I will be putting only names of those characters who are mentioned frequently throughout the book.

Below are some pronunciations of some names in this chapter.

Xolani-Xo is pronounced as So but the S should have a click sound-ler-nee

Salifya-Ser-Lee-Fee-Yer (Fya is pronounced as a single syllable)

Xolani

“The men that attacked you guys, today, are human modifiers.” I said.

“They are human modifiers?” Salifya asked.

“Yes. I have been hearing whispers of Akafula disappearing. There are many theories. One of them is that human modifiers capture them then turn them into human cyborgs not confirmed though. The guys that attacked you work for an underground criminal called the Butcher. He’s been carrying out illegal human modifying procedures for years.”

“He is like the cutter?”

“Much worse though because he has someone powerful backing him.” I retorted. “It’s a dark time for pygmies.”

“So Ipy is a walking target? I don’t need this kind of heat right now.”

“Keep your head low and get out of Mzuzu. It’s not so bad in other places. Mzuzu is Butcher’s stronghold.”

“Okay thanks.” She cut the call making her image disappear from my workroom. I turned to face my monitors.

Sali looked a mess. The minute the door opened, I could tell that she had been popping pillemotions. When I looked into her hickory coloured eyes I saw that she had a numbover.

She sat down on my living room couch. “I did something horrible.” She sounded out of breath and a little crazed. I starred at her intently as she told me she had left Ipyana in the lodge they had been staying in. “I thought she would get me caught because she was attracting so much attention.” She drew her breath in then exhaled. Her eyes were red and glistening. “I went back to the lodge to see if she was alright, I didn’t find her. I called her cell it’s not working.” A tear escaped from her eye down her cheeks, she quickly wiped it.

I moved from the couch I was on, to there one Sali was on. “She’s gone. I had been monitoring the guys who took you. Yesterday, I saw them heading to the hotel. I tried to call you but your phone was off so I called her. I tried to help her escape them but…they got her. That’s the last time I spoke to her.”

“You’ve been searching right?”

“I have been but I haven’t been able to see her anywhere. It’s like they vanished into thin air with her.”

Salifya bit both her lips and leaned backwards “Oh.” Her hands searched through her leather jacket and took out a Bliss pill. She opened her mouth and dropped the pill inside.

“You are taking pillemotions now?”

“The guilt is killing me. Help me find her.”

“It won’t be easy these guys are exceptionally good at being digitally invisible.”

She took out another pillemotion and quickly swallowed it.

“This is beneath you.” I said quietly.

“I should go.” She got up.

“Stay with me. You can sleep in my little brother’s room he is at school.” She was shaking her head. I got up, reached for her arm and squeezed it as I said. “This way we can work closely together to get her back.”

“Okay.” She sank back into the leather couch.

“Did you tell your mother?”

“She is still in Utawaleza, I will tell her as soon she returns.”

Salifya reminds me of my mother: the pillemotions and the liquor. Leads were slow, each day that passed was a day she fell deeper into despair. It was unnerving to watch her erode herself like that. But I knew that kicking her out would just make it worse.

My eyes were glued to my monitors. “I’m only going to talk to you when you are sober.”

She giggled. “But I’m okay just a little happier that’s all.”

“What you have is not happiness. Happiness cannot be synthesised. I will tell you what I found in a few hours when the pillemotion wears off.”

I heard her footsteps exiting my workroom.

I turned as soon as I heard Salifya walk into my work room. The black trousers and tank top, that she wore, accentuated her tall stature and buxom figure. She smelt like someone just out of water, which meant she had returned from a jog and showered.

She sat across from me, back upright, and elbows on her knees. “What did you find?”

“It’s an ad. This Detective his daughter went missing a fortnight ago. Detective Sergeant Jali is offering a hefty reward for anyone who can find her. I reached out to him. He has a few locations that he thinks she might be held at.”

She knitted her eyebrows. “Why does this concern me?”

“I figured, maybe Ipyana is being held in one of the locations.”

She nodded her head slowly. “What are the locations?”

I turned my screen to face her, showing her the location.

“These are high security places.” She said.

“You have no idea. It will take me about a day or two to figure out what’s the best way in.”

“That’s too long.”

“I know you are worried about her. We will get her. But we need to do this smartly. And for me to do that I need at least two days to prep.”

“What will I do with myself in that time?”

“Play my valet as I try to hack through their security.” I smirked.

Her high cheek bones and big lips softened into a small smile. “You are not funny.”

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile…I mean when you are not on bliss.”

“You’ve given me hope Xo.” She grinned. “Thank you.”

There was a light in her eyes that had not been there, when we talked about the plans to attack the place.

“I think a solar blaster is impractical for the inner chambers. The light it emits will attract to attention to me.” She argued grabbing her plate from the kitchen table.

I quickly swallowed the millet porridge I had placed in my mouth. “What do you suggest then?” I had told Salifya she did not have to cook but she did anyway. If I am honest, I was glad she made breakfast. The millet porridge she made was delicious.

“A blade thrower.” She placed her bowl filled with millet porridge contours in the sink. “It’s a blade-filled brace that covers the area between your wrist and elbow. It works via a nuero-link so all you have to do is point and think about firing a blade. It does the rest.”

“Impressive. But all the guards at the HMC are human cyborgs. Are you really going to be able to take them out with blades?”

She took the seat opposite mine. “Yes if the blade could hit just the right place.”

“How would know the right place?”

“Send me anything you found on their human cyborg guards. I will be able to identify their weak spots.” She retorted. I sometimes forget that she was trained as a mechanical engineer even though she went into law enforcement.

As soon my front door opened, Paweme and Lungile ran into my arms,“Uncle Xo!”

“Boys!!” I cheered back holding them close. “You’ve grown since I last saw you.”

“That was a week ago Uncle Xo.” Lungile chimed.

“That’s why I’m so surprised.” I retorted. We made our to my living room.

“They are growing at an alarming rate.” Khetiwe complained. “I’ve had to keep getting them a bigger size of shoes.”

“What’s your name?” Lungile asked, sitting down next to Salifya on the couch.

“I’m Salifya.”

“I’m Lungile, that’s Paweme my twin brother.” Paweme’s hand pointed at Lungile who was seated on my lap.

“Umm Kheti, this is an old friend of mine Salifya. Sali this is my elder sister Khetiwe, her husband Penjani and this is my eldest sister Werani.”

Nikiwe came late as usual. She entered my living room in a sprint, “I got it.” she said holding out Tawachi’s favourite cake.

“Xo this is the best Mphalala you have made so far?” Khetiwe said digging her folk into a pile of rice mixed with the beef and plantains.

“I didn’t make it. Sali did.”

“That explains why it’s so good.” Niki chuckled.

“It’s very delicious. You must be from Karonga city.” Werani said, glancing at Sali who was seated beside her.

“My mom is.” Sali replied.

“What do you do?” Khetiwe asked

“I’m a detective.”

“That’s so cool.” Niki said.

“Have you ever shot someone?” Dingani asked excitedly.

“Umm….yes.” Sali answered.

“Was it in a hot pursuit or a hostage situation?” Dingani pried.

“He watches many cop shows.” Niki said to Sali in a loud fake whisper. Sali just smiled.

“She took a hostage.” Sali retorted.

“Did she die?” Dingani probed.

Khetiwe left the dinning room for the kitchen to get the cake.

“I wasn’t aiming to kill so no she is still alive.”

“It’s time.” Kheti said slowly as she placed the cake on the table. It was a groundnut cake Tawachi’s favourite.

“Today is our brother’s birthday.” Kheti explained to Sali. “Even though he is dead we celebrate it. We have his favourite dinner Mphalala, his favourite cake and drink guava juice”

She sliced the cake and passed everyone a piece.

After we ate the cake, we all went outside, Sali stayed inside. Sali thinks I let her stay because I am altruistic but the real reason is because Tawachi’s birthday is always hard for me. This task with Ipyana has helped me cope this year.

Tawachi was just a few years older than me. I grew looking up to him. At 23, he got arrested for raping a girl in our neighbourhood, he killed himself when he was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison.

We stood in the circle. Kheti spoke first. “I miss his jokes, the twins would have loved him. He would have been the fun uncle.” She lit her candle.

Werani lit her candle as she spoke “Yes he would have. I miss his stories. He had this way of telling the simplest stories with such exaggeration and humour.”

We all chuckled.

“Yes he did.” Niki commented. “He told me if a boy ever broke my heart he would break his bones. Last month Mkonazi broke my heart. I remembered his promise.” She wiped a tear then lit her candle.

“He cheated didn’t he?” Kheti asked. Niki nodded. “I told you that boy was useless.”

As I spoke, my eyes remained on the grass beneath our feet. “I just miss hanging out with him. We would always have a good time together.” I lit my candle.

“I never got to know him properly. I wish I did.” Dingani lamented. After Dingani set his candle alit, we let the candles float into the sky.

“Are you dating her?” Khetiwe asked in a serious tone.

“I would have told you.” I answered placing the dirty plates in the sink.

“Do you want her to be your girlfriend?” Werani joined in.

I turned to face my sisters who were both seated at my kitchen table. “We are just friends. She needs a place to crash and I offered my place.”

“Okay.” Kheti said slowly as though she was not convinced. She looked at Wera and they both laughed. They turned and starred at Sali who was in the living room talking with Penjani and Nikiwe. “She seems nice.”

“What’s with the tone?” I inquired.

“Nothing,” Khetiwe smiled. She got up from the table, so did Werani. She walked into the living room. “C’mon team we should be going. It’s late.”

Kheti left with Werani. Niki left soon afterwards.

“A few years ago, Nikiwe overdosed on bliss on Tawachi’s birthday. We all knew why; the grief had gotten to her. At the hospital we talked about how difficult his birthday was. Kheti decided we meet and celebrate his birthday. The flying candles were Niki’s idea.” I explained to Sali.

“Does it help?” She asked.

“Yes. Before we all felt we were struggling through our grief alone now we have each other.”

“Do you do this for your mother’s birthday as well?”

“Yes.” I focused my eyes on the couch she was sitting on. I did not want Salifya to see the agony contained in my eyes. After sometime I glanced at her and confessed. “Tawachi’s birthday is more painful because we don’t know where he went. He wasn’t a Christian.” I slowed down, letting my emotion catch up with me. “And the way he died. He killed himself. It left us with many questions.” Sali looked at me intently. “He had lived a wasted life. I know that that girl he raped was not the first. She was just the first to come forward. His life was filled with one mistake after another.” Sali listened as I went through the matrices of my grief. “Thanks for playing shrink with me.” I got up.

“Shrinks help I just listened.”

“That helped.” I smiled.

“So first go into the room housing the server. That’s this room here.” I said pointing at the image of the building on my monitor. I passed Salifya an opener, a device as small as a nail. “Leave it in for five minutes. It will open a backdoor for me.”

Salifya glanced up at me. “Then you will start searching if Ipy is there.”

“Yes I will try to work as fast I can. I will also try to find the location of Jali’s daughter so that you don’t end up going in circles.”

She nodded, leaning forward from her seat to scrutinise the building’s structure.

“I have a form of simulation ready for how the raid will go down. So you can practice your entry and escape.”

“Thanks.”

“You are welcome,” I smiled. She returned my smile with a small smile, then got up from beside me and walked out of my workroom.

Creator’s Note

Mphalala-Mpher is M + Per (with an umph)-ler-ler_ This is a meal of stewed beef and plantains.

Millet Porridge is millet flour cooked with water or milk till it boils.

Naming of children here in Malawi reflects the parents’ emotional state, recent happenings and almost always their religious beliefs.

Xolani- means be forgiven. Zulu name.

Khetiwe- the one who is chosen. Ndebele and zulu name.

Nikiwe-Means given in ngoni. The implication is given by God.

Tawachi- means ‘what has befallen us’. yes this is a negative sense.

Dingani- what else do we need? -ngoni

Werani- means return (as a verb) in tumbuka.

Paweme-means we are at good place something along those lines. Tumbuka

Lungile- means good-natured one in Ngoni

Penjani- means we sought God in tumbuka.

In Malawi there are over 30 tribes, some are more dominant than others. The ngoni migrated from South Africa, some settled in Tanzania, Kenya and other parts of sub-saharan Africa. Some names may also be found in other parts of Africa such as Zimbabwe or Zambia or Tanzania since we are close in terms of ethnicity.

Zulu (spoken in South Africa), Ndebele (in Zimbabwe) and Ngoni (almost dead, integrated into Tumbuka here in Malawi) are similar ethnicities and have similarities in their languages.

I am not a linguist, so I could be getting some of these translations wrong.

If I am missing any explanations or translations let me know. I take some things for granted since they are so familiar to me.

First impressions of Xolani? Impressions of Salifya so far? Liking what you see, please hit the like button :) . Again thanks for reading this far.

Random Question: Are they any writers on here? Do you ever feel the heaviness of a sad scene after writing it? How do you get rid of that feeling?

*Discussion*: First impressions of Xolani?

Impressions of Sali so far?

Will Sali find Ipyana?

Next chapter, we will return to Ipyana and then we will get to see the inner-workings of Salifya’s mind.

I read a slave (from sub-saharan slave) narrative of a woman who was abandoned by her elder sister because her elder sister felt she was slowing her down. Her and her sister had been running away from the ngoni if I remember correctly. I kept wondering what sort elder sister would abandon her younger sister?