Soulmate

SOULMATE Episode – 1

WRITTEN BY: DORICA MANDA

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor , and some style. I was chewa but I grew up in the bemba land ,my mother was bemba .
mummy I have a sore but its not paining its just bleeding ” I cried
bleeding “she asked
yes see my all pant is red ” I said
my mother smiled
mummy its not funny ” I said
my daughter you are now a woman” she said
woman ” I asked
yes go bath am coming ” she said
I found her with bana chansa(mother to chansa)
nabakula ba Jenny(jenny has grown)” bana chansa said smiling
mummy am done ” I said facing down
bana chansa was given a chitenge (wrapper) and she cut it into pieces ,she showed me how to use them ,in my time we didn’t know how to use these pads ,we used cloths for our monthly periods ..I was kept in the house for 1 week were I was taught how to behave ..
don’t let a boy touch you or you will get pregnant ” bana chansa said
I nodded
you have heard huh” she asked
yes aunty ” I said
don’t talk to boys anyhow or play with them,those days you used to climb trees are over ” she said
I nodded
I was a fan of being in trees ,and boys were my best friends ..
tomorrow you have to dance in front of a lot of people ” she said
people” I asked
yes ” she said
I can’t ” I said
that’s tradition ,when a girl becomes matured you have to dance in front of people (a large number of people) ” she said
I became nervous ,people will see me dance ,no I can’t ..
i was woke up in the morning and was taken to a river to take a bath ,to my surprise I wasn’t the only one ,we were about 5 ,we took our bath and we went to a small hat were they prepared us for the dance ..we only wore wrappers around our waist ,and our small breasts were exposed ,they put beads around our waist and neck ..our faces were painted red ,we were showed how to dance …
we went out and dance afterr that, we went to our homes …
dad was busy arguing mum ,I had to know why there were arguing
bashi mutale(father to mutale) ,let the girl get married ,that’s tradition when a girl becomes matured she is ready for marriage ” mum said
bana mutale ,she is only 15 ,what can a 15 year old do ?” dad asked
she will be taught everything ” she said
like what ,how to take care of her husband ” he asked
yes ,she knows all the house chores ” she said
bana mutale ,I want my daughter to be educated ” he said
educated women don’t get married these days ” she said
There were was some awkward silence for a while
who is the man or boy you want my daughter to get married too ” he asked
chansa ” she said
chansa who ,” he asked
wait bana chansa ,now chansa? ” he asked
yes ” she said
not in this lifetime and not ever ,that irresponsible boy ,no,no” he said
when he gets married he will change ” she said
so bana chansa has been feeding your head with this nonsense right ” he asked
no am mean yes ,no ” she said
no ,yes what ? My daughter is not getting married to anybody final ” he said
look she is my only daughter ,I want to see her husband before I die ” she said sounding emotional
look mwansa ,(my dad doesn’t call my mother’s name unless he is upset ) don’t put me in a bad mood ,you have 5sons ,go pressure them to get married ” he said
I heard footsteps and I ran to my room ,being the only daughter of the house wasn’t great since I was the youngest and my brothers were home most of the time..
Jenny ” mum called
yes mummy ” I said kneeling down
sit ” she said
we sat on the mat and she looked at me
Jenny, you are my only daughter and I want to see you happy ” mum said
I know mummy ” I said
jenny when a girl becomes matured she is ready to be a wife ” she said
I don’t understand ” I said
I mean you are ready for marriage ” she said
I jumped from the mat ,I acted like I was surprised ..
Jenny please do this for mummy ” she said
I don’t want to get married ,mummy I just passed my exams ” I said
jenny school will not take you anywhere ” she said
mummy I want to be rich ” I said
she laughed very much that I got irritated ..
rich kah” she said
yes mummy ,I don’t want to die in this village ” i said
Jenny you will get married whether you like it or not ” she said
I don’t want to get married ” I said
why do you hate me ” she started crying
my mother was good at emotional blackmail but I never get into her trap cause I know her very well ..
mummy ,I have gone to sleep ” I said
Jenny ,you are not a good girl ” she said
okay mummy ” I said getting up
I went inside and found mutale
hey ba mutale “I said
kasuli(last born)” he said
what time did you get back ” I asked
5 minutes ago ,I saw mum talking to you so I didn’t want to interfere ” he said
I clicked my tongue
what was she telling you that got you in this mood ” he asked
she wants me to get married ” I said
what ,does she know what I go through to raise money for you ,so that you go to school ” he said
I shrugged my shoulders
you will not get married ,hope you haven’t accepted to get married ” he said
no ,I want to finish school ” I said
good girl ” he said
my mother was the only person against me going to school but the rest wanted me to be educated.

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