23.01.25
"Ukapedza kutengesa zvinhu izvi zvese udzoke kumba straight. Don't roam around. (When you are done selling all this stuff, come back home straight," my mother said as she packed the basket for me. She worries too much, I have been doing this ever since my 10th life.
"Okay, do you need me to grab anything for you?" I asked as I strapped the basket to my back, making sure it would be easy to access again in case I met a customer on the way.
"Not today. If things get out of hand, remember to come back home immediately."
I travel from my hometown town Zezulu, to another town called Kunotengeswa, which is a town where people sell things to other people, especially the well-off and privileged. It's a distance, a long one, but it is worth it because it allows us to earn some shekels.
I get there, and it's filled with many servants and some masters purchasing things for the upcoming color festival. It's a festival where people decorate their houses, the streets, and dress in vibrant colours. The inspiration behind the festival is to celebrate the colour of life and to celebrate the variety of life on this planet but I consider it a festival where the wealthy show us how wealthy they are and the poor realise how poor they are because all the paints are expensive.
The Pindarwas made sure the poor couldn't get paint, they said there should be a huge difference between the rich and the poor. The poor have been blessed, so they deserve it, and the poor were cursed, and it had to be seen.
I set up my stand at the far end of the market line, which is where they said I belonged. It's funny how we the sellers have been segregated by the Pindarwas and the rich for being poor, and despite that, the other sellers deem themselves better than us the black orphans.
"The festival is in a few days, and my mom said that she could get us some paint from her Pindarwa," Charity said as she set up her stand next to me. She was the only person who saw me as someone and not just some girl who was raised by a single mother.
People think being raised by a single mother is bad luck because how can a woman alone raise a child without a husband but what's funny is that even the women who have husbands are raising their kids alone in those marriages they think they are blessed with.
"With the acknowledgment of the Pindarwa or not?" I asked as I put my stuff on display.
"Of course, without his acknowledgment, you think those brown eyed gizzards will give it to us freely?" She said, rolling her eyes in irritation. I laughed at her remark, her Pindarwas were brown eyed people, she said they looked like gizzards, but I just thought it was her disdain for them that made her say so.
"My mom wants to set up my marriage as soon as possible there is a possible suitor, I really don't know how to feel. I mean, I have been told I will get married eventually, but the thought of it being so soon feels odd."
"That's great news. At least one of us won't be stuck selling clay pots and wood ornaments for the rest of their oppressed life," I said as I looked at the people selling their things to the other people, each one trying so hard to get all their things sold.
"I guess after marriage, I won't be stuck here. Do you have any suitors for you?"
"That's a ridiculous question, you know that, that's impossible. No black orphan ever gets picked unless for slavery and servitude. So I am just waiting for my doomed life of being someone's slave."
"Don't say that, you might just be lucky and find someone who loves you," She said her grey eyes lighting up, she got a hold of a strand of her blonde hair and started twirling it as she started daydreaming about some love story. She believed in love more than I did, her mother and father were in love before they got married, and that made her want someone she would fall in love with too even if they fell in love after marriage. It was a beautiful hope to hold onto in these times, but I didn't believe in it. I blame it on my runaway dad.
Time went by, and slowly and slowly, our things were being bought, especially Charity's. Azondi, a Pindarwa, walked towards us, and Charity and I couldn't help but roll our eyes. He was interested in Charity, but Charity wanted nothing to do with a Pindarwa. He was kind of annoying with his persistence and the fact that he was one of them didn't sit well with either of us. He gave us a big smile as he approached with his many servants and guards, "Charity and Nemoyo," he said as he stood before us.
"Hello Master Azondi," we said in unison as we bowed our heads.
"Oh, please call me Azondi, no need for formalities between us," he said.
"What amuses you Master Azondi," Charity said, emphasizing the word Master for him to hear, but he just chuckled and shook his head before he picked up a pot from Charity's stand.
"I am not as bad as you make me out to be, you know," he said as he handed to pot to his servant and picked another one. It was true though, he was bad but not as bad as the rest. The rest spat on us, abused us, and did whatever they felt like doing to us, he treated us with the little bit of respect we had left to ourselves and he treated me better than my own people. But it didn't change that he was one of them and they are the reason it's this way.
"The festival is coming up and I would like to extend an invitation to both of you, to join me in my house to celebrate it," he said, which shocked us and even the people nearby who were eavesdropping.
A pindarwa never extends an invite to a Karanga, "Is that all you need, sir?"
Charity asked as she ignored his invite.
"I will have everything from both your stands but my invite is legit and will stand until the festival is over. If you want to join me please do come, my house and arms will be open to welcoming you," he said with a brief smile before he paid us both and walked away.
After some minutes of silence, I had to ask her "Are you going to accept the invite?"
"Of course not, how can I?" She said.
"How can you not, will you decline an invitation from a Pindarwa?"
"A Pindarwa extending an invite to a Karanga has never been heard of, so I can decline it."
"Why did the Pindarwa Azondi extend an invite to you two, especially you," Tino, one of the sellers asked. His eyes were stuck on me and they were filled with disgust like I was some plague.
"We don't know, he just did," Charity said shrugging her shoulders as she packed her stuff as she had finished selling for the day.
"Impossible such thing has never been heard of, how can such a man like him invite a black orphan, maybe you Charity but not her," he said with bitterness emphasizing every word he said.
"Why not me?" I asked him with defiance in my eyes, someone who was not even one of my people extended a gesture of kindness to me and they had a problem with that.
"You are a black orphan, a curse and abomination to our society. You are lucky that you are even her selling all this you were supposed to be sent to where the other black orphans are, in the mines digging."
"Well in the eyes of the Pindarwa you and I are the same. If I deserve to be in the mines digging you deserve to be there cleaning my shit," I said.
"Lets go Nemoyo, no need to argue with someone like him," Charity said holding my hand and pulling me to walk away.
"You better not come back here, if I see you here you will not see the next moon rise. Anyways if I kill you and sell your body parts I might move to the Vetory," he said laughing at his very stupid and disgusting remark. People around him laughed with him, his remark seeming amusing to them. My life was that worthless to them.
Charity and I lived in hometowns in the opposite direction to each other, so we said our goodbyes and the made my way home. When I arrived my mother was home early, cooking.
"You are back early," I said to her as I set my stuff down.
"Yes Master Sim has gone out of town for the festival so he won't be needing my services until he returns, " she said smiling.
"That's nice," I said settling down next to her as I watched her finish cooking.
"How was it today? Did it go well?"
"Yes everything was bought," I said to her showing her the purse with shekels. She smiled and continued her cooking, " Something weird happened today," I said.
"Something weird happens everyday dear."
"Yes true but today Master Azondi extended an invite to Charity and me for the festival," I said watching her expressions, her cooking halted, confusion graced her face and a frown appeared on her mouth.
"Master Azondi, the Pindarwa? Why would he do such?"
"I don't know too."
"Did you accept?"
"Charity said she won't accept it."
"What about you?"
"Mom, we both know he extended that invite because I was with Charity it was out of politeness," I said.
"Or not, he doesn't owe you any politeness or kindness. He is a Pindarwa remember?"
"Yes you are right but it still wouldn't make sense to go without Charity. He likes her and invited her because he wants to be with her," I said getting up to go and pack my stuff away.
"If you say so my dear."
Night fell, my mother and I were preparing to go to bed when we heard noises outside. We went out only to be met with the Ndau's son and his many many servants outside.
"Ndau-son, greetings to you," my mother said bowing.
"I am here for a marriage proposal," he said ignoring my mother's greeting. My mother and I were speechless and we just looked at each other in confusion.
"Master, you might be confused this is the Mbire household, and in this household reside my daughter and I alone," my mom said trying to give him a hint.
"I know that, I want your daughter's hand in marriage," he said looking at me directly in my eyes, if he thought I was going to look away he was mistaken, just like he was mistaken for coming here to ask for my hand in marriage.
" I, Ndau-son extend my marriage proposal to the Mbire household, the moon being my witness."