“Mom!” whined a 17-year-old Gotsididi, annoyed by her father’s bad habit. “Dad didn’t take out the trash, again.”
“Then you take it out, bye.” She kissed her darling daughter’s cheek.
“But mom…” Gotsididi complained.
“Haa, deal with him when he comes back. I’m going to get your cake. Love you.”
“Love you too.” She lazily waved goodbye.
Gotsididi took out the trash. Outside, the sun brightly shone on a Wednesday morning. Sunflowers embraced nature and smiled at their friend who promised to bring heat and growth.
After throwing away the trash, Gotsididi met a woman who looked like her mother outside the same pavement where she was dumped.
“Who are you?” A little smile on her face, Naledi had raised an optimistic child with good manners.
“Hi Gotsididi, how have you been?” The well-dressed woman smiled nervously, trying to caress her cheek. The woman wore a two-piece white suit, a green lace blouse and black stilettos.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know you. Are you related to my mother?”
“Yes, your mother looks exactly like me.”
“I noticed. Do you want to come inside and wait for her?”
Dinaledi shook her head, remembering the conditions she left behind in this house. “No, I’m actually here to see you. I was hoping we could talk.”
Gotsididi raised an eyebrow, confused. “Me, about what?”
“Obviously, you see that I look like your mother. That’s because I’m her twin. We were raised apart. While she was raised in a rich home, I lived in a shack with an alcoholic mother.” Dinaledi exhaled.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk inside?”
“No, no, I’m fine. One day, I met your dad at a club and you were conceived. Trust me when I say that I wanted to keep you, but I couldn’t. I didn’t have the money to take care of you, so one night I left you on Naledi’s pavement without knowing this is her house.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Gotsididi moved away.
“I know it doesn’t make sense, but what I’m trying to say is that I’m your mother.”
Gotsididi’s anxiety rose, and she collapsed on the floor.
***
Naledi rushed to the hospital in worry after hearing from Dinaledi, whom she had not seen for 17 years, that Gotsididi was in the hospital.
“Dinaledi! Where is my daughter?” Naledi questioned, worried as if the world was ending.
Dinaledi, also worried, pointed to a hospital room opposite from where she was standing. Her eyes were red from crying. If anything were to happen to Gotsididi, she would never forgive herself.
“What happened to her?” Naledi demanded. “She was fine when I left her.”
“It was my fault.” Dinaledi broke down crying. “I was the one who brought up this conversation.”
“What did you do to her?”
“I… I-”
“What did you do, damn it?”
“I told her the truth, okay!”
Naledi pulled her twin sister by the white shirt she was wearing. “How dare you?” She gritted her teeth in anger.
“Leave me, you don’t know anything.”
“What don’t I know? How greedy you are or how my stepmother paid you six figures?” She violently pushed her against the wall, almost breaking her bones.
“Y-you know the truth?”
“What? You thought I was naive and didn’t know my family? Tshepo was my childhood sweetheart, and I know him very well. The same goes for my parents. I know you left my niece to die on the pavement. How cruel of you!”
“I didn’t have a choice!”
“The same way you tried to get Tshepo to marry you? Andy once said greed is not a financial issue but a heart problem, and I believed him 17 years ago when you came into my life.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do all this.”
“You are forgiven. Come back when you have fixed your heart. Maybe Gotsididi might accept you. For now, please give her space.”
Dinaledi never came back. Gotsididi felt relieved as she didn’t want to be separated from her parents, and Tshepo and Naledi went for counseling. The grandparents learned not to hide evil deeds. Naledi? Well, Naledi fell pregnant at 40 years old.
