. Was this war ever going to end? She thought as she got up from her chair. Or should she put an end to it right there and then? This would not be the first time she would be getting blood on her hands. Only this time, she would make it worth her while. She picked up her handbag and headed straight to the blue car. Sibusiswe was so wrapped up in her determination to confront the person that had been following her ever since she returned from South Africa that she did not see Veronica’s car approach from the other side at high speed. She first head the sound of the engine before turning her head and when she finally did, she saw the naked thirst and determination on Veronica’s face as she dug her heels further onto the accelerator with just a few inches separating Sibu and the car. Sibusiswe froze in horror, her eyes shut as she awaited her pending doom, unable to move or make any wise judgement as images from her past flashed before her eyes. As the two worlds from her past and present collided in a like moment, Sibu felt someone put their arms around her waist and yank her out of the way right before impact…just as it had happened in the past. “Mum!” Sibu yelled out in a very voice. She could feel someone’s heavy breath next to her but when she tried to open her eyes to see who it was, the shiny rays from the sun blocked her view. Who was this person holding on to her? She wondered as she struggled to keep her eyes open against the light. “Mum,” Sibu called out right before she passed out. * * * “Mum! Mum! Mum!” Sibu kept crying out in her sleep while Ted kept shaking her to wake her up. “Nurse!” He called out to the nurse that was passing outside the door. “Sibu love…Sibu, wake up, wake up my love.” He kept repeating. He sat her up on the bed in her sleep and kept calling out to her. She was fighting him and crying with her eyes still closed but Ted refused to let go of her. He wrapped his arms around her and then said to the nurse that just stood there looking as clueless as a broken compass, “get the doctor here wont you!” he yelled and sent the poor nurse scampering out of the private ward. He held her tightly into his arms and kept repeating soothing words to her back whilst stroking her hair gently. She finally opened her eyes. “My mother,” she said as Ted slowly removed her from his embrace. “Did you dream about your mother Sibu?” Ted asked her, getting down on both knees before her and taking her hands into his. “You kept calling out her name….” “I saw my mother Ted,” Sibu said with a tear laden face. “She rescued me just like she had done many years ago. I saw her Ted.” Great fear and concern filled Ted’s eye’s. “Sibu,” he tried to tell her. “I know,” she quickly offered up. “I know that she had died. I remember everything now. It happened just like it did today.” “Yesterday my love,” Ted corrected her. “You’ve been here since yesterday afternoon. They had to sedate you because it was the only way to keep you under control…to let you calm down a bit. Tell me what happened to you?” “Our lovely patient is finally up,” the male doctor announced his presence in the room. “Why don’t you wait out at the front Mr Zulu while I examine your fiance? It won’t take too long,” he said to a visibly perturbed Ted. “I will be right back my love, okay?” He said to Sibu as he slowly stood up. And with his hands still holding on to hers, “I love you,” he said before planting a kiss on her forehead. He then let go of her hands. “I will just be outside there,” he reassured her. Sibu nodded and Ted reluctantly left the room. Ted was naturally a very patient person but ever since he met Sibu, he seemed to run out of patience pretty quickly. He kept pacing to and from in the corridor outside Sibu’s room. He was in the middle of pacing when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He recalled the conversation he had had with the doctor concerning who had brought Sibu to the hospital the previous day. “It was a man,” the doctor had told him in his office. “He appeared to be either in his early fifties or it could be late fifties…I really couldn’t tell. I was too busy trying to get to the patient.” “And what did he tell you happened?” Ted asked. “That a woman tried to run over your fiance,” the doctor explained. “He even got the number plate….” he opened his drawer and removed a piece of paper from a writing pad. “He left this here,” the doctor handed Ted the place number. “He said it was an attempted hit and run but he got her out of the way in time.” “And what is this written down here?” Ted asked whilst looking at the paper. “He said the complete description of the lady driving the car. He even drew a rough sketch, check the paper under.” Ted’s eyes had widened in disbelief. “I know who this woman is,” he announced. “You do?” The doctor asked, sitting up straight in his chair. “That son of a…this is the girlfriend to my fiance’s ex-husband.” “Woah,” the doctor exclaimed. “Then who was that man that brought her? He looked heavily concerned her about her. He was even the one that booked that room for her. He paid the hospital bill, in cash even before accounts could issue him with one and he said he would come to check on her later.” “Can you describe the man to me?” Ted asked the good doctor. “Like I said, I don’t remember much…but come to think of it, he and your girlfriend have the same eyes.” It was Ted’s turn to sit up. “What do you mean by that?” “That deep and commanding gaze, it’s the same, even their eyebrows.” “Doc, can you do me a favor,” Ted said. “When that doctor comes back, please let me know.” He removed his wallet from his pocket and took out his business card and handed it to the doctor. “Please, do this for me and my fiance. She’s been looking for this man for a very long time now.” “So you know who he is?” The doctor inquired. “I suspect I do,” Ted had replied with a far-off expression on his face. “Ted, where is she?” Ted was brought back to reality by the familiar sound. “What the hell are you doing here?” He glared and Martin and went for his color. “How many times did I beg you to leave Sibu alone now look what you’ve caused!” Ted’s grip on Martin was so tight he was almost lifting him off the ground. “Ted, c’mon man, don’t do this here,” Martin tagged at Ted’s hands which were threatening to chock him. “Everyone’s looking at us.” “Is that all you care about right now?” Ted snapped and unexpectedly let her of him and sent him into a mini tangle with gravity. Martin steadied himself and confronted his old friend. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He asked Ted. “How is it my fault that Sibu almost got ran over? Am I the only one in her life whose got enemies? I came here straight from the airport after Vicky told me what happened.” Ted was dumbfounded. “And what exactly did Vicky tell you happened?” “She said that Sibu had called her out for a meeting concerning Jacob and after they finished talking, Sibu was on her way to her car when someone tried to run her over but she was saved by someone.” Ted scoffed. “And you believed her?” He asked whilst shaking his head. “That bitch of yours is the one that tried to kill Sibu!” “What?” Martin asked, fear registering all over his face. “What do you mean she tried to kill Sibu?” “She was the one driving,” Ted provided. “There was a witness there. They drew a sketch of her face, wrote down a full description of her and even provided her number plate.” “That can’t be,” Martin was slowly shaking his head. He desperately wanted to believe that it was a lie but he knew that his baby was crazy. He wouldn’t put something like this passed her. How many times had she threatened to run Sibu over in the past? Had she finally lived up to her threats? “Didn’t I tell you that your selfishness would only end up hurting Sibu in the process?” Ted asked Martin accusingly. “Now look what you’ve done?” Ted’s words cut into Martin like a knife. Like a man exhausted from an everlasting fight, Martin went to sit down on one of the chairs lined up along the corridor. Reality had finally hit him like a heavy rock falling from the skies. “How badly hurt is she?” He asked. “She was lucky, someone pushed her out of the way in the nick of time. She only passed out because the moment awakened her memories from her past…otherwise she should be fine.” “She remembered her past?” Martin asked. Not sure how to take the news. “Yes, thanks to your baby mama’s craziness, the almost accident triggered her memories. That Victoria woman should be put in jail for what she tried to do. Sometimes I just don’t get women; why is she fighting Sibu when it is obvious you are the one that’s chasing after her? Will your heart go to her once she gets Sibu out of the face of the earth? Get your shit straight man and stop forcing Sibu into your drama. She will be my wife in just a couple of months. Show some respect and leave her the hell alone. This is my last warning to you and that crazy woman you are living with.” From the hospital, Martin went straight home and found Veronica pacing to and from in from of the house. The rest of her body froze while she rubbed her hands against each other in sheer nervousness. “Did you see her?” Veronica had ran to Martin’s car peered through the window to fire questions at him. “Is she okay? Was she hit? Who was that man that moved her from the road?” Martin didn’t bother to answer any of her questions. Instead, he flung the door of his vehicle wide open, sending her scampering to the side as he forcefully came out. “You are hurting me Martin,” Veronica protested as she was being dragged upstairs by the hand. Martin led her straight up to the spare bedroom where she had been camping with their daughter and he flung her to the floor before opening her closet and throwing her clothes out. “I need you to get out of here before I kill you,” he roared as he continued to fling her clothes everywhere. “Pack all your staff from this house and I will personally send you back to your parents.” Veronica started bawling and she went to him and groveled on her knees for his forgiveness. “I don’t know what got into me Martin,” she begged. “I just lost it for a moment. I didn’t really want to hurt her.” Martin paused whatever he was doing to glare down at her. “You clearly saw her crossing the road in front you and then you accelerated. What did you hope would happen when your vehicle came into contact with her, give her some magical make-over?” He shouted. Veronica kept tagging at his leg. “Please forgive me Martin. I am sorry. It won’t ever happen again.” “Of course it will never happen again,” he said. “Who the hell do you think you are to compete with someone like Sibu? It’s my fault you did that to her. Just because I was a little kind to you you thought I would actually marry you?” he scoffed. “All I need from you is my child, nothing else! I have dragged this thing far enough with your parents and now is the time to set the record straight.” Martin kicked his leg roughly to shrug her off and off she tumbled to her side while he stormed out of the room. Left alone on the floor, Veronica bawled her eyes out. Aunt Tafadzwa felt like her life had been turned into a living hell ever since Sibusiswe returned from South Africa. The silent treatment she was giving her tormented her all through the night and into the early hours of the morning. She had liked it better when she would walk right through her door and speak her mind but she really didn’t know how to handle this new side of her. Just what exactly was she planning to do to her? As if she didn’t already have enough on her plate, Aunt Tafadzwa received an early morning visitor that day at her shop. It was Mrs Mwewa. She didn’t need to ask to know why the avator-like looking human was standing at her door. “How dare you?” Mare Mwewa greeted. Aunt Tafadzwa made a face and uttered something under her breath. “It took you this long ah?” She returned. “You dame witch,” the Bemba woman cussed. “How dare you lie to me and even collect money from me when you knew very well that the information you were giving me was fake?” Her temporary-friend-turned-nemesis-again scoffed. “You wanted to take my grandchild away from her mother…my niece, did you really think that I would sell you information that you could use against her?” Mrs Mwewa looked more than ready to pop, on the face that is. “You really have no shame,” she hissed. “You took money from me!” She hollered. “I never forced you to give it to me,” Sibu’s aunt contended. “You came all the way here in your fancy car and fancy clothes and threw a few words at me. I wasn’t the one that followed you. I simply saw an opportunity and I embraced it.” “That’s called stealing!” Mrs Mwewa howled. “We had a deal and you cheated.” “ Poteto – potato,” Aunt Tafadzwa said. “You call it stealing, I call it surviving. Now get out of here, I have a business to run.” “How about we talk some more,” Sibu appeared from nowhere and joined the two women gawking at her in shock. She looked with repulsion from one woman to the other. “Sibu, what are you doing here?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked, soaking wet in the aftermath of being caught red-handed. “I am not sure yet,” Sibu said, still looking from one woman to the other. “But I would certainly like to know what sort of information the two of you were trading.” They both just stared at her. “I have to go,” Mrs Mwewa soon announced her departure and left before aunt and niece could say anything. “Oh just quit it already!” Sibu snapped at her aunt who was looking like she was standing in a lion’s den. “I am not here to fight with you. Nothing you do these days surprised me so you can quit putting up that poor woman defenseless front.” Aunt Tafadzwa immediately recovered from her act. “What do you want?” She asked, turning her back to her as she went back into the shop. Sibu followed her inside. “Tell me where I can find my father, ah,” she raised her hand to shush her aunt who was about to open her mouth. “I am done listening to your lies. If you do not tell me where to find my father right now, I can promise you that I will make you and your children pay for everything you put me through all those years. You know me well enough to know I am not bluffing, so speak.” Aunt Tafadzwa was wise enough to know this was a battle she was never going to win. “He lives in Woodlands,” she said. “He moved here with his family a few months ago.” “Moved here?” Sibu asked. “From where?” “He used to live in Botswana but he moved here to be closer to you.” “So I was right, he knows about me now.” Sibu said, mostly to herself. “When did he find out?” She asked her aunt. “Last year. He went digging around for information and when he found out, he almost killed me.” “Am I supposed to feel bad for you?” Sibu asked sarcastically. “Why didn’t he just come to me when he found out the truth instead of following me around like that? What exactly did you tell him?” Aunt Tafadzwa shrugged her shoulders. “I only told him that you might not accept him easily into your life since you’ve hated him for such a long time.” “I only hated him because of what you told me about him!” Sibu yelled. “But how can I hate him now when he’s just as much a victim of your schemes as I? You will never change Aunty. Text me the address right now and don’t make me come back here to ask for it again.” Sibu glared at her aunt in incredulity before storming out of the shop. Sibu received the address to her phone moments after leaving her aunts shop. She couldn’t help looking through her rear-view mirror for any cars that might be following her even though no one had done so since that day at the restaurant. When Sibu reached the address of her father’s home, she couldn’t get herself to hoot so they could open the gate for her. Instead, she parked to the side of the road and called Ted. “I can’t do this alone ted.” She told him. “Can you come?” “Where are you babe?” Ted asked. “Text me the address and I will be right there.” And as promised, Ted parked right behind Sibu a few minutes later. She got out of her car and went to meet him. “What am I going to say to him Ted?” Sibu nervously rubbed her hands together. Ted put his arm around her. “Don’t think too much about it my love,” he told her. “It’s obvious he also wants to meet you, desperately…so just act natural, be you and let everything pick up from there. Now should we go and press the button?” He pointed to green gate in front of them. Sibu nodded and so the two walked forward. Ted rang the bell and then they waited. The gate opened slightly by remote control and a woman standing on the veranda came into view. “Honey!” She shouted the moment she saw who was at the gate. Her husband quickly came running from the house and joined her. Lance Hangala stared shell-shocked at the daughter he had been dying to meet for the past year. “I think we can go in now,” Ted said to Sibu and led her by her hand to her father. This was the first time Ted was seeing Sibu looking so nervous and at a complete loss for words. “Good afternoon Ma’am, Sir,” Ted greeted the couple. “My name is Ted, and this is er….” “I know who she is,” the man nervously said. And then there was an awkward silence as they all just stared at each other. “How about we all get inside so we can sit down and chat properly?” Mrs Hangala excitedly announced to the group. They all followed her inside. Sibu was more than impressed by the interior of the house. She had seen the outside and had an idea of her father’s financial standing, but the inside spoke volumes about the kind of man he had become. I bet Aunt Tafadzwa would collapse if she walked into this house right now, Sibu thought as she looked around the huge expensively furnished living room. Ted kept his hold on her hand as they sat down and only released it when they were saved beverages. “I can’t believe that you are really here,” her father finally said. “I don’t even know what to say to you.” His wife joined him by his side once she was done serving. “How about I take you on a tour of the house Mr Ted while these two talk?” Mrs Hangala offered. Ted turned to Sibu. “It’s fine love,” Sibu said, “you can go. I will be just fine.” Ted squeezed her hand tightly before standing up. He followed the friendly woman and the two disappeared from the room. “So,” Sibu said once she was alone with her father. “I am very glad you came here Sibu,” her father said. “Me too.” “How did you….” “My aunt,” Sibu supplied. “I didn’t leave her much choice. Why didn’t you just come up to me instead of following me around like that?” Lance laughed nervously. “I tried, God I tried to so many times but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was so afraid you might reject me and I….” “I thought you were some crazy stalker,” Sibu laughed. “You pretty much freaked me out but eventually I figured it might be you. That almost accident at the restaurant made things even more obvious.” “I figured,” he said. “Did you report the lady to the police?” “No…I couldn’t, it’s just complicated.” “I see,” he looked disappointed. “I guess there is a lot going on in your life that I don’t know about. I can’t believe it took this long to find out the truth. Sometimes I feel like going over to Tafadzwa and squeezing her neck. I just can’t believe that people can be that wicked.” “Well, Aunt Tafadzwa is one of a kind.” Sibu said. They both laughed. That day, Ted and Sibu ended up pending the rest of the at her father’s place and the two of them got to learn about Sibu’s new family. Sibusiswe discovered that she had two step-siblings who were fraternal twins, a boy and a girl aged fifteen. They had remained in boarding school in Botswana and would only be joining their parents in Zambia after graduating high school. Her father was a retired farmer who had over the years invested most of his money in real estate both in Botswana and Zambia. “Why are you grinning?” Ted asked Sibu as he drove her home late that night. They had decided to leave her car at her father’s place and he offered to bring it to her place the next day. “I just can’t believe that I have a father,” Sibu said. “And that he is such a wonderful man. His wife too, she is very kind…you can’t help liking her.” Ted smiled with her. “You know you really look alike with him….” he said. “You think?” Sibu asked. “I know so…except…you are so different from each other, personality-wise. He is so soft-spoken and you are…” you know….” He laughed as he waved his hands in the air. Sibu threw him a nasty look. “So sleeping over for you tonight,” she threatened him. “What?” Ted protested. “No way!” Sibu laughed. * * * A week later, Mrs Hangala paid Aunt Tafadzwa a visit at her shop. “Who are you?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked the petite woman standing in front of her. “I am Mrs Hangala,” she candidly announced. “Sibu’s mother.” “Don’t you mean step mother?” “It doesn’t matter to me,” the woman retorted. “What do you want here?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked. “Aren’t you going to offer me a sit?” She asked. “You are not welcome here, why would I give you a seat.” “Er,” Mrs Hangala shrugged her shoulders dismissively. “I guess am going to have to deliver my message whilst standing.” “What message?” Aunt Tafadzwa asked. “Since my husband and my step-daughter won’t do anything about you, it is up to me to do something in their stead. You have two days to vacate this shop and go as far away from my husband’s daughter as possible.” The petite woman commanded in a very menacing tone. There was nothing about her demeanor that spoke of the innocence she had displayed in front of Ted and her step daughter. Right there in front of Aunt Tafadzwa, Mrs Hangala’s little menacing frame was one to be reckoned with. “Now why would I do something so stupid?” Aunt Tafadzwa said. “Sibu bought this shop for me and I am not going anywhere. You think you can just appear in her life and run it for her however you please? Sibu and I had an agreement, I earned this shop.” “She might have bought it for you but it is still in her name.” Mrs Hangala smugly corrected the woman. “What do you mean by that? She told me that it was in my name?” She laughed. “I guess she’s always been clever that one hasn’t she? The shop was never in your name. I offered to buy the shop from her and she agreed since she no longer wants to have anything to do with you. Right now as we speak, I am the new owner of this cute little place. My husband and I bought this whole section of shops. We intend to build a huge shopping mart for the locals so I suggest that you pack and go.” “I knew that that girl wouldn’t just let things go. She just had to get back at me and she thinks kicking me out of here will make me fall? Well, she has another thing coming.” Aunt Tafadzwa fumed. “She actually never wanted to sell this place,” Mrs Hangala explained. “I was the one who approached her and begged her to sell it to me, told her that I would help you get settled somewhere else but she said she didn’t care. I could tell she was lying. She still cares about you despite everything. But I don’t. And I need you gone by Tuesday next week.” “Who do you think you are to kick me out of here?” Aunt Tafadzwa towered over the petite looking woman who never flinched under her stern gaze. “I used to be a crazy woman before my husband married me and I can promise you that the crazy still lives inside me so don’t tempt me,” the woman roared. “My husband and his daughter might have forgiven you but I won’t let you off so easily after all the hardships you made him go through. “A man his age cried himself to sleep for months when he discovered what you had done. No one can do that to my family and get away with it. What gives you the right to mess with other people’s lives like that? If you don’t want to find your stuff gone and no shop standing here, I suggest you leave before that happens.” Aunt Tafadzwa couldn’t believe what was happening. She wanted to scream and wail but her pride could no let her do that in front of the strange woman. “You can leave now. I will be out of here this very day.” She said arrogantly and headed back inside. Mrs Hangala smiled triumphantly before turning to go. Inside her shop, Aunt Tafadzwa called her daughter Tammy. “You tell those stupid boys you are always hanging around with, tell them to come here and help me move my stuff home.” She said. “Move what stuff mum?” Tammy asked from the other end of the line. “That cousin of yours sold this shop to someone else imagine. They have asked me to move out as soon as possible,” “Why so soon? You should have asked for more time.” “I can’t stand being in this place any longer so just get me those boys here immediately.” “You know that they won’t do it for free,” Tammy said. “I know tight you are when it comes to money so unless you promise to pay them, they won’t come.” “Just tell them to come you stubborn brat!” She yelled at her daughter before rudely ending the call. A few hours later, Aunt Tafadzwa had secured transport and she had Tammy’s friends help her move her things from the shop to the vehicle. “I don’t know this driver very well so I can’t trust him alone to take my stuff home.” Aunt Tafadzwa said to the boy she suspected was the one sleeping with her daughter. “I have to clear out a few things with some people before I leave so I need you to drive with them home. I will come give you and your boys money when I get back home.” “Tammy said you would give us after we finished the job ma’am,” the boy protested. “And you haven’t finished the job,” she said. “You are only done half way. You have to unload them and put them into the house. Tammy will be waiting for you at home.” And with that, she left the bunch of visibly upset boys behind. Later that night when Aunt Tafadzwa got home, she cried blood when not a single thing of her stock from the shop had been delivered home. “What did I tell you about those types boys?” She sobbed as she hit her daughter over and over again while her son watched in wonder in a corner. “You have finished me Tammy…you have finished me you foolish child.” She threw herself on the ground and spread out her legs as she wailed dramatically. Tammy ran away from her mother and tried to call her boyfriend’s number again but she still couldn’t get through. “What have you done you son of a bitch,” she said whilst hitting her fingers over her touch screen. She raised her head up to look at her mother who was sprawled over the ground and covered in head. She just sat there looking straight ahead with a blank look on her face. She looked like a woman whose brain waves had been exhausted. She was deathly quite for someone that had spent the past thirty minutes wailing and crying her lungs out. There was fear in Tammy’s eyes as she watched her mother embrace her sudden defeat. Was this the end for them? Tammy wondered. * * * Ted waited in the car while Sibusiswe and Martin talked inside the restaurant where Sibu had almost lost her life. For the three of them, the restaurant had come to mean much more than just an eating place. It was the place where memories had been resurrected and where memories could be buried. “Congratulations by the way,” Martin said. “I know I should have said this a long time ago but….” “I know,” Sibu forced a smile. She silently wondered if there would ever come a time when she would look at Martin and not feel so sorry. “But I really mean it,” Martin fought back the tears. “Ted is a great guy. I hate him, but he’s what you need.” He too forced a smile. “Martin….” Sibu said. “Don’t say it,” Martin told her. “Don’t say thanks and don’t say sorry because that will really make me feel shitty. I took a lot for me to finally decide to take a clean break and move on…it doesn’t mean I like it…but I know it’s something I have to do. I wish…I wish….” he desperately forced back the tears. He wasn’t going to cry on this day. That’s not how he wished her to remember him. Sibu cried. She wanted to reach out and comfort Martin but she knew she couldn’t. Despite everything they had been through, she would not have been where she was had it not been for Martin. He was the first person to break down my walls and show me what real love is. Sibu thought as she watched Martin walk away from her, memories from their past together flashed before her eyes. Ted walked in at that moment and she ran into his arms. “I want to see my mother,” she said to him. Ted drove her to Memorial Park. He listened in silence as Sibu cried the whole way. He dared not ask what was going through her mind. He had the rest of his life to find out. This time he was just going to stand by her side and give her a shoulder to cry on if she needed it. Once at the cemetery, Ted watched from a distance while Sibu chatted with her mother. She was still crying. “Do you also think that I am a bad person mother?” Sibu addressed her mother. “I really wanted to love Martin you know,” she sobbed. “I thought I tried my best but…I only ended up hurting him. Why I am always hurting the ones I love? Have you seen that good looking man standing over there,” she looked in Ted’s direction. He had his eyes fixed on her with a smile on his face. “I am going to be his wife in a few days,” Sibu said. “Do you think I deserve the kind of love he’s shown me? I am scared…. I have never been this happy in my life before so I am scared that one day I will wake up and it will all be gone. “I just want to keep on dreaming. I just want to shut out the echoes from my heart and just love…love like there’s not tomorrow. I really want to do that mother.” She wiped at her tears and then smiled at Ted again. He smiled back and waved at her from where he was standing. “By the way, I met the love of your life mother…my father. He is quite a catch even for his age. He has never forgotten about you. I smile every time I think about him because I know that there is someone out there that loves me unconditionally…someone I can call my father.” She had finally stopped crying now and Ted got the cue and came to join her. “This is Ted mum,” Sibu introduced him to her mother. “Say hi to my mother Ted.” Ted was all smiles as he lowered his head towards her mother’s tombstone. “I am honored to meet you Ms N’cube.” He said. “And thank you so much for giving birth to such an awesome daughter. I hope you don’t mind that I will be making her my wife…because I really really love her. I am crazy about her.” Sibu was blushing all through Ted’s mini speech. They both paid their final respects and headed back to the vehicle. “Do you think she would have liked me?” Ted asked as he drove them home. Sibu laughed. “I think so. You look a lot like my father so….” Ted grinned from ear to ear. “That’s a compliment, right?” They both laughed. Sibu watched Ted as he drove. He looked happy. she too felt happy. I can’t hear them anymore , Sibu thought, with her gaze still on her soon-to-be husband. The echoes, I think they’re gone. She smiled and reached out her hand to him. THE END.

What a world! So Aunt Tafadzwa committed such a devilish act against Sibu and her mother and still had the audacity to subject Sibu to such misery for the crime she herself committed.... That's cruelty in the highest degree!! To think she said she did that so her children could be taken care of is my pain.. Thank God for Ted who discovered the truth and freed Sibu from this bondage she's been subjected to all her life. This face-off between Martin and Ted is WOW! Don't even know whom to side but I'd say that Martin had his chance with Sibu and carelessly let it slip hence he shouldn't blame Ted for his woes and loss now.

That woman wicked sha. I respect her wickedness. More please.

oh my God!!!! this Tafa woman wicked oooo,,,, she actually had d mind to kill her niece just bcos she wanted her sister to marry a rich man? wow!!! that revelation is too much to swallow

Wow, what a nice ending!!!! First, that Veronica of a lady is one crazy and insecure bitch (I guess there are lots of crazy bitches in those story with Aunty Tafadzwa having the lead) thinking that killing Sibu would secure her a place with Martin. Mrs. Hangala is another crazy woman though hers is in the right direction being matching Aunty Tafadzwa in her own craziness. I like her type who would go put off their way to fight and defend their loved ones. Martin I hope you find another woman that will be with you and fill in the void in yr ❤️. Congratulations to Sibu and Ted as they'll finally be joined together as Man and wife, a fulfillment of the laters life dream. Thumbs up to the writer and poster for such thrilling story.

wow!!!! what a beautiful ending,,,, my God,,,, patience really pays oooooo,,,, imaging the guy Ted,,,, this is wonderful... I love it... aunt tafa,,, u see Ur wretched life,,, d little thing u Hav dat u think u can rest on has been carted away by Ur no future ambition boy-in-law,,,,, @chimmy; come and answer my question oooo, don't let me fight u oooo

Things has turned out so well that love can never be liking to fear...sibu has gotten the kinda love she needed

Sibu has got ted,jake,sibe as very close to her...martin has to be blamed 4 cheating on his wife who gave him life

Sibu has got top love already...sibu was ready to make the love thing happen...all that in the past now...it's a good thing that martin is making amend

Sibu has won with love...the reunion with her dad...vict,mrs nwenwa,tafa were loosers...I CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS KINDA LOVE SIBU HAS GOT,BUT I GOT TO SLEEP RIGHT NOW

THE END

So so beautiful. Nice work