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LUXOLO
“How is she?” I ask Dr Strydom getting up from the couch, she’s been busy with my mother for over 3 hours. We are sitting in the lounge, Tsakani is here too they got here a few minutes ago they had to cut the meeting with his brothers short. She looks at me, and shake her head taking off her glasses in the process, she looks so drained. “Please tell me that she’s still breathing, that she’s still alive,” I continue saying tears already veiling my eyes.
“I’m sorry-” she looks down. “We’ve tried all we could, bu…, It was too late,” I shake my head, this can’t be happening. My mother can’t die, not yet. Tears are already streaming down my cheeks, but I steel myself to not burst out. Mmathabo’s painful wail is what weakens me, and voice finding itself escaping my mouth. Tsakani pulls me into his embrace hushing me.
Tsakani: “Don’t bullshit us Dr Strydom! Don’t tell us that bullshit. You better make sure that Nomalanga is alive or else I will kill you. Do you hear me? Make sure that she’s fucking still alive!”
Her: “I- I can’t. As much as I’d like to bring her back to life, I can’t. I’m not God. I’m sorry, but this is beyond me.” Hhe, this woman. “She’s gone, make peace with it.” I lift my head from Tsakani’s chest, and pin my eyes at her. The words tumble out of her mouth freely, it’s like she’s glad that my mom has passed on or something.
Me: “Excuse me?” I take 2 steps forward and before she knows it, I’m standing before her, our eyes lock. She doesn’t seem bothered by it all.
Her: “Make peace with the fact that your mother is gone Tammy. She’s never coming back!” I laugh.
Me: “My mom is still alive Strydom. What you are telling me now is pure bullshit. Ungitshela umnqundu! My love, keep everyone here make sure that no one leaves, I’ll be back.”
Him: “Will do just that, but where are you going?”
Me: “There’s just something off about all of this, something is fishy, and I need to get to the bottom of it.”
Strydom: “And what does that has got anything to do with me?”
Me: “Because I have a feeling that you are somehow involved in all of this, and I’m yet to find out how. Excuse me,” I push past her, and rush to the mini hospital Ignoring Mmathabo calling my name. I spot one of the nurses taking a peep outside, clearly she’s guarding someone. Something is going on here, and it’s big.
My back is against the wall, and so are my hands, I use them to balance myself, and start walking trying not to make loud noise, even if I do make noise they still wouldn’t do me shit because I will kill them without even thinking twice.
“Are you done yet?” The one who was at the door ask the other one inside.
“I can’t seem to bring down the pillow to her face, I-I really can’t,” she replies with a shaky voice.
Nurse 1: “Just suffocate her with the damn pillow, and I don’t know why is Emma taking so long to return, I thought she was just going to convey a message.”
Nurse 2: “Why don’t you come and do it? I mean, you are the brave one here.”
Her: “No. Emma, strictly asked you not me. Now do your job,” she hisses.
Nurse 2: “But I’ve never killed anyone before, and I will not start now.”
Her: “You will learn Jabu. Just do it, and let’s get this over & done with. Kill her!” I sneer… Her eyes go wide in shock when she sees me leaning against the door frame, and she takes a step a back shaking her head.
I look at where my mother is, and she’s surrounded by machines, but she doesn’t have an oxygen mask on. The other nurse has dropped the pillow she had on the floor, she’s shaking.
“Put the oxygen mask back in her face, then explain to me what the fuck is going on here,” I tell her taking out my gun from my waist. “Start singing,” walking around this mini hospital is not on, the smell of different medication throws me off, but because my mother is lying in one of the beds I’m forced to endure it. “Khulumani!”
Nurse 2: “W- we,” she shakes her head. I pull the trigger and shoot her on the thigh, and screams out in pain. The other nurse screams too.
Me: “Don’t make me ask again, don’t piss me off any further because I’m already pissed off. Hey, pretty doll. What’s your name?” I ask the one who was playing guard at the door.
Her: “An- Annah Ledwaba,” I shoot her other thigh, and she screams again.
Me: “So, Annah. Why the fuck were you trying to kill my mother?” I wave the gun in the air.
Her: “I- we are jus…’t following orders,” she says through clenched teeth.
Me: “Orders? From whom?”
Her: “Emma. Dr Strydom.” I nod.
Me: “So, you were really- really going to kill my mother and for what?” She shakes her head. I shoot her on her right thigh again.
Her: “Ye-s. Yes, we were going too.”
Me: “Do you have a family?” She quickly nods, and I laugh. “Your mother is still alive?” She narrows her eyes at me. “I asked you a question, and it will calm my tits down if you answer it.” She nods. “How would you feel if you find someone trying to kill your mother?”
Her: “Angry.”
Me: “Exactly! And now you want to turn me into a twisted psycho, and I’m not one. But I do kill without showing any mercy, I will kill you, then kill your mother. Or I can always go and fetch your parents, children if you have any, and make you watch me kill them like cockroaches then kill you after that. How does that sound, because to me, it sounds like a good thriller movie with a twist don’t you think?” She’s crying, and hiccuping in between, great!
Her: “Please. Not my family, my mother.”
Me: “But you were ready to kill my mother, and for what? Money? You were promised a lump some of money I bet. I mean, you were ready to take a soul, hmmm. That’s hypocrisy if you ask me. And you sweetheart what’s your name?”
Nurse: “Jabu Radebe,” this one has even done a number on herself. I was going to understand if she just peed, but she did the whole shitting no wonder the foul smell. Her face is covered in mucus mixed with tears. “I- I didn’t kill your mother, I swear. She’s still alive.”
Me: “I know. Why didn’t you kill her? You were given a task to carry, and you didn’t do it, why?”
Her: “I just couldn’t do it,” wiping her tears. “I’ve never killed before,” I nod.
Me: “Then why did you agree in the beginning to be part of all this? I mean, you could’ve said no the very first time they told you this.”
Her: “I thought I could do it. I wanted to prove myself to Dr Strydom.”
Me: “Prove what to her exactly by killing patients? Guess, this is what she always does. Kill, kill, kill, and more killing. And the worst part of it all she uses you, her nurses to do the killings for her. Imagine how many people she killed so far? Shame, la kuse bus stop ke. In this case she will be the one dying, and you, my dear will kill her for me. She will die by your hand, understand?” She shakes her head. “Then I will kill you!” I point the gun at her…
Her: “I will do it, I will.”
Me: “Get yourself cleaned up, you smell like a rotten cabbage. Out of my sight now!” She hurries away. “And you, Annah. How many souls did you take? And don’t lie shame because I will turn you into a scrap baby girl.”
Her: “I-, my phone rings disturbing the moment, I retrieve it from my pocket, and it’s Biggie.
Me: “Biggie.”
Her: “Hey, smallie. Where are you?”
Me: “I’m at the elite busy with something, sup?”
Her: “I wanted to invite you & Tsakani over for dinner tonight.”
Me: “I wish we can come, but something urgent came up,” I look at my mother as she’s lying peacefully in that bed.
Her: “You don’t sound okay. What’s wrong.”
Me: “Nomalanga. She’s… Actually, you know what let me rather not tell you because you don’t give a fuck about her or her well-being.” I’m already picturing her rolling her eyes at the mention of her name.
Her: “Oh, okay then. You will let me know when you are free.”
Me: “I will do just that.”
Her: “I love you.”
Me: “I love you too,” hanging up. I look at Annah. “Where’s my mother’s file?” She points at the bag that is on top of the medication dispenser. “Who does it belong too?”
Her: “Emma.” I nod… I get it off from the top, and put it on top of the empty bed, and rampage it.
“Strychnine,” I say that out loud as I go through my mother’s file. What on earth is that now? But I’m sure google can help, or Annah. She’s a nurse after all she’s bound to know. “Annah,” I turn to face her
Her: It’s a poi-son,” I gesture with my hand for her to go on. “It’s a common pesticide, its style points is causing one of the most horrific deaths of all: Once taken every muscle in your body spasms violently until you die from exhaustion,” where on earth did my mother get this poison from?
Me: “What?” She shrugs. “So, my mother was supposed to die a painful death, but instead Emma decided to quicken the process by wanting to suffocate my mother?” I look at her, and she nods. Fuck!
Her: “But… The poison have been drained in her system.”
Me: “Then why try suffocating my mother with a pillow if the poison has been drained from her system? And how does one get the poison?” This doesn’t make sense.
“It was after Emma received a call. Someone called her, and she told that person that the poison has already been drained out of your mother’s system. And whoever that person is told her to try other ways to kill her, hence the pillow method. The poison is found by connections as far as I know.” Jabu says stepping inside the room, she looks cleaned up.
Me: “So, there is someone out there who wants my mother dead? But who?”
Her: “I think that person is amongst all those people residing here.”
Annah: “Shut the hell up Jabu!” We both turn to look at her. “You don’t know what you are talking about, just stop lying!”
Me: “Now we are getting somewhere. Do you know something that we don’t know?”
Her: “I don’t know anything, I was just telling Jabu to stop lying because we also don’t know who Emma was talking too.”
Me: “Oh, okay. Guess we will find out…” I point my gun at her forehead, and shoot her twice. Her heads fall back to the wall. Jabu screams, and she pisses herself great. “Guard my mother, and she better still be alive when I come back, uyezwa?” She quickly nods. “Good.” I drag Annah’s body outside. And all of a sudden I have a lot of questions running through my mind, and it brings to this one; “what was Emma coming here to do? And why did she come with the nurses?” Now I believe that whoever wants to kill my mother is someone close, and present with us… Mirror, mirror on the wall who’s the culprit amongst them all?
★»★«
TSAKANI
Dr Strydom is pacing up & down as she keeps on looking at her wrist watch. She looks scared now, or guilty I don’t know. But she looks like someone who has failed at doing something.
“Kanty, what’s taking Tammy so long?” Mmathabo asks with a mouth full of food, manners.
“I wonder too, I need to leave in 5 minutes I have another patient to attend too. I still don’t understand why we are kept prisoners,” Dr Strydom says.
Hlulani: “That’s what baffles me too.”
Me: “I am smelling blood, and very close, too close.”
Sabelo: “What blood? Your girlfriend has kept us prisoners in here, and you are telling us about smelling blood? Blood that we don’t even smell? Sowahlanya?”
Hlulani: “I can smell it too, Mmathabo take the kids away.”
Her: “Why? What’s going on?”
Me: “Just do it. We don’t want them getting traumatized.”
Her: “What? You want me to miss all the action? I ain’t going anywhere, the kids can close their eyes I’m not going anywhere, nope.” Sabelo sighs, and shakes his head.
Mmangwane: “I will take them.”
Me: “Thank you.” She gets up from the chair, and tells the kids to follow her. “Hlulani, go and open the door since you are much closer to it, bubbles is nearing closer,” he nods, and attend the door. I chuckle when I hear him gasp.
Sabelo: “What’s… Whoa. And now? What the actual fuck!” He says as bubbles steps inside the house dragging one of the nurses. Low gasps from everyone present comes to life.
“Unfortunately for everyone here, this is the first body of many more to come. You guys like playing God with other people’s life! Innocent people for that matter, and today I’ll be the one playing God in your lives.” Her eyes wander around until they stop at Emma, a smirk breaks out of her lips and Emma swallows at absolute nothing as her eyes dart to the body on the floor. “Oh, her? She was being too noisy, I had to silence her, but I’m sure she will wake up in no time,” she shrugs.
Me: “What’s going on?”
Her: “Nothing. Well, not yet anyway.”
Mmathabo: “You killed a person because she was noisy!”
Her: “Yeah, and besides her presence was starting to annoy me, I had to do something. Anyway, we have a situation here. Emma, sit down.”
Emma: “For what? I can’t sit I have another patient to see, and keeping me here for bullshit will delay me,” bubbles laugh.
Her: “Keeping you here for bullshit? Oh, no. Sweetheart, I’m saving whoever the patient is from getting killed by you!” Emma gasps.
Emma: “What the hell are you talking about? I’ve been a Dr for close to 20 years now, and I don’t remember killing anyone! Stop accusing me of things I know nothing of, Tammy! What you are doing right now it’s uncalled-for!”
Her: “Shut up! Shut the hell up, Emma! You are a killer, and you know it. Ungumbulali wena mnqundu wakho!”
Sabelo: “What are you talking about Tammy? Emma has been our family Dr for close to 7 years now, and not once did she kill anyone.”
Her: “Yes. Your family Dr, not mine or my mother’s. Besides, not everyone is fond of my mother here. There are those who hate her with passion, and wouldn’t mind killing her given the chance. And unfortunately for them they’ve failed, my mother is still alive and breathing through the oxygen.”
Us: “What?”
Okuhle: “Alive? How? Because Emma here told us that she’s dead, I mean we all heard her telling you that.”
Her: “That’s only because she thought that her nurses would’ve killed my mother with a pillow by now,” we all gasp.
Emma: “What? How dare you accuse me of such? Why would I want to kill your mother? I don’t even know your mother that well for me to kill her for Christ’s sake!”
Her: “You are right, you don’t know her, but the one who paid you to kill her even after you’ve drained the poison in her body know her well enough to want her dead.”
Me: “Wait. You are trying to tell us that someone wants your mother dead and that person is around here with us?” She nods.
Sabelo: “And now you are accusing the family of wanting your mother dead? You think that one of us here want your mother dead? Are you insane? Your mother is not even that special. Tsakani, you better reprimand your woman because right now she’s accusing us of something we don’t know of, she’s trying to break the family apart!”
Her: “But then again I wasn’t talking to you Sabelo. Stop being forward because right now I’m talking to Emma, and not you. Emma here knows exactly what I’m talking about. She knows, or don’t you Emma?” I look at her, and her eyes are wandering around.
Emma: “I don’t know anything! TK, please tell your woman to stop whatever she’s doing!” Bubbles laugh.
Her: “You think this is some kind of a sick joke ne-? You think that this is a stand-up comedy neh?” She gets on top of the table, and sit down crossed legged. Her gun is in her hand…
Babalwa: “This is all just time-wasting some of us have lives, and things to do. We can’t sit here and listen to rubbish!” Bubbles sneers. “I don’t have time to waste, and if what is being said here is true then someone come with concrete proof. Give us something believable than making nonsensical accusations!”
Okuhle: “Exactly!” Bubbles whistles.
Sabelo: “Me too. This is tim-,” a sound of a gun shot goes off cutting Sabelo mid-sentence. The women scream, bubbles is standing on top of the table now, and she has shot Emma on the shoulder, sometimes her speed surpasses me. She’s too fast when it comes to reacting to bullshit. “What the hell? Have you lost your mind!”
Bubbles: “I will blow off your brains right now Emma if you don’t tell the truth. I don’t bluff, and this goes to the rest of you. You bullshit me, I deal with you. I don’t care whether you are Tsakani’s family or what! You are all full of shit! Excluding TK, Hlulani & Mmathabo. The rest of you are nonsense, bloody swines! Fuck off!”
Me: “Emma.” I look at her. And she clenches her teeth her hand covering her bleeding shoulder. “What is she talking about? In fact, what were you coming to do here?”
Her: “I- I was paid. I was paid to kill her.” We all gasp in shock. “And before you called me, someone already did hence I said I’m at the gate.”
Mmathabo: “What? Sent by whom and why?”
Me: “Is that person in here with us right now?” She looks down shaking her head. Bubbles stop whistling, and looks at her.
Bubbles: “That person is here, and don’t worry yourself about showing us because I already know who it is, and I know exactly how I’m going to deal with them. So, Emma. Tell me this; what does Strychnine do to infants? Does it also react it the way it does to adults?” She widens her eyes, shock written all over her face.
Me: “What’s that?”
Her: “A deadly poison, but I wouldn’t mind trying Sarin too on an infant.”
Emma: “No. That’s too dangerous, please don’t do it.”
Her: “Yet, someone wanted to kill my mother using Strychnine? Isn’t it dangerous too?”
Emma: “It is.”
Her: “But still someone used it on her, the only difference is that no one will be able to drain it out of the infant. How ironic.”
Hlulani: “Hectic.”
Mmathabo: “I can’t believe you tried killing Nomalanga Emma. We trusted you as our family Dr, but all of a sudden you decided to be a killer? A whole white you, a killer? Sies, Emma. I’m so disappointed in you! Ngathi ngingakushaya ngempama uyanyanyisa! And to the person who wanted Nomalanga dead, fuck you njandini, and I’m not scared of any of you here. Show yourself mbulali!” Mmathabo is fuming, she’s angry.
“Who amongst you here wanted my mother dead? And don’t tell me that no one because I will fuck all of you up!” We all look at the door when we hear Luxolo’s voice. She’s with her husband who isn’t even showing any smile, none whatsoever.
Bubbles: “Well, we will deal with that person later, don’t worry. I’m surprised seeing you here.”
Her: “I know. And I’m here to make sure that you are okay, I mean after the call I wasn’t at ease, and I had to come and see what’s wrong with Nomalanga.”
Bubbles: “Haike, it’s nice having a big sister mus.”
Her: “And then what happened to her?”
Mmathabo: “Your sister shot her, I just don’t understand why she didn’t just kill her!”
Her: “Oh, that.” She takes bubbles gun from her hand, and shoot Emma twice on the forehead. “Sorted,” shrugging.
Bubbles: “You take after me indeed I’m impressed.”
Her: “Oh, shame. Poor you. Let’s go and see Nomalanga.” They walk out holding hands. We are stunned, but some are traumatized. I fuck with their bond…
Sabelo: “Yoh!”