Episode 7
Pain.
If you had the power to keep yourself from feeling it, would you embrace it?
They say that pain is a mechanism our brain employs to protect us from impending danger; that despite its unpleasantness, its aim is a positive one. But what happens when you become so accustomed to pain that you become immune to it?
Living in my self-imposed prison, pain to me had become a familiarity, a feeling I desperately clung to and pined for as if for dear life. While others existed for the ultimate goal of attaining happiness, for me, such a thought in itself was a sentence to eternal damnation.
I was so engrossed in my pursuit of penance and delusion of safety promised to me by the haven I had created for myself behind the walls of my prison that I was completely unaware of the power of love and what it could do to this hell I had perfectly crafted for myself.
Thus, when the walls came tumbling down, I was neither prepared nor willing to accept the changes that came with this thing called love. But as you might already know, when love comes, it does not knock and it does not seek permission.
But how was I to know that?
After running her errands in preparation for her upcoming trip, Sibusiswe decided to pass through Sibesoâs home in Chelstone, off Palm Drive. It was the only place she could think of where she could get the thoughts that had been troubling her the whole day out of her mind.
âIs your husband home?â Sibusiswe asked as Sibeso ushered her into the house.
The pile of mens and childrenâs shoes by the side of the passageway leading to the living room reminded Sibu of a time when such a scene spelled home for her. The loud aroma of freshly cooked Okra that filled the air sÂŁduced Sibuâs senses and made her stomach growl in expectation.
âWhenever you ask about my hubbyâs presence, I know that you have some pent up awful things to say about your former mother in-law,â Sibeso remarked as she sat on the arm of the red leather sofa that Sibusiswe had just thrown herself on.
âFortunately for you, he isnât home.â Sibeso said. âHe left with the kids just after having supper, said heâs going to get some ice cream for them since we ran outâŠbut I know he has other plans in mind.â And whilst standing up she added, âI have some food that remained from dinner, want me to warm it up for you? I know how much you love okra.â
Sibusiswe shook her head. âIf I let you get to the kitchen then you and I wonât get to talk before your husband and the kids get back. Just get me a glass of juice, the usual.â She then reached forward and grabbed the remote control from the table and switched from Disney Junior to Discovery ID.
âHow is Maleficent?â Sibeso shouted from the dining room.
Maleficent was the nickname the two women had secretly given Martinâs mother thanks to her make-up style and mannerisms that mirrored those of Angelina Jolie in her iconic role as the villain in the Disney film.
âHow did you know that I had seen her today?â Sibu shouted back.
Sibeso appeared just then with a glass on juice on a small tray and la!d it before her friend. âBecause I am your best friend and I know that she is the only species capable of draining the life out of youâŠapart from Martin of course,â she said and went to seat on the single seater couch adjacent to the one Sibu was seated on.
âYou said something about your hubby having other plans,â Sibu said, fully turning her body around to look at her friend as she sipped from her glass of juice. âHe is not cheating on you, is he?â
Sibeso cackled. âOf course not silly,â she said. âAt least to the best of my knowledge, he isnât. But, even if he was, taking Mapalo with him would be a dumb move on his part.â She chuckled some more. âThat girl is a parrot and a human PVR, even DSTV has nothing on her. She will come and offload everything she sees and hears before I even ask.â
The two women enjoyed a hearty laugh as Sibeso went on to gush about her adventures as a house wife and mother to a five year old girl and four year old boy.
âSo what happened with Maleficent today?â Sibeso finally asked. âShe didnât come to pressure you about Jacobâs custody issue did she?â
âNot today,â Sibu replied.
âOne of these days you should tell her off or I will. If not for you she would have no precious son to boast about. I would love to see the look on her naturally pissed off face when she learns the truth. That should shut her up for the next fifteen years.
âI know right,â Sibu snickered. âBut still, thatâs the one thing about my life I like to remain private. So, about my day todayâŠthe most unbelievable thing happened that made my blood turn black.â
Sibeso looked at Sibu expectantly. âWhat happened?â she asked.
âI had just finished declaring war with my aunt and was ready to bounce back to my car when right outside the shop, I bumped into Maleficent.â
Sibeso gasped. âWhat the hell?â
âI am telling you!â Sibu answered. âWhat could the two women who hate me the most in this world be possibly plottingâŠsuddenly acting like the best of friends hugging and laughing as if they were never at logger heads before. That whole episode today made me really nervous. I feel like there is a war being plotted out there and I am the only one unarmed. Do you think Iâm being paranoid?â
Sibeso shook her head. âI donât think you are being paranoid sweetie; I also think something is off with those two. They hated each other so why are they suddenly being Twilight with each other?!â
âHow can I find out whatâs going on before itâs too late?â Sibu asked. âKnowing my aunt, she must be the reason behind this kind of development.â
âHow about asking Mwiche?â Sibeso suggested. âYou two still talk, right?â
âYes we do, I donât know why I didnât think of that.â Sibu answered. âShe had called me last night just to check up on meâŠand I even made a blunder, imagine.â
âWhat kind of blunder?â A wide-eyed Sibeso asked.
âI accidently mentioned my trip to SA while we were talkingâŠthing is, I have not yet told Martin about it. She must have called him the moment she got off the phone with me because he has been calling me incessantly since.â
âAnd why havenât you told him yet?â Sibeso asked.
âBecause I kind of feel bad about taking away his son even if itâs only for a short while,â Sibu replied.
Sibeso scoffed. âYou think two years without seeing your son in a short while?â
Sibu was momentarily at a loss for words. âNow that youâve put it like thatâŠâ Sibu raised her shoulders. âBut this is an opportunity I canât afford to miss Sibe. You know very well how the past years have been for me in terms of career advancements. I really need to do this.â
âPass me that remote,â Sibeso asked Sibusiswe.
Sibu was about to hand it over when she changed her mind. âWhat do you want to do? It better not be because you want to change the channel.â
âI donât know why you are so addicted to these crime channels,â Sibeso remarked. âOnly people that want to commit the perfect crime get hooked on such shows. If itâs Maleficent you are plotting to kill, please count me in,â she joked.
Sibu grabbed a cushion and playfully threw it at Sibeso who caught it in time to avoid being hit.
âWill you tell Martin who you will be staying with in South Africa?â Sibeso asked, a mischievous grin playing on her face.
âWhatever evil thoughts are going through that head of yours, stop,â Sibu warned. âThere is nothing going on between Ted and I. Weâve always been good friends and Martin knows itâŠnot that I care about what he thinks. We are way passed the point of interfering in each otherâs lives.â
âDo you think Ted feels the same way?â Sibeso asked.
âWhat do you mean?â Sibu asked.
Sibeso sat up straight to drive her point across. âTell me Sibu, why would a guy that good-looking, rich, well educated, smart, a great career, and has everything going well for him still be single up to now?â She asked.
âWhat has that got to do with me?â Sibu retorted dismissively. âMaybe he just hasnât found the right woman yet but that doesnât mean that woman is me. Ted and I sorted out our issues a long time ago. He made it very clear what his feeling wereâŠare towards me so stop trying to dress up an innocent friendship into something perverse and unfitting.â
âIf you say so,â Sibeso shrugged her shoulders, not convinced in the slightest by her friends monologue.
As Sibusiswe drove back to her place that evening, her mind wondered back to the past, to the moment in time when her world had slowly started spinning out of control.
If she could go back in time, would she be able to see the signs and stick to her resolve to safely guard the walls around her? If she had that chance, would she still make the same decisions?
âYou look like s–t,â Conrad noted the moment Martin joined them at the bar.
For a man who cared about appearances as much as the air he breathed, Martin was looking a little worse for wear in his ill-fitting grey t-shirt and suit pants which he must have obviously forgotten to take off after knocking off from work. He never ever wore anything casual on a suit pant. Being an extremist in most areas of his life, Martinâs wardrobe consisted of full on office wear which were mostly suits and full on casual wear which comprised mostly jeans and t-shirts âŠand these two categories never ever crossed borders, until that Friday evening at the bar.
âI think he killed someone and kept the t-shirt as a trophy,â Nelson Chanda teased his boss. Nelson had joined M&M just two years ago and managed to successfully ingratiate himself into Martinâs social cycle.
âI am kind of forced to agreeâŠâ Kondwani Musaba chipped in. Being the only one in the group not a lawyer, Kondwani was the least outspoken of the four friends.
Martin rolled his eyes dismissively at his three friends. âGo on, take jabs at your boss now. This is the only time you get to have your revenge.â
Conrad handed Martin an already opened bottle of Castle Lite. âBut serious man, what happened to you?â He asked, looking down at Martinâs muddy slippers.
Martin ran his hand through his head and sighed heavily. âMy ex-wife happened,â he said and took a sip of his beer before laying the bottle back on the counter with a thud.
âWhat happened with Sibu? Did she finally ask for child support? Knowing her, it should be a tag so high even you wouldnât afford it.â Nelson joked and won himself disapproving looks from everyone. âMy bad,â he raised his hands in the air. âWhat did she do?â
âIt would be nice if she asked for some money, any amount that way I would feel less guilty towards her.â Martin was saying. âBut Sibu being Sibu, she still refuses to accept any form of financial assistance from me, even for my own son. But thatâs not why I am upsetâŠ.â
âThe Sibu- effect,â Conrad said before Martin could finish what he was saying.
âSibu-effect?â Kondwani asked, looking from one friend to the other. From all their expressions, it was obvious he was the only one in the dark.
Conrad and Nelson were now laughing to their hearts content, much to Martinâs chagrin.
âCan you two behave?â Martin warned.
Choose Episodes Below;
Note: episodes already read are highlighted in red!
Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 Episode 11 Episode 12 Episode 13 Episode 14 Episode 15 Episode 16 Episode 17 Episode 18 Episode 19 Episode 20 Episode 21 Episode 22 Episode 23 Episode 24 Episode 25 Episode 26 Episode 27 Episode 28 Episode 29 Episode 30 Episode 31 Episode 32 Episode 33 Episode 34 Episode 35 Episode 36 Episode 37 Episode 38 Episode 39 Episode 40 Episode 41
Leave a Reply