Pust Hurts Are Hurdle Not Shackles

By Malusi Letoaba

‘Past Hurts Can Be Hurdles, Not Shackles' tells the story of a lovesick schoolboy who had to deal with his past hurts. Those hurts could not hold him back; they are hurdles, not chains. This is no fiction. These snapshots are based on anecdotes and facts told honestly. What are the flags! He was spurred on despite endless spells of doom.
Nevertheless, as any reader would know, do what you can in the interest of good. After all, he’s not alone in this.
Applauding himself, he boasts: “I now have a loving wife and two adoring children. And as for my two granddaughters, I wish they had been here, even before my children.”
It’s just not him: "So, A Must Read.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Malusi Letoaba
• Release date: Dec 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005924652

Book preview

Past Hurts Are Hurdles Not Shackles

By Malusi Letoaba

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Published by Malusi Letoaba at Smashwords

Copyright 2022 Malusi Letoaba

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Cover Design by Rita Toews

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‘Past Hurts Are Hurdles Not Shackles' tells the story of a lovesick schoolboy who had to deal with his past hurts. Those hurts could not hold him back; they are hurdles, not chains. This is no fiction. These snapshots are based on anecdotes and facts told honestly. What are the flags! He was spurred on despite endless spells of doom.

Nevertheless, as any reader would know, do what you can in the interest of good. After all, he’s not alone in this.

Applauding himself, he boasts: I now have a loving wife and two adoring children. And as for my two granddaughters, I wish they had been here, even before my children.

It’s just not him: So, A Must Read.

Chapter 1: House on Westphalia No. 2

The time has just gone past the hour, 20: 00. It is all true; time waits for no man.

I have not kept pace with you, you ever-moving hands of time. It is unfortunate, and regrettable, though. Nonetheless, it is no secret that I have been kept actively busy all day long. Hence, I have not been able to keep up with you. This may be unpopular of me, but be it as it may, I did what I did. I can’t make it – still, I can’t fake it. It was all done with all my will, yet, with much against my heart.

Needless to say though, it never dawned on me how you can fly so fast. Truthfully so, when one is so busy. As you might know, I never thought of it quite that way. Of course, lest you don’t know, hindsight is the best teacher ever.

Nothing being short of this, I am not alone in this. My partner in crime, and by that I mean my wife, is also feeling the strain. She too was having her hands full with chores - coactively so. So, it has been a busy day for both of us.

We have both been stuck with lots of urgent do’s, for hours on end now. What many will attest, is seeing us, moving high and low, and knowing why: Oh yes, it has been an all-day affair of urgent work - minds almost filled to the brim with tasks.

Surely, you too know that by now. But, let me put this clearly and straightforwardly: in all those cases when you saw us carrying boxes and furniture up and down, it was all about the move – moving houses. It was from the previous to this new one.

No need to remind you it is also the last working day, Friday, but for us, that is my wife and I, it has not been the usual TGIF (thank God it’s Friday) – the day to wind down the week’s work. Instead, we had to take time off from work to see us through this day’s work. We’ve been bogged down here at home all the time, until this point. So, no one should be surprised, you included. It’s been all hard work all day long.

In regards to today, it has been a fine day – sunny, but warm so far. Though the going was at first rough and tough, looking back at it now, at last, nothing can undo and underscore all the benefits. We should not complain at all, because in the end, all those pains are surpassed by all the gains and wins that came with them.

With all the desire in the world, we are at long last here – here where our lust has its seat: the house on Westphalia No. 2. To crown it all, this happens after we have had enough noisy neighbours to put up with, while cramped up in a small apartment, and still paying high rents each and every month.

We were not quite picky, but still, it is a home we always wanted to have – a massive house, yet still not pricey, for all it is worth.

After all, it is after plenty and lengthy time that was filled with lots of hiccups, needlessly and endlessly so; you name them, they were all there.

Coming thus far, we had been hard at work all day rendering the house fit for occupation. I, for one, had worked all day like a dog, and so had my wife; she too had her part to play. Knowing her for always refusing to accept any standards short of perfection, on this day, she was just all too well no different. She was always there, helpful, and as always, so much an awesome, and hands-on partner to be surrounded by – that special someone you’d indeed always need to be there, at all times by your side.

Among all those requiring her quick and immediate attention, was the entire house-cleaning and the unpacking of essentials we needed for our immediate use. Though I can’t say for sure, I think she’s now done.

In a nutshell, for our winning and how it was all earned, I know where all the credit goes: to our twinning and teaming.

We have barely finished all we set ourselves to do, yet I am already completely worn out.

On the flip side, in the pressing times we live in, as you know all too well, among cases of crime, house break-ins are also a very too well common occurrence. For now, I am happy with all the first-to-do things. Not only is all the cleaning done, but so too are all the cross-checks. So, all is now done. The house is, on the face of it, almost ready and safe to be occupied.

I have changed the front and backdoor locks, including the garage and the gate locks. In addition, I have also checked all the circuit breakers and all the main water valves. I am pleased they too are in sound and good working order.

That time is here – my favourite time – the time for a thirst-quenching cold beer, followed by another, and then, and only then, followed by a relaxing warm bath. For my wife, it’s just the opposite.

Need anything dear?

Like never before, a warm blanket and a cup of tea in bed will do the trick, Love.

Sadly, but not least expected, many things we might need are still cramped and jumbled in boxes; blankets are still packed away somewhere, and the fridge is still standing wide open and empty, glaring at us in all its sadness. And so, it looks like we still have a long way to go before we can be home and dry; at least for now, I mean.

Babbling about like young infants, we were over the moon about the new house we had acquired – a loved house we had dreamed of. It is so spacious, quite coarse, and very homely, making us feel high and spacey.

How we got here was not easy and simple. A lot had to be transcended. We had to rise above all challenges.

Entailed in the list, and by no means the least, were all the legal hurdles and protocols which were too many to count, and too tedious to cope with. And as usual, nothing of them was short of any hitches and glitches – the long backlogs, lengthy postponements, one after the other, and endless promises. Despite all those setbacks, it was not all doom and gloom for the much-awaited move-in day. It had set in, having been moved from one day to another. It was set for Wednesday, and then Thursday the following week. Finally, it had to come; it’s here - a Friday, almost a month later.

Surely, it isn’t a summit of ambitions to believe that summer will also finally arrive someday if you believe spring has sprung. It is the case now; it is that day: summer had finally arrived. So, what a thrill that was, and it was hard to imagine all the excitement. Thank you very much.

Having not completed all the tasks by nightfall did not surprise me. We had had awfully a lot to do.

Darling, I thought we would be done, come nightfall.

Not by any chance. Luckily, what we have done provides enough to see us through the night.

It was only after watching tv for a short while that we resigned to bed. Most of our belongings were still sitting in boxes. After all, it never bothered us; we still had all the weekends ahead of us.

That night we slept on a single bed in the room earmarked kiddies. And to make it through the night, we had sprawled a blanket or two over it.

With all that said, all was alright, until:

It was only in the wee hours. Suddenly, I began sweating heavily, rolling over and feeling breathless and sleepless. Next, I heard some footsteps. I looked, but could not see anything. It felt like someone had placed a filter over my eyes. After scratching my eyes, then I could see a thin, tall-looking man. He was walking into the room. My vision was slightly blurred, though. But, the man looked dressed in what looked like pyjamas.

My first knee-jerk reaction was to check if my wife was still there in bed with me. So, I stretched out my hand, and feeling her otherwise warm arms and legs, alone gave me the solace, anybody would imagine I so needed.

I was relieved. Nothing unpleasant had happened: She was there with me, but fast asleep. And, with my arm still resting on her thighs, I listened closely to my heart, wanting to stay and remain calm. On the one hand, I was warily watching every single movement the intruder made, obviously, terrified of being caught napping.

Watching him, I sat up off my tiptoes, eyes following him – almost ready for anything. He tiptoed towards the side of my bed where I was sleeping, and avoiding being heard. He held a butcher knife in his hand.

Hey!

What’s up?

Someone is in the room.

What?

Scuttle-scuttle, he was scurrying away in that darkness. At that time, my wife had reached out for her side lamp. It was too late, though. He was nowhere to be seen; some inexplicable force had whisked him away into the night.

Shaken by all that, I could not fall asleep afterwards. What have we got here? This thought kept running through my mind. The aftermath was obvious: sleeping afterwards had become a mission; all was but ruined. So, I stayed almost awake all night long with the LED light of the side lamp shining throughout.

It was after what seemed like an eternity, and I don’t know how it happened, my face lit up as sunlight finally filtered through the rough and rugged makeshift curtains made out of cut-out pieces of newspaper, waiting to be replaced by real stuff.

Facing the dawning of another day, still feeling dazed by the lack of sleep, became utterly a mission for me. So, I groggily and dazedly slid out of bed to the bathroom. My late sleeping habit