Chapter 10

Ipyana

I pressed play. “I hated the party Alinafe took me to. The smell of nicotine, alcohol and the pillemotions put me off. I felt out of place. I wanted to return way before curfew, but Nafe was enjoying herself. We snuck back in at 130am, two hours past curfew. Nafe was blabbering on, she had taken bliss as I later found out. After that I refused to ever go with her. She went with the girl in the other room Chifuniro. Yesterday she told me Chifuniro abandoned her. Someone slipped something into her drink and…raped her. She tells me she knows because of the blood she found. She cried most of the day and would not leave our room.

What sort of man would do target someone like that? Are men in this realm predators that see us as prey? Are we always supposed to be on hyper alert? Are we supposed to live in a state of constant vigilance against such monstrosity? I thought this was the civilised world?

Alinafe is carefree and fun-loving, he has taken that away from her. I told her to tell the police. The orientation instructed us to do so if anything of this nature happened. She refused. She is too ashamed. I hate this realm.” Amama said. I closed my tablet. Maybe it would have been better if my mother had not died and I was raised in Utawaleza where there are no bombs. I would not feel the loss that gnawed at my soul. I put the tablet away, and went to take my morning shower. I filled my palm with lotion then applied it to my face. I rubbed some on my shoulder, over the part with my tattoo. The tattoo of the whistling thorn tree, my birth tree. On the day of my birth as tradition my great grandmother planted a whistling thorn tree seed together with my placenta. My grandmother showed it to me and Sali, three years ago when we revisited Wachoka after Muhla was arrested.

“I would often come here, when I missed your mother, the trees’ life gave me hope that you were well and thriving.” Abuya glanced down at me.

I smiled at her and shifted my attention to the tree. The wind blew and the holes in the trees’ stems made a whistling sound.

“The last time you girls were here you were in such a hurry to leave, if you had stayed I would have shown this to you.” Abuya said in her soft deep voice.

I smiled up at Salifya, neither us knew what to say.

After that, I went back to the village where Tali and Vilelani were waiting for me. They had not been allowed to come with us because they were outsiders. I told them about the tree.

“I want to get a tattoo of the trees branches on the area above my collar bone of my left shoulder.” I told them as we unshelled dried groundnuts. It was Tali’s idea that her and Vilela also get one on their shoulder.

“You are part of our hearts Ipy and now we will have a physical representation of our interconnectedness.” Tali said.

In Kaulimi, bestfriends often got matching tattoos to represent their transition from friends to soul twin sisters. My fingers traced the miniature whistling thorn branches. I lowered myself onto my bed, succumbing to the multitude of tears falling out of my eyes.

This was my first time back in Kaulimi since Tali’s funeral. I had come on the hike to bring a sense of normalcy and I missed my mother.

Ama’s feet trudged through the mud path bordered with long grass and rocks. “Yes we are still shaken. But people find comfort in knowing that most of those behind the attack are incarcerated.”

“If only the person truly behind this was brought to justice.” I grunted.

She turned to face me. “They will in due time.” Her expression softened into a smile that lit up her round face. “I have decided to accept Amalewa’s proposal.”

“Finally!” I cheered. “What changed?”

“The attack it made me realise life is short. I don’t want to allow fear to prevent me from being with the man I love.”

“That’s good.”

“You and your Aunt Tasokwa are there only ones I have told. I will tell your sisters in due time. I hadn’t even told them he proposed.”

I nodded my head realising she was asking me to be discreet. “When is the wedding?”

“We don’t know yet but hopefully sometime after Sali delivers.”

“I am so happy for you.” If we were not hiking I would have hugged her.

“It’s making working together so awkward. If this is what working with men is like I want no part in it.”

“Not all men are like this. Some take no for an answer.” Xo chuckled, he was seated on the couch adjacent to me. His arm was resting on the couch’s rectangular edge. Salifya was beside him.

“To Atuweni no means try harder. Last night he called me after we finished running sims. I thought it might be work related, so I answered. All he wanted to say is that I did good in the sims. ‘Are you free tonight? I wanted to go for dinner at a nice restaurant so we can talk about everything that’s happened. I know it’s been a crazy few weeks.’ I told him I was busy.”

“Ipyana, if you are not going to do anything about Ntawale, you shouldn’t complain about him.” Salifya said coolly. Her words cut through me. Naledi giggled. When I told Vilelani about it later, she agreed with Salifya. “Your passivity is leading him on. This is one of those situations you need to be cruel to be kind.” She argued. I missed Talilo she would understand my reluctance to hurt Atuweni.

“You guys went all out with the food.” Xo said when me and Naledi showed him and Sali what we made. Salifya had refused to host Tumpale at her house.

“In the last six weeks I have lost my best-friend, my friends and Atuweni. It’s made me realise our time is borrowed Salifya. I want to meet our cousin.” I told her earlier that week.

“We don’t know him.” Sali said.

“Yes. Maybe he will be a jerk, maybe he will be a nice guy. I want to find out.”

“I don’t.”

“I don’t want to do this alone Sali.”

“Ran a background on him and I will make my decision.”

“I already did. He grew up in Zomba, then moved here to work as a journalist for an online newspaper. He has never been arrested before and he is 23 years old.”

Salifya had read through his articles. “He is an idiot. He wants Utawaleza shut down.”

“What why?” Naledi asked.

“He says it’s backward. Unrealistic in modern times.” Sali retorted. There was a knock at the door. I gestured to them to keep quiet. Then let him in. He apologised for being late and gave us a bottle of chindongwa, mild sweet malt beer.

“My first degree was in Anthropology.” He said, answering my question.

Sali scoffed. “I find it strange given the articles you have written on Utawaleza.”

I gave her a look. We just met him, there was no need to antagonise him.

“You would agree with me if you knew.” He replied calmly.

“Knew what?” I asked.

“Utawaleza is not the Utopia everyone paints it out to be.” His response was delivered with the same calm voice.

Salifya rolled her eyes. I almost did too. We both knew it was no utopia. My first time there, we almost got robbed once, almost got killed twice and throw a kidnapping somewhere in there.

“Our grandmother was chosen as elder when she was 13. She did not want to be an elder but everyone told her it was such a great honour and would bring blessings on her kinsmen. When the day came for her to take her oath, she refused to. She returned to her village. No one would even speak to her, not her parents nor her siblings, because it was considered a disgrace to return. That’s how she ended up here. She could not return to her village, neither could her descendants.” He explained. “Our grandmother she hated it here but she had no choice. I think that’s why she died young.”

I had always wondered what my father’s village was like. It sucked knowing I could never go. I sipped the chindongwa Tumpa had brought. Chosen to be an elder’s protégé? How surprising. I had heard little about my Father’s mother. All I knew was she used to physically and emotionally abuse her children and husband. Was she always evil? No it could not be. She would not have been chosen as an elder’s protégé then. I suppose the experience of being shunned embittered her and darkness took its root in her heart.

“Every system has its flaws.” Sali’s voice slashed through my reverie. “Even our modern system.”

My eyes browsed the partition of the living room that made the dinning room. This is not how this evening was supposed to be going. It was supposed to be filled with small talk that would lead to deeper conversations later.

“How are your parents?” I asked.

“I don’t know. We don’t speak much these days.” He lifted his folk and filled his mouth with fried plantains.

“Why not?” I asked.

He chewed his food then said. “They are sadists.”

“That we agree on.” Sali said.

“What about your adoptive mother? How is she? What does she do?” He asked. “Sorry to bombard you with questions that’s the reporter in me.”

“She is okay. She is a lecturer at Kaulimi University of Innovation.” I scooped up a mixture of rice and plantains.

“You didn’t tell me what you studied?” He said.

“I did Computer Science.”

Before I finished talking he asked. “Where?”

“Neno University of Computers.”

“You must be really smart. They have tough standards at NUC what about you Salifya what did you study and where?”

“Mechanical Engineering at Kaulimi University of Innovation.”

“And you ended up a private investigator? How?”

“I found my calling in solving crime.”

“What’s your masters in? Both of you?”

“I have not gotten mine yet.” I said.

“Weapons.” Sali replied. “You?”

“I switched to investigative journalism.”

I turned to face Xo and Naledi who were at the other end of the table.

“Kuleza told you that didn’t he?” Naledi giggled. “All I said was the singularity could be like five years away.”

“I say this all the time. This is why I am reluctant to build bots, I feel like I would be speeding up the singularity. But Kuleza laughs at me. He thinks the singularity is a tech-paranoia.” Xo said, his voice infused with conviction.

After dessert we got off the dinning table, and moved to the part of the room where the couches and TV were.

“How long have you been married?” Tumpale asked.

“Three years now.” Xo replied. His arm was around Sali’s waist. Sali’s back was half leaning against him.

“Congratulations by the way. Are you expecting a girl or a boy?” He asked.

“We don’t know yet.” Xo smiled.

“You are old fashion,” Tumpale chuckled.

“What about you? Anyone significant in your life?” I asked.

“I haven’t been so lucky. Truth is I am so wrapped up in work.” He confessed. “What about you two?”

“We are both single.” Naledi retorted. Tumpale left making us promise to stay in touch. I would not mind meeting him again.

“You guys look alike.” Naledi said pushing a pillow between her head and the couch.

“Being adopted. I haven’t heard that a lot.”

“You have the same nose.”

Me and Naledi went to the room that Xo had identified as the computer room. We were going to take as much data as we could as Ntawale and Mwase set the place to blow. We were done with our downloads and making our way out of the building when we heard a woman’s voice go “I have a lot of explaining to do but right now just give me what you took from the computers.” She sounded familiar.

Me and Naledi turned around. It was Chirwa--Lwando Kaunda. Lwando was standing between us and the exit holding a rifle.

“We know you work for Ulalo.” I said.

“You lied to us.” Naledi screamed at her.

“It was necessary. My time at Aka-Rebel was one the best times of my life. I loved you. I love you. I am sorry I let you think I was dead.”

“We mourned you!” I shouted at her. “We mourned you.”

“I know.” A soft smile spread over her lips. “Give me what you took from the computers.”

“Ipyana, Naledi where are you? This place will blow in five minutes.” Xo checked in.

“Or what? You will kill us?” Naledi said. Lwando shot me. I screamed when the agony hit my upper leg.

“I won’t kill you but I will hurt you if you don’t give me what you took from the computers.” I gave her my flash drive. Naledi threw hers. Lwando ran off after taking both flash drives. Naledi told Xo the situation. With her hand supporting me, I limbed towards the exit.

“There is no way we will make it to exit with the state Ipy is in.” Naledi said.

“Go leave me here.”

“Shut up Ipyana.” Naledi snapped.

“I am coming your way.” Xo said. “Take the next left. It leads to a window.”