Chapter 45: A Father’s Love

 

The moon hung high, casting silver light over the royal kraal. The evening air was thick with the scent of burning wood and crushed wildflowers, the remnants of a long day settling into silence. In the royal hut, Zwelibanzi sat near the hearth, watching the small figure across from him. Zakithi. She was curled on a woven mat, her small hands idly tracing the patterns in the reed floor. She had been in the kraal for weeks now, yet she still carried the distance of a stranger. She spoke to Zakhona, laughed with the women, but when it came to him, she was careful. Always polite. Always distant. Never once calling him baba. He longed to bridge the space between them.“Have you eaten?” he asked softly. She nodded without looking up. “Yes.” Silence stretched between them. Zwelibanzi exhaled, thinking of his next words. “I had a hawk once,” he said finally. “When I was a boy. I found him with a broken wing after a storm.” Zakithi glanced up, curiosity flickering in her eyes. “What did you do?” “I nursed him,” Zwelibanzi said. “Fed him. Watched him heal.” He smiled faintly. “I named him Inyoka.” Zakithi frowned. “A hawk named Snake?” “The other boys laughed at me, too,” he admitted. “But he was mine. And when he was strong enough, I set him free.” She studied him, her gaze thoughtful. “Did he ever come back?” Zwelibanzi hesitated before answering. “No. But I knew he was where he was meant to be.” Zakithi nodded slowly, looking back down at her mat. He could not tell what she was thinking, but at least she was listening. It was something. After a while, she spoke again, her voice softer this time. “My mother says hawks always remember the ones who heal them.” Zwelibanzi felt his chest tighten. He wanted to reach for her, to pull her close, but he knew he had to be patient. “Then I hope one day you will remember me,” he said gently. Zakithi said nothing, but for the first time since she arrived, she did not move away when he sat beside her.