Mens Secret Cries- All's well that ends well

Bwembya watched as the frail woman lay in front of him refusing to go to the hospital. The walls closed in on them as they sat waiting for the inevitable. What they all knew was coming at a painfully slow pace. She was not the sister he had always known. In her place lay a small child desperate to be held. The anguish kicked at him as he built the courage once more to look at her. How could things have gone so terribly wrong in such a short space of time? Was it his fault for not paying more attention than before? Had he been so wrapped up in his own world that he did not even seem to notice that his sister was taking a turn for the worse?

'Come closer,' a chilly voice erupted from her throat. Unsure of whether to move, Bwembya waited for her husband to take a step closer. She shook her head. a bony finger pointing at Bwembya. She had the life sucked right out of her. He had thought she looked small before but the coat she was always wearing and long hair deceived him. The hurried way in which she scurried around in a a desperate bid for Siphiwes blood had made it impossible for anyone to see any changes in her health. Not any real ones anyway. 'I am sorry,' she managed.

'Tasha don't. You better not die on me or you will have something to be sorry about.'

'How you going to crack jokes now? It is my time she smiled,'

'No sis. I am a man. Do not leave me here crying. I will not be able to be strong. Why did you not tell anyone things were so bad?'

'Baby - let her rest. Let her say what she needs to,' Linda rubbed his back and sat on the bed beside her friend.

'Promise me that you will make an honest woman of her and  tell Siphiwe I am sorry for threatening her life,'

'You did what?' Bwembya exclaimed. Threatened her life? What was Tasha talking about? She could not have been responsible for what he heard happened to Siphiwe. The woman was left so traumatised that she never dared utter a word about her perpetrator.

'I did it. She knows I did it but I just want her to know I am sorry.' Tasha coughed twice and then summoned her husband to her side. Her bony hand held his tightly as water rolled down in little droplets down her cheeks. 'I know you have always doubted my heart, but never forget that I loved you so much. I had to expel past demons but all of me wishes I had more time to show you how I appreciate and love you. If you must remarry, make sure it is not Siphiwe or her incarnate....I...I -' coughs splurted out, eyes rolled back as she made her way to meet her maker. The room fell silent for a moment. Bwembya shook her a few times before crashing his entire being on her body. His bleeding soul poured desperate life on a motionless body. He was alone in this world. With no sister to run to or confide in.

Alone.

That felt wrong on all counts. He could not envision a life without her. How could everything fall apart so easily. So quickly. How could no one have told him she needed him?

'Baby, it is well. God knows what he is doing.'

'Do not tell me about that right now,' he growled. 'I know he has his reasons but what could be the justification for this?' he shouted sending small stool flying through the bedroom window. Linda backed away in fear as Tasha's husband reassured her. He calmly sat down beside his wifes bed and held her hand.

'I would like to be alone with my wife please,' he said without looking at anyone. Bwembya shot out of the room and slumped himself onto the sofa. Soon as he was happy, he was broken again. Linda crawled cautiously after him.

'Baby, i know you feel alone right now but I am here. We have been through so much together and we will keep on going through everything together but you are not alone. I am here. If you need to scream or whatever you need to do to feel better, I will still be here waiting on you to reach out to me and to God. I am here. I am your family. I love you.'

He pulled her in close and broke down on her shoulder in violent sobs that Linda had never witnessed before. It was the end of a sad era but the beginning of a fresh life. She could think of no better place for him to lay his head and be comforted. The maid took the children out of the house to the park knowing what had just happened. It would give them time to pull themselves together and make the right arrangements.

He was her man. She was his woman. His cries need not be secret anymore. Not in her arms.