If I could choose to have one superpower, it would be to interpret dreams, to understand the things I see and why I see them. I would want to remember every single detail in the morning so that I leave no stone unturned. Maybe I would even win the lotto and become a millionaire, but that was beside the point. I've been having this recurring dreams for the past two days, and they are becoming more vivid each time, and what terrified me is how real they felt. I'm in a dense forest and I keep looking over my shoulder as I run from an unknown force, and it always feels like they are at an arm's reach and I can't get far enough from them. As I keep running, the sky-high trees ahead begin to close up and it feels like the forest is swallowing him, and the last thing I hear before I wake up are my own screams and a baby's shrilling cry. It did not help that I slept alone, or that I struggled to sleep these days. I couldn't wait to get the restaurant up and ru
When you decide to visit a sangoma, in most cases, prepare yourself to come back with more questions that answers. I heard everything she said even though my mind was a bit jumbled up, but the biggest question right now remained - what did Silas’ family have anything to do with my family? It did not make sense, from the moment I met both Silas and Esra, it was clear that we were from two different worlds. The possibility of there being bad blood between our families seemed far-fetched. I didn’t even know what to ask, what if I asked Esra and my father, and it backfired and caused more problems? The only thing I wanted was to enjoy my pregnancy and relationship with Silas, and now I just learnt that the entire universe was against us. The phone died before I could request an Uber, and my sister did not wait to see whether I’d requested a ride or not, she took a taxi back home while I was forced to take a taxi to town. Taxis to our suburb were quite scarce, and the ones that passed
We barely slept, and no, it had nothing to do with our love-making session. Silas was turning and tossing all night, and even woke up screaming at some point. I tried to soothe him, but it was not working, and he was shaking and sweating profusely, and he was breathing heavily. "He's here, he's here," he mumbled while fighting sleep. I felt so helpless, and I didn't know what to do. Esra did not return home from work last night, she sent a text while we were at the mall, saying she was working a double shift. His mood the following morning did not help, he was sullen and walked around like a zombie. He did not say a single word to me, not even a simple greeting, neither did he touch the breakfast I prepared for him. I kept checking his phone for the time and for any sort of communication from Esra, I don't know what was taking her so long when he shift ended at 6a.m., which was three and a half hours ago. There was no network,
I couldn’t stop staring at his face. The bruises on Silas’ face faded with just a sip of blood as if he had not been injured less than an hour ago. I cleaned up the remaining blood spots on his cheek and plopped on the chair next to his. “I don’t understand, how could I have missed this?” He asked while scrolling through the messages from Mpumi. My blood ran cold whenever the picture of her dead body popped in my head. “Well, considering how you were acting earlier, I doubt we would have found out about this if I didn’t have your phone.” “And Zamani wouldn’t have discovered Cas if it weren’t for you!” Esra barged into the kitchen, her nose flaring as her scorching gaze focused on me. “This is all your fault.” “Zamani would have found his way here with or without Yvonne, it was just a coincidence.” Silas looked up from his phone, tossing it on the table. “Babe, are you certain that she was killed by a vampire?” He asked, his eyes on me. I nodded. “I’m positive.” It all still fe
Gift had vanished into thin air, and his existence left a heavy cloud of apprehension hanging over us. I couldn’t stop replaying everything he said at that apartment building, and what echoed in my head every say for the past few days were the sangoma’s words: ‘I see a man here, he is not of this world. At least not in the case where life and death are concerned. He is bitter, angry, and he is evil. He would do anything to protect his kind, even if it means sacrificing his own children. He does not want his children to have a life because he fears that his coven will be exposed, he is not happy that you are a part of his son’s life.' It felt like her premonitions were coming to life, and all I could do was watch my boyfriend suffer in silence. He had quit his job at the lodge, he seemed to have lost interest in the restaurant, although I believed he was avoiding all these places because of Zamani. His latest hobby was to pretend to be
I jumped out of the car and raced into the yard as quickly as my feet would allow me to. There were police officers everywhere and they were turning the entire place upside down. My heart was beating fast in my chest as my mind raced to Silas, hoping he managed to get away since he was usually asleep around this time if he was not busy in the kitchen, with the latter being less likely since his passion for the kitchen had diminished these last few days. “Esra!” I called hysterically as I ran into the house, trying to navigate my way through the mess and the people moving all over. “Esra, Esra!” “Yvonne!” She ran out from the kitchen, panic written all over her face, and then she pulled me aside. “Cas managed to escape, but I forgot to move the blood bags, and now they are taking them. They won’t find anything that links them directly to Cas, but the police will definitely be investigating me, and Room 9 is going to use the blood as evidence.”
It was shameful to regard someone as family only when you needed something, but I had no other option, nor did I have a choice or say when growing up. As far as the world was concerned, my mother did not have any family left after losing her entire family to the grim reaper. What she never told anyone was that she had a sister who resided less than an hour’s drive away from home. My mother’s older sister, Meiki, was a traditional healer, but a witch according to my mother. As soon as the car pulled up outside her home, she was at the gate in seconds and assisted Karabo in helping me out of the car, and then she led me into the house while Karabo followed close behind with my bags. “Thank you for bringing her home,” Aunt Meiki said as she led my saviour out the door. Watching her was like watching my mother in an alternate world. They looked exactly alike, they had the same big round bodies, with my aunt being slightly taller and
Silas once said to me that he wondered if we would have met if he had not been turned into a vampire. It seemed impossible back then, I didn't believe that we would have somehow met because I believed we came from two different worlds. Today, however, I learnt that it was not true, we were not that different after all. If anything, we came from the same place and practically shared the same roots. Perhaps in a different world his father would not have been a monster, and our fathers' friendship would have led us to each other. Perhaps instead of being arranged to marry Gift, our parents would have arranged for Silas and I to get married; and since we were neighbours, who knows? Maybe we would have been best friends and childhood sweethearts. It felt like whatever happened, no matter what road life took us through, it would have still led us to where we were today, and that gave me hope. Despite everything that's happened, especially
Everything was perfect. The food, the decor, my traditional attire. It was everything I'd dreamed of, and more.Nonetheless, not even that could stop the nerves from gnawing at my stomach."Will you stop looking out the window, Silas already said they were on the way," Ivy scolded.I had the urge to chew at my fingernails, a habit I acquired after we were discharged from the hospital, but my sister had saved the day with these uncomfortable fake nails. "What's taking them so long? What if he changed his mind?"Karabo scoffed. "Come on, who are you fooling? We all know Sy is head over heels in love with you, and he has been dreaming of this day for months now," she said, strolling into the room with my baby cushioned on her protruding belly. "Now, sit and feed my godson, will you?" I closed the curtain with a sigh and plopped on the bed. Karabo placed a now seven months old Mpilo in my arms, and he wiggled his arms and legs when he saw me, his happy face bringing a smile t
If someone had told me this would be my life a year ago, I would have probably thought they were mocking me. I felt like I lived through a lot, experienced so much, and just felt a lot.My stay at the hospital was bittersweet, I've had some scary moments. Turns out being a mother takes a lot more than just caring a baby in your womb, these past two weeks proved that there was a lot that went into parenting. I was officially initiated into motherhood.The trauma of seeing him being rushed to the emergency room for suctioning on a few occasions because the food came out through his nose, to witnessing the mother next door devastated because her baby was rushed back to ICU and realising that I was on a thin ice. Coming to understand and interpret Mpilo’s different cries and learning how to act in every situation. Nonetheless, I learned to appreciate the good that came with the bad. My heart filled with warmth at the rate he was growing. Maggie's secret did the trick, Sy gave Mpi
There was a certain time in my life where I feared that we would receive a call that my father was shot and killed while at work.I think then it would have been expected, it would have been easier because he was a reckless cop during the peak of his career. Death was inevitable in his field of work, if he had died on duty, his death would have been much easier to accept.But that was not the case.His death was haunting.It was so strange and funny how my father had brought death to many people as if he would live forever.He received a state funeral, a burial worthy of a president. He was seen as a state hero.Tributes were pouring in every second of the day as people continued singing him praises.The measures the vampire council was willing to take to protect their kind was beyond me. News had spread so fast about how my father had died a hero in a quest to capture the notorious Esra Yildiz and the thug in police uniform, Zamani Mamba.They pinned all the crimes
Esra's head snapped to the side, and she pinned Zamani with crazed eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, there is no such thing!" He broke into a humourless chortle. "Do you think vampires are a thing of yesterday? There's a damn village full of them, and they have a damn council running the country from the shadows. The SASIU is only sent out for severe cases, and they only have one single goal and instruction – shoot to kill." "Is that so?" Esra challenged. "Well, I'd like to see them try." "Esra, what... we should be getting out of here, drop this entire thing!" Esra tipped her chin in defiance. "Go if you want to, I won't stop you." The vampire's hold on me had loosened, however, he made no attempt to completely let me go. More people stepped out from the shadows, cladded in black cargo pants and military boots, gray t-shirts, black bulletproof vests, masking their identitities with black balaclavas. They carried advanced specialised weapons evidently exclusive to their departments
A silhouette crept out from the darkness of the forest; tall, lean, with a slightly bent-over posture, his steps wide and precise like a soldier on a march. I would recognise him even with my eyes closed. Cassilas Yildiz. I did not want to believe it was him, until he spoke, and his voice tickled all my senses, and not in a pleasant way. Silas did not deserve to be here, he shouldn't be here. "Esra." A sharp piercing pain struck my knee as I collided with the rocky ground beneath me as I felt all the air rush out of my lungs, a numb feeling settling in its place. "Cas, how nice of you to finally join us! My darling little brother, I would have been disappointed if you didn't come. Wouldn't you call this the perfect family reunion?" His red globes never left his mother's face, no one said anything, they both left their eyes to do the talking. I could see they were dying to embrace each other, but the situation did not allow; nonetheless, that did not stop Sy from taking anot
My hand dropped to my side as if pried off by a sudden shock of electricity, my chest heaving up and down heavily. I felt cold inside, a sense of numbness I could not decipher. No matter what excuse my mind tried to produce, there was nothing I could say to my father’s defense. Normally, I would be filled with feelings of doubt at the dubious accusations, but there was no ounce of doubt in me. The fact that he did not try to argue or defend himself told me that it was true - my father was indeed responsible for my aunt’s death. "What was it you said, again? A blood sacrifice." "Yeah, that's right!" Zamani chimed. "The blood of the person who turned you into a monster, would reverse the curse." But my aunt did not turn my father into a vampire, and I doubt she knew he was one. "But of course, he couldn't murder the son of his dearest friend. I could never understand such blind loyalty, I mean, the guy is already dead and buried." "Watch it," Esra warned coyly, silencing Zamani wi
It was sunset when we finally arrived at the village, and Papa asked Theo to pull up on the side. "We will walk from here, thank you," he said, taking out his wallet. "How much is it going to be for the trip?" Theo showed him the price on the screen, and my father gladly accepted, adding extra on top of the charged amount. "Thanks for the ride," I said to Theo before joining my dad on the side of the road, and we both watched as he drove back in the direction we came from. Papa took off his shades, his eyes following Theo's car as it vanished in the distance. "Do you think he connected the dots when he heard Esra's name on the radio?" He asked. I somehow understood where this conversation was going. "Even if he did, Papa, what can we do? Are you going to kill him too?" He responded with a roll of his eyes, but he didn't seem offended. "Let's go." He turned around, and I trailed behind him as he paved the way farther into the village. The closer we got to the homesteads, the slow
The tension in the room was so thick that not even a knife could cut through it.I couldn't tear my eyes away from my father, how was this the man who raised me? He looked pale, and I had no idea whether it was the shock or his natural state.My eyes moved between him and my brother, Vuyo was evidently a vampire, however, nothing about my father pointed to him being the monster everyone spoke about.At least not to the naked eye. On closer inspection, after everything I'd discovered, I came to realise that this was his mask, a facade. I don't know how he managed to deceive us all these years, but he succeeded. Judging by the horror on Vuyo's face, there was no tiptoeing around whether my father was a monster or not. He was a monster that turned his son into a vampire and held him captive for years. He was a monster that used his teenage son to lure people out so that he could feed on them. He was a monster that was willing to ruin his daughter's relationship and was prepare
I was woken up from a peaceful sleep by a ringing phone. Still a bit disoriented, it was a while before I located the phone, and I was even more piqued at the realisation that it was Sy's phone.He was sound asleep, his clothes lost somewhere in the room as he held me in his bare chest.His ringing phone bothered me, he should not be that accessible considering the fact that he was a fugitive. I slipped out of his arms and bed and quickly put on my clothes before I grabbed both our phones and snuck out of the room.I had every reason to not answer his phone, but I couldn't ignore it, especially when Karabo's name popped on the screen. Why would she be calling him?I accepted the call, but before I could even answer, she blabbered away. "Cas, what is wrong with you? I've been calling you since last night, but you don't answer my calls. Listen, I've given you more than enough time, if you can't tell your girlfriend the truth, then she's gonna have to find out the hard way.