Chapter Fifteen

The next day Munzi was up by the crack of dawn. She wanted to enjoy the beautiful sunrise over the hills. There were birds chirping and the cows mooing. Soon everyone would be awake. The milk men milking, some older women picking tea. The young women preparing breakfast for the whole family and preparing for the long day ahead. The whole village would be bustling with life and it would no longer be so quiet. She wanted the quiet to clear her mind. So she took a blanket and sat by the window, planning her day. After breakfast, she would go find Kwela who would hopefully lead her to Hita. After that she would find Kabila and complete her mission. The rest of the day would be spent just walking around and taking in the place for the last time. She had no plans whatsoever of coming back home ever. Unless God had other plans for her. After about an hour of being lost in thought, the sky turned pink and Munzi was roused to life by the mooing cows. Time had gone by so fast. She didn't even notice that her parents were already awake until she saw them getting in the car and leaving for work. They were both teachers at different schools. Her father taught history and geography at the local high school while her mother taught at the local primary school. They were well respected and also the reason why Munzi wanted to have her own career. Sure she could have become a teacher but that would have meant going to the university that was in the other village. Only five kilometers and she'd have to walk to get there. That was not her dream and no school nearby offered her desired course. Leaving had been her only option. She just wished that she didn't have to do it under such heart wrenching circumstances. But such is life. Shit happens to us for a reason. With that thought she got up and made the bed. After that she went into the bathroom and washed her face with cold water. After changing into a long black dress and combing her hair, she went downstairs.

There was no one in the kitchen and the house was awfully quiet for a Saturday morning. She was grateful since one couldn't be so sure of everyone's reaction after last night. In the kitchen, there was a flask full of tea and bread on the side. She opened the flask and sure enough, it was full of tea which had lots of milk. She had missed that. In school milk wasn't something she could afford. She poured herself a mug and spread strawberry jam on four slices of bread. She didn't feel like cooking so that simple meal would have to do.

One hour later, she was walking East of her parents house to go find her cousin. She no longer felt any remorse or resentment but somethings had to be said. After having visited the morgue on numerous occasions, she knew that we can lose our lives at any moment. Should she have died, she didn't want to carry those words with her. As she neared the gate, she heard the cries of a child. Her heart started beating faster. Maybe she had been wrong. Seeing the child of the man she had once loved would affect her differently than she expected. She got a bit scared and prayed that she wouldn't do anything to hurt the child before opening the gate and getting in. Sitting on a rocking chair, was her aunt Combi. She was a plump woman full of health and wellness. She had been Munzi's favorite aunt and the person she always went to for advice. That was before. Now Munzi wasn't so sure if her aunt would like to see her. Well there was only one way to find out. She walked towards the older woman in slow and quiet steps.

"Auntie." She called out when she was standing before the woman.

"If you are here to cause trouble then I suggest that you leave right away. I don't have a place in my home for home wreckers." Combi said without meeting Munzi's gaze.

"I'm not here for trouble. I just want to talk to my cousin." Munzi said after fighting the tears. How simple were humans. Giving up on each other because of something so trivial. No one is perfect so why couldn't they see that?

"She's gone to the shop for diapers. You can wait for her." Combi said adjusting the now quiet baby on her thigh.

"Okay, I'll wait." Munzi said taking a seat on the bench next to her aunt. "Is that her baby?" She asked to make conversation. There was no mistake that that was Hita's child. Shim had his eyes and forehead.

"Yeah, this is my granddaughter." Combi said smiling sweetly at the baby. Munzi felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. She didn't know what she had expected. Maybe she had secretly hoped that karma would avenge her or something. But that baby looked cute and healthy and it was a girl. She loved girls and had hoped that they'd have a boy.

"She's cute. What's her name?" She found herself asking instead of telling her disappointment even though she knew that her eyes gave her away.

"Kanzi." Combi said finally turning to look at Munzi with what could only be a foreign look in her eyes. Munzi blinked. She knew that she knew that name from somewhere. She just couldn't put her finger on where. She decided she would ask her mother later.

"Munzi? Is that you?" Kwela's voice pulled her out of her mind. She hadn't even heard her coming. She stood up and looked at her cousin. Kwela looked alot healthier and her skin was glowing. Motherhood really looked good on her. Munzi smiled.

"Hi Kwela." She said putting her hand out for her cousin to shake.

"Hey. You look nice." Kwela said eyeing her slender cousin. Munzi had never been one be body conscious. She loved her body but at this point she found herself wishing that she had more pronounced curves. Not that it would matter because her parents would kill her if she wore the short, tight and revealing clothes she always dreamed of. She envied Kwela.

"Thanks. You do too. Motherhood really suits you." Munzi said and looked at her cousin's hand which was in hers. She had a wedding ring on her ring finger.

"We got married two months after you left." Kwela explained when she saw Munzi looking at her finger.

"Congratulations. I'm glad you two worked out." Munzi said taking it all in.

"Kwela dear, why don't you give me the diapers and I'll go change Kanzi." Combi said and took the hamper bag her daughter was carrying.

"Why did you come here?" Kwela asked sitting on the bench after her mother was already in the house.

"I just needed to tell you some things to clear my heart." Munzi said also sitting on the bench. She was feeling tired and this was the minor part of her problem.

"I bet you're here to give me a piece of your mind." Kwela guessed. "It's okay, I deserve it."

"I don't want to hurt you but I need to say this Kwela. You hurt me so badly." Munzi admitted turning to look at her cousin. "And it still hurts to see that everything worked out for you so well. You have everything I always wanted. You are a traitor and a bad person. But at the same time I guess it was also partly my fault. I pushed for something which I knew wouldn't work. I didn't want to admit that I was wrong and Hita was never mine. I'm happier now but that doesn't mean you were right. In fact, why don't you look at my face. These tears have been caused  by your betrayal. You almost broke me and I just want you to realize that. I don't like you anymore and I hope that you go to hell." She finished and ran away. She was breathing hard after having popped off like a balloon. It was exhausting. She kept walking for a long time until her legs could no longer take it and she had to stop. Perhaps by coincidence or some other higher power, she stopped at the spot on the river where she and Hita had spent a lot of their time. She stopped and pushed back the tears. It was easier for her to cry nowadays. She found it relieving that she no longer had to bottle everything up anymore. Sitting there she didn't even remember that this had been the spot she and Hita had started, lived and ended. If the bank could speak, oh the stories it would tell. Their stories. It had watched the young lovers fire bloom until they both went down in flames.

But instead remembering that she was remembering something worse. Something that her brain had buried deep down a long time ago. Actually not something but rather someone who's death she had caused.

"Oh Kanzi why did you have to do that?"