Dragging her with me, I headed for my car parked opposite theirs. Tshabina whimpered in shock, her arm twisting under my grip, but I couldn’t loosen it.
As if Tsabinu had finally realised what was happening, he quickly followed our steps and was about to pull Tshabina back. “Zioh—”
Until a car arrived, and we stopped.
An Aston Martin. Midnight blue. Sliding to a stop directly in front of us. We halted, squinting against the glare. The blinding beams pinned us, making us freeze like prey caught in a hunter’s light.
Then, with a quiet click, the headlights dimmed.
The door opened, and a woman stepped out.
My heart felt like it wanted to stop.
The moment I saw her, my grip on Tshabina’s hand trembled, tightening with sheer dread.
No. No.No.This isn’t real.It is.
The world blurred. My body locked.
She looked straight at me. Her voice—smooth, venomously familiar. Like a nightmare given flesh and sound. “Hello, babe… It’s been a long time since we met.”
Her words slithered through my ears, unmistakably clear, and I could feel my old wounds cutting open.
In this moment, the darkness swallowed me whole.
I loosened my hold on Tshabina’s arm.
My lips trembled, barely able to form her name. “Ci… Cindy…”
45
Tshabina
25 December 2013
It’d been more than a week since I set foot in the UK, and a few days since I last saw Mama Nadine. After that day, when she had fled the room with laboured breathing and ragged sobs that thundered through the house, I hadn’t seen her again.
I hadn’t seen Mama Nadine in the past few days because she’d been locked away in her room. Only Zioh, Zeraiah, Grandma Morag, Grandpa Ethan, and some household staff were allowed in. Whenever I tried to approach her door, someone would intercept me.
I sighed.
I couldn’t sleep or even swallow food or drink. The holiday that began with laughter and light shifted into something colder. Smiles faded, conversation shortened, until only the clock remained—echoing with every hour passed. And even with heaters warmed every corner of this house, it still felt the snow outside had crept into these walls.
But neither Zioh nor Tsabinu wanted to tell me what had really happened that day. When I asked, Tsabinu would only say that Mama Nadine wasn’t feeling well, and Zioh insisted it was merely a matter of her work. Yet their behaviours betrayed them.
Anyone could see that something was wrong.
Lately, Tsabinu and Zioh had been drifting into silence more often. I’d caught their gaze fixed on nothing, their faces vacant, their fingers tapping, and their feet moving restlessly.
Especially Zioh.
He massaged his temples incessantly, tapping against his head as if in pain. He shook his head hardand clenched his fists as his breathing grew ragged. Whenever I sensed it worsening, he pushed me away and retreated into solitude.
Closing his door to shut me out.
Last night, I fell asleep in front of his bedroom door, waiting for him to come out. But he didn’t open the door until the morning came, and carried me back to my room before withdrawing again.
Even the staff and housemaids were acting strangely, tense, and gloomy.
