Makukhanye



I tried to get a hold of my emotions when I was with Tisetso. I tried to be strong, but the minute I stepped inside the car, a tear rolled at the side of my face, the hold that I had over my motions shattered, it crumbled into nothingness.

I cried, hugging my legs I looked out the window, it hurt way more than I had expected it to. I have suffered so many heartbreaks that I begun to think I was now immune to the pain of a broken heart. My stomach was doing a backflip, my chest tightened and my lungs begged for some air as tears choked me.

What hurt the most was the fact that I had dared to hope, I left no room for disappointments this time only because my father had agreed for me to go out on this one date but I should have known better. I should have known that this was too good to be true.

Another fat tear rolled down my cheek, I was glad that I was not in some strangers car, while I was crying. Instead I was with Lizzie, my grandmother who did not want to be called a grandmother and prefered to be called by her name.

“Have you ever seen such a young and gorgeous grandmother?” She once asked and did a little twirl for me, when I dared to call her grandmother when I was 6.

Lizzie drove silently into the night, it was barely 8 p.m but it was already pitch black outside. I didn’t know who to call to come pick me up and knowing that I didn’t wanna go home and face both my father and brother, Lizzie was the safest option.

I knew why Tisetso ended it, he didn’t have to explain it all. I knew that this had my father and Menzi written all over it.

But it still hurt, the pain in my heart was still great. I desperately wanted this to work out, I wanted to be loved and wanted and have one silly love story and now it was ruined.

Lizzie pulled into the driveway, killed the engine and just sat there with me as I cried. She held my hand and offered me a small smile “Let’s go inside.” I nodded and followed her in. She went to make us a cup of strong coffee while I made my way to the sitting room and curled my legs on the couch.

Lizzie walked in a few minutes later and handed me a cup of coffee and sat next to me in silence. She patted my leg to offer me some sort of comfort and nodded her head “Did your father ruin another one of your relationships?” I took a sip and shrugged my shoulders “I wouldn’t call it a relationship.” but nonetheless I nodded wiping the tears from my cheeks. “He did.”

She let out a sigh “I know right now it may look like your father is your greatest enemy but he means well.”

I shook my head taking a sip of the bitter coffee “It doesn’t look like that to me. I can’t wait to leave this place.”

“And leave me behind?” She gave me a side eye, for the first time since I left the restaurant I smiled “You can always come with.”

Lizzie laughed alongside me “Oh no, I don’t think so, I don’t want to cramp your style, isn’t that what you young ones say.” I let out a weak smile, it was not much but at least I was not balling my eyes out.

We both sat in silence together, with me in her arms until I was calm again. “Go get some sleep, I’ll call your father and tell him that you are spending the night here.” I got up from the couch and made my way to my room and threw myself on the bed and soon sleep welcomed me.

****

The morning sunshine woke me up, I wanted to sleep in and wake up late after all it was a weekend but I was already up and knowing that I would not be able to fall back to sleep again. I got up from the bed and went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth then after I hopped into the shower and went to put on some fresh clothes. “You are finally awake.” Lizzie said with a smile, when I walked into the kitchen. I turned to look at my mother who was sipping her coffee.

“You came to take me back home?” I asked sitting down, I was dreading to go back home if it were possible I would have stayed here for the rest of the weekend. “I was thinking that we could go out for breakfast.”

I wanted to protest, go to my room and crawl back into the bed and watch movies the whole day but I found myself inside the car with my mother silently driving.

She hasn’t said a word ever since we got on the road, she turned to look at me when we were waiting for the robot to turn green and smiled a little “Do you know how your father and I met?”

I nodded “You met through grandad.” She chuckled “Is that what your father told you?” She shook her head a little with a smile still displayed on her face.

“Your father kidnapped me.” My breath caught on my throat, How? They both looked so in love with each other, I would have never guessed that my own father had once kidnapped my mother.

“Don’t look so shock, you already know that your father is no angel but that is beside the point what I am trying to say here is that when you were born your father made it his mission to protect you, always and that is what any good father would do for their daughter. I would know. My father did the exact same thing to me and I hated him too, with passion but as time went by I realised where he was coming from. I am not excusing what your father is doing, he is a bit too protective on you but that is because he cares a lot for you.” We went silent again, as we drove into a drive thru of McDonald’s and ordered some breakfast.

We went to the park, it was a perfect day to be eating outside. The sun was up high, despite it being morning. “So you fell in love with your kidnapper? You should write a book.” I wiggled my nose at the thought, I don’t think I would fall in love with my own kidnapper. My mother let out a belly laughter “Sometimes the heart wants what it wants.”