A Memory Unlocked That Might Be Relevant

I don't believe I ever mentioned in my book about the time my mother took in guests to stay at the house. They were initially staying with Mr. Dovey, or Brother Dovey, as we knew him. He lived further down the street - a street name that transitioned from Wilton to another name I can't currently remember. My mother was told that he had the two guests leave his home to com to ours and ask us if they would be accommodated. The woman's name was Natalie and the man's name was David.

My sisters and I did not trust them. The story did not quite add up but my mother was moved with pity and let them stay. They stayed in their car while they were welcome to come into the house as needed. There just would not be any rooms or beds fro them to stay in. They were free to roam the house but where my sisters and I had an issue was when they would intervene in matters involving the family and imposing their views. It didn't seem appropriate and we'd been through enough at that point. We didn't even trust our own step-aunts. Our aunt - mom's sister, who was staying with us did not like them either. She could alway suss people out and she could barely pretend. This seemed to be another angle to sway our mother and take advantage of her kindness. We didn't like it one bit. But I tried my best to show hospitality if I came across them and minded my business.

We always tried to apply scriptural counsel and show kindness, but I never appreciated it when it was assumed that because of that, we'd be docile or unduly and recklessly kind. Natalie, who offered to help my mother with some accounting, would waltz upstairs to her room and grab her clothing. I wondered if my mother had allowed this. At this point, I had come to see how many women coveted what she had. I don't remember fully but my mother had allowed to choose from a specific selection of clothing but not her favorite items. It felt off.

Eventually they left but seemed to have been keeping an eye on us. I suppose that's why they were sent to us, claiming to have grown up with my mother and her sisters in Soweto some time ago. David Matlala was an interesting character. I did not mind him too much because he was quiet, and I guess in hindsight, possibly calculated.

I wrote about this now because I am remembering again that his surname was Matlala. And some time ago, we had discovered that they were brought to us under false pretence. But as you may or may not realize, is that he shares the same name as a Mr "Cat" Matlala and I can hardly ignore the coincidence. The last time I saw David Matlala, I didn't immediately know it was him. I was at the Sandton Library where the fountain display was. It was just outside the library, where people would often go out to take a break. Surrounding it was the food court of the lavish restaurants. In front of the library was the Mandela statue. While taking my break outside, I noticed a man walking along the corridor that connected the library parking and taxi area to the steak house (now Hardrock cafe) to Sandton mall. As he walked slowly, he'd had his head turned to the side staring at us - not with suprise - just in matter of fact fashion. I wondered and asked. y sister where I'd see him before and why on earth he looked familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it. She said: " That's David". On seeing that I was still confused, she clarified: Natalie's David?" It eventually came back to me and by then it felt that had been a while ago. I was still creeped out by his look, his stride. I think I felt sorry for him but more than that, I was confused. Perhaps he felt sorry for us. Perhaps he wanted to see what had become of us.

I searched for his name online to find out who is he really? I see he had a LinkedIn account, now removed or private. It says he was a CEO of Tubatse Skill Development. That name now rings a bell: Tubatse. I remeber in my research, that was the Fetokgomo Tubatse Local Municipality in Limpopo, within the the greather Sekhukhune area. An dit occurs to me - the mines.

I wonder if there a link to Vusimizi Cat Matlala, who I might have seen before in real life. But of course, there are many people in this world who share resemblances.