Calabash of Hope overview

Calabash of HOPE - Introduction

This book contains a life transforming short stories. The message of the book will instil hope within you. The calabash is regarded as a person, which means every individual who reads this book is considered as a calabash. You are the calabash of hope. This is to say in whatever that you are going through you must always have hope. Circumstances must not define you, or you will be their victim. See yourself emerging victorious in the midst of life predicaments. Anything is possible. Inasmuch as you can hope for the best, truly it shall come to pass. There is no system that has been designed for your failure. Hope is the engine of your progress. My main objective of writing this book is to remind all people that positive strides lead to green pastures. Problems and challenges will always be there in life but those who have positive attitude will forever conquer because positivity gives birth to hope. Everyone has the propensity to make very terrible mistakes which can threaten one’s very existence. But good and accountable decision making will always help one to get up when they fall. It is critical that issues that the community is not so willing to talk about, like sex, disease, family breakdowns and divorce be thrown in the open in story form. Our social fabric is under constant threat from vices which even the wisest of us are failing to tackle with

Short story - Even The Devil Pities The Victim

Isaac Mabunda was a symbol of strength and resilience in his community. Having failed at school, and raised by a widowed mother, he still managed to scale the heights of success to carve a name for himself. His inspirational life touched so many that he was invited by local high schools to give motivational talks, and a local newspaper had even written a story about his life. He made significant contributions to various community initiatives and causes using his own funds. He had built his mother a double storey house. He had sent his siblings to school. The toughness of life had made him an enduring, empathetic man who knew the real pain of suffering. His willingness therefore to extend a helping hand came as no surprise. He knew the importance of hard work, and never wanted to go back to a life of suffering again. But when he made the decision of re- marrying, most people, and especially his mother were not so impressed. His previous relationship had been a disaster which had almost brought his welding business to its knees. To most people, it looked like he had not learned the lesson already. The memories of all the tragedy were still fresh in most people’s minds. What that deceitful woman, Benediction had done to him was totally unforgivable. Whenever elders in the village and preachers in church were giving advice on relationships they would always tell young men to be aware of people like Benediction, a typical gold digger who had almost brought down the life of Isaac.

In his first marriage to Benediction, Isaac had spent a fortune to take her to university. Her parents had advised Isaac to take up Benediction’s school responsibilities first if he wanted to marry her. That was not a very hard decision to make for Isaac because he loved the woman. Even if he was not that educated, Isaac never underestimated the importance of education. He reckoned that if he married a woman who was educated, she would manage the business side of things with greater accountability and skill. Therefore educating Benediction, his future wife, would be a very worthy investment. It was a personal project that he would see to it ended well. Much like tending a tree, knowing that one day he would enjoy the fruits thereof. In the early stages of their relationship, all was rosy in the paradise of romance. Isaac and Benediction would frequently exchange correspondence and make calls to each other for all night long. Even at university, Benediction would wear a promissory ring to show all and sundry that she was taken. All prospective suitors were told in no uncertain terms that she was a no go area. Only Isaac had his name on her. With all the privileges of accommodation, fully paid tuition and pocket money, her grades in first year were excellent. “I am proud of you my woman. I am glad that university has not changed you. Make it a point that you finish in record time and we get married so that you can help me manage my business,” Isaac would always quip. Of course Benediction would swear that she could not wait to be the legitimate wife. She had even signed a purity pledge with some university faithfulness group. But as the craze of the city began to influence Benediction, she slowly began to lose her affection for Isaac.

When she began to catch up on what was the in-thing in university trends, she reckoned Isaac to be a backward man. Calls became more far between. When Isaac would call, the common excuse became assignments, research or anything academic. Isaac, trusting as he was, would apologise and encourage her to read on. It has been said that sometimes girls are like mangoes. While some people are waiting for them to ripen, others will be eating them with salt. Behind all the beauty and finesse that Benediction had acquired was the toil and hard work of Isaac. But university boys did not mind that. All they wanted was to reap what Isaac was trying to fatten up for himself. One fellow in particular, Daniel, with all the swag of a city boy, managed to penetrate the resistance that Benediction had tried to make for a whole year. She also wanted to be something and to be seen with someone. The promissory ring that she had religiously worn was conveniently tucked somewhere in the locker. This signalled that she was now available. “Have you been to a hotel, bae?” asked Daniel one day. Obviously Benediction had never been to a hotel. “I can take you there and show you a few things you know.” Benediction was flattered by the love language and lyrically exciting words that Daniel would use on her. He was not like the old fashioned Isaac, but Daniel knew how to make a lady feel special, so she thought. Isaac was the kind which kept a distance, and the best contact he could make was a handshake. But here was a man who knew where to touch and how to touch, here was a man who knew what to say, how to say and when to say it.

He had a flair which made her blood to rush. Benediction’s financial demands began to grow. She would ask money from Isaac back home almost every week in order to sustain her expensive life with Daniel. She had even told Daniel that she was now single, and had nothing to do with Isaac anymore. News reached the village that Benediction, even though betrothed to Isaac, was now flirting with Daniel. When Isaac got wind of the news, he was furious. He was able to connect the dots, especially her infrequent calls and knew something was fishy. When Benediction went home for a semester break, Isaac did not hesitate to confront her. But she denied the allegations, and instead turned the tables on Isaac. She said Isaac was seeing things, and that he was being manipulated by people who were jealous of their relationship. Without any concrete evidence, Isaac had nothing to pin down Benediction with. Sensing that there was a real possibility of losing his fiancée, Isaac decided to formalize their relationship. In that way, he assumed he would have secured his marital territory. Although there were initial protests and reservations from Benediction’s family, the traditional ceremony went ahead when they saw Isaac’s determination. They gave them the go ahead on the proviso that they make plans she does not get pregnant. That clinched it. Isaac had no problem with that arrangement.