Interpreting the dream

Mika and I wrapped up our day. I returned home famished. Fortunately, my father was there; he understood what I needed. He poured me a glass of wine and served sweet cheesecake. I felt special for those few minutes.

“Do you still remember that dream you once told me about, the one where a little boy aged around four stood at the top of a mountain? On his chest was a board with the words 'only blood could save me'?” My father asked, his brow furrowed in concentration.

His interest intrigued me; perhaps he remembered something that could potentially lead me somewhere.

“Do you know the little boy?” I was curious. My father paused for a while.

“I think I do. Come with me.” he said, leading me into his office behind the bookshelves, which I ended up naming, “The dark office”.

“You said that the little boy was at the peak of the mountain, am I correct?”

“Yes I did.”

“Can you recall the exact description of the mountain?”

“The mountain was about 6000 feet tall, mist covered the entire peak, there was also noise, as if a train was passing through.”

“Does this picture bring any memories?” my father pulled up an image from one of his files. The image was in black and white. But I could see the similarity between that image and what I had seen in my dream. I began to tremble.

“Oh my God, this is the place.” I yelled.

“This my dear is the Hex river mountain”

My head was in a spiral of confusion. The dream was still a mystery to me.

“When I was a little boy aged 9, my father used to take me and my siblings to visit uncle Frans in Ashton. While he went away on business. I loved it there, I would fly my kite high up in the Hex river mountain but only if uncle Frans agreed. You see when I was in the mountains I felt a sense of freedom, I could be anything I wanted and nothing would stop me from expressing myself”

Alas, the truth finally hit me. The little boy who had features similar to that of my father was in actual fact my father when he was still a child. But what connection could my father have to my dream and what did the mysterious words “only blood can save me” and “years to six” really mean?

The following day I returned to work feeling refreshed.

Mika and I exchanged greetings.

"Oh oh, the beast is coming this way." Mika whispered. I looked behind me and saw Mr Phenyo coming towards us.

“Miss Mokoena,” he said in a calm voice.

“Sir!” My heart pounded normally but my hands were trembling.

“I am sure you’ve heard about the memorial service of a former agent of the GOH Jan Botha, who was also a close friend of mine at some point.”

I remembered that I did indeed see a notice plugged on the wall leading to the laboratory, where Ben spent most of his time creating new weapons and everything technical. I wanted to go there as well.

Mr Phenyo cleared his throat, seeing that I was drifting away into my thoughts.

“Ah! yes sir, I do remember that.”

“Well the service will be this Friday, from 9 am to 11 am. And I would love it if you came with me. I want to introduce you to some people.”

"You're asking me on a date to the memorial service of a passed agent?" I was troubled.

"No! I only want you to meet with other important agents, the best of what we have so far. The best of what the organization has so far!" Mr Phenyo corrected.

“Then it would be an honor, but can Mika come as well?” I wondered.

“All agents are allowed to attend the service.”

“OH. Right! Where exactly will the memorial take place? I didn’t see the exact address, only that it will be in Pretoria.

“At the Pretoria Catholic Church. I will come and fetch you with my car. The rest of the agents will be transported with private buses to the venue. We need to be there on the day before the memorial service. What do you say?”

“Oh but where will we sleep? Do we have to sleep in the same room?"

Mr Phenyo stared at me for a while, he then smiled. This caused my heart to pound in fear.

“The GOH will be covering all the expenses. As for where you will sleep don’t worry about that. I have already booked a hotel. You will have your own room, I too will have my own room.”

I felt a slight relief.

“Okay then I will inform my father of this before I agree to come with you."

“Miss Mokoena, you seem like a mature lady who is more than capable of making her own decisions, do you really need your father's approval for everything?"

I blushed slightly. He was right.

"I make my own decisions. I accept your invitation. As it will be a great chance for me to connect with other agents, who could teach me a thing or two. It will be an honor, sir!" I stated.

Mr Phenyo smiled.

"Thank you. You will not regret it, and I will not take advantage of you, I promise!" He said.

Mr Phenyo then walked away, but his cologne remained. Mika finally returned from his break, you could see him from a distance. He had the same look on him all the time, you could swear that he didn’t have any clothes. He wore two shirts that revealed his strong muscular body. A long sleeve shirt with black printed roses on it. On the following day, he would wear a similar shirt except it had no roses and was plain white. His long blonde hair neatly tied to the back. Apart from his lack of good taste in fashion, he did manage to get ladies to sleep with him, how I didn't know. Not forgetting his Russian accent.

“I saw you getting cozy with the boss, what was that about!” he said, leaning next to my right shoulder.

“No it’s nothing and we were not cozy!” I protested, pushing him away with my entire body weight, the man was tough, he couldn't be pushed.

“Hahaha, that’s what you say but what does he say?”

“Shut up and let’s get to work!”

“Whatever you say, Partner” he said, returning to his normal sitting position.

The day was normal but it ended quickly.

My father hadn’t been available for weeks. He usually slept in the late hours, but this time things had changed, he slept too early. He ate his supper in his bedroom and sometimes didn’t even eat at all. His behavior was starting to worry me and I couldn’t take it anymore. I knocked on his door but he was reluctant to open for me. I knocked until he finally opened the door to his bedroom. He had no smile on him, his posture was not upright, he was unfit, he even dragged his feet when he walked, he didn't drag his feet before, I was stunned. What could have happened to him? I wondered. I sat on the bench beside his bed, then looked at him in his sleepy, red eyes.

“Father I love you, but you are worrying me. Why is it that you sleep so early and why do you eat some days instead of eating every single day? Have I done something wrong to you?” I wondered.

My father stared at

me, then he looked away.

"What is it please talk to me!" I cried

My father looked at me again, he put both of my hands into his palms.

“I love you too, my dear. I just I’m going through things but I will be fine. There is nothing to be worried about. It was only stress from work. I think I should take a break for a while.” He said.

But I knew there was more to his story. He was not being completely honest with me. He was hiding something but I didn’t know what.

“How was your day at work? Have you been coping?”

“My day has been great. Mr Phenyo asked me to join him at the memorial service of Mr Botha. Will you also come?”

“Mr Phenyo is a good man, he kept his word last time. “Will he be picking you up?” my father asked with a smile on his wrinkled face. At least he smiled, I thought to myself.

“Yes father. The day before the memorial service.”

I smiled back.

“Tell him to come here tomorrow. I want to speak to him.

“I will do that first thing in the morning”

My father watched me as I stood up from the bench to the point where I closed the door. He seemed lonely and willing to share his problems with me but too afraid to.. I wondered what he could be hiding from me.

The following day, I went to work early. I decided to skip breakfast.

I could see Mr Phenyo looking at me from a distance, he was smiling. I kept my focus on my desktop.

"Hey! I just received a call from Mr Fisher, he wants us to meet with him now” said Mika. He had a white plain shirt on him today.

I didn't want to offend him, so I kept my thoughts to myself.

“Oh ok let’s go!” I said.

Constable Fisher was sitting in his car, for safety reasons, he wore glass shades and a black cap in order to hide himself. Fortunately, there was no sign of hawkers nearby, just silence and cold wind passing by. The old railway had not been used for many years, it was the safest spot for meeting up. The constable gave Mika a paper, then he drove off quickly before we could even exchange greetings.

Mika and I drove off to my father’s house, our safest spot. There was no disturbance, no cold wind to make us shiver, no noise, this was indeed the perfect spot to conduct our investigation. My father's secret office, with its vintage look and unplastered bricks. The lighting was perfect, the floors slightly dusty now that we know longer had a helper in the house, the computers still working even as they were more than ten years old. My father didn’t like change that much. He believed the old metal was indestructible, so was information.

Mika unfolded the paper, it was a little shriveled but readable, even as the writing looked like that of a seven year old.

“Around 6 pm, June the 20th, I received a call from an unknown number, when I tried to answer it, the caller hanged up. Around 10 pm that very day, I received another call from the unknown number, I heard a woman’s voice, she uttered what I could only recall to be “help”. 4 am, June the 21st, I received another call from another unknown number, this time the voice was of a man, he was whispering, I heard “only blood could save me now. The first voice sounded like that of Tanya, but I don’t know who the man might be. I hope this will be helpful and please, please find my Tanya." The note said.

What could all of that mean? Who was the woman exactly and who was the whispering man? Too many mysteries with very little answers. But wait, something sounded familiar, something the man said.

“Only blood can save me?”

It did more than just ring a bell, my father or rather the little boy in my dream said the very same thing. How was that possible? I had to know.

“My father told me that when he was a little boy he would visit his uncle here in Cape Town and climb the Hex river mountains.” I said.

“How is that related to the case?”

“I think I know where Tanya might be!" I shouted excitedly.

Since the whispering man mentioned the same words as the little boy from my dream, it could mean that Tanya was somehow hidden there somewhere, but where?

Mika took a chance with me, we planned our trip to the Hex river mountain, we packed our working gear, a few lighters, a camera, a tent, extra jackets to keep ourselves warm, and some food.

"I heard that you are planning a short trip to the Hex river mountain, would you care for some company?" Asked Mr Phenyo. Mika was reluctant.

"We are fine, Lebo has me for protection and we don't have enough tents for three people!" Said Mika.

"What my partner is trying to say is that we don't have enough supplies for the three of us, but there is more than enough room to accommodate three people!" I clarified.

Mr Phenyo smiled.

"Then I will bring more supplies, only tell me what you need and I'll bring it!"

"Food and cola!" Joked Mika.

"We need a few blankets, extra snacks, and maybe more wood and that's all. We are not staying for two days, only a few hours."

"Then you got it." Mr Phenyo said, excitedly!

Later in the evening, Mika, Mr Phenyo, and I started our short trip to the mountains. It was very cold, the temperature was said to be minus ten degrees at night, with cold winds.

"We should stay in the tent for at least until the cold winds have stopped blowing" Mr Phenyo suggested.

"Yes, you are right. We can warm ourselves in the meantime. Who wants tea?" Mika asked.

"I do," I replied.