Chapter 4 Departure of a love one

After that incident, I found myself spending most of my days locked up in my room. My mother stopped talking to me, treating me like an outsider. I wasn't allowed to leave the house without her permission, and as my final exams approached, the days slowly passed by. I reached out to Zuko to explain what had happened, and he understood everything. He promised to help me find a way to write my exams. Every day, my stepdad would bring up the incident, adding his own version to the story, further infuriating my mom. He kept reopening old wounds and making matters worse.

The relationship between my mom and me became increasingly bitter. She no longer responded to my greetings and treated me as if I didn't exist or matter to her.

On the first day of my final exams, my mom went out for a check-up, and my stepdad went to the bar, leaving me alone at home. Even though I had been strictly warned not to leave the house, I decided to take the chance. Zuko came over to help me sneak out through a bush path instead of the main road, to avoid being seen. I locked my room from the inside and arranged my bed to make it look like someone was sleeping under the sheets. My mom would be back by four, and the exams would end by three. Quickly, we made our way to the school to write our first paper, and just as planned, I arrived home just in time before my mom returned. We continued this routine until the last day of the exams, but many things went wrong.

As usual, Zuko came over, and we went to school together. Unbeknownst to me, my stepdad had returned a few minutes after I had left, but luckily, he had no idea that I wasn't at home yet. After our first paper that day, we had another paper scheduled for later in the afternoon, but it was delayed. A fellow student asked me to pick up a piece of paper for him, unaware that it contained answers to the questions we were answering. Just as I took the paper, the invigilator approached me. He took the paper from me and confiscated my answer script. I pleaded for him to return it, explaining that I had only picked it up from the floor and it wasn't mine. He refused to listen and threatened to cancel my exam for the day. Despite my pleas, he remained unmoved.

One of the teachers noticed what was happening and intervened. After both the invigilator and I explained our sides of the story, the teacher took the invigilator aside, and they had a brief discussion. When the invigilator returned, he said he had changed his mind and would give me back my script. However, he demanded a payment of two hundred rands in cash, which was a significant amount for me at that moment. I begged him to give me some time, as I couldn't provide the money immediately, but he refused. Fortunately, Zuko came to my rescue and gave me the exact amount needed to pay the invigilator. Finally, the invigilator handed me back my answer script. After the exam, I thanked Zuko and asked where he had gotten the money. He explained that he had brought extra money with him, as his sisters had warned him that invigilators often extort money from students during final exams by making false accusations. I was immensely grateful to him and gave him a tight hug. He was glad to have been able to help me.

Realizing how late it was, I hurried back home. However, it was already too late. My mom had discovered that I wasn't at home and had used a spare key to open my room door. When she didn

't find me there, she asked my stepdad where I was, and he simply told her that I had gone to visit my lover. I entered the house to find my mom boiling with anger. She threw an object at me, but I managed to dodge it. I apologized for leaving the house but explained that I needed to write my final exams. I told her how I had registered myself for the exams with the help of a friend and had been sneaking out to go to school. Part of me felt that she believed me, as she calmed down and sat in a chair. She said, "I knew, but I'm angry that you didn't tell me. I saw your registration paper in your room once, and then I noticed some documents I didn't remember you having. I never thought you would go as far as attending school behind my back. I don't have a problem with you going to university, but how will you pay for it?"

"Don't worry, Mom. I will save enough money to pay for it, just like I did to register for the exams," I replied. For a brief moment, the atmosphere became calm, and I was relieved that she finally spoke to me. However, my stepdad didn't like seeing me happy. He yelled, "I can't believe you actually believe what she just said. Fine, she wants to go to school, but don't you care to know how she got that amount of money? Who knows, she might have gotten it from her many lovers. She might have been sleeping with every man in the city..." Before he could continue, my mom interrupted him, shouting back, "I think I know my daughter better than you. She would never stoop so low for money. I didn't say anything when you claimed you caught her with a boy. I chose to ignore it because I didn't think it was her fault, and the boy might have deceived her. But now, you're making such baseless accusations about my daughter. I might actually start believing what she accused you of last time." With that, he angrily stormed out of the house. It came as a shock to me. My mom had actually defended me and believed what I had told her. I turned to see her crying as he left. I went to her, pleading for her not to cry. Through tears, she said, "I'm really sorry, my daughter. It's because of me that you had to go through so much. I didn't know your stepdad could be this cruel and deceitful." At first, I didn't understand why she was apologizing, but she explained that she had discovered all the things my stepdad had been doing to me.

Months passed, and I successfully passed my final exams. Only two months remained until the birth of my baby brother or sister. Things were no longer normal between my mom and stepdad. They frequently quarreled over trivial matters, and my mom refused to share a room with him. My stepdad had stopped pressuring me to fulfill his sexual desires, fearing my mom's wrath. Their marriage was on the verge of breaking apart, and the impending child was the only thing holding them together. My mom decided to go for a scan to determine the gender of the child, but little did she know it would be the biggest mistake of her life.

On that day, I had gone to Zuko's place to stay. His sisters were friendly and always welcomed me. Zuko jokingly teased me, saying they treated me like a sister-in-law. I offered to help his sisters prepare dinner in the kitchen. Visitors were coming over, including Themba's prospective in-laws. Themba, Zuko's second eldest sister, had been asked for her hand in marriage,

and her boyfriend's relatives were coming to discuss the marriage plans. It was great news for the family, especially after the eldest sister's marriage was called off at the last moment due to her pregnancy from a secret lover, which had annoyed her prospective groom. The sisters were seen as women who couldn't get married due to their promiscuous reputation. Themba's marriage was seen as an opportunity for the other sisters to have a chance at married life, so they took extra precautions to ensure everything went smoothly. Zuko's eldest sister, Kimbley, was instructed to stay in her room unless called, to avoid her presence potentially ruining the marriage. I felt it was unfair, but I had no say in their family affairs. Kimbley's five-year-old son, David, was also warned to stay in his room.

Everything was prepared for the visitors. While they discussed in the sitting room, Zuko took me to his room and brought a plate of food for me to eat. There was a troubled look on his face, and I sensed he wanted to tell me something. "Zuko, what's wrong? You seem troubled. What do you want to tell me?" I asked him. He slowly replied, "Akhona, I've been wanting to tell you something for a long time, but I never had the courage to do it." It seemed familiar, and I had a feeling I knew where this was heading. "I'll be leaving soon to live with my uncle in London and continue my studies there. All the preparations have been made for a long time, and I was supposed to leave earlier, but I stayed to help you prepare for your exams," he finally revealed. I hadn't expected that he would one day leave and go far away. I had heard stories of people leaving the country and never coming back, settling down and starting families elsewhere. Tears began to flow down my cheeks, and I felt a gentle hand wiping them away. "Please don't cry. I wish I could take you with me, but it's not possible," he said, trying to comfort me. Nothing he said could ease my pain. I was once again losing someone very dear to me. First, it was my dad, and now Zuko. I couldn't stop my tears as I remembered all the moments I had shared with him. He pulled me closer and gave me a tight hug, comforting me. I asked him, still resting on him, "When are you leaving?" He replied, "Next week," and once again, I cried, realizing that he would be leaving sooner than I had thought. He wouldn't be around when I received my exam results, and I wondered who would help me get to the university. Nonetheless, I was happy for him. He was going to a better place, and I believed he would excel there and become one of the best lawyers. "I hope you will come back," I said hopefully. He reassured me, saying, "Definitely, I can't leave you here. I will come back to take you with me." His words brought some comfort to my heart.