Sindie



I watched Shawn hang up the phone and turned to face Simon and me, the weight of his words hit me like a freight train. “That was the Constable at the police station,” he announced, his voice filled with a mix of disbelief and relief. “They say that Marco just handed himself in.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, I collapsed to the floor, unable to contain my anguish any longer. My precious baby boy had finally received justice. While Marco being behind bars wouldn’t bring him back, it provided a sense of solace knowing that one of Ndumiso’s henchmen was safely confined.

If it hadn’t been for the realisation that it wasn’t my place to take matters into my own hands, I would have exacted my own revenge on him with my bare hands.

***

As I watched the little casket containing Lloyd being lowered into the ground, a profound sense of numbness enveloped me. I knew deep down that I would never see him again, his joyful presence absent from our lives. Strangely, tears refused to fall; it was as if I had shed all the tears I could possibly muster.

Turning my gaze towards Shawn, who had been the pillar of strength for both me and Naledi, I witnessed a crack in his seemingly impenetrable facade. The news of his son’s departure had finally sunk in, evident by the grief etched on his face. I had heard him weeping in the shower during the early hours of the morning, his cries resonating with the pain he had been silently carrying. His exhausted eyes revealed the toll sleepless nights had taken on him in the past two days.

Squeezing his hand tightly, I knew it was my turn to be strong for him. Naledi, our resilient little girl, approached and sat on my lap, seeking comfort in our embrace. I held her tightly from behind, trying to shield her from the weight of the world. As we watched the local man from our close-knit neighbourhood pour soil onto the casket, Naledi’s tears began to flow uncontrollably, causing me to hold her even tighter.

It amazed me how she continued to move forward despite witnessing so much tragedy at her tender age. I glanced up at the sky, the clouds heavy and gray, mirroring the sadness in my heart. The rain had been pouring relentlessly for the past two days, as if the universe itself mourned alongside us. No more, I whispered to myself. No more.

I had reached my breaking point, weary of being tested by life’s relentless pain and heartache. I longed for respite, for my precious little girl to experience a life free from the atrocities of this world.