I spent the entire day in my shack, not feeling like seeing or talking to anyone. I thought of a man who had always been like a father to me. With him I always felt like I belonged, crippled or not. He had always been the best uncle any guy could ever wish for. I remembered when he would take me with him to his girlfriends’ places and they all spoilt me rotten. I remember when Fentse was born and he came to the hospital carrying packets of sweets, claimed that baby stuff was finished in shops.

So many memories of him kept dancing in my mind as I sat on my wheel chair unable to hold back the tears. I finally cried myself to sleep on the wheel chair. The following day I was awoken by the phone under the pillow.
I wheeled closer to the bed and picked it up. It was Mantoa.

“Hi, so Martin gave you my new number?”

“That’s not important. I was calling to let you know that I’m taking the kids back to my mom.”

“What? Why?”

“The flat we stay in is too small for the three of us.”

“You are the one who chose to sell the house, why should the kids suffer for that?”

“Be careful when you speak to me coz I might change my mind about bringing them there. You are nothing now, just a vegetable on a wheel chair, who has nothing to offer yet has a lot to say. Will pass by at around ten.”

She said then hung up. Her words kept repeating themselves in my head; a vegetable with nothing to offer but too much to say. Life was indeed a bitch. I wheeled myself outside and sat under the Baobab tree missing my uncle like crazy. When Mantoa’s car parked outside, tears filled my eyes. My angels hurried to me with bright smiles on their faces. Mantoa stayed in her car.

“Hello my angels.” Fentse quickly rushed to me and indicated that I put her on my lap.

“Papa, why Mama are isha go koko? I don’t want to go I wanna be with you.” Filwe said with tears in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, soon you’ll all be with me.”

“But I don’t wanna go, wanna be with you.”

“You! You!” Fentse repeated after her sister.

Just then their mother got out of the car and called out to them.

“I’m still seeing my kids Mantoa, why do you have to act so childish?”

“Do you wanna see childish? Okay.” She said as she got out of the car, marched to us and grabbed the kids by their arms. Fentse started wailing, Filwe cried in silence. She got them in the car and drove away. I sat there feeling helpless and heart broken.

Solly started making noise in the house.

“Kere mphe chelete wena!”

“Solly! Solly don’t raise your voice when you talk to me.” Matlakala answered.

“Kere mphe chelete! Dilo tse kamoka odi rekile ka eng?”

“Hey wena, where I take money from is none of your business wankwa?”

“Okay, none of my business ne?”

Then I heard what sounded glass breaking and then Aunty Matlakala screamed. Solly got out of the house with the Plasma TV in his hands.

“Second round you better have the money, otherwise I’m selling everything including you, useless mother.”

She screamed and begged him to put it down. By that time neighbours were out watching and people who came for funeral arrangements met him at the gate. They were all surprised to see such a scene from a mourning family.
Solly came back afterwards and he was in a Van. He got in the house with his friend and they took the music system and a fridge. His mother begged him with all the eleven languages but he wouldn’t budge.

“Kere mphe klipper o mpha ditory? Sa ntlwaela wena tse ko di rekisha.”

I spent the entire day in good spirits for the first time in my life. Solly actually made my day. That night after I got in bed my phone rang from a private number.

“Hello!” I answered.

“Hello! Sbu!”

“Who is this?” There was a long silence at the end of the receiver.

“Sarah, Sarah October!”

“What the hell do you want?! Who gave you this number?”

“Martin.”

“He should have called the police the minute he saw you.”

“Sbu, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.”

“Hey I want my bloody money back, all of it.”

“I need to see you,”

“For what?”

“Sbu please don’t be like this.”

“I want all my money back in my account, that’s all. I don’t ever wanna see you, ever!”

“Please Sbu I’m begging you,” she started crying.

“No amount of tears can ever justify what you did to me. You turned my life upside down, Dammit you!”

I hung up. There was nothing left to say. If it weren’t for her I’d still be in my house, I wouldn’t have lost my wife, my job; everything!

***

Tell us what you think: Do you think Martin is working with her? What would he have to gain?