LIFE IMAGINED

18

LIFE IMAGINED

18

Yabatha:We need to get out of here. He won’t rest until he finds us.
Zimbili: How did you escape? We have been looking for you for two months.
Yabatha: I set myself free babe, I am tired of not standing up for myself. That’s why John thinks he can do as he pleases with us.
Zimbili: This man is more dangerous than I thought. Everyone is on his payroll; I’m starting to regret coming here. I lost my family, and for what? Because he is walking free.
Yabatha: I’m sorry about your parents my love. Green will get his karma.
Zimbili:When Yabatha? He is always one step ahead of us. Even the detective I had trusted with this case seems to be failing because Green bribes everyone.
Yabatha tries to touch her, but she steps back. She is starting to regret her decisions, she acted momentarily and sped off to help a man at her family’s lives expense. They remain in the same position until they are disturbed by Ndebele.
Ndebele:Yabatha where have you been?
Yabatha:John had me hostage, he wanted to know where Zimbili is.
Ndebele:Green! That son of a bitch!! But don’t worry he doesn’t know you two are here. I have spoken to some judge, and she promised me that she will make sure John remains behind bars.
Yabatha: He knows, two people were here. We hid from them, and they left because they thought no one was in.
Ndebele started sweating profoundly, how would he have known Zimbili was here… Unless…
Ndebele: Okay I don’t know what is happening now, this is getting more and more complicated. The only person I spoke to today is Judge Nzimande and I told her because I thought she is a good abiding law worker.  Green must have everyone working for him. We will never catch him.
He sat down on the couch and put his hands over his face. He has always thought that the law was there to help everyone and make sure everyone gets justice, but now it is failing him. He has absolutely no idea how to go about solving this case. He has failed, so much for promising Zimbili that he will help her.
Ndebele: If judge Nzimande is also working for Green then I don’t see the whole point of this. We have failed guys; I think we just have to accept that. I will be going back to Mpumalanga tomorrow, you two will have to see how you sort this one out. As for me, I am out. I won’t be made a fool like this. Yabatha your family is safe; you can get them anytime you feel it is safe for them.

Zimbili stands up from the couch and holds Yabatha’s arm, she clicks her tongue and looks at Ndebele.
Zimbili: So much for being the best detective. You are a coward, let’s go Yabatha.
She dragged him outside the yard.
Yabatha:So what are we going to do now?
Zimbili:The only thing we can do.
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Frank pulls the plug holding all the machines hooked to Zanesipho and he watches her as she takes her last sad breath. He covers her with a big sheet from her toes to her head. He heads out and meets his father in the passage.
“So did you do it?”, his father ask him.
Frank: Yes I did, she is gone.
“And where are you with finding Zethembiso?”
Frank: I don’t know who took her but my guys are looking for her.
He lies, he knows exactly who took her. He saw Tukelo yesterday and let him go on purpose, he also doesn’t like doing this, but he can’t defy his father. He never even sent anyone to look for her, he hopes Tukelo took her far away where his father won’t find her.
“Frank you understand that girl was basically the only thing keeping me alive? If we don’t find her I will die. Find her frank, if she doesn’t return by tomorrow, I will die. Do you want me to die?”
Frank:No. I will find her by midnight.
He walks away and goes to his room, he packs everything that belong to him. He is leaving, he won’t even bother looking for Zethembiso. His dad must die and save everyone the pain.
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Tukelo: I’m sorry.
Zethembiso: For what?
Tukelo: For ruining your life, I am the one who took you from your home. I’m sorry.
Zethembiso: It’s okay, I was also forward. I left with someone I don’t know to a big city. I am just concerned about my dad, he must be worried about me and my sister.
Tukelo: Don’t worry I will take you to see him.
Zethe: What about Frank?
Tukelo: I told you not to worry about that one. We will go tomorrow.
Zethembiso nods and Tukelo’s phone rings, it’s an unsaved number. He answers and wait for the person to speak.
“Is Zethembiso with you?”, he immediately recognizes the voice. He keeps quiet not answering.
Frank: I know she is with you, please put the call on loudspeaker.
Hearing how pleading his voice was he put the phone on loudspeaker and Zethembiso also listened.
Frank: Zethembiso I am truly sorry for everything you went through. It is also what your sister went through, I didn’t want to do it, but my dad was the one forcing me. But I have left him now, I am somewhere. So, you both don’t have to worry about me looking for you, he will be gone by tomorrow. I won’t go into much detail, but my dad was involved in some pretty shady stuff. Again, I am sorry. I hope you forgive me.
Tukelo:Are you done?
Frank:No… Your sister is gone.
Zethembiso let out a tear, she had expected that. The condition she was in showed no sign of ever recovering.
Frank dropped the call not wanting to say more and Zethembiso let her tears fall. Crying because her sister is gone before they even got to reunite properly, crying because she was always looking down on Mbongeni and ran off to Durban only to endure such abuse. Tukelo held her and comforted her while she cried.
Zethe: It hurts, so bad.
Tukelo: I know, but it will get better. I promise you.
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Zethembiso’s stared at his children’s photos as he cried, he can feel it in his bones that something is wrong.
“Why did you abandon me dear God!? First you took my wife, now my children are nowhere to be seen!”
He screamed at the top of his lungs while crying, he threw the pictures across the room, and they scattered on the floor. He looked at his wife’s smiling face through the broken frame and picked it up, cutting himself on the process. But he didn’t care about the blood right now, the pain he feels is incomparable.
“You are smiling! You left me alone with our children and died. Why did you die!? Ahhhhhh”
He threw the broken picture at the TV, smashing it. He sat on top of the glass from the other pictures and cried painfully.
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Emma just tucked in her children, she hasn’t seen John all day. She doesn’t care anymore; he can do what he likes.  She drank water in the kitchen and she was startled by the glass window breaking. She screams a little, she looks around and sees a bottle flaming on the floor. She panicked and rushed upstairs to check on her children but when she arrived her kids were screaming for her to help. Their room was in flames, she started crying as she did not understand what was happening. She managed to get them out of the burning room and they tried to escape but a loud bang erupted from the house tossing them in different directions….

Meanwhile outside, Zimbili pours the gasoline around the house, rage is written all over her face. She lights up the matchstick and looks at Yabatha, he nods at her. She throws the light stick into gasoline and the whole house is on fire within a few minutes. They can hear Emma & her children screaming from the inside, until their screams fade.
Yabatha: Lets go.
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To be continued…