A year later, Nandi is in her new home in a lovely suburb in Paris, a beautiful house by the Seine river. She recently bought the house, her dream home ever since she had been a young girl. She has accomplished everything she could have possibly dreamt of, except one thing: talking to her family.

Suddenly, she jumps up and walks to the phone. She stands there, building up the courage to listen to her mother’s voicemails.

She picks up the phone and dials the number. There’s a click, then her mother’s voice sounds in her ear.

“Hello Nandi, my daughter, it’s your mother. We read the letter you left and we just wanted to apologize about everything.”

Click.

“Nandi, it is me again, your mother. Please answer. We need to talk. I love you and I miss you.”

Click.

“Nandi, it’s your dad. Your mother and I are truly sorry for everything. We have no excuse for our treatment towards you. We miss you.”

The voicemails are mostly her parents apologizing and congratulating her on each success she made. They tell her they love her and they miss her. Tears run down her face as she listens to them.

Finally, she puts down the phone. All of this is making her emotional. She cries her heart out, wondering why her parents didn’t tell her this when she had still been at home. Why did she have to leave them to get them to realize they loved her? All her life she has been longing for this – the affection and love. She has so many questions but no answers. They did not explain much on the phone but her mom had said there was something they had to tell her.

Eventually, Nandi gathers the strength to make the call.

Brrr-brrr … brr-brrr… brrr-br-

“Jacobs household, hello?” says someone. It’s Aunt Rosie.

“Uh yes, this is Nelly … no, Nandi Jacobs. Can I speak to my mother please?” Nandi stutters.

“Oh! Nandi, my baby, I am glad you finally called!” Aunt Rosie exclaims. “Your parents have been trying to get a hold of you for four years.”

“Yes, it’s me, Aunt Rosie. Can I talk to them now?” asks Nandi.

Silence.

“Hello?’ says Nandi.

Sniffing softly, Aunt Rose sighs. “My dear, I’m sorry to tell you this but your parents passed on a year ago. Your mother was diagnosed with cancer and died very suddenly. Not long after, your father had a heart attack. I think he couldn’t cope with losing her. But your sisters are still here, living in the family home. Zinzi is married and Jane is studying accounting. I think they would be very happy to see you.”

For a while, Nandi stands in silence, at a loss for words. She’s been caught completely off guard. She can’t believe it. She hangs up, then sinks onto the floor and cries for a long time.

A few hours later, she frantically packs her bags. She’s booked the next flight home.

*****

Two days later, Nandi sits on her bed in her old bedroom, which her parents had left exactly like it had been when Nandi lived there. She looks at the old poster of Winnie Harlow on the wall.

She’s been welcomed home warmly by Aunt Rose and her siblings. Her sisters had hugged her and they’d apologized for treating her badly as a child.

Nandi’s parents had left her a letter. In the letter she discovered her mother had been raped and that’s how she had become pregnant with Nandi. All the hate and bad treatment came from them being reminded of the rapist each time she saw Nandi. For her father, Nandi was a reminder that he had failed to protect his wife. It was only in later years that they realised how wrong their behaviour had been, but by then it was too late. They asked her to forgive them and to reconcile with her sisters.

“Nandi, dinner’s ready!” Aunty Rose called from the kitchen. Nandi hears her sisters talking and laughing in the background. Nandi gets up to join her family.

As she sat on the dinner table, she couldn’t help but smile at the lovely sight of her loved ones. She was so grateful to finally have them back in her life. If only she had had a last special moment with her parents – she would have loved to thank her mom for keeping her, even though she had been conceived from rape. Nandi now understood why everything had happened the way it did. She couldn’t help but feel grateful for where she was now – successful and happy at last.

***

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