Zvakatangira pa Gochi Gochi (Storms of Vicissitudes): Pearls before Swine: Part 2
We later parted ways, Tsunami was scheduled to travel back to South Africa the following day.
I got home just before curfew. I was under the guardianship of my Aunt, my parents retired just after I finished college. They had relocated to a semi-developed district out of Harare where my mother had taken commitment to be a full-time Preacher.
When Mama preaches, hell freezes and demons tremble!
A dedicated prayer warrior who worships from dawn till dusk.
She raised me in the stewardship of Christ and taught me how to fight in prayer from a very young age.
My parents wanted the best for me in terms of career opportunities hence I stayed behind with my Aunt in Harare. My Aunt was a no nonsense strong willed woman, who laid down strict rules on a rock, some reasonable and some not.
I couldn’t afford to get a place of my own, my internship salary was not enough. I had no choice but to endure the emotional and mental tax of staying at my Aunt’s place. On the other hand, my boss wasn’t the easiest to deal with, she threw tantrums like a teething toddler.
I would work overtime till midnight whenever there was a backlog and I was not paid for the overtime. I needed Corporate experience, I had no choice but to endure. Life had me trapped in-between a hard place and a rock.
Tsunami took an obsessive interest in me, he called every day, and he kept insisting that I join him in South Africa, but I wasn’t interested. In the end, the more we spoke the closer we got and I found myself in a ‘Situationship’.
I couldn’t qualify or dignify us to relationship status because I wasn’t in love with him, though I liked him.
As months passed by, my situation both at work and home got complex. It got to a point whereby at both places I was on last warning, at home, I was told that if I ever came back home late, I would have to pack and go. At work, I was told that if I did not work overtime, I would be dismissed.
The week that followed, my boss gave me a new overtime schedule to finish at ten pm. I just couldn’t go on, I had to resign to manage and keep the peace with my aunt. I couldn’t go to my parents’ place, there were no career opportunities in that district.
A few days after I had resigned, Tsunami begged for my presence, he loathed my absence. He wanted to be with me, he couldn’t handle the distance anymore. He wanted us to be closer, he wanted more of me, he was eager to upgrade our ‘situationship’ into a relationship.
He told me there were plenty of opportunities awaiting me in South Africa. Impulsively I agreed, I was fed up, stressed, frustrated with my situation but most of all, I was naive.
Tsunami didn’t waste time, the following day, he made arrangements for me to meet up with his friend’s wife, ‘River’. River had came for a visit, she permanently resided in South Africa. She knew Tsunami through her husband, they were close.
River looked well kept, she was a beautiful warm girl with a steady demeanor in both her aura and her looks, she was as calm as a Middle East river, she spoke well and assured me about Tsunami, and I was at ease.
With much confidence and assurance from River, I didn’t think twice. The day that followed, I traveled to my parent’s place to say my goodbyes.
I lied, “Mum and Dad I got a good job offer in South Africa, they want me there in a few days”.
Mama didn’t waste time, she did what she knew best, praised, worshiped and prayed. At that point, I wasn’t even sure if the demons got nervous or they were celebrating my deceit.
I had so much guilt and shame before God and my parents, but I had made up my mind, I was hungry for greener pastures and a brighter future. I wanted to make it in life just as much as I wanted to breathe. I was done being at the mercy of my Aunt and my boss, I wanted independence, security and a new start.
In as much as I had set my mind, part of me was fearful of what lied ahead. I didn’t know if things were going to work out with Tsunami. I poured out my fears to my best friend Hurricane and asked her to accompany me to South Africa. The day before we left, she developed cold feet and refused to come with me.
“Go Tornado, I will follow when you have settled”.
Almost in tears, “Hurricane, what am I supposed to do now? I am scared to go on my own.”
I was scared of getting intimate with Tsunami, I had never had intercourse and I knew there was no way out. In my twenty-year-old brain, I thought if I went with a friend, Tsunami would not sleep with me. My other best friend Thunder couldn’t accompany me as well, she had commitments and fears too.
Thunder was cute and winsome in looks both affable and amiable, amicably balanced in nature. She was very protective of our friendship just like Jupiter is to Earth, with her, I felt secure and at home.
In the end, I told myself, “I will face that man size D when I get there. I must go and take advantage of the career opportunities that Tsunami spoke about”.
I was an ambitious girl, I wanted the most and the best for both my life and my family, I craved a brighter future.
Tsunami had booked me in a “City to City’ bus through a well-known driver nicknamed ‘Cross Border”. I didn’t have a passport, It had not been issued, the only way was to cross the border illegally, it was hard to get a passport issued, passports were gold.
My two best friends Hurricane and Thunder escorted me to the bus station consoling and assuring me that all was going to be well.
“Tornado don’t be afraid, don’t forget who you are, you are a warrior, a force to be reckoned with, that’s why you are named after a storm. You are a wind that can never be trapped, things are going to work out.”
Just after they turned their backs, I was suddenly stormed an avalanche of different emotions. I cried and prayed at the same time. I cried for my best friends, I didn’t know how I was going live with them by my side, I wanted their support, and I needed God.
Throughout the journey, I had episodical moments of fear, regret, guilty, anxiousness but mostly bravery, hope and determination. Just after the birth of dawn, we arrived in Johannesburg, Park Station.
Imi!
I talked to myself in Oprah Winfrey’s voice, “Bysh, lock up that weak fragile Tornado and lose the keys now! Unleash the confident diva in you and put a game face now, you got this!”
I just couldn’t let Tsunami see me at my weakest, I just couldn’t dignify his ego and give up mine so easily. I had to put my game face on.
I wanted him to see the same confident girl he met at Adelaide acres, not a confused bruised timid girl.
“Bring it on”, adjusting my neck, I confidently whispered unleashing the diva in me.
I quickly refreshed my face and fixed my hair whilst chewing my gum for a fresh breath, I clenched my small bag and made my way out of the bus. Wrestling with my mind trying to silence the fragile Tornado who was still whispering all sorts of voices of fear, the confident Tornado hissed in Oprah Winfrey’s voice, “Bysh, I told you to stay locked, get yourself together!”
I was suddenly clothed in strength, confidence as I walked towards the benches. Immediately I heard a deep husky voice, “Tornado!”
I tousled my hair, put my chin up, squared up shoulders and walked as gracefully as a swam towards him. Tsunami stood still gazing at me, arms wide open to embrace me, a wide untamed grin on his face.
Buried in his arms, hypnotized by his scent, all sorts of emotions evoked, I was caught up in a turmoil of two conflicting parallels, ‘fragile Tornado and Confident Tornado’. One fighting to serve him and the other refusing to lose control.
He pulled my face closer to his, in the coolness of his shadow, he inhaled my exhale and whispered, “Bhebhi rangu”.
My insides squirmed.
A millisecond before his lips touched mine, an old woman whom had been sitting next to in the bus tapped my back, and murmured, “Nhai mwanangu, ko ma toilet arikupi?”
To hear yakatambika tasvika kumba, download ebook on Kindle Amazon or order the Novel ‘Storms of Vicissitudes’ on Amazon.
Link below
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rudo+muzondo&crid=2EWR9LZ8J3FFM&sprefix=rudo+muzondo+%2Caps%2C692&ref=nb_sb_noss
