21

SIPHOSAKHE LUTHANGO

I had just finished eating when the knock came.Not a soft knock. Not a visitor's knock. A commanding, heavy one the kind that announces authority before the door even opens.

I didn't need to check who it was.Only one man knocks like that.My father.I opened the door, and there he stood , tall, dark-skinned like me, shoulders wide, posture rigid, the older, more seasoned reflection of myself. The lines on his face were carved by years of power, discipline, and an empire he built from nothing.

"Baba,"