“Shami, you have to learn to forgive them,” Shamiso’s father persuaded, but Shamiso didn’t like any of it, and she shifted her eyes to the window in order to avoid throwing tantrums at her father. “Family is everything,” he continued, “if one of us was to die, you will mark my words.”

Not wanting to hear her father speak anymore, Shamiso interrupted him by clapping her hands and, in response, he ran his hand through his moustache back and forth in puzzlement.

“I am not allowing any of them to come to my wedding,” Shamiso finally said, sounding threatening with her eyebrows raised, making her forehead wrinkle. Her voice was on edge. “And if you raise this topic again, you won’t come to my wedding either.”

“Saru, you need to talk to your daughter,” Shamiso’s father said. He stood up harshly and, while clicking his tongue, stormed out the door,

Gerald, who is Shamiso’s father, was having a fight with Shamiso because she had banned her brothers, sisters and step-mother from coming to her wedding. She had done so because she had still not forgiven her brothers for raping her. Seeing them brought her flashbacks and she wanted to be miles away from them. She hated Melody, her step-mother, because she had blamed her for making their family scattered. Their family was not united, and Gerald had changed after her rape and became a less loving husband toward his wife. Even though Gerald had advised his whole family to be united, there was no glimpse of hope, and this made him fed up.

Shamiso had an ‘I don’t care’ attitude, even when her father was furious. She was like that towards him because, in her heart, she knew that he would never understand how she felt. She couldn’t let it go, but maybe if her brothers had been punished, then she would have felt different. She had hatred in her heart when it came to her siblings. They didn’t even comfort her or know how she was feeling after the incident. They didn’t seem to care, and the thought of that put her in a rage. While thinking about it, she fumed and slapped the couch very hard with her right hand.

“If you don’t want them at your wedding, then so be it,” Shimiso’s mother said, trying to calm Shamiso down. Her throat had a discomfort and she coughed.

On hearing her mother cough, which made her very worried, Shamiso became very alert. She help her mother sit down and rushed to the kitchen to fetch water.

“Drink mama,” Shamiso said, handing her mother some water when she came back from the kitchen. “Are you okay?” she watched on with concern on her face as her mother gulped the water slowly in her mouth. She noticed that her breathing was different, and the redness in her ears showed that she was ill.

“I’ m fine,” Shamiso’s mother said while resting her head on the couch. Even as she said this, though, she knew that Shamiso was not satisfied by her answer. She continued rubbing her hand on her stiff neck, coughing and, this time, feeling very uncomfortable. She put a cloth on her mouth because she saw blood on her hands, but she quickly wiped the blood off and hid the cloth because she didn’t want to divert her daughter’s wedding.

“I can take you to the doctor,” Shamiso said, but her mother refused by shaking her head. She was coughing, but not the way it hurt anymore.

“I’m fine, my girl,” Shamiso’s mother said, waving her hand and getting up to go to her bedroom. “I’ll go some rest.”

Ever since Shamiso’s mother, Sarudzai, found out that she had problems with her lungs, she stopped working. Shamiso then suggested that she go live with her because she had a big house. Since her mother no longer had an income, Shamiso was trying to stop her from suffering with the finances for rent and food. She didn’t know her mother had stopped working because she was sick, though. She just thought it was a cough, but that day, her cough was serious, and this made Shamiso worried.

After her mother had gone to her room, Shamiso sat in deep thought and called doctor Lebwada to make an appointment for her mother. She didn’t want her mother to suffer, and she had enough money to try and make sure that never happened. Her mother was her best friend and sister, and she was the first person who she loved, followed her fiancé, Mike.

Mike was tall with dark eyes that made Shamiso crazy. He had a dimple on his left cheek, and he was always smiling and cheerful, which was what attracted Shamiso to him.

Mike was always jealousy when Shamiso mentioned that her mother came first, though, but this only happened until he understood that there were different types of love. He realised that he couldn’t compete with Shamiso’s mother, and that the same was true for his mother too. Shamiso couldn’t compete with her. He was going to be Shamiso’s husband, and her mother was going to be his mother too.

“Knock-knock!” a voice said, shaking Shamiso out of her thoughts. It was Mike, and when she looked up and saw him, she rushed to hug him tightly. She loved his strong arms, but they always made her weak. Mike could always see her happiness through her eyelashes, which waggled each time she giggled. She was very happy to see him, but she had warned him not to come over whenever her father was around. It was disrespectful towards her father, but not towards her mother, though. Mike hadn’t paid dowry, so he wasn’t supposed to see both of Shamiso’s parents, and she had forgotten to alert him that her dad had not left.

“I was so afraid I would walk in and find your dad,” Maike said, winking at Shamiso. She didn’t laugh, though. She just rested her head on his shoulder, and she could smell his favorite after-shave on him, which had a blissful scent.

Shamiso sat down gently and Mike followed after. He saw sadness on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked. “Why are you sad?” He suddenly thought that she didn’t want to get married to him anymore. She had told him about her past, including the rape and that she sometimes had flashbacks about it.

“Mama is sick,” Shamiso said, holding her tears back. She leaned on Mike’s shoulder and he, in return, rubbed her shoulders to comfort her. He was a bit relieved and also worried at the same time. He was always her source of comfort.

Tell us: What do you think about Shamiso’s father wanting Shamiso to invite her brothers to her wedding even though they rapped her?