Sipho laid himself on the bed, exhausted after a long heat from the herbs he acquired from Khaya. He slid into a warm blanket to rest his eyes, but before he could fall asleep, Naledi walked in with a bowl of porridge.

“My love, you can’t sleep without eating,” she said, as she put the plate on the side headboard.

“I don’t want to eat,” he said, as he sat up. “I’m worried about the future of this family.”

Naledi held his hand. “Everything will be okay. We just have to please the ancestors so that things can go well.”

“Pleasing the ancestors means I have to leave my hard-earned legacy with an immature young boy,” said Sipho.

“Sipho, the boy has grown up. He has been saying a lot of things that makes sense.” Naledi said, passionately.

“Give him a chance. Besides, what else can we do? This is the only way to make things right,” she said. Then her voice was full of concern. “This is going to hurt Danny, right?”

“That’s my fear, my love,” said Sipho, “ever since he found out that he’s not a true Zondo, he has felt like he has been skating on thin ice. Now, this is going to prove him right; that he had every right to be scared.” He shook his head.

Naledi felt sad. “You are right, the boy has given us his entire life. His mother is dead, his father is a criminal, he only has us! What happens to him if we side-line him?” she asked.

Sipho pulled his weight down on the bed to sleep. “Culturally, he is disadvantaged. We can’t risk him suffering further. So, it’s better he hates us now for doing the right thing, than hating us when things go sour later.”

Danny and Denise were waiting patiently in the living room for their parents. They kept a long distance between them.

Denise sighed deeply and doubtfully. “So, what’s this meeting all about, brother…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Danny cut him off. “How am I supposed to know? I just received a call to be home, that’s all,” he said rudely.

“Danny, you can’t hold a grudge forever,” said Denise. “You know….”

Then, a knock on the door interrupted them. Danny opened the door and found the family lawyer.

“Chris?” surprisingly said Danny. “What are you doing here?”

“Your father called me,” said the lawyer.

Naledi and Sipho walked in the room with Mr. Khaya as the family lawyer arrived.

Danny is not technically a part of the Zondo family. Do you think that family can be more than just the people you are related to?