Nabiyeni's White Son-Short Story

  

The door was still closed and nobody knew what was happening inside the house. After knocking on the main door several times, Cheulanda the gate man stood facing the door whilst pondering the next move. It simply was not normal that neither his boss nor the house maid could hear the knock. He had been knocking on the door for thirty minutes but to no avail. The time was already past 1:30 in the afternoon, usually, he would have finished his lunch by this time. He had to act fast as he was famished.  The two had not come out of the house since the previous evening when they had gone to sleep. They always wake up at around 7 am every day except on weekends. Even Brown did not go to work that day, a thing which worried Cheulanda. “What has happened to these people? Why are they not opening the door?” wondered Cheulanda.  

Suddenly, he had an idea to break the door. He then quickly picked a huge stone and threw it at the door. Bang! The door shook, but did not yield. He heard shuffling of steps followed by clattering of keys.  The door opened. “What's the matter, Keulanda?” Brown growled. He was sweating profusely and looked exhausted. Brown was a middle aged white man from America and had always miss-pronounced Cheulanda's name.  

“I'm very sorry sir! I thought something had happened to you in the house and I wanted to help,” pleaded Cheulanda. It was evident that Brown was infuriated. He left angrily without replying him and went back to his room. Cheulanda was so shocked that he missed his lunch that day a thing which has never happened before, because Nabiyeni always cooked. He was convinced that Brown and Nabiyeni, the housemaid, were up to something naughty. While he remained dumb struck, his boss Brown on the other hand, had a very good day. It was the happiest moment in his life. Finally, his fantasy was fulfilled. He had slept with a black woman for the first time in his life and he felt so good. 

The sexual relationship between Brown and Nabiyeni started when Brown's wife went for a holiday in America. The white couple had moved to Malawi to do voluntary work, it was their first ever visit to Africa and they were given a house in Nyambadwe Township in Blantyre. They had recruited Nabiyeni, a middle aged widowed mother of three, as a house help. Brown began to make unwelcomed sexual advances towards Nabiyeni. His threat was clear she would be sent packing if she declined his sexual advances. To Nabiyeni, the threat was real. The thought of being sent back to her home village made her shudder.  She could not envisage herself facing the same challenges she had experienced since the tragic loss of her husband in a road accident. Since then, Nabiyeni had become a bread winner for her three sons and her divorced sister in the village. She needed this job and convinced herself to make sure the boss was happy with her services. 

 

Nabiyeni yielded. Almost immediately, the benefits started pouring on her. She was given, what according to her standards were lots of money. She could now afford to buy necessities for herself and her children in the village. On this particular day after she slept with Brown, she was given money and was allowed to take a three days’ break. She was so excited that she would go to her village to see her children. Her face glowed with happiness. She could not help it but wonder why she had been so stupid and not figured out that she could possibly scheme her way through to become the woman of the house, the wife. 

Nabiyeni was a bit of fluff woman, tall and dark in complexion. Any man could have easily fallen for her. One could hardly notice that her body had already been degraded following the birth of three kids, she was simply a true African beauty. 

After being given the money, Nabiyeni went to town to buy clothes and groceries for her children, all of whom were under the care of her young sister at the village. After the shopping, she boarded a bus and went to her home village in Mulanje. She brought her family a lot of things including food to eat for several months as she would be away. The children were all smiles to see their mother back home after missing her for a while.  They were very happy to see new clothes and shoes from their mother who encouraged them on school. “You need to work hard in school, all of you, do you hear me?” advised Nabiyeni.  

“Yes we’ll, we missed you mother, please don’t go again. Stay with us,” they all said, looking sad.

“Oh no my children, listen to me I can’t stay here, we won’t eat, I work in town for you to eat here. Don’t worry, one day after making enough money I’ll come back here for good,” she 

said, assuring them. 

“Take me with you mother, I want to follow you to the city as well,” lamented John, her youngest 7 year-old son. 

“Don’t worry my son, I’ll take you one day, but you’ve to work hard in school first, I’ll come back for you, alright?” 

“Alright mother,” he agreed. After three days in the village, Nabiyeni went back to the city to her boyfriend’s house. Brown was so happy to see his sweet love again and they made love that night.  

Before Nabiyeni came to live and work with the Brown’s, she had degenerated deeply into poverty and could not even afford the basic stuff for herself and children. 

The news from a certain woman from the city that there was an American couple interested in engaging a maid came as a miracle to her. The woman was even willing to take her to the city. “I think they’ll like you, you're a hard worker and smart woman,” said the woman, smiling. 

“Oh thank you very much madam, you don't know how much you've saved my family,” said Nabiyeni, smiling too. She was as happy as a lark. Nabiyeni then left the village to start her new life in the city where unbeknownst to her, drama was waiting to unfold. 

Brown was convinced that Cheulanda knew about his wayward escapade with his maid. He gave him $100 in order to zip his mouth shut like a dumb. Cheulanda was so happy with the money he received which would help pay school fees for his children. 

Several weeks passed without Brown's wife returning. Brown and Nabiyeni turned into a de facto couple. What started as an exploitative relationship had now mellowed into an actual love affair. Nabiyeni moved into the master bedroom like she was the wife. She loved every moment which made her feel young again and she loved him very much. She felt on top of the world dating a rich white man. She gave it all to him and he loved her back. 

Two months after she moved into the main bedroom, she felt sick and that month her period did not come. She told Brown that she was pregnant. To her disbelief, Brown accepted the full responsibility of his actions and even loved her more. However, her relief was short-lived. Brown's wife returned back home. The chicken had now come home to roost. It did not take long before Brown's wife noticed that Nabiyeni was pregnant. 

”You're pregnant right?”  She inquired. 

“Yes, I am madam, I‘m very sorry,” said Nabiyeni warily, fidgeting with her African print wrapper. “Oh wait, did I just say sorry to her? Oh my God what was I thinking? Where will she think I got this pregnancy from?” 

“Why are you saying sorry Nabiyeni?” wondered Mrs Brown. She could not contain her curiosity and immediately wanted to know who was responsible. Nabiyeni was still thinking of what to say to her, she panicked and suddenly broke the news to her. The revelation that came left her utterly shattered.  How could her lovely husband sleep with a maid? It was unfathomable.  She knew what was to happen. Nabiyeni must leave the compound and she made up her mind. Nabiyeni wept uncontrollably. The crying was almost hysterical that it could be heard from any point within the compound. Cheulanda had no doubt in his mind as he had always known that it was just a matter of time. He felt sad for Nabiyeni because he knew her sorry story. 

“I told her, but she didn’t listen to my advice,” said Cheulanda. Nabiyeni’s personal items were hurriedly bundled together and unceremoniously hurled at her. There was no chance at all that Mrs Brown was going to second guess herself. The harlot widow must leave.  Cheulanda could only observe from a distance. He was still engulfed with pity for Nabiyeni. But what could he have done?

 

While on her way, Nabiyeni met Brown driving home from work. He asked her where she was going with her bags. She told him that she broke the news to his wife after she noticed of her pregnancy. Brown became worried but it appeared there was nothing he could do to reverse the situation. He gave her some money and promised to take care of the child to be born that he would visit them one day. She was full of regret. “What’ll I tell people in the village? Will they not think I was doing prostitution in the city, Oh?” 

Her mind was spinning like a bottle, trying to digest her new predicament. She had more questions than answers. She remembered that she had broken a promise she had made to herself. 

Meanwhile, the white couple’s marriage hit a wall. It literally crumbled. After Brown came home, he found his wife very furious and he pleaded to her for forgiveness but his effort fell in deaf ears.  Mrs. Brown was having none of it.  She left the house immediately, to stay in a hotel in Blantyre. Brown tried to call her phone but she did not pick up. Brown was frustrated with the whole situation, which happened so fast, like the blink of an eye. He hoped that one day, his wife would return to him after she had forgiven him.

Nabiyeni went home. The news of her predicament spread like wild fire. It was a very embarrassing thing to her. She lied to her friends that her pregnancy belonged to a black man in the city who had promised to marry her and to stop working because he would provide everything. Many believed her story. But every person who saw her sympathised with her because she already had a lot of children and there she was, pregnant again. The village was wondering how the widow was going to provide for all her kids.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months but Brown’s wife did not show up.  Brown wondered where she was and what she was doing. He became lonely and even his work was affected. Luckily, his wife did not tell their two children in America about everything that happened, and neither did he.  If they called, each would say ‘he’s fine’ and ‘she’s fine.’ 

One day, when Brown was sitting outside his house, he saw his wife’s car entering the gate and he quickly stood up to welcome her. He opened her door as usual and hugged her. He kissed her and she responded too. “You’re most welcome honey, I missed you so much, let me help you with the bag,” said Brown, smiling. 

“Thank you honey, I missed you too, hope you good?” she said while embracing him. 

“Yes I’m good now that I’ve seen you, I thought you had completely forgotten me, I’m so sorry once again honey.” She told him she had forgiven him though it was not easy to do so because of his infidelity. 

“Don’t ever do this again please, it’s not right, you disturbed me,” she said. Brown promised her to never do it again. He prepared her favourite Italian yellow meat dish with spaghetti. After eating, they went to their matrimonial bed after missing each other for a long time. 

After nine months, Nabiyeni gave birth to a mixed -race boy with visibly silky hair, so different from the babies the village had been used to welcoming. She was surprised and for once in her life wished death to come upon her in order to run away from the shame she had brought upon herself. Her lie that the owner of the pregnancy was a certain black man was now laid bare. She became the centre of attention. The whole village was awash with news of the birth of a white baby to a black woman. 

While everyone seemed bent on ridiculing her, her young sister praised her for bringing home a white American boy, the only one in the village. 

Nabiyeni became happy too because the baby  was so adorable and looked exactly like his father whom she had fallen in love with, during the few months they had spent in bed together.  The baby reminded her of his father and she planned to visit him. Many who saw the baby were jealous of her for having a beautiful baby and wished it was theirs. His siblings called him White in excitement, their mother took the name. The baby was called White Brown.  

Nabiyeni was immediately conferred a new nickname in the village, Mama White. 

Mama White still had the money which Brown gave her and remembered that he told her to bring the child when he was born in order to see his baby. She told her sister that she was going to the city to see White’s father. Luckily, she found Mr Brown seated under a tree together with his wife in their garden. To her surprise, she was welcomed warmly. Mrs. Brown told her that she had forgiven her and her husband too. Nabiyeni appreciated her kind gesture. They were all excited to see the beautiful baby boy with white skin who looked like his father. They named the little boy “Mphatso” for they believed it was a gift Malawi had given to their family. 

Nabiyeni stayed there for three days and went back home. Brown gave her a lot of money to take care of the baby and told her to bring the baby to them after three years to help take care of him to which she agreed.  After she went home, Mama White told her sister what the Browns had told her about the baby, an idea she labelled stupid.  She feared they would ship White to America and never come back, losing him in the process. From that day, she never communicated again with White’s father.  

White was only in standard 3 when his mother gave up ghost after suffering from malaria leaving her four children with her sister. Several months after her death, poverty reigned yet again, Nabiyeni’s children had to stop attending school and instead went to Mulanje trading centre in the village to make a living. White’s Aunt sold their house and built a smaller one. The children begged for food and laboured as minibus call boys so they could get money. You did not have to look twice at them to know they were in grinding poverty. 

Things changed in a blink of an eye. White even developed red sores all over his skin because he was not cared for properly. He looked malnourished and a lot of people felt sad for him. He grew up in poverty and also did not attend school. It was a sad situation; the village was in awe to see the state of the little white boy. Worse still, seeing a handsome white boy bare footed and dressed in torn clothes, begging, was too pathetic, contrary to most Malawian’s view that white people don’t beg as was the case, but give money. Many people in the area blamed the stupidity of White’s mother who denied him the opportunity of living with his rich father as the rumour was everywhere that she did not take the boy to his father.

As he grew up, White had more questions than answers when he saw himself in the presence of black people exclusively. “Why only me with this skin colour? And why are all my siblings and friends totally dark skinned? What did I do wrong to be like this? And why are my fellows with my colour of skin in cars and doing well?”

 

Brown and his wife were about to go back to America after their contract ended. They waited for Nabiyeni to bring the child but she did not come, not even calling them. They used to communicate through a phone booth and did not know which village she lived within Mulanje. Cheulanda became furious that they wanted to leave without looking for Nabiyeni and his son, who he imagined were living in grinding poverty. He threatened to he would report them to police if they did not do something about it. They were both afraid, and so they decided to look for them. They drove for almost two hours, and they reached her home district of Mulanje. Fortunate enough, at the trading centre they saw a mixed race boy begging. Brown called the young boy over to ask him the name of his mother. He noticed that the boy looked like him, but he never thought that he could be the one, given his appearance. “How are you, young man?” asked Brown. White was just laughing and couldn't reply. He asked him in his native language about his mother since he learnt some of the words in the language. He told him that she was Nabiyeni and that she died some years ago. Brown cried, could not believe that his son was in such poverty. “What’s your name by the way?” he asked.

“I’m White Brown,” he said while smiling. Soon, a sizeable crowd piled up with interest in understanding what was going between the two.  

“Oh you’re my son White, I’m your biological father, I’m Jimmy Brown, I used to stay with your mother in the city in Nyambadwe, Blantyre,” he said. He cried as he embraced the boy with both hands. White Brown was in disbelief.  A group of vendors cheered, lifting their basins of wares in the air. They were all happy for him. After that, they all went together in the car to meet his aunt. 

Nabiyeni’s sister was cooking her vegetables, the only relish they had for that day when she saw a car coming towards her house. She wondered about the car that had arrived, as she didn’t expect any visitors. She was surprised to see White and his brothers in the car and the white couple. She received them and gave them a mat to sit. Brown told her that he was the father of White and asked her to take White to America for studies and that he would return after finishing his education and promised that he would also come to see them during some school holidays. 

Finally, with the blessings of the village elders, she accepted after she saw how the kids suffered. Brown gave her money to take care of the other children and paid his condolences to the deceased Nabiyeni. She was so glad for the help which would improve their status once again. White said goodbye to his brothers and sisters who cried for their young brother who they became used to. It was a very sad moment being separated from them but he promised he would come back for them. 

White’s brothers went back to school and their aunt bought a new good house in the village. Then she opened many small grocery businesses in the village which helped them to survive. White went to America with his parents who left their two cars with Cheulanda as a token of appreciation for all those years of his good services and for helping them find White. 

White was so excited about everything that had happened so quickly; life had favoured him greatly.  He couldn't believe he was in America, ‘the land of dreams,’ where he saw many mixed-race, black and white people living together. His only recollection of his new home was what he had seen in many movies he used to watch back at his village in video showrooms.  He liked his new life, wearing expensive clothes and shoes. He also enjoyed the new types of food he had never tasted before, like pizza, lasagna and burgers.

The Brown daughters, Lisa and Marie were so excited to see their young brother from Africa, more so because he resembled their lovely father so much. They had always wanted a brother but their parents did not give them. They were not even mad at their father for dating another woman while in Africa. They only told him not to do that again because they were a full house now. 

White easily jelled with his sisters. He had his own room with a good bed, television and video games, a thing he had never experienced in his life where he used to sleep on the floor on a mat with torn blankets and no bed sheets. His father bought him a bicycle and many toys to keep him busy and sharp. White’s sisters taught him English which he learnt so quickly. They also took him to different places for fun, including Disneyland. He loved Disney very much, especially the ‘Merry-go-round’ rides. He wanted to come there every day. “I love Disney, we should come again tomorrow,” said White to his sisters, who laughed loudly. 

“No we can’t come here every day buddy, school first,” said his sisters. He wished his siblings in Africa were also there with him to experience the good life. 

 

White was enrolled in a good academy school in Atlanta, Georgia. He was in grade 4 and he caught up very fast with the subjects as he was being taught at home by his sisters every evening. He was speaking good English and had little problems in writing. As time went by, White became very intelligent boy and was top of his class.  He loved school very much and worked hard. His father was so proud of him and his step mother also loved him because he was a good boy with good manners. They all loved him. He was like a blessing to them. They all lived happily. He was really Mphatso, a ‘gift’.

After five years, White and his parents came to Malawi again to see his siblings. He brought them clothes and shoes. They were all excited to see their young brother again who had changed completely. His appearance and accent showed it all. White’s aunt could not believe she was seeing him. She cried tears of joy and was very grateful at the Browns for fulfilling his promise. He looked more handsome and whiter, the weather might have had an impact. 

White even had problems in speaking his native language and they all laughed at him, mocking him for failing to speak the language he grew up with. He also laughed with them. It was an unforgettable moment. He was also happy to find them speaking English, as they had all gone back to school. 

White returned to America with a renewed ambition to come back and make a difference in his village. He continued to work hard in school in order to help his siblings and to develop his village which lacked many things. 

How time flies, after several years, White finished his education and became a medical Doctor like Marie, his sister. He told his parents that he wanted to come to Malawi to open a hospital in his village to provide free medical treatment to the poor people. In his village, there was only one government health centre, which was not sufficient to cater to the majority of people. Fortunately, his parents allowed him to go on with his dream and they helped him with funds to build the hospital. Marie also joined him together with her husband to work at the hospital. 

A lot of people did not believe that the same White they used to see at the trading centre begging was now a Doctor at his own hospital built by himself. They were so proud of him and his success. He was famous and known all over in the district and people loved him. He received a lot of funding from the American government to support his hospital project which a lot of people benefited from. He wished his mother was alive to see everything that had happened to her lovely son.  He also built a mansion in his village and supported his three siblings who were married. He took his aunt who was now old to live with him and his white girlfriend he had found in America. Marie and her husband also joined them in the mansion. It was a wonderful family. 

That naughty escapade between Nabiyeni and Mr. Brown had not only become a gift to the Brown’s, but to the rest of Nabiyeni’s village and the nation of Malawi. But do not try this at home.