Mysterious Dream

“Everyone, I’m happy to announce that Miss Mokoena and Mr Ludik managed to find the leaders in charge of the running of the United Angels of God Church.Unfortunately one leader,Issac Kirwo was found murdered in a very gruesome manner. The remaining two will be released but kept under heavy surveillance by our Technical team.The church has been closed forever!We have also posted a facial sketch of the evil Bella Santos on social media two minutes ago,We hope to find her quicker this way and all of this couldn’t have been possible if it were not for Mr Ludik and Miss Mokoena!” the professor announced.

“Let’s go and celebrate” Mika whispered .

Pairing up with another person has proven to be more sufficient in improving productivity better than working alone. A partner is someone you need to rely on ,when you are are down,your partner needs to pull you up,when your partner is down you need to pull them up.

My father had the same kind of relationship with Ben.You could hear it in their conversations,see it in their actions that they would do anything for each other.Even as my father had better fashion sense and lacked on inventing technological machinery which Ben was strongest in..the two we’re still able to work together in harmony with no jealousy outbursts and immature thinking. I deeply yearned to have such a partnership with Mika,I wondered whether it was also possible for me too as I was impatient i felt it was an impossible task,as I was too impatient.

“How do you maintain your friendship with Ben?” I wondered.

my father was preparing pancakes at the time,they smelled really good,vanilla and cinnamon,a perfect combination for a syrup I couldn’t wait to gush my teeth in there.

“I don’t know,I guess he just never gives up on me and I never give up on him.We respect each other,we fight for each other and we always speak up if we don’t like something,were open to learning and understanding each other.”he replied.

The answer was unsatisfactory to my inquisitive mind I needed to know more.

“But how did your friendship start?”

The pancakes were all done,my father dished up,I immediately put a fork on my hands and began to eat. Delicious I thought.

My father agreed to tell me everything once we had finished eating breakfast and he kept his promise.

“Well after the fire,I was hospitalized for depression,you know that much,but what you didn’t know is that…I was placed in ward 9 at Johannesburg hospital,with other traumatized patient’s.During midnight I felt strong heat all over my body,I figured it was probably the medicine they gave me earlier that day.i disliked the taste of pills.i tried my best to sleep but my insomnia was of a special intention,,it would cause me to save a life.As I was laying on bed,a strong sound of footsteps worsened intensely each minute.A nurse finally entered and I thought that to be a wonderful opportunity to ask her to inject me with medicine that could at least help with my insomnia.i tried to find the right words that could probably get me what I wanted,but as I was about to speak I noticed something strange,the nurse pulled a knife under her skirt,where she had been hiding it all along.I quickly pushed the alert button located at the back of my bed. been The smart part about the button was that even though you could push it many times,the sound could only be heard by the security guards.I got up from my bed,slowly but the nurse saw me,she was angry and came towards me with her knife,two security guards entered right on time,they grabbed her from behind and took the knife away from her reach.Confused and shocked the patient that was about to be stabbed thanked me several times without stopping,,they immediately moved him to another hospital where he could be guarded 24/7.The nurse was charged for attempted murder.The victims older brother came to me and introduced himself as Benjamin and asked whether I needed a job.And I said “yes”.

“Wow,what an inspiring story,truly amazing.where is Ben’s little brother now?I asked.

Fixing his glasses,my father continued .”He died from lung cancer”he said

My father emphasized that most of the cases he was able to solve,he worked on them with his partner and best friend Ben.At that moment I missed my partner and called him right away.

Two months had passed since I had last seen or heard from Belinda.After watching the video,my father refused to mention her name.But still that didn’t stop his zeal to find and punish her for her evil ways,ways that nearly ended my life and that of my father.She had become an enemy.

“Has there been any improvements in finding that witch?”I asked feeling concerned.

My father’s cheeks became red,so we’re his eyes,his veins were visible,he was filled with fury.

“Not yet!but when I do I’ll ensure that she never rests easily a day in her life ever again.I swear it!” he said.

The mention of Belinda,brought anger into my fathers heart,I stopped mentioning her name but instead worked on keeping my father happy,as I wanted him to live longer..I suggested he join me on my fishing trips. He only agreed but only if he was not busy.I captured all the wonderful short memories I had with him then posted the pictures in my youtube channel privately. Some of the picture’s I shared with my mother over the phone. My mother’s response was in the form of a smiling emoji. I would often test my father on whether he would love to speak to my mother,he would make different excuses just to avoid confrontation,the went for my mother. As much as they used to love one another,they both avoided confrontation.i guess they just hated going back to the painful past.

One Saturday morning,I decided to go fishing except this time I had to go alone, Mika had plans,at least that was what he had told me,while my father had to attend a business seminar in Durban. He said it was for innovative technical solutions in crime prevention.Besides fighting crime for the GOH zip my father operated other businesses,he distributed self defence gadgets which Ben manufactured and also traded real estate.If I also understood the real estate business,I would also join him,but my interests were in art,spying and putting criminals behind bars.

As I was fishing,my hook felt heavy,I felt a strong disturbance in coming from the ocean.My heart was beating fast with joy,a smile covering my face..I was anxious to see the fish I had caught.. I slowly pulled out the fishing rod,there it was a huge yellowtail, flappiing on both sides,the fins sharp enough to cause a permanent scar,I had to tread carefully.Then suddenly a mans voice came from behind,it sounded familiar.i turned my gaze to the see the man behind the voice,just as I had suspected..it was professor phenyo.He had a lively appearance in his White shirt and white trousers..

“I see you’ve caught some fish,you surprise me everytime Miss Mokoena” said Mr Phenyo.

I simply smiled and continued to fish,but it seemed there was more to Mr phenyo than meets the eye,he wanted to speak further,but the words had vanished from him at that particular hour.

“What will you be doing after fishing?”

“taking my fish home then eating them .”I said

The professor chuckled and I joined in..not necessarily because I thought I was funny but because I thought I had behaved foolish. The dumb part of me had revealed itself I thought.

“I won’t bother you further,I guess I’ll see you at work”

I felt a slight loneliness as Mr Phenyo was leaving.

When I arrived home,I put the fish in the freezer for later use,then headed to the shower where I enjoyed a long sprinkle of water flowing down my body,washing away the sand between my toes.

Monday morning I met Mr Phenyo on the way to the GOH site,he wore a blue jacket and a black striped tie.He looked handsome as always.

“Miss Mokoena,I need you in my office,could you come as soon As possible”he demanded.

“Oh ok,am I in trouble?”I asked.. hoping to get a clear answer.

“not at all” he replied.

I went straight to the ladies room,I fixed my pencil skirt, looked in the mirror to see remove any imperfections if there were any .. but found none. .

“I’m ok”I mumbled.

As I was about to leave, Zikhona Mbule entered,we greeted one another..

“You look fabulous,no doubt”she commented.

I blushed with embarrassment..

“Thanks”I replied.

I left the ladies room and hurried to Mr Phenyo's office. There he was, tall and massive shouldered,overlooking the parked cars that aligned perfectly in their spots.

“Professor”I murmured,hoping to get his attention.

“yes!” he replied turning his gaze toward me. Mr Phenyo demanded I sit with him..

His office was covered with his cologne,of a spicy,charcoal aroma,which brought memories of my chemistry teacher of high school. He also wore formal, except he wasn’t good-looking,at least to me,as I was still too young to notice a man’s charm.

“I didn’t mean to live you as I did yesterday on the beach,I actually wanted to ask you something”he murmured.

“oh”I replied.

“Well I have been invited to brunch by a colleague of ours Mr Temo and I was wondering if you were would be able to come with me as a plus one”he spoke,his voice trembling.

“I know Mr Temo, he’s a good friend to my father,of course I will”I replied.

My response was innocent,even though I found Mr Phenyo to be charming,I hadn’t thought of him as more than just a colleague.Nor could I have possibly developed feelings for him too quickly.He was nothing more than a colleague,but Ben,well he was a close family friend and being present in his brunch I knew would make him happy, instead of offended.

I left the office quickly, without observing Mr Phenyo’s expression,I noticed him smile,but I didn’t stay longer to notice how long had he been smiling.

The day seemed to end slow.the telephones kept ringing endlessly with their annoying sound.

Messages were privately sent from social media platforms about the facial drawing of the woman posted.Some said she was not South African but rather Cuban,others said she couldn’t be Cuban as she had been born in Nigeria,rumors kept on spreading,but her true identity was still unknown. Late at night as I was sleeping,a blur image clouded my mind,I was in dream state.I saw myself standing on an open road,there were no passing cars by,only me.I felt an urge to climb the mountain in front of me.I began climbing until I arrived at the top. Men and women were marching in a straight line entering a cave. I got closer to get a better view,I saw that the was no cave,it was only a flat tall looking rock.The men and women were entering through what seemed like a permeable rock to the other side .I began to tremble,for what was in front of me was strange. As I was about to walk away,I saw a little boy,who had features similar to that of my father.The little boy had curly hair,big bulgy blue eyes and tiny frekles on his cheeks.He wore a yellow and white striped long sleeved t-shirt and a blue denim short.The boy was carrying a board,on it was written “Years to Six” in red ink.Before he could pass,he looked at me and said”blood will save me now” before I could ask what he meant,the images began to fade,I woke up.I kept my dream to myself,I couldn’t risk being seen as a freak,as all my dreams were prophetic.i realized that when I was nineteen years old. I used to tell my friends my dreams,but they rejected me and called me evil names,that’s when I began keeping all my dreams hidden.

My ability to dream about events before they occurred was an ability I chose to never underestimate,I knew God was trying to communicate with me it made me feel good about myself.Though I was dealing with the paranormal cases,I still wanted to keep my gifts private, exposing such a gift could lead to dreadful reactions.

I told my father about the dream but he did not seem to take it seriously. He asked about my day instead. I mentioned that Mr Phenyo asked me to join him on a brunch. He was not happy with my response.

“Its never just a brunch with a man,I can tell that no man has touched you yet,and I won’t allow anyone to take advantage of you.never!” my father shouted in anger..

“Wait,all my life you were never present,what makes you think you can stop me from living my life!”

I walked out of my father’s presence,I was furious. An hour passed,two hours passed,three hours passed,on the fourth hour I heard a knock on the door.My father was ready to make a truce,or so I hoped.

“I’m sorry I know you think I don’t have a right over your life,I only care about you.Just make the right decision.”my father sobbed..

“You are a good man and a wonderful father,whose intention is noble.Father I am a woman now, allow me to make my own choices. Mr Phenyo is only taking me for a brunch to Ben’s house,so I know I will be safe”

“Oh why didn’t you say so before,Ben is alright,And yes you are a woman and I will very much respect your decision.”

My father and I hugged.He seemed to understand me,which I thought was a good sign.

But of course we know that parents will always be alert about who their children date. I tried to ignore that fact and chose to go with the flow.

On Wednesday,Mr Phenyo fetched me with his car,he and my father greeted,but the handshake took longer than expected,but I was a distance away,making breakfast for my father just before I left. Ben and his female friend Chloe welcomed me,they wore white as it was the theme for the “innocent” brunch.I experienced slight stomach cramps,but the presence of Ben made me feel at ease.

“Not that I’m being noisy or anything but are you too intimately involved?”Ben asked..

I did expect him to ask me that question,it seemed he enjoyed making quiet people feel uncomfortable,I was not exactly silent,but I did enjoy hiding my innermost thoughts. Fortunate enough,I had begun to adapt to change,even if that change meant that I had to open up.

“Come on Uncle Ben, you’re putting me on the spot..oh my God!”I protested.

“So are you?”Ben asked again..

“I think Miss Mokoena is a very attractive,strong woman.Any man who so forth wants to be intimately involved with her,should also be strong enough to handle her as the queen she is.”answered Mr Phenyo.

I blushed from embarassement I did not expect such a compliment from my mentor.or should a rather say a mentor who is also a secret crush of mine.

Chloe and ben looked at each other and smiled.

“Hmmm,if I had not met Ben I would folow you everywhere till you noticed me.” chloe said she then giggled staring into the very annoyed face of Ben. We all laughed.

“You are a very young good-looking fellow,please don’t take my woman from me,I don’t know if I’ll meet another one like her, she’s too special.If I had it my way I could tie the knot already,but she sees marriage as bad luck” ben said.

Chloe served us blueberry muffins,with orange juice and a variety of cheese.

Mr Phenyo treated me like a queen.Never had I felt such respect.My mother had always told me that a man’s actions towards other people is the result of how he chose to become not entirely how a man had been raised. When the brunch was over,my date took me back to my father’s house. He neither hugged or kissed me.

“Thank you for today,you made me feel like a man.”Mr Phenyo said.

My father was standing beside me,I could tell he was keeping a close eye on us.which was akward as I still saw Mr Phenyo as a colleague and nothing more.

“Thank you,I needed this..perhaps we can do this again in the near future”I murmured.