Lovelies, here is a treat for you, two chapters released two weeks early.

Chapter 9

Salifya

Nightmares. The first night I went to try to help. But after that I stopped. I did’nt think there was anything I could do to help so I stayed in my room. She has stopped screaming now. But I can still hear her get up in a panic on the nights she has nightmares. Ama rushing to her side to comfort her. I listen till they sleep. Why did I leave her? It made sense then. She would go straight to Kaulimi and she would be safe. I didn’t count on them grabbing her at the lodge. I just did not think they knew where we stayed.

“Salifya and Xo!” Chilufya says embracing each of us one at a time. She looks chubbier now. Like Ipyana she gained weight after returning from the H.M. We both step into the corridor connected to their front door.

“Welcome.” Her dad says as he leads us to their sitting room. We sit down and greet each other, smiles all around.

“Food is ready, lets head to the dinning.” Her mother announces. We all follow her to the dinning room. On the dinning table is a wide array of food: rice, chambiko, nsima, mphalala, fried chicken, tomato soup, and assortment of vegetables: eggplants, and at least three types of leafy vegetables.

“This is a feast.” Xo crows. His eyes dance with excitement as he places food on his plate.

“You deserve this and more for what you did.” Chilufya says smiling. Ipyana. That’s there only thing I can think of as I dish out food. I let her down. She almost got turned into a cyborg because of my selfishness. Their maid-bot, a humanoid cyborg almost as tall as Xo, collects our plates. Mrs Jali announces that its time for desert. I want to decline but know it’s impolite. So I dish out fruit salad into my plate. Xo is taking this all in smiling; happy. Her skin was so pale when she came back its only now her ebony complexion is returning. They fed her pills. I put her there. I put her through that. Xo and D.S Jali are involved in a conversation about politics.

“I just thought that after Dindi came into power things would be better. That attacks on pygmies would be non-existent.” I hear D.S. Jali say.

“So what do you do?” Mrs Jali asks me leaning in from her chair.

I tell her I am detective. She talks about how her husband complains that the police are complicit in these attacks. I comment back, the conversation dies down slowly. I wonder what my parents would have thought of what I did to Ipyana…

D.S. Jali is standing, his wife is looking at him and so are Chilufya and her siblings.

“As you can see, Chilufya is there only pygmy in this family. All through childhood and even till today she has dealt with bullying. We never thought that her being a pygmy would put her in more trouble than being teased by ignorant schoolmates.” He pauses. “When she got kidnapped. I stopped sleeping. I searched and followed up every single lead to get her back. I would not have been able to bring her back without your help. This lunch was just our way of saying thank you. We owe you so much.”

Xo speaks for the both of us which I am glad he does because I can’t manage to speak right now. I can barely breathe. She could have died. My mind keeps saying. I see Xo’s mouth moving but I can’t hear his words.

We get up to leave. Jali and his family make us promise to come again for dinner or lunch and call them if we need anything. Jali gives us both his card. We leave.

“Are you okay?” Xo asked, as soon we both closed our pod doors.

I shook my head. “I keep thinking of Ipyana. She is traumatised by this. She has nightmares. The first few days she slept for most of the day.” I turned my head to face him. “I did that to her.”

“No those HMC guys did.”

“But my abandoning her led to this.”

“Yes. You need to forgive yourself.” He placed his hand on my arm. Our eyes meet. “Tell her why you did it.”

I turned away. “That sounds like making excuses.”

“No, its being vulnerable.”

My eyes peered at the sky. Vulnerable. Vulnerable.

He is right. I did not see it immediately but as I flew back to Nkhatabay I realised he was right. The apology went on smoother than I thought. I hope she takes my offer to go look for Amama and Adada.

“Why are you leaving me?” I said, with tears in my eyes. Amama put her arm on my shoulder. They were tears in her eyes too.

“Sali, if we could take you we would.” She retorted. I was getting taller than her. I knew she meant it. But I still cried.

“We will only be gone for a month.” Adada said, on his shoulders rests a sleeping Ipyana.

“Be good for Aunty Twapochere and Uncle Thokozani.” Amama gave me a long hug. Biting down my lips, I watch my parents and Ipyana get into the pod. Aunty Twapo squeezed my shoulder with her hand. I cried myself to sleep that night. I hated it to so much at Aunty Twapo’s house. I hated my parents for leaving me. Why couldn’t I go to Utawaleza with them and Ipy?

I could tell Ama was going to say something serious from the look on her face. Her words fell on me like a knife on an onion lying on a chopping board. My heart was racing.

“Good.” She said. “Because if you anything happens to her, I will find you and send your location to KUA.”

My heart went cold. At KUA everyone talked of Ama like she was a legend. Her hacking skills were as good as my tactical skills, everyone said. Sigelele, my teacher, said Ama was one of the brightest recruit in their cohort. “Even when she was an initiand, mzengelis wanted her on their missions. She was recruited late but she disproved stereotypes about older recruits.”

So her threat cut me deep. I sometimes wondered if Ama loved me.

I know why Xo invited Ipyana to the raid with us. He wants her to see how amazing her sister is so she can forgive me. I wish he hadn’t. I told him so after Ipy left my room.

“She needs to know that you were searching for her. This is one way of doing that.” he said.

I just kept quiet. So what if Ipyana thinks I am horrible person I deserve it. I am horrible.

“How is school?” I asked.

“It’s okay. Just I hate combat class.” Ipy muttered under breath. I asked her to repeat herself.

I smiled slowly. Combat class had been my easiest class. I pinned my opponents in 30 seconds. And my tougher opponents in sixty seconds. My teacher had me moved to a more advanced set because I was no match for my classmates.

“What’s the problem?”

“I don’t know. I just keep losing. I am still struggling with the basics.” She threw her head back on her bed and let out a giggle. “If I don’t get it together by next month. I will have to repeat the course.”

I looked at my watch. “Are you doing anything this afternoon?”

“Me and Talilo are meeting up this afternoon to spar.”

“What time?”

“In an hour.”

“I will join you.”

We trained at a Bembe gym near our house. Talilo’s problem was in her body her movements were too slow. But Ipyana’s problem was much worse. It was in her mind.

“You don’t want to hurt her. And that’s what makes you fail this course.” I told her.

“I don’t like violence.” Ipy retorted starring down at her hands.

“This is not senseless violence. It’s self-defence. You need to get over the mental block. That is there only way you can pass.”

Most my missions were in Kaulimi at the time. So I was home every fortnight. Every fortnight we would train. It was after she got her results that she told me that one day she would like to see where Amama and Adada were buried. It shocked me. I had been oiling my scalp. I paused fingertips on scalp. I knew she thought about them, but I imagined that it was not often since she was quite young when they died.

“I’m too busy to take you now.” I said grabbing baobab oil from my bed’s counter.

“I understand.” I heard her say. She sat down on the chair near my bed and asked; “What were they like?”

My throat started to close. I felt the stickiness of my sweater; the yawn pressing against my skin. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

I saw her get up, and retreat no doubt wounded. I owed her. I knew that I owed it to her to find out where Amama and Adada were buried. I owed it to myself to find out where they were and say goodbye.

The raid went on much easier than the time we broke Chilufya out. When I got to Pilirani’ cell and Xo unlocked it. The other prisoners asked me to unlock their cells too. Xo heard them. He wanted to take them but I reminded him we did not prepare for that. Even if we did rescue them, they could not fit into Xo’s pod. At most it could carry three people. I felt sorry for them. I brushed aside those thoughts as I led Pilirani out. Being emotional in missions was a sure way to get you killed. Later that night, as I lay in Xo’s air-mattress I saw their faces filled with hope as I helped Pilirani out of her cell then despair when I told them I had only come for Pilirani.

Ipy was asleep at Xo’s computers. I shook her. “What time is it?” she asked sleepily even her words did not come out right.

“Its 6.” I replied. She walked to our room.

At 8 am I went to have breakfast. I had wanted to wake Ipy up but she looked like she needed more sleep. I sat down and read through the files that Xo had gotten from the Chilufya raid. Around ten Xo woke up.

“Your sister has a gift.” He said pouring sugar into his soya porridge . “I know part of it is your mother’s influence. But part of it is just talent. It took me a year of college to be at the level of archiving she is at.”

I smiled. “She is an intelligent girl.”

“We should bring her more often.” Xo suggested. “She is a good hacker. Their security systems are complex. With her helping, I could focus on getting you in and out safely while she focuses on collecting data.”

I shook my head. “Too dangerous.”

“What’s too dangerous?” Ipyana said. I had not noticed her walk into the kitchen.

Xo explained what was too dangerous before I could put a close to the conversation.

“I was thinking the same thing. I totally agree.” Ipyana chirped, sitting down on the dinning table.

I grunted inaudibly.

“We are looking for Lusayo and Asimenye Kabaghe. Their last known location is Chitipa but before that they stayed in Zomba. Lusayo worked as a historian at National Archives and Asimenye was a science teacher.” I explained.

The lady at the National Registy leaned forward across her glass desk, using her elbows as support. “Who were they to you?”

“Our parents.” I replied.

“We were both adopted. We know they died but we are trying to find where they were buried.” Ipyana said. “They died thirteen years ago.”

The lady smiled sympathetically. “Files dating that far back, it will take me sometime. Come back Monday morning and I think I will have something.”

Ipy thanked her as we both got up from our chairs.

Anganile has started to warm up to me. They all have. Slowly the ice is thawing. I had a feeling walking into church that something would change. I had never felt this much guilt as I did over the Ipyana issue. The Reverend talked about Jesus taking the guilt of our sin away. Giving us a new heart, changing us like a programmer recoding bad code to perform good duties. It resonated inside me. I heard my heart say yes. I want that. I realise that on my own I am depraved. I want you Jesus.

I pressed down my hair with my fingers. It was waist length now. I slide the finger and trimmed it down to bra strap length and then again till it was shoulder. I grabbed the shaver I had bought. Turned it on and moved it close to my scalp till the bathroom’s floor was covered in many kinks and coils. I starred at my reflection in the mirror. I looked so different. I had moved from 23 to 16 again.

“You cut your hair!” Anganile exclaimed as soon I walked into the dinning room.

“You look so different.” Ama said throwing some nsima and stewed chambo into her mouth. I sat down next to Ama.

“Why did you cut?” Anganile inquired. Her eyes were scrutinising me closely.

“I wanted a change.” I said quietly. My eyes were on my chambo. One of the perks of living in Nkhatabay was the fish supply. We had fish almost on a daily basis.

After lunch, Ipyana told us she was going to the store. I could see the anxiety on all of our faces. Ama offered to escort her. Ipyana gave her a secret look. Ama backed off.

“We shouldn’t be too protective.” Ama said after Ipyana had left.

After Ama had gone to her room and Anganile had started napping on the couch; I left, following Ipyana. I knew she was lying. She had always been a bad liar. Her tone and pitch would betray her. She took a bus pod out of Chinteche into Kandondo. She stood at the corner of large grocery store. She looked at her phone then ahead. I was seated in one of the benches; Ipyana’s back was turned to me.

“Chibambo,” A young lady said walking up to her. Ipyana nodded her head. It was apparent they had never met. “I know you don’t remember me but I was part of the cell that rescued you. I will be your handler.” She introduced herself as Vera Chirwa and handed a portable usb to Ipyana instructing her to install the software into her laptop. “I will be sending you files to decrypt. This software will secure your laptop and make sure the files are deleted after you send them to me.”

“Okay.” Ipyana said.

“We have to be careful. We are on the government’s radar. I contact you. You contact me only when you complete a task or if you are struggling with a task. Do not show what I send you to anyone. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Ipyana nodded.

“Do not tell anyone that you are part of Aka-rebels, okay?”

Again Ipyana nodded.

“All the best. I will send you the files tonight.” The woman walked off.

My mild mannered little sister had now joined the Aka-rebels. It sounded like she was going to be an analyst. I had a feeling of angst over the matter. I did not want her to be in trouble. But she was eighteen certainly old enough to make her own decisions.

Xo sent me an email that night. It was from an Aka-rebel commander. The leader wanted us to collaborate; come in as consultants. Xo asked me what I thought. The faces of the captives I had left behind when I rescued Pilirani flashed in my mind. I knew that us sending them the files we had found at the HM facility would get us their attention. I wasn’t surprised they asked us to join.

“I think it is a good idea.” I told him.

Xo was surprised at my answer he thought I would refuse. Apart from helping those other Akafula who had been kidnapped, working with Aka-rebel would be my way of keeping tabs on Ipyana. Making sure she is safe.

Author’s Note

Soya porridge: Porridge made from soya beans fried then ground into powder. Let me tell, this with sugar and powdered milk goes dooooown. It is considered a breakfast food.

Chambo- A form of tilapia only found in Lake Malawi