Bowman had fired Mpumi for a mistake that Dion did not believe she made. He remained back in the office with Mpumi. Very concerned, he asked her, “Why did you lie?”
But woman was silent.
………………
At the dining hall, Thabo found Mpumi looking very drained as always. She looked especially sad and confused in that moment. She looked depressed and tired.
“Hey,” he said and he saw her do it all over again—she straightened up and gave a bright smile. She immediately went from sad to extremely joyful.
“Can I just say that shirt on you...my favourite,” said she.
“So, did you buy anything?”
“No. I was waiting for you. I just can't decide what I want for lunch today.”
“You always can’t decide and I’m always there taking decisions for you. It’s like you’ve turned into a wheelbarrow that I ha
Mpumi had brought such devastating to Dion. Dion never really expected Mpumi to ever leave him. His heart was already pulsating and his stomach turning with so much anxiety. He went and held Mpumi into his arms, he tried convincing her to stay and not leave.Mpumi took her hands back from Dion’s grip, “I took a gamble and I came to this city. It hasn’t been easy ever since. If I’m not trying to find you, I’m dying. If I’m not dying, I’m fighting for you. There is nothing left for me here.”He reached for her shoulders, “The kids...”“They have you.”“The homeless-people project...”“It’s in good hands.”“Your job...”“I resigned.”A bit hesitant, Dion was doubting himself but finally he summoned the courage to say, “Me...”“I fought for you, and you tore me down. I tried persisti
Benson Hill, the son to Gertrude and a cousin to Dion was in town. He was out with two of his goons on lunch. They sat at their table and discussed way forward.“I thought you'd have forgiven him by now.” Ted said, “Considering that he’s changed and all.”“Allegedly,” said Benson, a fit and handsome young man. “And I don’t care if he’s changed or not. He treated me so badly when we were kids. He bullied me and made fun of me. He humiliated me. I want him to pay. Oh, I’ve waited so long for this day. Dion must pay!”The second friend, Henry, “What do you plan on doing then? We didn’t come here to talk about your past with him all over again. Do you have any ideas on a way forward? Anything at all?”As they gathered at the table, they made sure to keep their voices down. Only they could hear one another. There were occasional pauses here and there. And there an intensi
Gift began fidgeting in discomfort and Sphesihle saw this. “Go,” she said to him.“Hm?” now looking through her eyes.“You’re worried that people are looking at you walking with me and for some reason that doesn’t sit well on you. I’ve tarnished my reputation in this school. I have become a piece of shame in their eyes. For that reason, every person avoids going public with me. So, please go before you get sucked into this dark valley of mine. At least you still have something to save. At least you still care how people see you. Don’t stick with me when you’re not ready to join my club. Go, I’ll be waiting for you afterschool.”Gift felt a sore throbbing inside his throat. What she said was true. Boy, it hurt him to realise it. He was ashamed of being seen with Sphesihle. He may had pursued her but it was always in private spaces.“I’m sorry,” he said and she, facing
Dion took a day off from work. He felt that he needed to nurse his bruised heart. He missed Mpumi. She walked away from him and the life they could have had. Walking down the pavement, through the cool breeze Dion hauled and pushed forward.It began raining, but Dion did not stop to turn back home. Eventually, a car stopped by. Two men jumped out; Benson and Henry. They charged towards Dion and tried pulling him with, but he fought back.Angered by his resistance, they began ganging up on him. Beating him to a pulp. Dion limbered, as if he was suffering from broken bones. No, he limbered in numbness. He would push the ground off his face but in milliseconds he fell back down.Now he was defenceless. Now they carried him with. Inside the car, he seemed unresponsive and that scared Benson. Dion did not seem okay. In fact, he seemed extremely injured. Benson feared for the worst—he didn’t want to be found with Dion’s body if Dion was to end up dea
“Clearly you don’t see what is going on here. This is life.” Sphesihle yelled atop her voice, “It’s gonna be tough but we need to toughen up too. Either you become tough or you learn to play smart. We aren’t cute little baby dolls anymore." Tears started rolling down each of Gift’s cheeks, he summoned up the words, “What do you want me to do?!” “Go home.” Now, Sphesihle went down to him, lowered her voice and spoke softly, “Face your problems yourself. When you get home, you’re faced with two choices…” Gift only remained silent and listened to whatever she would say. She continued, “When you get home, you’re faced with two choices. One, you take whatever they throw at you. You do nothing. You wait until you’re at the age where you can move out and find your own place to stay. Or two, talk them into change and if they don’t respond accordingly, you report them to the social workers. You choose.” “You know I can’t report them. The social workers may take me away and put me in some o
Chapter 139Mpumi was very nervous, sitting in the bus that would take close to 20 hours to arrive to her destination. She would be going back to the city she’d sworn to leave for good.Mpumi was nervous when she made it to the clinic (mental institution). She sat in the short line with other applicants waiting their turn to be interviewed. It wasn’t too long until four (4) of them were called inside.They all sat on the chairs facing their recruiters. They were asked to introduce themselves and give brief details of their achievements.Mpumi knew that she would have to downplay her achievements. If she was to be hired, she should not mention her qualifications for a job like that.--**It seems to me that they are looking for a long-term employee. If I tell them about my qualification and my experience at the ITSU, they’ll only dismiss me. They’ll assume that I’m only here temporarily while looking for a job I&rsqu
Chapter 140Gift went back home as advised by Sphesihle. He decided that he would remain quiet and he would go through his troubles, at least, until he was old enough to move out. Gift did not want to fight with his parents. He did not want to end up in the orphanage. He’d already mocked Vincent for being an orphan. That was not a fate he wanted for himself.Gift had recently turned15 years old. He’d have to wait 3 more years to be of legal age. Surely, 3 years wasn’t that long.Sphesihle was only proud that Gift finally made a decision. She actually wanted him to report his parents, but he chose not to. Sphesihle believed that life was a fight and that people had, at least, the chance to choose their struggle. Gift chose to not have to deal with the life of orphanhood, he opted for the struggle his parents were putting him through instead.Gift would have to find a way to cope for the next 3 years. It was of consolation that Sphesihle p
Chapter 141Onetime, Mpumi was given a chance to take food to the patient in room X1. Mpumi was simply excited, she thought that she would get to interact with that patient. However, the nurse would not give her keys to that room—“I can’t risk your safety, Mpumi. The two officers who brought him here sustained bruises to their faces and one of them even got a nose-bleed.”Mpumi was a little disappointed but she had to do as told or else she would never be given another chance.“You’ll simply pass this tray of food through the small opening on that door and them step back. Do you hear me?”“Yes, ma’am.”Mpumi did as told. She then waited for the patient to leave his bed and get his food from the floor at his door. She waited until she realised that the patient might be waiting for her to leave before he could help himself to the food. Bummed because she wanted to see his face, she t