Chronicle Editor
Short story by Caroline Mtsawu
WITH the same fingers that had caressed her caramel body, he curled around her thin neck and began to choke the life out of her. Had it not been for the nurses and doctors that struggled to get him off her she would have been burning in hades.
Yes hell, which is where she belonged. He had been determined to uproot her soul and she could see it in his teary eyes. He was hurting emotionally and she had never seen him that disturbed. She held her neck and took huge gulps of air as she sunk to the ground. One nurse stood to her left side lowly asking if she was alright, but was she? She knew if ever doomsday existed, hers had arrived. No one was to blame but her. With her own hands, she had nailed herself to the cross.
She watched the security guards drag him out of the hospital and tears cascaded down her chubby cheeks. The pain was now entwined, both physically from the choking and emotionally because the cat had been let out of the bag. The doctor who had delivered the news to her husband looked at her remorselessly as he already knew half the story. He turned and began walking away shaking his head. She bet this was the doctor’s best hospital drama for the week.
The chronometer struck seven in the morning, as the sun began creeping in through the window. She was in the arms of Morpheus when her alarm began to sound. Andile rolled to the other side of the bed and just as she had assumed, he was not there. There was no way he could have left early as he was never the early bird. She yawned and stared at her phone that complained of insufficient storage. As she was trying to digest yesterday’s scenario the door yanked open. Slowly like a tortoise she turned as she already knew who the intruder was.
The two stared at each other and he looked calmer than the previous day, but one could still reckon the fury in his dreadful red eyes. Of course, he had been smoking, but that was not all. He also had been crying, all night. Andile held on to the sheets tightly as though he intended to scoop her off the bed. This is something she had done when he made love to her, breathing rhythmically in his ears but today she was holding the sheets and he was not touching her.
He began to walk slowly towards her and despite the air conditioner, she began to sweat and something in her stomach crawled. He collapsed in a sofa that was only a few steps from her and hissed. “Leeray, I’m really sorry, “Andile said as she investigated his hands. Leeray chuckled and began to clap his hands, “A round of applause to you ma’am. You really played me for a fool.” Andile freed the sheets and looked down in shame, “I’m so . . .” “Sorry?” he interrupted her. “About what exactly Cupcake? Which part are you apologising for? The part that I found out about your little secret or what?” She began to sob and immediately he told her to seal her lips. “I don’t even know why you’re crying. I should be the one shedding tears and not the other way around.”
Andile faced the man and yes, he was right. She had no right to shed a tear but what hurt her the most was she knew she had lost him, and he was never coming back. This was the man that had taken her virginity, even that of her lips. Whatever she had done, she had done it to protect her family. Leeray and Andile had met under the weirdest circumstances. They had met on Instagram and Leeray thought she was a scammer, probably one of those girls that wanted him because of his riches. The two dated online until they finally met and when they did, Leeray only had one thing in mind, was she really a virgin? Andile buried the suspense as she was truly a virgin. “I’m deeply sorry babe. I’m truly sorry.”
He shook his head and spit on the wooden Italian floors in disgust, “You and a dog are not different! What I need right now is an explanation and not a fake apology.”
This was the moment of truth. Andile knew he already knew half the truth as the doctor had nailed the lie on the counter. “Who is the father of these bastards woman?” Bastards. These are the children he had named after his parents. These are the children he loved dearly, the children he would sacrifice the world for. Trembling under her pyjamas she began to confess, “Your gym instructor.” He almost fainted when the news reached his ears and sprang up. He began to chuckle as this was quite unbelievable.
Mike, the gym instructor. He was like a brother he never had; he was an angel. A quiet reserved man who had his own beautiful family. Leeray did not believe this and thought she was just smearing mud on the innocent man.
“I swear, he is the father of Shamiso, and Katrina and he knows it too.” This time he believed her. Mike was no saint but just a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Leeray had been a fool for ten years. Leeray buried his face in his palms and began to sob while swearing. She rose and began walking towards him. “Don’t you dare step an inch closer or I will remake your face, “Leeray said as he began panting.
The last time he felt this horrible was when his grandmother died. He wiped his eyes and looked at her as she looked down in shame. Leeray took out his pistol that was black as ebony from his jeans and pointed it at her,’’ I want you to be honest. The doctor said I was barren, and I didn’t match Daniel’s DNA and he’s my son. Well, I think he is because we do look alike . . . but just to confirm,” he paused and looked straight into her hazelnut eyes as she shivered while raising her hands up. “Is he my son? “He proceeded. Andile shook her head hesitantly and he repeated the question vehemently this time. “No, he’s not! “She shouted and dropped to the floor, “He’s Sean’s son. Your cousin,” she said in the middle of sobbing.
Leeray’s eyes popped out and he shook his head while hitting it with his gun. “Why? Why? Andile why!” he screamed. “Where did the love go? I thought you loved me. I have never cheated on you, never! Why then did you choose to do this to me?”
Andile began to apologise, begging for her life. She knew at this point he did not care about much. He did not care about being in prison for life, nor shooting her and taking his own life. Nonetheless Andile did not care if the children belonged to him or not, they were still the same children she had carried for nine months.
“I did it because I loved you. Your mother . . . at the bachelorette party assured me that if I couldn’t give you children, you were getting a second wife as the chieftaincy was going to you right after your father. I’m so sorry . . . I could not afford to lose you. Your cousin and I were a mistake, and that mistake brought about Daniel. After having Daniel, I stayed for seven years, and still I didn’t get pregnant . . . automatically I knew . . . I knew you were infertile. I did it so I could be with you. I did it because I couldn’t afford to lose you or share you.”
Silence fell upon the room and the only thing that broke this silence were tweeting birds outside. He took a deep sigh, “I didn’t care about the chieftaincy, that’s why I gave it to my little brother. We could have talked about this. We could have adopted, than you are going around prostituting. “Andile looked at him and he was still pointing the gun, looking at her. “Please don’t kill me. Please Ray.”
A gun shot was fired, and she dropped on the floor and laid in her own pool of blood. He dropped the gun on the floor in terror and looked at her soul finally creeping out. Like a bolt from the blue, the dark cloud that had been enveloping him left and he began to regret. He rushed to her and checked her pulse and when he realised her soul was now on fire, he fled.
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