I remember the first time I saw Mpinane. It was a chilly mid-June. I had earlier told my Personal Assistant to cancel and decline all appointments for that day.

I was looking forward to spending a quiet Wednesday afternoon with my wife. But the PA insisted that I saw Mpinane; that she would take only five minutes of my time (which usually turns to five hours especially for a first-time client.) What made me agree (and not fire the PA) to seeing Mpinane was her persuasion and bravery. She was determined not to leave the office until she saw me. She said it was a matter of life and death.

Yeah, I have heard that before. It is always a matter of life and death, which in reality never is. She sat neatly and comfortably in the waiting area. She was beautiful and expensively dressed - the moment I saw a ring on the finger I knew it had something to do with her marriage. I smiled inwardly, at least I am going to chase her away, citing that marriage counseling is not my field. I really needed this Wednesday off.

“Mrs. Mashero” I forced a smile as I invited her to sit opposite me in the office. She looked calm and confident but I read something like fear in her face. “What are you afraid of?” I don’t know where that came from. I knew I had opened a can of worms. She adjusted her seat and looked up at me, “The future.”  I knew I had to forget about Wednesday night.

*** Apparently, this beautiful lady was raised in a wealthy family and went to good schools. At age 21, her father gave her a fish and chips business which was already successful. At 24, she got married to a highly successful Doctor in South Africa. A year later, she was blessed with twins, a boy, and a girl. Six months later, they bought a multi-million double story house in a suburb. She was also on the brink of completing her Master’s Degree in Education. Life was perfect. God had been really good to her.

Until one day her husband died in a car accident. Then she discovered that her husband had in fact married some white woman before he married her. The court thus declared Mpinane’s marriage as null and void. She had to go back home with her only possessions being the twins and a luggage bag.

She came home to a welcoming brother (now the heir to her father’s wealth). He was quite sympathetic but could not offer her anything else. He had his own family to take care of, plus a wife who was his co-decision maker. She was screwed up. The brother was generous enough to give her around M5 000 to start any business.

Now sitting down in my office, she started melting down, “I don’t know what I am gonna do,” she sobbed. “What do I do with M5 000 and what type of business do I start with M5 000. How could my own brother do this to me?”