The landlord of Mankayane [Novel]

Once upon a time, there was a fifty-year-old rich British landlord who lived in Mankayane, a beautiful green outback in western Swaziland. His name was Paddy.

He possessed a one-story manor house and a hundred thousand-acre cornfield with close to two billion magnificently maintained plants.

He built up his wealth with the help of his gorgeous Swazi spouse Pola. She was ten years younger and had been married to him for two decades.

Unfortunately, the union was childless and in constant strain because Paddy feared passing away without an heir.

One day, Paddy was lying on his bed and was very ill. He had an acute fever and thought he would die.

His wife Pola stood by his side and administered him treatment. She prepared a tisane and helped him drink the medicinal beverage.

She then applied a towel imbibed with hot water on his face to reduce his body's temperature but it was to no avail.

So she called on the native doctor. The latter hastened to Paddy's sickbed and provided him with Sudarshan leaves and ginger but they didn't make him get better.

Not seeing any improvement in his state, Paddy confessed to his wife that his end had come and regretted he would decease without a descendant.

Hence he made his last wishes in his heart and entered a deep coma. Two spirits appeared to him in his unconsciousness. One was for good and was spreading a bright light. The other was for evil and was secreting obscurity.

The holy spirit told Paddy that he had happy news for him. He would not join the ancestors right now and his wife Pola would bear a baby boy.

Paddy heard the revelation and jumped for joy but the instant didn't last.

The gloomy spirit took the floor and announced to the baron that he had terrible news for him.

He would indeed become a father, however, at his son's first sunset, a spell would be laid on the manor and he would lose all of his wealth and the infant would become deaf and dumb.