The Sunday News
WE are reminded of the dark days in our society when children would just vanish into thin air without trace. During Nyati’s visit to the Takundwas, he had shown deep affection to their youngest daughter, Tabitha. He had offered her a packet of sweets and two days later she disappeared. Did Nyati have anything to do with it? If he had something to do with it, was he alone? Read on to find out.
Tabitha was last seen playing with her friends by the tower-light. Her friends claimed that they had last seen her getting into a red kombi. Her friends had seen her running excitedly towards the red kombi that is why they had not thought of reporting the matter to anyone. None of them had clearly seen the occupants of the mysterious red kombi. Police combed the city and the countryside in search of the red kombi. But it was fruitless even though road blocks were set up on all major roads leading to and from the city.
The disappearance of Tabitha brought severe pain to the Takundwa family. Sofia tells us that her mother almost starved to death after spending a week without eating anything. Point of note: of all the friends and relatives that came to console Sofia’s parents, Nyati was the most outstanding. No single day would pass by without Nyati coming to find out whether the girl had been found. He was prepared to offer as much help as he could to ensure the safe return of Tabitha. He even went to the extent of offering a $5 000 reward to anyone who would provide information that would lead to the safe return of Tabitha.
Is Nyati not crying more than the bereaved? After two months, Tabitha was declared a missing person. After three months since Tabitha’s disappearance, Sofia says the hope of finding her alive again was gone. Although no one ever dare mention it, it was clear that she was dead. Sofia noticed the deep wounds that Tabitha’s disappearance left on her mother. Within the space of three months, her mother had put on another ten years. Her skin had suddenly lost all that youthful radiance. Wrinkles began to form just below her sunken eyes. Her smile was gone. She never cared to wash.
Fatima’s actions were now abrupt and unpredictable. Sometimes she would suddenly stop talking in the middle of a conversation, stand up and leave the room. Talk of ritual murders to get rich; was Nyati responsible for Tabitha’s disappearance? Sofia also suffered a lot of pain after her sister, Tabitha’s, disappearance. She tells us that she endured nightmares. Sometimes she would see Tabitha fleeing from faceless creatures with paws and fangs dripping with blood. Sometimes she would see a group of faceless men slaughtering a goat. They would cut off the head and throw it into a fire.
Are these just nightmares or Sofia had forebodings of evil, something telling her indirectly of what happened to Tabitha? Is Joseph Takundwa affected by the disappearance of his daughter? He staggers into the house drunk and the first question he asks his wife is whether the police have found Tabitha. He verbally abuses his wife Fatima for asking him, “Found whom?” He calls her a stupid woman when she does not come out with a direct answer. He blames his wife claiming she is the one who sold his daughter.
Sofia relates the effect of Tabitha’s disappearance on her father. He is always drunk. Her mother adds that every night he dreams about her. Every night he wakes up screaming. Asked on why he screams, she goes on to say he would be running away from Tabitha. She says last night he almost jumped out through the window. Every time it’s always Tabitha he is fleeing away from. Sofia tries to explain it away saying maybe Tabitha’s spirit is angry with him for not giving her a decent burial. Maybe she wants to be given a decent burial. Why is Joseph Takundwa affected so much by these dreams? Why is he running away from Tabitha in those dreams? Was he not part of the people who murdered Tabitha?
Sofia had fallen in love with Jeremiah. Jeremiah is the man who was found with her the day she killed her husband Nyati as we will find out later in the story. She says her sister’s disappearance acted as a prelude to the ending of her love affair with her sweet heart Jeremiah. Nyati’s visits became more regular after Tabitha’s disappearance. At first Sofia thought that those visits were a result of genuine sympathy for the bereaved family.
Nyati was prepared to offer whatever help, financial or otherwise, to help ensure the safe return of Tabitha. He even doubled the $5 000 reward money that he had offered to anyone who could offer useful information. Sofia soon learnt that Nyati’s visits and generous offers were driven by other motives. During each visit he would make sure that he also brought a small present for her; sometimes he would bring an expensive bar of chocolate; sometimes it would be a little bottle of expensive perfume.
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