Village girls too costly

S’bu had been sitting quietly watching Thandi’s every move. Seeing her about to leave, he stood up in front of her blocking her from leaving.

“Thandi, are you so mad at me that you willing to go back home without your mother’s cow? You willing to leave your family and mine thinking that you have loose morals and have been sleeping around?” S’bu asked his heart sinking. If Thandi did not care to set the record straight with his family then she must have decided that there was no future for her in the Jobe family. That means she was planning on leaving him forever this time.

“This was your will, why should I prove anything” Thandi responded looking down.

“Can everyone please sit down” S’bu asked Thandi’s aunts who were on their feet about to leave. “Thandi is different from most girls, she has outstanding morals and I have been told a multiple times even by my own mother that I don’t deserve her. Three years ago I made a mistake of telling the whole world that I loved her and that she was a virgin and she got abducted and almost got raped for it. She never asked for any compensation from me for that. That should be proof that she’s not here to exploit my family. I can confirm that she was indeed a virgin last week Friday when we made love and I have proof. If you give me two minutes, I will show it to you” he said leaving the room. Two minutes later he came back carrying a huge portrait. “This is the sheet we used last Friday and that’s her blood. If you need more proof you can do a DNA test on it.” S’bu then turned to address Thandi’s mother and aunts. “I love your daughter, she’s the love of my life. I’m sorry that I couldn’t wait until we were married. You will go back with three cows, the first for almost getting her raped three years ago, the second for her virginity and the third one to apologise for even suggesting that she might have slept with someone else.”

“Three cows, are you crazy!” exclaimed Zake in disbelief. He was trying to avoid giving one cow away, now his nephew was giving three.

“It’s ok brother” said Mr J who had been quiet the whole time. “We know Thandi very well and she’s deserving of three cows” he added.

Thandi’s aunts started ululating and praising S’bu for his loyalty. If he had not spoken out they would be going back empty handed and would be a laughing stock in the village. Now they were going back with three cows something that was unheard of. Everyone was in a jolly mood at the dinner table except for Thandi who did not eat anything and kept her head down. Noticing this, Mrs J pulled her out to speak to her in private. When they were away from everyone Mrs J apologised for some of the things Zake said and gave her a hug. Thandi screamed in pain when Mrs J touched her back. Noticing Thandi in pain, Mrs J lifted her shirt revealing the fresh wounds caused by a sjambok. She gasped and noticed S’bu who was standing behind with a horrified look. Thandi turned around, noticing that S’bu was also there she put her shirt down and walked towards the door. S’bu blocked her way and begged her to give him a chance to explain.

“You promised to consider me before acting, it was a covenant and you broke that too”Thandi said crying bitterly.

S’bu felt so helpless, he couldn’t touch Thandi without hurting her and his words seem to make everything worse. Mrs J sent S’bu away and spoke with Thandi for a long time consoling her. When Thandi came out, her mother and aunts were all fussing over S’bu inviting him to visit anytime. They even made arrangements for him to go back to the university with Thandi tomorrow.

After sending Thandi’s family off, S’bu posted Thandi’s virginity certificates, the three cows and the selfie he took with Thandi’s family with a caption ‘Today I owned up and gained a new family, thanks to Menzi and Duma’. His followers started commenting within seconds of the posts.

Three cows! remind me to stay away from village girls, one user commented.

That’s approximately thirty to forty five thousand rands, too costly, another one added.

You could get a bride in the city with that amount, commented another one.

I’m a virgin too and available, wrote one user.

Baby girl, you don’t qualify, one replied.

Some qualities should accompany your virginity, like 4S for example, added another. The comments went on and on, even S’bu could not keep tract of them.

Thandi’s mother and aunts could not stop talking and praising S’bu on the way to the village. They were even instructing her to treat him well and telling her how lucky she was to have someone that loyal.

In the Jobe home S’bu was not impressed with his uncle for making things difficult for Thandi’s family. In his defence he stated that he had no idea that S’bu loved Thandi. To make it up to him, Zake offered to get some herbs that would heal Thandi’s wounds.

“You will both be very happy with this” he said handing over the herbs to S’bu with instructions.

Thandi was tired of hearing about how good S’bu was, even people who came to visit her home were told about him and the three cows he honoured them with. She went to sleep early that night avoiding talking to everyone.

When she woke up, her house was buzzing with activity. Her mother was cooking the best food, baking her best scones and the most expensive plates and cutlery were taken out of the cupboards in preparation for S’bu’s arrival. Thandi rolled her eyes and decided to stay away from everyone. She went to her room to pack her clothes for the journey back to her university. She had planned to go back by the bus but her family had made arrangements for her to go with S’bu without even consulting her.