ISIPHO SOKUZALWA (Gift of Birth) by MINENHLE S MKHIZE

LEARN

It is day two they woke up from their slumber. The map; which is a rectangular shape impenetrable glass, is 15 centimeters (5.91 inches) in height and 30 centimeters (11. 81 inches) in length. It has a three-dimensional touch screen monitor and has black handles on the sides. They use the map to allocate the first group located in Mexico City, Mexico. While travelling down south by south-west crossing  state borders of Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. The map kept flashing a red dot indicating the distance and time of the group's location, and a green arrow represents both Sipho and Parla indicating how close they are to their destination. Gazelles and giraffes are grazing and a family of giant anteaters are sniffing for food on the ground.

Along the journey Parla keeps touching everything she can get her hands on: the grass; sand; flowers; tree sap to carcasses of dead animals. She even wants to touch  live animals as they stare at them but Sipho keeps pulling her towards him by the arm as they walk closely together in fear of the unknown environment . They cross Mexico and the flashing red dot increases in a fast pace on the map, they both look on it and are dazed on its brightness. Finally, they reach Mexico City embedded with moss and tree vines, and the once rare bald eagle flying above the city. The solid red dot points to an Aztec structure found on Tenochtitlan; an island once was in Texcoco Lake, it stood high and strong with moss embedding the architectural building.

The clones raised their heads following the first step of stairs to the last step up at the entrance with eyebrows raised and mouths open ajar for the oxygen to be exhaled. They start climbing up the stairs till they were at the entrance. In the half-lit passageway by the result of the sun, they suddenly have a strange feeling that something is wrong concerning the place, 'intuition' says something will happen. When Sipho took one step into the passageway the block that he stepped on pressed down and a onyx-head dart shot out across the left side of the wall, passing right in front of his eyes and impaled straight on the other side of the wall. He reversed to a point that he fell flat on his butt, he wakes up and dust off the dirt on his pants, eyes opened wide and so did Parla's.

Sipho took a fist size rock and threw it on the passage, and a dozen of darts shot out immediately as the rock stopped moving, Sipho and Parla looked at each other sensing that this is a difficult challenge unless they find a solution. They pondered while moving around at the same spot trying to figure out something that will help reach the others. Parla stops in her tracks, she turns her head and neck, stretches out her right arm and both index and middle fingers to tap Sipho on the shoulder. He turns to her and stands beside her; then, she points at two stones carved like eagle wings. Now, since those eagle wings are heavy for one normal man but Sipho picks them up as if holding two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of dumbbells on either side. Parla also sees a large raggedy mandarin cloth that will cover all over them with the wings held on each side; above their heads while crouching down to protect against the darts.

They enter the corridor one behind the other crouching while the darts are flying and hitting at the stone wings; underneath the mandarin cloth. Listening to the swishing sound of darts impaling to the cracking walls, dust and tiny stones are falling onto Parla and Sipho as they patiently yet cautiously move at the end of the passage. When they heard no sound of darts, and silence crept in to the temple structure that you can even hear a pin drop; or in this case stones falling of cracking walls, they estimated that they have passed the corridor unharmed.