The Life of The Unknown

Hey I'm Her; the girl facing a reflection of herself in the mirror right now wondering how in hell did she end up here. In a company she never knew existed, under a college bursary of a course she hates and ofcourse, drowning in multiple loans and no shoulder to lean on. For a moment I thought introducing myself would be best. However, I don't believe that to be quite the right method to go on about. Probably human interactions would be what gives an individual opinion of what led me to to being here today and how exactly am I as an individual. I have very few memories of how life was like when I just a kid roughly between the age of 2-4; before Dad's passing. There isn't much I remember about the man himself other than the fact that he did love us and would from time to time bring KFC when coming home. I remember once sharing a bed with him and Mom as a kid. He was caring, I'd either lay my head on his chest or my mom's. I was the the only child that shared a bed with them from what I could remember. Even as time went by in his absence I still used the same bed, bedroom with both him and mom(still alive) no longer around. I also have another faint memory of the day he was driving me, my younger sister(Anele) and my younger cousin to creche. Mom was also in the car with us. So while we kids were playing in the back; the cousin's R1 coin fell and we searched for it but could not find it. Like any other kid would have done, she cried. Mind you at that time a R1 was valuable at the time and for us kids, we could get both chips and sweets with just a single R1 coin. We all pacified her and Dad gave her another one. Another memory I have of my Dad is when he had arrived at home at night with my mom and my older sister (Thabile). Thabile was studying at a pre-school in town. They brought KFC with them. I can't recall all the events that followed step by step on that evening but I do recall that it was blissful and I wasn't yet a picky eater. Other than those memories there's none of him that I still recall. I was pretty much young when he passed away. I also still have a fresh memory of the day of his funeral, the cleansing ceremony as well as the day we had our first traditional wrist band from his side of the family. I also still remember most of the stories I've been told about him as well as those that I've overheard elders spoke about. I also know that he had three women in his life when he passed. The first being his first wife with whom he had only one daughter with, second wife (married in 2010/11) with whom he had 4 sons with, and my mom who happened to be his mistress at the time and with whom he had three daughters with. He had in total eight children, four daughters and four sons. Dad passed away in late 2011. Some said he passed away due to kidney failure and some said he passed away as a result of a stomach cancer. So I'm not really sure which one is it. Although he left me and my two sisters without inheritance, he did ask my brothers to take care of us. So they've even tried although they don't no more and it's pretty much understandable since they now have their own families and children to take care of. Even my oldest sister used to help mom out too with us by contributing where she could until years later she grew tied of it. Mom is still alive, she has 5 daughters in total. Her first born is the one she had way before she met my dad, 3 children with dad ( I included) and lastly the daughter she had a few years after Dad's passing. Mom and dad had met in the early 2000s. Dad was a taxi owner and my mom was and still is a street vendor. I think they met in town and that Dad did love her because he even chanded for her. He switched from being Roman catholic to being Nazareth Baptist. Now even my paternal side is Nazareth Baptist now, although some chose new religions as years went by. The only people that remained Roman catholic is my elder sister and her mum. That's all there is to know about them for now. The two wives only found out about mom and us when Dad was already lying on his death bed in hospital. His first wife(now late) whom we used to address as Mamkhulu was a sweet lady and got along with Mom and us very well after Dad's passing. She resided in Marian Hill. She would ask us to visit her sometimes and we would. We would stay over at her house for an entire weekend. She was always hospitable. She would help bathe us, play with us and teach us a couple of things. The last time time I had visited her was when she had introduced us to dad's aunt (who is also now late). It is my greatest regret not being able to attend Mamkhulu's funeral. When she passed I was staying in the village with wife number 2. She is a very pretentious woman, she would act all nice and sweet with us when Mum or my brothers were around but the moment they left so would the act. I can't recall just how many times she has hit me back in childhood and verbally abused me. I really had a tough time living with her. She was also kind when it benefited her. There are so many scars that my stay with her have left me which I do hope to share as I continue with the book.