“I have got something for my girl.”
“What it is?” I cried out “It’s a surprise, just go in to
the hut and you’ll find it there.”
As I got into the house I was taken aback by what I saw.
Instead of the skin that I normally sleep in with Modise was something I have
always heard my city cousin talking about, A BED!! A bed in my hut! I
officially became the first woman in our village to own a bed! What more could
I ask for in this life if I had a man who can make me an historic figure in our
community. Yes, I was part of our village’s history as the next day people
gathered in our yard to see ‘the bed’.
“It a machine!” commented one ignorant youth
“No dull cow, that’s a sleeping gift, you can only get it if
your ancestors allows you to rest or you family is in line with the god of
sleep. It comes through a person you know or maybe a stranger, as long as you
are allowed to rest at night. Oh! If only my gods will allow me to have a one
good rest night rather than make me worry about my community and this no good
youth” extorted an old woman known as Ngaka Gadima, the village witch-doctor.
“How do you know?” shouted a boy who looked like he was
still in his teen age.
“Yeah, old lady how do you know?”
“If you know about my powers, you would not talk to me that
way but to answer your foolish question, my ancestors showed me that in my
visions.”
“You mean your dreams? Well I would not care of any gods or
ancestors as long as I get myself a man who can buy me that, what’s the name
again?” came a wish from one of my fellow young woman.
I was left with Dinny after the crowd has reluctantly
dispensed. Happily I invited her to my bed so that we can give it the first
test together.
“I wonder why anyone would bother himself to buy a girl that
he is not married to a bed and this wrenched low-life villagers, abandoning
their works just to come and look at cheap thing like this! You’ll have thought
better of them!” Those were
‘encouraging’ words from my best friend. I looked at her with disbelief, a
person who is supposed to be celebrating with me bullying me down.
“But, Dinny this is not cheap, Modise told me that he sold
three cows to buy it and also we are engaged which traditionally makes me his
wife.” I gave her an apology answer, wishing inside for her to show some
warmth.
“What! engaged or unmarried isn’t that one and the same
thing, huh? You are getting too clever for your own skin girl! Anyways Modise
is such a stupid crack! He is supposed to at least give poor people those cows
if he had no use for them than go waste them out. Too sad, Belanca you have got
a moron for a man.”
I don’t know how my hand changed from a soft wifely hand to
a hand fit to slap a strong woman like Dinny, knocking her down.
“Never ever call Modise that, you can say whatever you want
to me but not my man, not my man”
I would have gone on top of her and beaten her up if it
was not for the people who held me and led me to my hut. I sat on the bed and
cried, I cried for my lost sister, I cried for having been stupid to see that
all the time she was always belittling me, I cried that it took a simple thing like
the arrival of a bed to see that she was jealous of my relationship with
Modise.
Come Back Next Week for More...
Leina la me ke... My name is...
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