4
The house felt colder now. The air had shifted, thickened with the weight of the truth that had just been revealed. Thuli couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed within her, like a switch had been flipped. The world she thought she knew had cracked wide open, and now all that was left was the sharp edge of uncertainty.She stood in the living room, her mind racing. The journal, which had once seemed like a treasure trove of answers, now felt like a burden—an insurmountable mountain of truth she wasn’t sure she was ready to climb.
Kabelo was pacing, his voice low, filled with tension. "You heard him. It doesn’t make sense. Our family… involved in something like this? It sounds insane."
Thuli glanced over at him, her mind not fully on the words he was speaking. Her eyes kept drifting back to the journal resting on the coffee table, its leather cover mocking her with its promise of answers.
"You don’t think he’s lying?" she asked, her voice unsteady. "It feels like we’re being dragged into something bigger than ourselves."
Kabelo stopped pacing and looked at her, his expression hardening. "I don’t know what to think anymore. But what I do know is that we can’t just sit here and let this destroy us. We need to find out who’s behind this, and fast. And we need to know who we can trust."
Thuli nodded, swallowing hard. "You’re right. But who do we trust? Everyone we know has been a part of this mess. Our family—*my* family—was involved in my father’s murder. How am I supposed to just walk out there and face people after everything we’ve just learned?"
The tension in the room was palpable, suffocating. The walls seemed to close in as her thoughts spiraled. Her world had just shifted, and she didn’t know if she could keep up.
A knock at the door interrupted her spiraling thoughts. It was sharp, insistent. Almost too deliberate.
Kabelo moved to the door, his hand on the handle. "Who could that be at this hour?" His voice was filled with suspicion.
Thuli’s stomach churned. She couldn’t shake the feeling that their enemies were closing in on them.
He opened the door, and there, standing in the frame, was none other than Aunt Nomsa—*Mandla’s* mother. Her face was hard, her eyes sharp, and her lips set in a thin line. Behind her was a man she didn’t recognize. He was tall, with dark sunglasses perched on his nose, despite the late hour. His presence alone made the hair on the back of Thuli’s neck stand on end.
"What is it, Aunt Nomsa?" Kabelo asked, his voice stiff with tension.
"I need to speak with you," Aunt Nomsa said, her eyes flicking briefly to Thuli before she entered the house without waiting for an invitation. The man in sunglasses followed closely behind her, his eyes scanning the room like a hawk, every movement calculated.
Thuli stood still, heart pounding in her chest. Her instincts screamed at her to run, but she stayed frozen, caught between the need for answers and the overwhelming fear that more trouble was on its way.
Aunt Nomsa turned to face her, her gaze cold. "You’ve been digging around, haven’t you?" she asked, her voice sharp, like a knife slicing through the air. "You’ve been poking around in things that don’t concern you."
Thuli narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? Why are you here?"
The man with the sunglasses took a step forward, his presence ominous. "Don’t play games, girl. You don’t know the half of it. But you will, soon enough. Just like your father."
Kabelo’s hand instinctively moved to his side, as if reaching for something, but he didn’t pull out a weapon. Instead, he spoke, his voice steady but filled with underlying fury. "You better start explaining, Nomsa. I’ve had enough of this. You’ve been hiding things from us for years. Who’s involved in my father’s death? Who else is a part of this?"
Aunt Nomsa’s eyes flashed, a flicker of something dark crossing her features. "Your father… was a stubborn man," she said quietly. "And you’re all too much like him. Always digging. Always questioning."
Thuli’s mind spun as she tried to make sense of her aunt’s cryptic words. "What does that mean? Why didn’t you tell me the truth?"
Aunt Nomsa’s expression softened, but there was no warmth in her gaze. "The truth is dangerous, Thuli. You’re not ready for it. And neither is Kabelo. The truth could break you… destroy everything you thought you knew about this family."
Thuli could feel the walls closing in again. She couldn’t breathe. There was a choking sensation in her throat. "I don’t care if it destroys me. I want to know what happened to my father. I deserve to know."
The man with the sunglasses moved forward then, his voice low and dangerous. "You want to know about your father? Fine. But understand this: when you start digging into that mess, you’ll never come out unscathed. This is bigger than any of you."
Thuli’s blood ran cold. "Who are you? What do you know?"
The man smirked, as if amused by her defiance. "You’ll see soon enough. But mark my words, girl—this isn’t just about your father’s death. This is about something much bigger, something much darker. And you’re already in too deep."
He turned to leave, but Aunt Nomsa stayed behind, her face a mask of unreadable emotions. "Be careful who you trust," she said softly. "Trust the wrong people, and this whole family will fall apart. You’ll be on your own."
Before Thuli could respond, the door slammed shut. The sound echoed in the house, and a heavy silence settled over the room. Kabelo and Thuli were left standing there, processing the threats, the warnings, and the crushing weight of the secret they had uncovered.
Thuli’s mind raced. Who could they trust?
The journal on the coffee table felt heavier now, its answers more urgent than ever. But Thuli knew that whatever path she took from here, there would be no going back.
Please log in to submit a comment.