The Love Potion

" You've changed. But I can't figure out how but you've changed. And I like it. Really, I like it. Fannie said as he was holding his Cinderella close to his tough body. "And you Sir have changed too. You no longer that grumpy bear you used to be a while ago. "A grumpy bear? He creased his eyebrows questioningly as they were looking at each other.They both laughed and remembered how things used to be so sour between them.

Yes things were so sour between them in so much that Seipati decided to go an extra mile to fix the rift that was growing apart in their marriage. She did something she never thought she would do for her marriage to go back to normal.

Seipati Sekhonyela, a young woman from the mountainous village of phutaditjhaba in Lesotho decided to consult a sangoma (traditional doctor) when her marriage was between water and a hard rock. Her husband seemed to have sore or should I say crooked eyes when it came to looking at her. Sometimes she would miss the joy of being a married woman even in their matrimonial bed. The old village gossiping woman ,Mme Mmaditaba, as she would be affectionately called by the villagers, referred to her situation as "ikati ilele eziko kwa Masikhonyela" (the cat is sleeping on the hearth at Mrs Sekhonyela' s house) meaning that there is starvation in the house of Mrs Sekhonyela.

The poor woman was even wearing rags and would be embarrassed to go out in those soggy outfits. Sometimes she wished she could be spoilt by her husband like any other newly wed. All she was expected to do was to cook, clean the house and go to collect firewood for the next meal. She would go to bed exhausted only to be ignored by her husband of two years. Her baby would cry the whole night and she would scorned by her husband for being a good mother. The husband would leave their bed to get some peaceful sleep in another rondavel. When she woke up in the next morning, her husband would already left for work. To make things worse her cruel mother-in-law would throw harsh words on her for being a lazy Makoti( a bride). She would cry bitterly and felt like an outcast as no one was on her side. She knew very well that she could not go back to her home village as she would been seen as a loser and be given a new name of being a second hand. The thought of seeing the elders of her family disappointed because the lobola(bride price) would be returned to her in-laws if she failed to perform her marital duties, made her to be stronger. She tried by all means to please her husband and his mother to no avail. Sometimes when she cooked and the food would left on the table without being eaten. She would collect the dishes and attend to get screaming baby. The mother and son would sit infont of their hut and watch the sun as it went down the hills and made conversation that would only make them laugh.

It was a sunny day on those mountainous   side of the village, when Seipati decided to see Ntate Mogoadi, who was known as Ngonond'omkhulu, as he was the famous traditional healer. She walked barefooted with cracked heels in those rocky hills, under the scorching sun of Lesotho with her child in trashy blankets on her back. The little girl was starting to lose her sense of humour because of dehydration and hunger since she got nothing to eat all the way from their remote village to Ntate Mogoadi's. When they entered the small hut where Ntate Mogoadi consulted his clients, the child was screaming unbearably. Ntate Mogoadi ordered her to breast feed the child and sooth her down. He urged her to hold the baby tighty close to her while she stroking her head gently while praising with her uncestral names.  The baby calmed down and fell asleep. " That's what the baby needed after all instead of complaining of bad spirits that attacks the baby",  Ntate Mogoadi thought to himself. 

After listening to her story of a messed up marriage, Ntate Mogoadi gave her three folded papers with brown powders in them. With incantations in between Ntate Mogoadi gave her orders on how to use the medication. He sent her off with the an assurance that her marriage would be restored after following the orders he gave her.

The first thing she did when she reached her house was to fill the bath with water and put a little bit of powder Ntate Mogoadi gave her. She bathed and put on fresh clothes before her husband came home from his work place. She put a little bit of oily substance Ntate Mogoadi gave her in a bottle of nice smelling body lotion. She prepared meat and put another bit of powder Ntate Mogoadi gave her in the meat pot. She ran to her husband and kissed him so dearly before serving him a good meal. To his husband's amazement she even asked how his day was at work. He was flabbergasted and he did not know how to handle the new Seipati. Seipati did not give up instead she gave him a bowl of warm water and a towel to wash his hands before serving him his favourite meal. The meat was really tasty. Her husband enjoyed the food and looked her with loving eyes for the first time in ages. He complemented her for cooking nice and and smelling nice too. She smiled to herself thanking Ntate Mogoadi for giving her a good love portion. At night she prepared their bed and dressed it with fresh linen. She wore a new night dress that revealed her figured body. She felt like it was the first day they met.  They made love like it was their first time. A feeling of satisfaction made them both panted deeply while they were cuddling in each other's arms. They chatted the whole night reminding of each other the good old days. They laughed and made more love. The next morning she woke up very early and cleaned herself up then prepared a nice breakfast for her husband. After that she took one of the powders Ntate Mogoadi gave her and sprinkled it in the yard. She swept the yard singing happily. When her finished eating he left the house. She kissed him goodbye and went back to the house to prepare a breakfast for her mother-in-law. The monster-in-law could not help but noticed a change in her. She worked diligently through the day until her husband came back from work. She welcomed him the way she did the previous day. They hold hands, chatted and laughed until they went to bed. In the morning she continued with her routine as per Ntate Mogoadi' s instructions. She started to see a change and her husband was starting to melt. One day he brought her a gift. She opened it and smiled. It was for the first time she received the gift since the rift. It was a beautiful dress. When she tried it on she noticed that she was gradually gaining weight. She was even glowing. She was beautiful, dark skinned and had dimples on her cheeks. When she and her husband met they were attending a local event in Seipati's village. It was love at first sight. When he first looked at her he knew that she was the one for him. They decided to get married. Things started to change after a year they got married. At the second anniversary things became worse. That is when she decided to see Ntate Mogoadi.

She never realised that the powder Ntate Mogoadi gave her to put in the meat pot was nothing but a spice powder to give a nice taste to the meat. The powder she gave her to spread on the floor before she sweep the floor and the stoop was just a cleaning powder just to remind her to clean the house and her self before and after her husband came home from work. Since that day her marriage was restored. Even her cruel mother in law started to be kind at her since she noticed a bit of change in her, thanks to Ntate Mogoadi.