Reneilwe was lying unconscious in a hospital bed with a machine pinging next to her, monitoring the air pumping into her nose, while another pipe fed her down her throat. It was twelve days since the ambulance had brought her there.

Her brother and father were starting to lose hope for she had not given them any sign of regaining consciousness. Even the doctors had told them that they believed it would be a miracle if she woke up as a normal person again.

“I’m very sorry, but I think she won’t be able to walk again, even if she could make it. Her head is terribly injured,” the doctor had told them the day she arrived at the hospital.

“I don’t care if she walks or not. All that I want is my child. I just want her to live. That’s all,” Radillo had said, tears brimming in his eyes, as the Pastor held his hand and prayed.

Tragically, nothing had happened. Reneilwe was just lying there, sleeping, relying on a machine for everything she needed to live.

Molatelo was sitting next to her bed in the ICU, playing games on his phone, when suddenly he saw a tall, strong boy approaching his sister’s bed. He wondered if he was lost. But the boy flashed a sad smile of greeting and stretched out his hand.

“Eita! My name is Shawn. I’m her …” He paused, looking down at Reneilwe, who was suddenly slightly kicking her legs.

At Molatelo’s exclamation one of the nurses nearby came rushing, and checked the drips. “She moved. I think this is a good sign. Whatever you did, just keep on doing it,” she told them with a smile. “The doctors believe she can hear us, you know. Maybe she just needs the right trigger to tickle her brain back. I think something is going on here.”

Molatelo’s eyes widened, staring at Shawn. He knew it was Shawn’s voice that had worked the magic. “Let me go downstairs and grab something to eat. I’ll be back, bro,” he said, turning to leave.

“Sharp sharp, man. I’ll be here until you come back.” Shawn’s eyes were shining with tears. He leaned forward and started whispering in Reneilwe’s ear. “Hi, babes. It’s me, Shawn. I’ve been trying to call you for days but your phone was off. The Principal announced at the Assembly on Friday that you’re here, and that we should pray for you. That’s how I found out.” He paused, wiping a tear away.

“Please, don’t leave me alone in this world babes. Otherwise I’ll also die. Please! Wake up, my love. Just for me.” Tears rolled on his dark cheek with those words.

Shawn held Reneilwe’s hand and squeezed it gently as Molatelo came back. Visiting time was over and they both left, disappointed that she hadn’t responded again.

They went to have lunch together and both came back later on in the evening.

Molatelo was still hoping for a miracle but his hope was shattered once again when the nurse told them that nothing had happened since they left. Perhaps it was time to accept God’s will, he told himself. That they would have to switch off the machines and wait for her death.

“Shawn,” a voice muttered, disturbing Molatelo and Shawn’s quiet conversation. They fell silent, thinking they were hallucinating.

“He is going to kill you. Run! Run!” Reneilwe mumbled out, crying in her dream, kicking weakly and turning.

“Reneilwe,” they both called, smiling.

“You’re back! Thank God!” Molatelo was elated. “Nurse! She is talking!”

The nurse came running and called Reneilwe’s name. Slowly, she opened her eyes and winced with pain, and confusion. She tried to talk, to move, but the nurse told her to relax so that she didn’t hurt herself.

“Wait here. I’m going to call a doctor,” she told the two boys, whose faces were shining with joy.

“He wants to kill us, Shawn. Call the police!” Reneilwe cried, staring at Shawn fearfully.

“Sshh! Relax, babes. There is no-one who wants to kill us here. You’re at the hospital. Please, don’t move. The doctor is coming to help you,” Shawn assured her, holding her hand.

“My head … what happened to me, Shawn? Why is it so painful?”

“You’ve been in an accident. We were scared that you wouldn’t make it. But you’ll be fine now, sister. Thanks God!” Molatelo explained.

The nurse came back with a doctor. They ordered the boys to wait outside as they start examining Reneilwe. After some time the nurse called them back. They were afraid, as they saw that she was sleeping again.

“Oh my God! Is she in a coma again, doctor?” Molatelo asked, with bulging eyes.

“No,” the doctor answered with a smile. “We sedated her so that she can rest. She was traumatised, trying to scream.”

Both Molatelo and Shawn gave a deep sigh of relief.

“Okay! I’m done checking her. I now think she is much better than we presumed.” He paused, his forehead wrinkled. “Yes, she won’t be able to walk now, but it will be just temporarily. She is very lucky to have even come back to us. Whatever you did or said brought her back from heaven’s door. Well done,” the doctor said, and Molatelo glanced at Shawn out of the corners of his eyes.

“I think it was Shawn who brought her back, doctor. She was worried that someone is about to kill him.”

“Yes,” the doctor looked worried. “That’s what made me sedate her. She looked terrified. Crying that someone want to shoot her. Do you have any idea what she was talking about?”

The two boys went quiet, thinking.

“I think she just had a terrible nightmare. Who could want to do that? She had no enemies, mos,” Molatelo said, shaking his head.

“Ya. It was just a dream,” Shawn added, trying to fight what his mind was telling him.

“Okay then. I think you should leave now. Give her time to rest. Nurse, no visitors for her until tomorrow,” the doctor ordered, ready to leave.

On their way back home, Shawn kept wondering if there was something that happened between Reneilwe and the policeman who threatened him at the shopping complex, the last day he saw her. The dragon. Perhaps he should find that guy and ask him about Reneilwe’s accident, he thought. He wondered if Molatelo knew that policeman.

“Molatelo … I think I know who Reneilwe was talking about,” he started, as they both sat in the taxi.

“Who is that? Ke mang?”

“I don’t know his name. But he is a policeman. He threatened to shoot me at the complex once. Do you know him? He is tall and dark, with a beard.”

Molatelo frowned for a moment then said, surprised, “Uncle Moleko?!”

“Do you know where I can find him? I think I should talk to him.”

“But that’s not possible man.” Molatelo’s face went sad. “The man died. He is already buried, last Saturday. Eish! May his soul rest in perfect peace.”

Shawn could not believe his ears. He started adding one plus one and wondered if Reneilwe had lied to him. What if that man was her blesser? That was the only thing that explained the jealousy he saw in that man’s eyes. He wondered if he would ever see her as before, if that was the case. Shawn had no respect for girls who used their body for material things that way.

* * * * *

The next day both Shawn and Molatelo brought Radillo with them to visit Reneilwe. Sister Moleko drove them, for she was still on leave. She didn’t hesitate when they requested her to accompany them, because she had many unanswered questions that she wanted to ask Reneilwe.

The fact that Reneilwe and her husband had an accident on the same day was still a puzzle to her. The police had told her that Sergeant Moleko was with a girl in his car, but she had no proof that it was Reneilwe. If it was Reneilwe, how had she ended up in that car?

When they arrived at the hospital, they were surprised to find their patient being transferred to the general female ward. She was no longer in the ICU, and that gave them all an opportunity to see her at once. When they entered, Reneilwe stopped eating and burst into tears.

Mrs Moleko, as a professional nurse at that hospital, tried to calm her down. Finally, she stopped wailing and calmed into gentle sobbing.

“Papa … I’m sorry. Please forgive me for lying to you,” she cried. Her conscience had told her that her secret was out, because the police had already visited her, and questioned her about the accident. Seeing Sister Moleko in black mourning clothes was just confirmation of what the police had told her about Sergeant Moleko.

“Ssh! Don’t cry, my child. You didn’t plan this accident anyway. Only God knows why,” Radillo slurred, holding her hand gently while sitting in his wheelchair. There were also tears of relief in his sunken eyes; he could hardly believe his only daughter was out of the coma.

“No! It was my fault, Papa. I wasn’t a good daughter. You and Mama raised me well. You taught us good morals, but I let him introduce me into a dark world … led by money.”

She paused, snuffling. She turned her face towards Sister Moleko and said, “Mmane, you’ve been nothing but a second mother to me and Molatelo. I don’t think you deserve this. I’m sorry. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me,” she continued, wiping the tears off her cheeks, avoiding a huge patch on the left side of her face. Her head was still wrapped in white bandages.

“Come on, Reneilwe. Enough with these apologies. You’re making me sad. What are you apologising for anyway? An accident is an accident, mos. It just happened,” Molatelo interrupted her.

“No! Molatelo. I want to do this. I want to tell the truth. These are the people who care about me and they deserve to know the truth. I can’t leave with this secret.”

“Leave? Where are you going? You’re not going anywhere wena. Stop talking like that,” Shawn told her, looking worried. He could see the emptiness in Reneilwe’s eyes, like there was no life in them.

Reneilwe stretched her arm and held his wrist tightly. “I love you. You’re the only boy I have loved in this world. Don’t ever doubt that. If I die, know that my heart belonged to you. I’m sorry for everything. I wanted to stop the relationship but he wouldn’t let me. It was as if I was trapped in it. But you came and gave me a ray of hope. That I can get out of it and have real love. Thank you.”

“Which relationship?” Shawn asked, staring at her with wide eyes as she closed her eyes, wincing.

“Uncle Moleko,” she started softly. “We were fighting about you the day we had the accident. He found out about us and was furious. He was coming back to kill you!”

It was as if Reneilwe had thrown a bomb in the ward. Everyone was shocked, not knowing what to say.

“What!?” Sister Moleko screamed at last. “You were in a relationship with … my husband?”

“I’m sorry, Mmane. I was scared of him. He also threatened to shoot me if I told anyone what he did to me.” She paused, remembering the day Sergeant Moleko took her to Orange Farm for the first time.

Reneilwe then told them how he had deceived her by taking her to town; buying her clothes and a cellphone. The day he forced his way into her pants and ate the forbidden fruit.

“That bastard! I took him like a brother. I thought he was helping us because he had a good heart … kganthe he was nothing but a hyena, eyeing at my daughter. He is lucky he is dead, otherwise I’ll have killed him myself! Fool!” Radillo fumed, tears shining in his small eyes, feeling guilty about what happened. “I failed to protect you, my daughter.”

“Well … it’s a pity he is not here to answer for himself,” Sister Moleko muttered, anger painted on her face. “Look here ngwanenyana towe. I know girls like you. Girls who run after older men, calling them blessers. You were enjoying his money wena. If not … why wait until his death to tell us? Mxm! Stop fooling us makgoša towe! You prostitute!” Sister Moleko shouted, then swivelled around, marching off in fury, leaving them frozen in the ward.

Reneilwe burst into fresh tears. She felt like she had lost a mother again as she watched Sister Moleko walk out of her life. The words were like a sharp spear through Reneilwe’s heart.

“Don’t worry, ngwanaka. She is just shocked. Give her time. She will come around and accept that she was married to an animal. A beast that preys on small girls,” said her father gently.

Molatelo was lost for words. He didn’t know what to say or do.

As for Shawn, he was fighting with his feelings, not knowing whether to believe her or not. It was as if he was dreaming.

In his eyes she was nothing but a pure girl. He couldn’t believe she had been sleeping with an older man for money, all that time. What should he do now? Could he continue loving her, as if nothing had happened? Or should he just leave her before more hurtful secrets came out?

He stood up and walked out, leaving her sobbing, while her father was busy comforting her.

***

Tell us: Whose opinion of Reneilwe do you support, and why?