More Deadly than the Male

 

Short Story

More Deadly than the Male

By Lawrence Kadzitche

1.

Jack was so engrossed in packing that he did not notice his mother enter the room through the open doorway. It was not until she spoke that he became aware of her presence.

 

“Are you sure you really wanted to go and live in Lilongwe?” she asked softly.

 

Jack looked up at her. Why couldn’t she see the obvious? Did he have to explain that the reason he had gone to school was to find a way out of the lousy village?

 

But he was now getting away from it-the emptiness of village life and its lack of horizons. Year in, year out, it was all about toiling in the gardens only to produce enough to keep body and soul together until you got old and died. One was caught in the jaws of poverty with no hope of escape.

 

“Yes, mama,” Jack replied at length. “I’m starting my new life.”

 

His mother eyed him with concern. “But I hear life in town is tough. Things are expensive, people live in tiny, dilapidated houses, crime is rampant…”

 

Jack cut her with a wave of his hand. “You’re only looking at the dark side, mother. What about the elegant mansions? Expensive cars?”

 

“Well, that’s only for the rich people,” she answered. “You’re not rich.”

 

He shook his head slowly and dug his hand into the suitcase he was packing. An envelope appeared in his hand. From the envelope he took out a certificate. Printed on it in bold letters was, ‘This is to certify that Jack Phada has qualified for the Award of a Malawi School Certificate of Education.’

 

Jack smiled. The certificate was the key to a bright future. Although he had never been in the city before, he had heard that there were plenty of job opportunities if one held the right qualifications. And he held them. An MSCE with credit was not a thing to be messed with.

 

With the certificate he felt he could knock openings in solid concrete. Now he was in a position to achieve his wildest his wildest dreams. He could already see himself living in a mansion in town, with a respectable job, a posh car, bountiful money, and every conceivable luxury in the world.

 

He knew it wouldn’t be easy; it would require hard work and sacrifice. But he had the required qualifications and determination to make in the City.

 

“I’m not rich, mama. But this talisman shall make me rich in no time,” he said, waving the certificate at her.

 

“But you have already got a good job here,” his mother countered.

 

“A good job?” Jack ejaculated. “Amama, you call working as a clerk at a tobacco estate a good job?”

 

“Yes, at least you get money every month end,” she paused and looked around the room. “Look, you’ve already built yourself a nice house.”

 

Jack laughed. Apart from the job opportunities, the city lured him with its bright lights, elegant buildings, posh cars, and unlimited entertainment. And his mother had the effrontery-excuse the word-to suggest that he continue working as a clerk at a farm. Not him. The job was for dull people with no ambitions in life. To him the sky was the limit. There was no way he was going to rot in the dull village. The crummy village wasn’t for him anymore,

 

“Mother, this unbaked brick house is nothing. Just wait until I get a job in town, and you’ll know what being rich means.”

 

His mother gazed sadly at him. She had tried in vain for the past several weeks to dissuade him from going to town.

 

“What about Nabetha?” She made a final effort. “She’ll be worried that the bad girls in town will snap you like a tasty cookie.”

 

Jack shook his head. “Amama, I’ve already told you that I can’t marry her because she’s my cousin. At any rate, marriage is not on my agenda now.”

 

His mother shrugged. She knew trying to stop him was as useless as trying to stop a rampaging bull. “Well, then finish packing otherwise you’ll miss your bus. And don’t forget to say by to your uncle.”

 

Jack continued packing. He just packed his blanket bed sheets and his best clothes. The clothes would be needed only until he got his first pay. After that he would buy designer clothes with labels like Pierre Cardin and shoes to fit a man of his education.

 

He had just finished packing when his grandmother appeared in the doorway. Jack hoped it wasn’t going to be another bout of trying to stop his journey as he had already bid farewell to her and all his relatives and friends the previous day.

 

“I forgot something, Jack,” she said. “You’re going into a world where not everyone will wish you good.”

 

God! He hoped he wasn’t going into a lengthy lecture. He knew his grandmother. She could talk and talk. It was seven in the morning. The bus passed through their village between eight and nine. That meant he still had at least an hour to kill before leaving.

 

“Out there you’ll be like a sheep among wolves, Jack, so you’ll need protection,” she paused and unclenched her left fist to reveal a small square sewn leather bundle. “This magic charm will bring you luck as well as give you protection from your enemies.”

 

Jack laughed while shaking his head. “Anana, I’m going to town to look for a job and not to make enemies.”

 

Her grandmother smiled to reveal toothless gums. “Well, you never know. Take it, just in case.”

 

He was about to refuse when he realized that doing so would only prolong the issue. He would accept the magic charm only to humour her. Once in town, he would throw it away.

 

“OK, I’ll take it. Just in case, as you say, nana,” he said giving her a disarming smile.

 

With deliberate deference, Jack put the magic charm at the bottom of his suitcase. He didn’t need it. He already had one. The certificate.

 

By his cheap wristwatch, he still had thirty minutes to kill. He went out to see his uncle Maloya. He found him sitting on a stool on the verandah of his hut basking in the morning sun.

 

Uncle Maloya was a short, thickset man of fifty with a ball-shaped head and small, deep-set eyes. He wore a faded blue overall and sandals made of tyre soles.

 

“So, this is the day my dear nephew leaves the village for the great city!” he said when he saw Jack.

 

“It is, malume,” Jack acquiesced, standing respectfully before him.

 

A sunny smile spread on Maloya’s weather beaten face. “As I said yesterday, you have made an incredibly good decision to go to town. This village is not for educated people like you.”

 

Jack smiled. His discerning uncle had already seen the benefits of his decision. “When you go to town, don’t forget your poor old uncle,” Maloya went on. “Send us whatever little you can manage.”

 

Soon he was saying goodbye to his parents, relatives and friends who came to see him off at the bus stage. Nabetha, all smiles, was there to say goodbye too. It was obvious he was in love with Jack and was optimistic she was going to live in town once Jack married her. He had never told her of this, but he was sure his mother had hinted at this.

 

“Take this so that you won’t forget me,” Nabetha said shyly, slipping a folded handkerchief in his hands.

 

The bus arrived. Jack boarded the bus like an overconfident boxer entering a boxing arena. He waved vigorously at Nabetha as the bus moved off. She looked beautiful, dressed in a bright yellow dress, white knee length stockings and matching yellow plastic shoes. But as soon as she was out of sight when the bus rounded the first corner, he forgot all about her. Much as it was the custom in the village for cousins to marry, he wasn’t in favour of that. He had read somewhere that in-breeding brought complication to children born to such parents.

 

The other passengers on the bus stared at him. But he was oblivious of their presence. He had crossed the Rubicon. He was on the march to greatness.

 

But had he been not so excited, he would not have missed the look on the face of elderly man sitting next to him. It was a look of pity.

 

In Lilongwe, he was going to live with Joe, Maloya’s younger brother, until he landed a job, which would just be for a fleeting time.

 

2.

He found Uncle Joe waiting for him at the bus depot. A tall thin man with a boyish face and a rakish moustache, he was resplendent in a black suit and matching pointed shoes. His shirt was pure white and his tie blue. A cigarette dangled from one corner of his mouth.

 

“Welcome to Lilongwe, village boy,” Uncle Joe said hugging him. “But don’t worry; I’ll make you a town boy in no time.”

 

Uncle Joe was jolly man, always laughing. He took everything casually. When he had left the village years ago vowing to strike it rich in the city, everyone had taken that as dreams of a joker. They had all said he would come back poorer than he left. But he had proved them wrong.

 

Nobody knew what it was he did, but it must have been important because every time he visited the village he showered his relatives with gifts like clothes and blankets. Now, if Uncle Joe, who had only gone up to primary school could afford all that, what about him who had gone up to secondary school?

 

He was the reason Jack had dumped the clerical job at the tobacco estate and opted to trek to town to look for a job. Like his uncle, he wanted to make it big in town.

 

“We will take a taxi from here,” Uncle Joe said leading me out the bus depot.

 

There were about a dozen taxis at the taxi rank. They were all old cars- dented and rusty. Uncle Joe seemed immensely popular with the drivers, and they treated him with respect. He felt proud. Uncle Joe was his idea of a man.

 

They took a battered white Toyota Corolla that looked better than all the other taxis. The sun, low in the west, painted the city a lovely gold. He watched the imposing buildings disappear as kilometers slipped behind to be replaced by descript buildings of all shapes and sizes. Even the road was now full of potholes. The car’s shock absorbers were completely worn out and Jack had to cling to the seat to avoid hitting the roof as the taxi bounced him up and down in the potholes.

 

About twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped. The place looked like some sort of a trading centre. There was a parade of tumble-down shops on the left of the road. Posters of various advertisements were stuck on the crumbling walls. Opposite the shops were a small market where women were selling vegetables. Children were scavenging on a big heap of rubbish inside the market.

 

Why had they stopped there? But the taxi driver was taking his suitcase out of the boot meaning that they had reached their destination. Uncle Joe gave the driver some money and the taxi took off with a jerk and wheezed off.

 

Jack glanced about him. A group of dreadlocked young men sitting on a culvert passed around a marijuana stick. A fat ugly woman, selling tomatoes, stared boldly at him. Two shirtless youths stared at him from the shelter of a shop porch. A drunkard staggering along the road was singing an obscene song while kids pelted him with rubbish. Mangy dogs sniffed about for food.

Then he noticed it. It was everywhere. The odour of rotting rubbish and human waste. The air was thick with it that he felt as if he could almost touch it. Garbage was strewn everywhere. Any space in the jumble of houses served as a rubbish dump.

 

There was no tree in sight. When the wind blew it filled the atmosphere with dust and flying garbage. Dust coated everything an ugly brown.

 

“Welcome to Piyasani Location,” his uncle interrupted his thoughts. “This is your new home. How do you like it?”

 

God! How could his uncle think a sane person could like this? All the same-

 

“It’s alright,” he replied, avoiding disappointing his uncle. “Only that it’s so different from…” he wanted to say from what he had expected but instead said, “from the village. I’ll like it here.”

 

“Boy, here in the location is where life is,” Uncle Joe said. “Life in the suburbs is dull, just like in the villages. Don’t be fooled by the imposing mansions. The locations, that’s where the people are. And where the people are that’s where life is. Welcome, nephew, you’ll enjoy it.”

 

Enjoy living in the pigsty? Jack wanted to ask. Maybe, if you call wallowing in the mud enjoyment. In any case living in a pigsty had never been part of his plans.

 

“Now it’s time you saw my humble abode!” Uncle Joe said snapping his fingers.

 

Jack was surprised to see one of the shirtless youths come with considerable speed and pick up his luggage. Jack felt proud. His uncle was obviously an important man to command such respect in the city. He could already see the advantages of being a nephew to such an important man.

 

There was no road, only gaps between the shacks. The shacks faced different directions. What was one’s front yard was equally someone’s backyard. Jack saw a girl scatter garbage where an elderly woman had just finished sweeping. Obscene graffiti covered most of the walls. Tall grass grew in between the buildings. Pools of water from bathrooms were everywhere. A young lady was answering the call of nature in a toilet that could not entirely conceal her.

 

They came across a big crumbling house set in a grass fence. Aunt Natalia, sitting on the verandah, was waiting for him. She was a big woman by any standards-tall and fat. Her hair, a medusa of braids, cascaded to her shoulders framing a heavily painted face. She was dressed in an expensive two-piece blue suit.

 

“Welcome, my son,” she greeted him affectionately stretching her hand heavy with bracelets. “Oh, you’ve grown into a handsome young man. You’ll have all the beautiful girls chasing after you like dogs on heat.”

 

Jack had never met her before. Her marriage to Uncle Joe three years ago had no ceremony and she had never been to the village. People in the village knew her only by name.

 

Taking her hand, Jack was surprised to note that she had three-inch red fingernails that looked like talons. He was later to discover that these were artificial nails that were glued on the natural nails.

 

Jack followed her into the house. If the location looked squalid, the living room looked as if it had survived a terrible storm. Household items littered the room: a rolled mat and a mattress, a mound of beddings, heaps of unwashed clothes, several suitcases, and a collection of washed and unwashed kitchen utensils. The room also contained modern conveniences that looked as if they were there only for decoration as the house had no electricity: a video screen, a stereo, and a fridge. Four armchairs stood in the middle of the room.

 

Jack eased himself in one of the armchairs. Light came into the room through one small window, so it was already dark although darkness had not fallen yet outside. The walls were dirty and peeling. A big rat stared at him before disappearing behind a curtain hanging in the opening leading to a bedroom.

 

He looked at his uncle and aunt, both immaculate in expensive suits. There was something wrong with the whole thing. How could they choose to live in such a dump?

 

“Please go and take a bath while I prepare something for you to eat,” his aunt said.

 

She showed him the bathroom, a small structure standing behind the house built of unbaked bricks. For whatever reasons, the walls were built only halfway up. On one side, the bricks had fallen off so that the wall rose only up to waist level. On this side a group of women facing his direction were chatting at a borehole. Jack took the bath crouching. It was the most uncomfortable bath he had ever taken.

 

The pit latrine offered greater challenges. The gunnysack covering the door did not reach the floor so that when Jack squatted to relieve himself he could see his aunt cooking. A dirty-faced boy in torn shots peered at him with a grin.

 

Uncle Joe and Aunt Natalia did not have any children. Jack slept in one of the bedrooms. The beddings were unwashed and smelled of sweat and tobacco smoke. Sleep came quickly because he was tired but before he slept he made up his mind that he was leaving the location once he secured a job.

 

3

Still the rain held off, and the atmosphere grew sickening, a breathless furnace sticky with heat. The buildings in the old part of the city looked hazy in the shimmering heat.

 

Sitting under the shade of the shop’s awning, Jack watched a thin dog prowl for food. After a fruitless search, it sat down, its head resting on its outstretched front legs. That’s me, thought Jack. He was surprised to realize that the dog exemplified his own situation.

 

It was two in the afternoon. Since morning, he had been roaming around, going from company to company in search of a job. But like the dog, he’d ended up exhausted and frustrated. And with nothing.

 

The city had let him down-and so had his uncle. Why could a person of his qualifications fail to find a job in such a vast town? And how could a man of his uncle’s influence fail to assist his own nephew to find a job? It all smacked of betrayal.

 

Which organization had he not visited in the city? But if he were not turned away by the guard at the gate it would be an ugly “No Vacancy” sign.

 

Where he had succeeded in seeing the recruiting officer, the story wasn’t any better. At Central Africa Tobacco Company, the Human Resources Officer, a very shot and very fat man, had looked at his certificate as it was a piece of toilet paper.

 

“On its own this paper is worthless,” he growled. “Where are the supporting documents?”

 

Jack stared uncomprehendingly at him.

 

The man smiled. “I see you’re a green in town. Are you really looking for a job?”

 

For what did the plump dwarf think he was in his office? “Yes, Sir.”

 

“Then where is the Malawi Kwacha to back your application?”

 

Jack was horrified. Still unemployed, where did the toad think he would get the money? “Sir, I’m afraid I don’t have…”

 

“It doesn’t have to be cash, village boy,” the Human Resources Officer interrupted him with a wave of his hands. “A goat can do. I’m sure you can go back home and fetch a goat.”

 

How could the idiot think he could pay for a clerical job when he had the right qualifications, Jack fumed as he stormed out of the office. And the job wasn’t any better than the one he had ditched at the tobacco estate.

 

At Zikomo Traders it was as bad. No; it was worse. “Young man, there are no jobs here,” the security guard had told him. But between you and me we can work out something.”

 

“Like what?” Jack asked skeptically.

 

“Well, the one who employs people here is my uncle,” the guard confided, “I hear they’re recruiting labourers. You give me something and I’ll talk to him.”

 

Jack spat. The watchman must be off his rocker. He would never sink so low as to take laboring work. What would people think of him leaving a clerical job in the village only to get a manual job in town? They would think of him crazy.

 

The tightwad Indian who offered him a job as a Shop Assistant was willing to pay him only half what he had been getting as a clerk at the tobacco estate. And this was a job he got when he had just left school. If the money he was getting then was not enough, how could he survive on half that amount now?

 

Every day, he went job hunting. No job came his way. His confidence began to wane. Fear that he may never secure a job began to gnaw at his heart.

 

That is why now two months down the line, he sat under the shop’s canopy a confused man. Returning to the village was not an option. He would be a laughingstock. A failure. And no-one respects a loser.

 

The only alternative was to hang on and hope for a miracle. A miracle which must come before he ran out of money. His faith in his uncle had been misplaced. The man had only made promises out which had come nothing. His uncle was now away, leaving him with no hope.

 

“Hi, man!” a voice hissed at his shoulder. “Still in town?”

 

It was Dodo, a thin young man who sometimes did odd jobs for his aunt. He was in a jacket and blue dirty jeans.

 

“Hi!” Jack mumbled.

 

“How are things?”

 

“Very bad. Came here to find a job but seems the gods are against me.”

 

Dodo smiled to reveal a row of yellow, rotten teeth. “Don’t blame the gods, man. Maybe your grandmother put a spell on you so you shouldn’t get a job. Best way of calling you back.”

 

“Too bad for her; I’m staying on.”

 

“But how can you survive in town without a job?” Dodo asked with a laugh. “You’ll soon run out of dough; then what are you going to do?”

 

Jack shrugged. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.” He got up. “I’ve got to go back home and rest.”

 

“You’ll take the short cut?”

 

Jack nodded and patted his pocket. “Have to save the little cash I’m left with.”

 

“Okay. See you around, buddy.”

 

The short cut passed through the thick bushes that were along the Lilongwe River. He had just walked a short distance when Jack saw the wallet. It lay in his path, a big wallet that looked like the belly of a pregnant cow. He picked it up. He didn’t have to peek inside; money stuck out.

 

“I saw that,” a voice said from behind as he was about to hide the wallet in his pocket. Jack turned. It was a tall young man selling cigarettes.

 

“I just found it; I’ll give it back to the owner,” Jack said lamely.

 

The cigarette vendor smiled conspiratorially. “How are you going to find the owner? Man, let’s just share the loot.”

 

They hid themselves in the bushes. Jack opened the wallet. But what he found shocked him. The money was just bundles of paper with a note covering the front and back.

 

“Man, are you trying to be funny? There was money in the wallet not papers,” the cigarette seller said.

 

“But this is the money I found,” Jack croaked.

 

A knife flicked in the tall youth’s hand. “Just give me the money or I’ll cut you to pieces until I find where you’ve hidden the moolah. Turn out your pockets, now!”

 

The violence in the words shook Jack. In his pockets was all the money with which he was left. “This is my money.”

 

“Nice try, man. I’ll have that. I know you’ve most of the loot stashed somewhere on you, but I’ll not be so greedy-you can have that,” the tall young man said relieving Jack of his money and throwing at him the bundle of papers. He disappeared into the bush.

 

An hour later, crestfallen, Jack staggered home. He had failed terribly. Now there was no hope of continuing to stay in town. He would have to go back.

 

It is at that time that he remembered the magic charm. He had all forgotten about it. What if her grandmother had been right? He went into his bedroom and retrieved it from the bottom of his suitcase.

 

He went into the sitting room, threw himself in an armchair and stared sightlessly at the pillow-shaped magic charm in his hands. Aunt Natalia appeared in the doorway leading to the bedroom.

 

“Jack, what happened? And what is that thing in your hands?”

 

“Aunt, I’ve been killed. I’m dead.”

 

Aunt Natalia came and eased herself on the arm of his chair. “Killed? What do you mean?”

 

“I’m buried. They’ve killed me: murdered my dream.”

 

“Take it easy, Jack darling,” she said putting her arms around him. “Tell me what happened.”

 

Head buried in her roomy bosom; Jack explained his ordeal. After he had finished, she said softly. “No-one can kill your dream, Jack. Don’t they say knock and they shall open?”

 

Jack sighed. “Aunt, I knocked with a sledgehammer, but no-one opened the door.”

 

Aunt Natalia grabbed the magic charm and threw it out of the window. “You’re such a clever man and can’t waste time believing in magic charms and such mumbo jumbo. If you use your brain I don’t see how you can fail to get what you want.”

 

Jack looked up and his eyes met those of his aunt. There was something in the look that he couldn’t place. He knew that look. He had seen it last week, after his uncle left on a month-long business trip. And now here it was again. It unsettled him.

 

She took his face in his arms. Jack felt hot. He licked his lips and swallowed.

 

“Jack, you’re a handsome and intelligent boy. It would be a pity to let your life go to ruins,” she purred. “I can help you get a job.”

 

Jack looked expectantly at his aunt. “Don’t mock me, aunt.”

 

Aunt Natalia rose and sat in a chair facing Jack. She was in a white flimsy negligee. He made up the outline of her naked body and felt his heart quicken.

 

“Jack, I’ve always wanted you. Loved you. I want the best for you. I can give you a job if you also give me what I want.”

 

“Aunt…”

 

She raised her hand and smiled. “Don’t call me, aunt. Call me Natalia.”

 

“Aunt…”

 

“I said call me Natalia,” she said. Pausing, she rolled her eyes and looked at Jack coquettishly from under her fake big eyelashes then added in a whisper. “Make love to me Jack and I’ll give you a job.”

 

“But…” he still failed to call her by her first name. “But if uncle found out…”

 

“Who’s going to tell him? Since you and I won’t tell him, he’ll never know.”

 

Jack took a deep breath. “But it’s not right…”

 

“Let’s face it, Jack. Don’t you think your uncle would have assisted you get a job if he had wanted to?”

 

“He would,” Jack answered without hesitation.

 

“But he hasn’t. Draw your conclusions from there,” Aunt Natalia said. “What I’m offering is something that’ll make you get what you came to town for.”

 

Jack shifted uncomfortably in the chair. His aunt was right. What had his uncle done to help him? All he had made were empty promises. Did he owe such a selfish man anything?

 

Indecision chased across Jack’s face. He was being offered a job but at the cost of betraying his uncle. He wanted a job so badly that he could do anything to get one. But what if his uncle found out?

 

“Don’t worry about that useless man,” Aunt Natalia said as if reading his thoughts. “You know I can manage him.”

 

Jack knew what that meant. His aunt ruled Uncle Joe with an iron hand. Since he had arrived, he had more than once seen her pound him with her huge fists. In town his uncle made the tough guys tremble, but at home, he was the one who quaked before the huge woman. What could such a woman be capable of doing? He felt certain his aunt would give him a job.

 

The tension that had gripped him began to lessen. It was replaced by an odd feeling as he stared at a curve of the hip through the see-through dress. The sensation confused him and at the same time excited him.

 

Aunt Natalia leaned forward so that their lips were almost touching. Jack’s heart skipped a beat. “I don’t want to force you to do what you don’t want,” she said in a voice as smooth as silk. “I was only opening my heart to you. If you’ll be nice to me, I guarantee you a good job.”

 

“And if not?”

 

“The bus home leaves every day. You can be on it tomorrow.”

 

There it was. If he refused her advances, he would be sent back home. He knew it was a taboo to sleep with one’s aunt. Was getting a job worth breaking the taboo?

 

He was also sure that Aunt Natalia would not only send him home without ruining his name. He recalled what had happened to Joseph in the good old book when he refused Potiphar’s wife’s advances.

 

“But will you really help me get a job?” he asked, looking like a child that is being offered a toy but feels is only being played sports of.

 

Aunt Natalia went into the bedroom and reappeared with a thick ward of money. “Well, that’s for you to buy some suits before you start working. A cashier must look presentable.”

 

Jack looked like a mouse eyeing groundnuts. He was back on track. He just needed to play the game right and he was home and dry.

 

Outside, there was a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder followed, crashing up and down the sky. Suddenly the heavens opened like a bursting bladder and the rain began to fall. Jack Phada. A cashier.

 

He didn’t hesitate any longer.

 

4

Sitting in the back of the big black Mercedes Benz, Jack marveled at the way the car seemed to glide over the badly potholed Phwetekere road. It was as if he was in an airplane. No bumps. Nothing.

 

The car’s interior was posh, the seats made of leather and wonderfully comfortable. A powerful CD player filled the car with reggae music. Selecting a song by his favourite musician, Peter Tosh, he sang along…” they make pledges to destroy even their mothers so you can imagine what they can do to us brothers, I know them a wicked.”

 

Beside him sat Aunt Natalia, exuding fantastic perfume. “He should have been singing about your uncle,” she said, winking at him.

 

“You’re right,” Jack agreed, laughing, “That man is wicked.”

 

“Don’t let that bother you,” Aunt Natalia said. “I’ll find you a job, Jack.

 

The woman was wonderful, Jack thought. She just had to snap her fingers and whatever she wanted would materialize as if by magic.

 

For the whole of that week, they had been making love several times each day. Recalling, their love-making the previous night made him swallow with pleasure. She had sent him into a sexy heaven, playing mind-boggling erotic tunes on his body.

 

He was surprised that he had not been worried. Something had convinced him that she knew what she was doing and could manage any kickbacks, if any came. In any case, what happened was Uncle Joe’s fault. If he hadn’t been so selfish as to block him from getting a job, all this would not have happened.

 

Anyway, it was also good that things had gone the way they had; he would get what he wanted easier than he thought. And Aunt Natalia wasn’t a bad looking woman either. And in bed she had done to him things he never even imagined. Just looking at her now made something stir in his trousers.

 

She returned his look with a sideways glance. “You look great, Jack,” she purred in his ear. “Focus will be impressed.”

 

Jack stared at his faultlessly fitting black suit. This is just the beginning, auntie, he said to himself. Just let me get the job and this whole town will be impressed.

 

The car left behind the slums and entered the elegant Area 43 suburb. In a big car, passing big houses, Jack felt at home. This is how it’s supposed to be. Being chauffeur driven in a nice car going to a cozy home. Not being crammed in a taxi going to a stinking location to be holed in a stinking crumbling house.

 

Anyway, he sighed. It was just a matter of time.

 

The Mercedes Benz turned into a drive flanked on both sides by palms and punctuated at short intervals by three gates. Guards opened the gates as they drove up. Although the sun was just sinking in the west, powerful lights on either side of the driveway were already on.

 

A doorman in blue suit opened the doors as the car came to a halt outside an imposing entrance of a mansion set in a large green garden. They got out to a welcoming scent of flowers. Guards in black uniforms moved about the grounds.

 

He followed Aunt Natalia into a huge, lavishly furnished lounge with tapestried walls. There were three sofa sets, armchairs and two glass coffee tables. An entertainment unit held a big TV screen and a massive stereo.

 

“This house is magnificent,” Jack said with admiration.

 

“He has got other houses like this in the city,” Aunt Natalia said. “This is the smallest of them. The others are rented out to ambassadors.”

 

Jack gaped, amazed. Focus must be an extraordinarily rich man. He didn’t doubt that some of the riches would rub off to him.

 

Jack had imagined Focus to be a bald, fat, benign old gentleman. But the man who came in baffled his imagination.

 

Of middle age, Focus Khobidi was exceedingly small and very thin. His body had nothing but skin and bones so that he looked no different from a skeleton covered with a layer of skin. His face was hard, his eyes small and sunk as far as to make his sockets look like black pits.

 

The thinness didn’t make him look frail but rather gave him the look of a dangerous man, a man you wouldn’t want to meet alone in a dark night. When Jack shook his hand, it was like shaking that of a wrestler.

 

It was not only the danger he sensed in him. Power, too. He had the look of a man not to be messed with.

 

Aunt Natalia rose and hugged him. “Focus, darling, I missed you!”

 

The small man just nodded then went to sit in a chair facing Jack. Aunt Natalia eased herself beside him.

 

“Darling, this is the nephew I was talking about,” she said, leaning an arm on Focus’s shoulder.

 

Focus’ deep-set eyes ran over Jack. Jack felt a chill up his spine. It was like being looked over by a snake. Jack wondered why the man frightened him.

 

“Let me see your papers,” Focus said in a strange, grating voice that made Jack shiver. It was a voice that would haunt one’s dreams.

 

Jack hastily handed over his certificate.

 

“An MSCE with a pass. Not bad,” Focus said returning his cold beady eyes on Jack. “Have you managed accounts before?”

 

“I was working at a tobacco estate as a clerk, sir. I handled Stores, Accounts and Wages,” Jack replied.

 

“Good,” Focus said thoughtfully. “On Monday, go to Overseas General Traders. They’ll employ you as a Cashier.”

 

Jack’s eyes widened. “Sir, you mean I should go for interviews?”

 

Focus rose to his feet, his face hard. “You heard what I said. I never say anything twice.

 

Jack fell to his knees. “I’m sorry, sir. It’s just that it…it… seems unbelievable.”

 

“With me everything is possible. Everything. Just keep that at the back of your mind,” Focus said smiling. It was like watching a skull smile.

 

“Thank you very much, sir.”

 

“This is nothing,” Focus said in his queer voice. “Your aunt is a particularly good friend of mine. There’s a party going on. You may join if you wish.”

 

A servant appeared from nowhere.

 

“He’ll show you,” Focus said patting Jack on the shoulder. “Enjoy yourself, young man.”

 

He felt Focus’ eyes follow him like a breath of fire as he left the room.

 

5

The servant led Jack along a maze of corridors. He admitted to himself that if left alone, he could not trace his way back to the lounge.

 

The passages ended at a big oak door. The servant opened the door and ushered Jack into a palatial room. And there, the party was in full swing.

 

“What would you like to drink, sir?” a waiter asked.

 

“Er…Coke”

 

He stared awkwardly about him as he waited for the drink. The room, half full with young people of around his age, was ornately furnished. Afrobeat music belted from a huge stereo.

 

Jack felt out of place and quickly realized why. He was the only man in the room in a suit. All the others were in expensive fancy clothes. The girls were incredibly beautiful and dressed in clothes that looked as if they had melted on them. Some were almost naked!

 

Jesus! If his grandmother saw this, she would burst into a tirade of these being the last days when people would follow the desires of their hearts.

 

The waiter brought the drink in a glass tumbler. Jack was turning to take a seat when suddenly a girl broke through the crowd and flung her arms around his neck.

 

“Jack! I’m glad to meet you long at last!”

 

Jack had to hold his jaw to prevent it from falling into his glass of coke. His eyes threatened to pop out as they took in the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

 

She was tall, in a body-hugging red satin dress that moulded every curve of her shapely figure. Her hair, tied back with a red ribbon, framed an oval face with big black eyes. Large, pointed breasts stood out like papayas.

 

“Aunt Natalia has been talking about her handsome nephew,” she said and drew back, staring at him with naked admiration. “She was right-you’re amazing.”

 

Here among all the young men, the beautiful girl with a body that could make any man a drooling idiot was making it open that she fancied him badly! Jack’s heart began to beat fast.

 

“You’re taking a coke at a party like this,” she asked, rolling her eyes. “You need something to get you into the mood, Jack.”

 

She disappeared and re-appeared with a glass of brandy. “Here, my darling, is the drink for a real man like you.”

 

How could he tell such a stunning girl that he didn’t drink? What would she think of him?

 

He emptied the glass in one quick swallow. His throat felt on fire. He gasped then started coughing, his eyes watering.

 

“Hey young man, don’t drink so fast,” the girl said, smiling brightly. “The night’s still young.”

 

Jack was not so daft as to realize that this was just a ploy to make him save face. He made up his mind not to lose points before the beauty. He drank the brandy carefully, taking a mouthful at a time.

 

“By the way, I’m Sarah Phiri, I do Aunt Natalias hair at the saloon,” she said. “She must’ve told you about me.”

 

Jack couldn’t remember Aunt Natalia talking about Sarah. But that didn’t matter. What was important was that Sarah was there with him and thought him handsome.

 

“Yeah, she talked a lot about you,” he lied. “She says you do her hair very well.”

 

“Thanks, boy,” she paused and glanced at his glass. “You’ve finished your drink. Let me get you another one.”

 

After the second drink, his head felt light, his body relaxed. He called for a third one. By the time the glass was empty, he was drunk. He felt great.

 

“I’m the lucky guy,” he shouted raising his fist.

 

The words were drowned in the loud music, but Sarah heard them and smiled with satisfaction.

 

“They’re playing it now, my favourite number,” she said taking hold of his arm. “Let’s go and dance.”

 

They were soon crushed against each other, dancing in the middle of the room. She danced with her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted to show the tip of her tongue, wiggling her supple body sensuously against his.

 

Jack felt his heart quicken. He licked his lips and swallowed; his eyes fixed on Sarah’s face.

 

Sarah momentarily opened her big eyes, smiled seductively, and closed them again. Without knowing it, Jack’s mouth went to Sarah’s.

 

She responded eagerly, the kissing making them oblivious to everything else. Her body was moulded into his so that she could feel his erection. She drew back her head with difficulty. “Let’s go and sit somewhere.”

 

He followed her outside the house and sat in a secluded place in the garden. A full moon was rising, the garden full of scents of flowers. Sarah sat on his lap, facing him, her hands around his neck.

 

He slipped his hands over her buttocks and pulled her to him, his mouth finding her lips. As the kissing grew hot, one of his hands went up her thigh into her underwear. She let out a gasp of pleasure.

 

“Not here,” Sarah said. “Let’s go to my house.”

 

Thirty minutes later, Jack stumbled into Sarah’s bedroom. His heart was thumping wildly. They were scarcely in the room when he began undressing her.

 

“Oh, Jack, don’t behave as if you don’t have a girlfriend back home,” she teased him.

 

Jack stared at her. “A girlfriend?” he asked as if dazed. “I never had a girlfriend.”

 

What about Nabetha, a small voice asked. Nabetha? Compared to Sarah she was not to fit to be called a woman! She was his cousin, and he had no intention of marrying a cousin.

 

He scooped her up and lowered her on the bed. Looking at the lithely curved figure, Jack almost choked with desire. He plunged into her.

 

6

Jack woke with a heavy hangover the following morning. He swung his feet to the floor, cupping his head in his hands, a throbbing pain in his head. He wondered why people drank beer when the drink made them so uncomfortable the following day.

 

However, thinking of Sarah and the exciting time they had, he thought it was worth any hangover. He couldn’t remember exactly what happened the previous night or how he got home but everything that he could remember about the night made his body tingle with delight.

 

Aunt Natalia appeared in the doorway, in a night dress that clung to her body, carrying a glass of wine in each hand “Oh, you’re now awake, darling. How was last night?”

 

“Marvelous,” he mumbled, wincing. “Auntie, I met the woman of my dreams at the party.”

 

She came over, handed him one of the glasses and sat down beside him. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

 

“Sarah, a girl I was with at the party.”

 

A shadow crossed her face. “Oh, I know her; she’s a good girl. Don’t let her down.”

 

Jack licked his lips. “Auntie, I’ll stick to her like a tick to a cow. She’s the woman I’ve been looking for.”

 

“I hope you’ll not forget you old Auntie Natalia.”

 

“I’ll never, Auntie!” Jack said, “All this has happened because of you.”

 

Aunt Natalia stared at him. “You are aware of that?”

 

“Of course, I’m.”

 

“Maybe I’m wrong. But I had the impression that you’d forgotten.”

 

Jack laughed. “How can I forget?”

 

“You just met Sarah yesterday and you already seem to have forgotten about me.”

 

Jack frowned. “I don’t understand.”

 

“I also need you. Did you forget that?”

 

“Need me?”

 

“It seems you’ve a short memory, Jack” Aunt Natalia said. “Have you already forgotten the deal we made for me to secure you a job?”

 

Jack bit his lower lip. “I haven’t forgotten. I fulfilled my part of the deal.”

 

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear,” Aunt Natalia said thoughtfully. “You’ll be making love to me whenever I need you. Not only once.”

 

Jack took a deep breath to steady his nerves. What did the big woman want from him? Couldn’t she see that he was his uncle’s wife?

 

“I can’t do that. You’re married. I’ve found a girlfriend. I don’t want to cheat on her.”

 

Aunt Natalia laughed. “Don’t be a hypocrite Jack. You’ve already cheated on Nabetha. What’s wrong with cheating on Sarah?”

 

“I know everyone in the village expects me to marry Nabetha, but she’s my cousin,” Jack defended himself.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with that; tradition allows it,” Aunt Natalia reminded him.

 

“But tradition does not allow what we are doing,” he countered.

 

“I don’t care what tradition allows or does not allow,” she said viciously. “What I want I get and to hell with tradition.”

 

Jack’s temper rose. What did this woman think he was? Her plaything?

 

“I won’t let you control my life,” he blurted. “You and I are through. Period.”

 

“Are you serious, Jack?”

 

“Yes,” he confirmed “I’ll never touch you again.”

 

“I’m not so sure about that Jack,” she said coldly. “Don’t they say he who pays the piper calls the tune?”

 

Jack was silent.

 

“I’m the one who told Focus to give you a job,” she went on in a flat voice. “I can tell him to cancel the offer.”

 

“You wouldn’t do that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Jack was exasperated. “I’m your nephew, why do this to me?”

 

“You’re Joe’s nephew,” came the reply. “If I hadn’t married him, you’d just be like any other young man to me. In fact, that’s what you are to me, a young man I want.”

 

Jack shook his head.

 

“Now listen carefully, Jack. I always get what I want. By any means necessary,” she said coldly. “I want you and I’ll get you.”

 

Jack felt sick. Her aunt was crazy. “I’ll tell Uncle Joe about your affair with Focus.”

 

Aunt Natalia smiled. “Ah so you noticed that, very perceptive of you. You do that and I’ll tell him that you raped me. Just imagine what he’ll do to you. So, telling won’t gain you anything.”

 

Too late now, Jack saw the web Aunt Natalia had weaved. He was a fly caught in her web, with no way out. His fate was in her hands. Antagonising her would mean having whatever he had achieved crashing around him. Would Sarah want a jobless boyfriend?

 

He had already made love to Aunt Natalia. What difference would it make not doing it now? And it was time he learned to survive in the cutthroat life in town. Like his aunt, he should always strive to get what he wanted. By any means possible. One only lives once.

 

Still, he did not feel comfortable about it. He continued to sit on the bed, looking at his feet, deep in thought. Aunt Natalia watched him silently with an amused look on her face.

 

Was there any way out of this, Jack thought desperately. He found none. He needed to face the harsh fact that without Aunt Natalia he was finished in the city. It was either he submit to her wishes or go back to the village a disgrace person. He had already ruled out going back to the village, so the only option was to play along with whatever she wanted. It was just a temporary arrangement.

 

His mind made up, he felt relieved, as if a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He put his arms around Aunt Natalia’s neck.

 

“Then what are we waiting for?” he said, a disarming smile on his face.

 

Aunt Natalia put her glass on a stool and stood up. “Now let me show you what sex means.”

 

She let her dress fall and he was surprised she didn’t have a stitch on!

 

7

Jack lay spread- eagled, his limbs tied to stakes. He could hear her sharpen the knife. Then she came, a small, thin old woman with the face like that of a monkey. She stood over him and slowly raised the knife, hate radiating out of her sunken eyes.

 

He tried to free himself, but to no avail. He wanted to scream for help. But no words came out. It seemed as if his tongue had turned to cotton.

 

The old woman drove the knife towards his heart. Jack let out a horrible scream.

 

He woke with a start. He was sweating profusely.

 

“What’s the matter?” Aunt Natalia asked, poking her head through the open doorway.

 

Jack sat up and swung his legs to the floor. “I was having a nightmare.”

 

Aunt Natalia left, leaving Jack staring at the floor between his feet. What did the dream mean, he asked himself. Finding no answer, he decided not to let the nightmare spoil his first day at work.

 

He took a quick bath and ate breakfast hurriedly. It was not good to be late on his first day.

 

“Have a nice day, darling.” Aunt Natalia said, winking at him.

 

Jack shook his head and smiled. “You know what, Natalia?”

 

She stared expectantly at him. It was the first time he had called her without the ‘aunt’.

 

“I’m starting to fall in love with you,” he said gaily.

 

She kissed him fully on the month and he returned the kiss avidly.

 

“I love you, Jack. Together,” she paused and stared at him in a way that frightened him. “Together, we’re going to go far. Extremely far. Just trust me.”

 

Offices of Overseas Traders were situated in the City Centre in a big four-storey building.

 

“Can I help you, sir?” a young woman asked at the reception.

 

“I would like to see Mr. Khethe, the Human Resources Manager,” Jack replied.

 

The receptionist smiled. “Do you have an appointment, sir?”

 

“No.”

 

“I’m afraid he only sees visitors on appointment.”

 

Jack put a hand on his hip. “Tell him Jack Phada would like to see him,” he said authoritatively.

 

She picked up a phone and dialed a number. “Mr. Phada to see you, sir.”

 

After a moment, she put down the phone. She got to her feet. “Let me show you his office, sir.”

 

He followed her along a corridor. At the far end, she knocked on a door and opened it without waiting for a reply.

 

“Mr. Prada, sir,” she said and quickly left.

 

It was a big and well- furnished office. Khethe, a fat, bald man sat behind a mahogany desk.

 

“Welcome, Jack,” he said jovially offering his hand. “I’m Nick Khethe, HRM for this Company.”

 

Jack took the hand and shook it firmly.

 

“Take a seat, please,” Khethe said “I was expecting you.”

 

He picked up a folder. “Congratulations on your appointment as Cashier. In this folder you’ll find your Job Description. Now let me show you your office.”

 

He led the way upstairs and opened a door. Jack was ushered into an office furnished with a desk, a black executive swivel chair and two visitors chairs.

 

“This is your office, Jack,” Khethe said, “Please feel at home.”

 

When Khethe had left the office, Jack jumped with joy then threw himself into the swivel chair. He had begun his journey on an excellent note. An excellent job. An elegant office. A beautiful girlfriend. Sleeping with Aunt Natalia was a small price he was willing to pay.

 

It would have been a perfect day but for one thing. But something was nagging at him. The nightmare he had last night…why couldn’t he shake it off?

 

8

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sky was crystal blue, the air full of scents of flowers. Jack and Sarah sat on a bench in the hotel garden.

 

“I still think it’s not right,” Jack said putting down his glass of juice on a stool. “I’m supposed to be the one taking you out and not vice-versa.”

 

Sarah, lying on her back on the bench and resting her head on Jack’s lap, smiled lazily. “I don’t see where your concern is. I’m doing this because you’ve just started working.”

 

Jack bit his lower lip. “I know. But a man is the one who’s supposed to take the woman out.”

 

Sarah smiled. “Why is it supposed to be like that?”

 

Jack nipped a flower and gently stroked her face with it. “Err…it’s always been like that.”

 

“Things are changing, honey,” Sarah said, the lazy smile fixed on her face. “Gone are the days when the man did everything for the woman.”

 

“I was born and bred in the village. I believe a man must fend for the woman. Not the other way around.”

 

“There’s gender equality these days,” Sarah said with a soft laugh. “So, stop thinking a woman’s place is the kitchen only.”

 

“Well, whatever you say, I still think I’m being unfair to you. It’s like I am taking advantage of you.”

 

Since he had started working two weeks ago, Sarah had been taking him out to lunch every day. He had tried to discourage her, but she had been adamant. She would turn up unannounced at lunch hour leaving him no option but to accept her invitations.

 

Jack was not happy with the way things were going and he indicated this to Aunt Natalia when he got back home that night.

 

“She’s been paying for my lunch since last Monday,” he confided to Aunt Natalia while in bed with her. “It really embarrasses me.”

 

Aunt Natalia leaned on her elbow and smiled at him mischievously. “Then do something about it instead of whining. There is no shortage of men after beautiful girls like Sarah.”

 

“But what can I do? I don’t have money to take her out.”

 

Aunt Natalia kissed him on the cheek. “You find the money. That’ll solve your problem.”

 

“Where can I find the money?” Jack returned grimly. “I can’t get an advance because I’m new at the company and my salary isn’t due until the end of the month.”

 

Aunt Natalia laughed, rubbing her hands together. “You know your biggest problem, Jack?”

 

Jack stared at her askance, lines creasing his forehead.

 

“You let circumstances control your life,” she said seriously. “A man of your abilities should be able to control his destiny.”

 

Jack scratched his chin. “I don’t understand…”

 

“Look here, Jack,” Aunt Natalia said gently. “You’re complaining that you don’t have money to buy your girlfriend lunch yet every day you deal with large sums of money.”

 

“I don’t get you.”

 

“Is there anything you understand. Jack?” she asked patiently. “Do I always have to explain the obvious?”

 

“I know I handle a lot of money,” Jack said. “But that’s company money, I can do nothing with it.”

 

“Do nothing with it!” Aunt Natalia sneered. “You mean you can die of thirst while your feet are in the water?”

 

“Natalia, the money belongs to the company, if I were to take even a tambala that would amount to theft.”

 

Aunt Natalia shrugged. “Who said you should steal?”

 

Jack glanced at her; confusion painted on his face. “I don’t get what you’re trying to say…”

 

Aunt Natalia softly massaged the nape of his head. “I know I can trust you, Jack. Focus runs businesses which, although not exactly legal, make huge profits. You can borrow money from the company, invest it in one of his businesses and return the money without the company knowing. A day or two would be enough.”

 

Jack looked at Aunt Natalia thoughtfully. His job at the company involved banking the company’s money daily. That coming Friday, he would be banking a large amount of cash from the company sales of agricultural produce. If he could take the money, use it over the weekend and return it on Monday, wouldn’t that make him a tidy profit?

 

“But what kind of business can one do in a day or two to make a profit?” he asked skeptically.

 

Aunt Natalia lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Gold. He buys the gold cheaply from Mozambicans and sell it at a hefty profit to South Africans. He can buy and sell the same day.”

 

Jack was silent for a moment. “If one put in say 30 million kwachas, how much profit can one expect?”

 

“Not less than 5 million kwachas,” Aunt Natalia answered quickly.

 

“If say I gave him the money on Friday, could I get it back on Monday morning including the profit?”

 

“Guaranteed. I would even make sure you get 10 million, Jack.”

 

Now Jack’s greed was whetted. With that kind of money, he could buy himself a car, move into a mansion in the suburbs thereby freeing himself from the clutches of Aunt Natalia. Once he got the money he would have nothing to do with her. The idea steeled his resolve to go ahead with the plan.

 

“What are you thinking, Jack?”

 

Jack realized that he had been thinking aloud. That was an extremely dangerous thing to do.

 

“What I can do with a cool 10 million,” he decided not to lie.

 

She slipped her hand into his trousers. Jack gasped with pleasure. “There’s more to come, Jack. Just stick by me and you will see.”

 

“Then make the arrangements; tell Focus I’ll give him K30 million on Friday and I’ll need it back on Monday together with K10 million as profit.

 

9

“Hi, darling,” a prostitute urinating outside the grass fence of a small bar said as he approached the motel, the bag of money slung over his shoulder. “I can go with you and give you a good time at half the charges.”

 

Jack moved on without answering. The prostitute cursed him obscenely until he was out of earshot. Jack didn’t mind. Aunt Natalia had said he needed to meet Focus at a place where no one could recognise them, and the decrepit rest house provided such a venue.

 

A large rotting sign announced that he had arrived at his destination-a big tumble-down building that looked like it would crumble any time. He kicked the door open. A reception clerk in a dirty blue uniform welcomed him.

 

“Short time or for the whole night?” the clerk inquired.

 

Jack didn’t understand what short time meant but didn’t have time to ask. ‘For the whole night.”

 

“That will be K1000 if you want a receipt,” the clerk said winking at him. “Half of that, no receipt.”

 

Jack gave him K500. It was better that way as no one would ever know that he had checked into the motel.

 

“If you want company,” the clerk paused and made a sign of breasts on his chest. “I can arrange it. A beauty to give you a wonderful night.”

 

“My girlfriend will join me later in the night,” Jack said with a smile. “She’s large and with an equally big appetite. I want to reserve my energy for her.”

 

The clerk laughed to show yellow rotten teeth. “Very clever of you. You know these prostitutes drain you so that you can’t even get it up the following morning.”

 

He went into his room. The room was small and the walls dirty. It was devoid of any furniture save a bed and a small stool. He checked under the bed then locked the door, setting the stool against it.

 

The room was full of heavy cloying smell of female perfume coming from the beddings. So, the blankets hadn’t been changed after the last user, that explained the short time the clerk had inquired about. The enterprising fellow also rented the rooms for brief time encounters apart from pocketing the money for which he didn’t issue receipts. Moaning sounds and grunts from the rooms on both sides of his room confirmed his guess. No wonder the place was falling apart.

 

He had great confidence in Aunt Natalia. He knew she would pull this off. But once that was done, she would be in for a great shock. He swallowed savouring the idea with satisfaction. He lay on the bed to wait.

 

A rap on the door grabbed his attention. He glanced at his wristwatch as he sat up. It was seven in the evening. The knock came again. This time louder.

 

“Who’s it?” he asked.

 

“It’s me Uncle Joe,” a voice he immediately recognized said.

 

Jack was surprised. Uncle Joe was not supposed to be back until the following week. Obviously there had been a change in plans. He removed the stool and opened the door.

 

Uncle Joe stood in the doorway, his face obscured by the slouch hat pulled to the eyes and the turned-up collar of his heavy gray great coat.

 

Jack had never seen him dressed like this. What was his uncle playing dressed like a gangster?

 

Uncle Joe stepped in, Jack closing the door behind him. He had his right hand inside the pocket of his coat.

 

“Why are you holed in this dirty room, Jack?’ he asked coldly.

 

The menace in Uncle Joe’s voice startled Jack. He caught Uncle Joe’s eyes and fear immediately drilled into his vitals. The eyes held the glazed look of a mad man.

 

“Didn’t…didn’t Aunt Natalia tell you?” Jack spluttered.

 

Uncle Joes hand came out of his pocket. A sharp knife gleamed in the dull light. “She told me and that’s why I’m here.”

 

Jack stared at him, his eyes bulging, his mouth opening and closing silently like that of a dying fish out of water. The sick expression in Uncle Joes eyes frightened him.

 

“You ungrateful dog, how can you have the audacity to rape your aunt after all I’ve done for you? How?”

 

Jacks heart leapt, sweat starting out on his face. He had been convinced, or rather Aunt Natalia had convinced him that his uncle would never find out.

 

“How…how…”

 

“Since when did you develop a stammer, Jack?” Uncle Joe asked. “Sit down.”

 

Jack hardly had any strength to stand and was glad to sit down. He had the feeling that his uncle was going to kill him.

 

“I never raped my aunt,” Jack tried desperately to wiggle out the situation. “Whoever told you that was lying.”

 

“You want to tell me your aunt would lie about you raping her?” Uncle Joe asked reasonably. “Why would she do that?”

 

Jack’s heart sank. Nothing made sense. Why would Aunt Natalia betray him?

 

“I’m not going to kill you, Jack,” Uncle Joe went on. “But I’m going to teach you a lesson. The bible says if your eye makes you sin you should remove it, right?”

 

Jack nodded miserably.

 

“In your case, what made you sin?”

 

No answer came out of Jack’s mouth.

 

“What made you sin, Jack?” Uncle Joe shouted.

 

All Jack could do was to shake like a leaf in the gale.

 

Uncle Joe smiled. It was obvious to Jack that he was enjoying tormenting him. “It’s your treacherous little rod that made you sin. So, I’m going to cut it off so that you will never rape anyone again.”

 

Uncle Joe moved without warning. Leaping like a leopard, his hands settled around Jack’s neck. Struggling wildly, Jack tried to remove the hands, but their grip was like that of a metal clamp.

 

Jack began to choke, the face of his uncle glaring at him beginning to blur. There was roaring in his yeas. He knew this was the end. Then the pressure was released. A hand unzipped his fry.

 

“Say goodbye to your dick, Jack!” Uncle Joe said with devilish glee, “Dust to dust. Ash to ash.”

 

Suddenly Uncle Joe gave a shriek of agony and jerked upwards. Then he slowly collapsed on the floor, a knife sticking in his back.

 

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them again, he saw the huge frame of Aunt Natalia. Beside her was Focus Khobidi.

 

“What a mess you have created Jack,” Focus said in his husky voice. “Raping your uncle’s wife and killing him when he confronted you. How are you going to get out that?”

 

Focus knelt by Uncles Joe’s body and as he yanked out the knife, a rope materialised from nowhere in Aunt Natalia’s hands and looped around Focus’ neck. The little man tried to remove the rope that was choking him, but he was no match to mountainous woman. Soon his lifeless body collapsed over Uncles Joe’s.

 

Aunt Natalia glanced at Jack who sat bewildered on the bed. “I’m taking over Focus organization-smuggling gems, ivory, marijuana and so on. You’ve the option of joining me,” she paused and indicated the dead bodies with her head. “Or them. Nod your head if you’re joining me.”

 

Jack did not doubt that this was an idle threat. The way things had played out, he was convinced that whoever had said that of the species, the female is most dangerous hand been very right. It wouldn’t do him any good to cross the toxic female. Now he desperately wished he had never left the village.

 

But now it was too late. He had been careless to dine with the devil without using a long spoon and he was now paying the consequences. With no viable available options, he nodded his head vigorously for emphasis. He had no desire to join the heap of bodies on the floor.

 

“Wise, choice,” Aunt Natalia said with a disarming smile.

 

Jack knew he was still not safe. “What about the money I have stolen? Wouldn’t I go to prison for that?”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that, darling,” Aunt Natalia said.

 

“What about them?” he asked, indicating the dead bodies.

 

“Don’t worry about them. These are known criminals. Sorry to disappoint you but your uncle was the go-to person in Focus’ criminal gang. When their dead bodies are discovered in this seedy motel, the police will think they died in a criminal transaction gone wrong,” she said. “One, last thing, can you pick up the knife, please?”

 

Jack bent and grabbed the knife. As he rose, Aunt Natalia took shots with her phone camera.

 

“What was that for?” Jack asked, alarmed.

 

Aunt Natalia showed him the pictures. He looked like a murderer in a horror movie. “It’s for insurance in case you decide to get out of line. Always remember this is enough to convict you of these murders. Now take the money and let’s get out of this slaughterhouse.”

 

Jack now realized that Aunt Natalia had him fully in her claws. With those pictures he could go down for murder if he dared refuse her wishes. Like the genie in the Arabian Nights stories, he was her prisoner, her wishes her commands.

 

As they crossed the motel lobby, he saw the clerk’s dead body behind the reception desk. Jack now saw that Aunt Natalia had planned everything. He and everyone else had simply been foot soldiers in her campaign. He resigned himself to the fact that he was now Aunt Natalia’s chattel.

 

End