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
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
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
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
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
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
I've always wondered what it was like living life outside religion and family, having the freedom to just be.It was the same story every day, being told what to wear, how to sit, how to speak... it was only a matter of time before they dictated when to breathe.I was in a room full of people, and yet my heart and spirit were not there. It was time for praise and worship, the congregation at large was praying as if competing with the piano man; and I just stood there, not knowing what to say because my dreams were out of reach. We are told to pray to God and speak what is in our hearts, but in the eye of the church, what I wanted was against our belief.What was so bad about wanting to be my own person, to want to see the world and meet different people? What was so wrong about wanting to breathe different air away from this place?My phone vibrated in my purse, and I looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to me, but they were all praying.'Meet me outside.'
The smell of cigarettes was overwhelming, I couldn't wear the sweater for longer than a minute. As if reading my mind, he said, "Sorry." I handed the sweater back to him and he put it on, covering his face with the hoodie yet again. "It's okay, thanks for the warm gesture though," I said, and he laughed. I could never get used to that rumbling laughter. "Was that pun intended?" My cheeks warmed up. "Maybe." "I'm Silas, by the way. And you are?" We stopped outside me and Esra's room. "I'm Yvonne." "Well, nice to meet you, Yvonne." He held out his hand, and I stared at him before linking our hands in a handshake. I gasped as a familiar feeling of electricity shot up my arm, and I snatched my hand away. I wanted to ask him if we had met earlier, but I couldn't find the words. We stood there awkwardly, until he cleared his throat. "Well then, goodnight," He said and walked away. "Wait!" I