Lukhanyiso tried his best to compress his dreams, and when he finally could, he stopped dreaming. He was happy that there were no longer painful reminders of the beautiful life he had. But now, for the first time in a year… he woke up from a dream, and it felt good.

He was awake, but didn’t open his eyes. Overwhelming feelings filled his heart as he broke the Distort-Earth’s law of emotion. He wasn’t aware he was feeling once again, but he felt love. Divulging his wings had activated his grace. Accepting his divine duties allowed him to feel. As he lolled on top of a very comfortable bed on his stomach, he heard a cry. He opened his eyes and stretched out his hands. While stretching out his arms, he noticed movement on his back but didn’t know what it was. Each limb stretched resulted in a wing flexing. He turned his head to the opposite side and saw her. She was crying happy tears as she smiled down at him.

“Lukhanyiso!” she said as she gazed at his back. “I always told you that you were an angel!”

“Angelosi,” Lukhanyiso said, as he rose from the bed and sat on it. “What are you doing here?” he asked as he tried to stand up.

As he arched his back, he remembered Ntiorce’s words before he passed out. He turned his head and gazed at six huge white wings which dragged behind him. “Oh my… He was right?! Ndiyingelosi (I’m an angel),” he said with a huge grin on his face.

“I was right…” she said as she touched the wings with her fingers. “The first thing I told you when I laid my eyes on you was -”

“Uyingelosi.” Lukhanyiso turned his head and looked at her face. He wiped away the tears which had made rivulets on her rosy cheeks.

She looked healthier than she looked hours ago. She wore a white dress and had her afro decorated with daisies, her brown skin radiated. “But how… Why are you here? How did you get here, Angelosi?” Lukhanyiso asked, as he remembered.

She smiled at him, sat on the bed and motioned him to sit. He couldn’t sit without sitting on his long wings, so he kneeled down and looked at her. She took his hands and held on to them as her brown eyes connected with his amber eyes. Her lavender-blue ring, which rested on her ring finger, illuminated as the sun peaked inside the window and struck the labradorite stone.

With that, he knew. He knew what she was going to say.

“I couldn’t survive, Lukhanyiso,” she said as she looked away from him. Another tear fell from her eye. “My body couldn’t withstand the delivery… it failed me.”

Lukhanyiso wrapped his arms around her and held tightly to her as she wept in the circle of his arms. “I won’t be able to see our children growing up, Lukhanyiso,” she said.

“I will tell them about you. Every night,” he comforted her with a smile. “Permission to read them your diary when they’re 18?”

A long sigh emitted. “Yho… okay. They should know what they can do.”

They embraced once again. As they spent a few precious minutes together, Lukhanyiso felt a surge of emotion flowing in. A warm feeling spread through his body. He opened his eyes as he realised that he was feeling something. He thought of Mandlenkosi and smiled more.

“Did you meet Mandlenkosi?” he asked, and broke the embrace.

“Yes,” she said as she folded her arms. “You cheated on me, with a man!”

“After you disappeared, I crumbled into a million pieces… but he came and retaught me love.” He held her by the elbows. “I thought you had died and passed over. I spent a long time looking for you.”

“I’m sorry, Lukha. I should have informed you about my whereabouts. But I knew that once I communicated with you, I would run back to Ngonyama Segment to be with you.”

Lukhanyiso asked her: “Did you find out where my father is?”

“That’s the reason I couldn’t pass over. I had to inform you where your father was before crossing over to the other side.”

“And?”

“He is here,” she said. “He was captured by Scourge one night during an archaeological hunt.”

A crack on the ceiling opened the moment she delivered her message. “Time is ticking,” she said as she forced a smile. “Love them Lukhanyiso. Lukhangelosi and Mangaliso will need you. Love them and tell them about me when you go back home.”

A door opened and Mandlenkosi walked inside holding a tray of steaming soup. He was amazed when he saw her and the radiating warm void on the ceiling.

“Mandlenkosi, take care of my children, love them as yours. Lukhanyiso truly loves you. Cherish and love him,” she said as her body elevated. Mandlenkosi nodded and stood next to Lukhanyiso.

“They have us running through their veins. Your grace and my magic. Show them nothing but love and happiness.” She wept with a huge smile on her face. “I love you.” She blew a kiss to him.

The second her head entered the gates of Heaven, her whole body turned into glimmering gold specks which ascended into the void. The warm void slid shut.

Mandlenkosi placed the tray on the bed and stood in front of him. His face exhibited no emotion. He wasn’t happy or curious… if he was in Actual-Earth, he’d be sad and crying. Lukhanyiso looked at him and frowned. Mandlenkosi hated goodbyes and witnessing that departure was the most painful thing he had ever felt… or would have felt.

Before comforting him, Lukhanyiso wiped his tears and accepted her death, but struggled to keep his regular composure. He cried even more as he repeated, “Angelosi is in Heaven,” in his head. Mandlenkosi wrapped his muscular arms around him, as he continued to weep silently.

“She’s in a good place now,” he whispered. “You have to be strong for your children now.”

Lukhanyiso nodded on his shoulder before looking at him, “Our children. Stick with me forever and help me raise them,” he requested as he looked at him with puffy eyes.

“For eternity,” he agreed, as happiness filled his heart, and they smiled together. “But not here. We can’t spend eternity here on Distort-Earth. Do you know how hard it is to not feel anything for you? No love… just emptiness and a parody of love; happiness.”

Purple smoke appeared in a corner of the room as it morphed into Ntiorce. “I am sorry for your loss, Lukhanyiso,” he said as he walked forward. “But, congratulations on two healthy babies.” He closed his purple eyes and tilted his head. “They just arrived at the hospital with Noncedo.”

“Ntiorce, the Scourge has my father. We really have to destroy that demon!” Lukhanyiso said as he released himself from Mandlenkosi’s embrace.

“Well then, hurry up and drink your soup!” Mandlenkosi said as he handed it over to him. “I made it myself and I added one special ingredient. A strand of my hair. It contains everything you, personally, will need to know on how to destroy Scourge and how to utilise your wings.”

He nodded and gulped on the soup which was surprisingly delicious.

He brought up his head as he felt a surge of knowledge seeping into his brain. He closed his eyes and held his breath as he felt the synapse releasing information as each neuron travelled swiftly, transporting new information.

He exhaled and opened his eyes. He smiled at Ntiorce. “Let’s slay this bastard!” he smirked.

***

Tell us: Do you think Lukhanyiso and Mandlenkosi will live happily ever after?