The Dancing Bride And Her Spirit Warrior - Episode 31

 

Vuyanzi slowly approached her grandmother’s gate. A hoot from a car made her turn around, she turned to see Koni standing before the car waving at her. How did he manage to look so good every time she looked at him?

See you soon, his voice was in the wind. She smiled and waved back at him. This time she stood and watched him get in the car and drive off . Koni wanted to come in with her but Vuyanzi stopped him. She wasn’t ready to tell her grandmother that she and Koni had agreed to go out. To date. Koni was ready to jump into marriage but Vuyanzi stopped him there, she didn’t think she was ready for that. She wanted more time with him, to get to know him better. Koni argued that it was pointless to wait because they were already bonded for life and she was never getting away from him. Vuyanzi asked him to give her more time to come in terms with everything.

 A dancing bride, that’s what Koni had called her. His dancing bride, a mate, a wife.

Koni hadn’t want to let her go back home because of the possible threat surrounding her life. Vuyanzi stood her ground and said she would be going home to see her grandmother even if it was for a short while. She also had to go through her college and try to catch up with her classes, at that Koni suggested that she should postpone her course for the semester at least until the threat had been eliminated

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. Vuyanzi told him point blank that she could do no such thing. She was going to go back in classes and no amanani is going to stop her. She had worked hard in school in order to achieve that scholarship, she was not going to lose it. Koni had mumbled something about her being hard headed and stubborn for no reason. How would he protect her if she kept defying him?

Koni had agreed to let her go after she agreed to go out with him in the weekend. Since he released her on a Friday morning after the big reveal, he wanted to see her almost immediately. They were to go for their first date on Saturday at night, tomorrow night. Vuyanzi agreed and Koni offered to drive her home. He reminded her to keep the phone close to her and answer whenever he called or else he would hunt her down. The thought sent a thrill down her spine, Vuyanzi wanted Koni to hunt her down like an animal.

‘’Go,’’ Vuyanzi shooed him away with her hands, whispering silently. She wasn’t liking the attention Koni was attraction. Some of their neighbors were pocking their heads over the fence to look at Koni. Koni didn’t seemed to be affected by the attention. He kept smirking at her, his eyes hidden behind the dark sunglasses. Vuyanzi asked herself how she hadn’t come to notice the some obvious characteristics when it came to giving her a clue who Koni was. First he had a graceful gait that a man of his size rarely possessed. He was also first, very quick on his feet and had the keenest ears she had ever experienced. When she was still bedridden on his house, a cough was enough to send him upstairs to her side. Whenever she tried the door to step outside the bedroom, he was waiting for her on the other side. She now understood how.

See you tomorrow, his voice in the wind whispered before he turned round and entered his car and drove off. Her hurt felt a tag, she was already missing him. It was a good thing they were meeting the next day. She realized that she was looking forward to her date with Koni.

She shook off the thoughts of Koni out of her head and decided to focus on her grandmother. Besides she had to get her life back in line. She had lost two weeks.

Vuyanzi took in a deep breath and trudged into her grandmother’s old wooden gate. She opened the gate to come across Tabu her cousin holding the broom used to sweep the leaves on the floor.

‘’Vuyanzi you’re here,’’ to her biggest surprise Tabu jumped into her arms and gave Vuyanzi a very tight hug nearly chocking Vuyanzi out. Vuyanzi instinctively hugged her back, deep down she was tired of bickering with her closest cousin, and she was ready to bury the hatchet. Tabu had visited her once according to Ma. Anika. Vuyanzi had been sleeping and Tabu had left as quickly as she came. Vuyanzi wished she had been awake to see Tabu.

‘’Yes am home cuzo (cousin), how are you?’’ Tabu held Vuyanzi at arm’s length and looked at her from head to the new shoes Koni had insisted she put on.

‘’Forget about me, look at you Vuyanzi, you are glowing. You have added weight and your skin is so clear. What have they been feeding you up in the reserve? Shosho was right, you staying with Koni was a really wise idea,’’ Tabu exclaimed twirling around Vuyanzi.

Vuyanzi ignored the question, ‘’is shosho in? I haven’t seen her in two days?” Vuyanzi knew her shosho had to be in, her market stall was closed when she passed there with Koni on their way here.

‘’She is in, she would love to see you. Come in,’’ Tabu took the bag small bag Vuyanzi was carrying and ushered Vuyanzi in. Koni had insisted that she take some clothes he had bought for her. Vuyanzi had finally opened the large suitcase Ma. Anika was carrying. It contained dresses, skirts, shoes and other clothes. To her dismay they contained price tags that were so pricey. She never owned such beautiful garments in her life. Her old clothes had strangely disappeared and the new clothes replaced them practically overnight. Ma. Anika only shrugged her shoulders when asked. She feigned innocence but Vuyanzi was not fooled, she saw the twinkle in the old woman’s eyes. Now Vuyanzi walked around looking like a new coin.

‘’Shosho, Vuyanzi is here. Come and see your granddaughter,’’ Tabu shouted as they entered the house. Vuyanzi welcomed the sweet scent of her grandmother’s house. She didn’t realize she had missed it so much.

‘’Vuyanzi is here?’’ Lishevi shouted from somewhere in the house surprise in her voice. Vuyanzi had planned to surprise her grandmother and it seemed to have worked.

She started towards her grandmother’s bedroom really anxious to see the old woman.

‘’Shosho,’’ she called out but before she could open the door, it opened and another woman stepped out. Vuyanzi stopped on her tracks, staring at the lady before her. Who was she?

‘’Vuyanzi?’’ the lady called out in a voice that Vuyanzi could only say chocking. Was she sick? Vuyanzi wondered why she looked distantly familiar. Had they met? She wanted to ask her but stopped when she saw the anguish written on her face.

Vuyanzi moved forward and held lightly her trembling arm, ‘’Are you okay?’’

The lady responded by gripping her in a tight hug and breaking down. Her body rocked by sobs. Vuyanzi’s heart was breaking, why was this lady crying so much? Vuyanzi only patted her back hoping she would stop crying whoever she was. She had a nice scent, her perfume spicy.

‘’Vuyanzi?’’ her grandmother called out from behind her, ‘’Neza stop you will choke her out. She is not completely healed yet,’’

Vuyanzi gently pried herself from the arms of the crying woman, whom her grandmother called Neza, a beautiful name. The woman tried to stop her tears from flowing. She was a mess, a beautiful mess. Now that Vuyanzi was free from the tight hug, she could look at the woman before her. The tears did nothing to hide her beauty. She had wide eyes with long eyelashes. They were rimmed with tears that kept flowing from her eyes. Her perfect make up smudged. She was dressed on a knee high length orange dress, her curvy legs were encased in six inch high heels. Her afro hair carefully arranged on top of her head. She clearly had class.

What was such a person doing in her grandmother’s old home? She was so out of place.

‘’Vuyanzi what are you doing here? You were to stay at the reserve until you get better,’’ Lishevi asked her arms akimbo. Vuyanzi felt her grandmother gaze perusing her from head to toe.

‘’I am fine shosho, you couldn’t come see me so I came to you,’’ Vuyanzi admitted scratching the back of her neck. Vuyanzi could feel the lady’s eyes on her. She turned to see the lady was still crying silently, tears were soundlessly falling down her cheeks now as she looked at Vuyanzi.

‘’Why are you crying?’’ Vuyanzi couldn’t help but ask. The lady broke down again and lowered her head on her hand and hiccupped. Vuyanzi’s heart was breaking for her. Nobody should be that sad.

‘’I am fine sweetheart, I am just happy to see you okay…,’’ she started talking with a Ugandan accent, it had a musical sound to it. Did she just call Vuyanzi sweetheart?

‘’Neza control yourself, you will get yourself sick with all this crying,’’ Vuyanzi could see that Lishevi really wanted to roll her eyes back. Neza let out a nervous chuckle that sounded more like an airy giggle.

‘’Vuyanzi, this here is Neza, she is…um…your…our guest, greet her properly,’’ Lishevi said her voice a bit tentative. Vuyanzi shook hands with Neza, ignoring her grandmother’s unsure words. Whoever Neza was, she was clearly affecting her grandmother. Neza reluctantly let Vuyanzi’s hand go. Neza’s hands were soft and warm. It was like she had never done any labour in her life.

Vuyanzi looked at her grandmother, she looked tired and worried.

Read " Jabali's Redemption " by the same author ( Razia Iminza )

. Her loud boisterous voce seemed to have shrunk. She seemed the opposite of her normal self. Vuyanzi remembered her retching on the lawn almost two weeks ago, on the night of her attack. They had never got around talked about it and every time the old woman brushed the questions off. She claimed to have food poisoning but it was all better now but Vuyanzi doubted it. She was planning to convince the old woman to go and take a test in the hospital to get to the bottom of it. And what was up with her grandmother’s nightly visits with Guma, the medicine man? What was up with that? Vuyanzi was determined to find answers.

‘’Nyanya, we have to talk. I want you to listen carefully, hmmm?’’ Lishevi said once they were all seated down. Neza had taken the closest seat to Vuyanzi and nodded when her grandmother spoke. Tears were shiny in her eyes.

Vuyanzi swallowed with apprehension fearing what she was yet to hear. She didn’t liken this even on bit.

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