Chapter 6

Mr Sibiya the entrepreneur. A well respected man for creating job opportunities for the people of Mqanqala, was alone in his one storey mansion for the weekend. His wife and children had a funeral vacation at her hometown, KaBhadane. Another hamlet that was a neighbor to Mqanqala. In his morden kitchen, he pulled out a bottle of Chardonnay from a double door refrigerator, grabbed two wine glasses from the built-in cupboards. His mistress was only a minute away.

He strode to his dining room whistling in a cheerful mood. He put the bottle and the glasses on a glass coffee table; scooped a remote from a black leather couch. About to play Rhythm and Blues on his radio, the lights went off. Only for a second stranded in the dark when the room brightened again. The corner of his eye saw a figure passing through the passage.

"Sophie?" He said as he glanced quickly at the passage, assuming it was his mistress.

He saw the passage empty, but his bedroom door suddenly swung open. A smirk appeared on his face as he strode slowly to the room.

"Sneaking up on me now huh?" He said as he unfastened his snugly knotted tie on his collar. "I should punish you for that."

Reaching the door, the bedroom was obscure. Taking a step in, the door shut on his face abrutly, knocking him against the framed photographs on the wall, one of his wedding falling on his head. His nose was bleeding, something that last happened in a fight back in school where he ended up with a black eye and a busted lip.

"Are you out of your mind!" He screeched indignantly. Agitated about the strength of the door that had flew him onto the wall.

Sibiya rosed from the tiled floor, baffled as he opened the door compellingly. He was bewildered to see the room lustrous and unoccupied. No sign of his mistress. He then got startled by a resentful exasperated laughter that came from the dining room.

Stroding to the dining, the lights flicked, each brightness revealing a figure standing outside the sliding door, stepping closer towards him. It was a young girl that Sibiya didn't know of.

When the lights finally stopped toying on the bulb, the room gleaming again, the mysterious girl had disappeared. When he glanced around he saw the girl standing behind him, the Chardonnay in her hand. The bash that came next to his head was cohesive and sparingly that he didn't see it coming. He fell on the table, breaking the glass table into pieces, his body stuck in between the four legs.

"Who are you?" Said Sibiya fearfully.

"Who am I? I'm the granny who bewitched, killed successful people of Mqanqala and tortured them with my black magic. The abomination. Does that ring a bell?"

As he was suprised by her appalling voice, Sibiya recalled saying the exact words to the chap in the morning who came for an interview. Who he'd chased him out of his office before he could proceed the interview.

Realizing this wasn't an illusion, Gogo Dumakude had possessed a body of a young girl.

"Impossible" he said, his hatred for her rising for a confrontation. "You killed my grandmother. For what? Jealousy because she was the first woman to be a successful in Mqanqala."

She giggled mischievously, "You think I killed her for Jealousy? Shame. Well you're wrong. That woman discovered my witchcraft. I had to get rid of her before she could reveal my secret."

"And how did that work out for you? Absolutely nothing. She died for nothing. The people found out eventually and burned you alive."

"And here I am again. And I came here for you. You turned down my great-grandson for a job. Denying him for making a living for himself. Clearly you want my family to suffer poverty just because of the hatred you have for me."

"Of course I hate you. You and everyone in your family. I should've gotten him killed and the rest of your wicked family. Maybe then my grandmother would finally sleep in peace in her grave" said Sibiya viciously.

"Another reason for me to despatch you. For the biggest main reason to do that, is for disrespecting my name" she said with an indolent voice.

The fear spanked dramatically on Sibiya's heart. He had so much to live for. His darling wife he'd met in vasirty and their two daughters who was in secondary school. The successful business. Money. The lustful love he'd for Sophie. At the age of seventy he wasn't ready to die, at least not in the hands of this witch.

He cried out loud and begged miserabley for his life.

"No, please. I will employ your grandson. Support your family financially. I will do anything for you to spare my life. Please."

"Little too late. I'm sure you've heard that I wasn't a witch of mercy."

The sky suddenly rumbled and drummed. All the bulbs in the house busted. Sibiya rosed from the broken table to flee from the dark house, away from the witch, but as he turned towards the door he saw two figures approaching by. The silent lightening revealing charred bodies. Eyes glazing white. He was apprehensive as he tiptoed back.

Gogo giggled as she stood besides him, and said, "These are my two friends that will take care of you. Their resurrection was quick than I anticipated."

Walking away, a massive earthbound thunder struck; the two charred bodies sprang and fell upon Sibiya.

*

The sudden thunderstorm drove Mam'Duma back to her small hut. She burned Imphepho the licorice plant to communicate with the devine beings that gave her the acknowledgement about the presence of the witch. The devines had came through for the young Dumakude lad with the information of how to banish the evil at his home. Mam'Duma felt atrocious, it was late for her to travel and the boy needed her help. She called out for her daughter; a minute later she came rushing inside the hut and kneeled opposite her mother.

Mam'Duma had been slightly despressed about her. There was a similarity between her and her father who was deceased. No manners, unnecessary fights, disrespect of elders, teachers and sometimes even herself. What worried Mam'Duma the most, her daughter had no prophecy calling to continue the family legacy when she's gone.

"I need you to go to Babu Mthethwa and tell him I sent you to please transport you to KaDumakude. When you get there, tell the boy he needs to extract the tree from the ground. It's the roots that will end it all" said Mam'Duma.

"Ayy, Mama. Why are you sending me to that family of a witch. Ayy mina I'm not getting involved in your prophecies" said the girl distraughtly.

It only took a resentful glance from her mother to obey her. The girl knew her well when she refused to obey her rules or slip her tongue she'd struck her venomously like a Mamba. She wasn't like the others who'd swim into an argument with her only to end up drowning. She pouted as she rosed up and stormed out of the door.

A ferocious thunder cracked outside ;one of the hut windows separated into pieces, startling Mam'Duma violently. She immediately

smelled jeopardy closing in.

Twenty minutes later, the girl successful achieved the help of Babu Mthethwa with his Toyota old bakkie. He was a very helpful neighbor to Mam'Duma whenever she needed a private transportation. Despite his kindness, the girl didn't like him. She didn't like any men who seemed close to her mother. She disliked the thought of having a step-dad intensely.

Riding along on the passengers seat, she gazed at the lightening outside the window. Silence frozen in the vehicle. The irritating noise of the engine competing with the rumbling of the storm. Babu Mthethwa was occasionally a chatterbox, but with Mam'Duma's daughter, words always protested inside his mouth. Either he'd be ignored or receive an icy phantom response.

His face was wrinkled, occupied in a bush beared. He had retired on any covering for his bald head, no longer embarrassed or feeling shy to reveal it in public. He was an old man now, no one would mock him like it had awfully been on his early days as a young man. Caps and hats glued on his head regularly.

Suddenly, Babu Mthethwa pushed his foot on the bracks. His sunken dark eyes widely confused of the two people blocking the road. It was obscure figures facing of where they were going.

The girl frowned angrily, trying to open the window that wouldn't barge.

"What's wrong with this damn window" she said as she forced it but keeping on failing.

"Push the glass down while circling down the pedal" Babu Mthethwa instructed her.

Finally the window barging, she peeked her head out and yelled, "Ey! Can you two move your ass at the side of the road so we can pass through."

Then the engine died. Mthethwa tried the ignition; the engine sputted, not coming to life. When the two figures turned to their side, both Mthethwa and the girl became shocked. The bodies were horribly burnt without recognition of their identities. And the eyes, the whiteness were gleaming as a demon.

"Start the car and get me out of here" said girl, shivering as she closed up the window, pulling up the glass whilst circling up the pedal.

Babu Mthethwa tried the ignition again; the bakkie was dead, so they came into a decision of stepping out of the vehicle. As about to accelerate for their precious lives, the charred human figures were a step ahead, gripping them on their necks. They tried to fight for an escape; it was pointless. These corpses had great strength. Seconds later, the charred demons sucked their teeth on their necks, sucking and draining blood as Draculas, killing the victims slowly as they suffocated.