I was one of the first to jump out of the Toyota Quantum. Two or three shots cracked behind me. Someone dropped. I did not look back. I ran straight for the trees.
I pushed deeper into the woods until the noise died. No voices. No gunfire. Nothing. I had left the others behind.
My chest burned. I was out of breath, still in shock. I bent over, hands on my knees, dragging air into my lungs as I scanned the darkness around me.
Even then, it never crossed my mind to abort the mission and return home to Zimbabwe.
I had no money. It had been stolen. No passport. No way forward. No way back.
The truth settled in.
I was stateless.
An alien. A ghost.
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I had to return to Musina. Maybe I would find Sekai. Fatso. Anyone.
Where were the others from the Quantum? And why was I thinking about Sekai? That woman attracted trouble like honey to bees.
A sound cut through my thoughts.
My ears sharpened. I held still and listened. It was deliberate movement. Not an animal. If it was a person, anything could happen. The last few hours had taught me enough.
People were dangerous.
Cunning.
Unpredictable.
The bushes rustled again, and a figure stumbled out.
It was one of the travellers from the Quantum.
“Stop!” I said.
“Don’t take another step.”
He froze.
“Who’re you?” he asked. Then recognition flickered in his eyes.
“You were in the Quantum?”
Relief softened his voice.
His name was Tawanda.
He had a limp.
“You’re hit?” I asked.
“A bullet grazed me. I’ll manage,” he said.
“We can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”
He spoke like we were already together. As if I had agreed.
But did I have a choice?
“I’m going back to Musina,” he said.
“Why?” I asked.
He studied me, then countered, “Do you have a passport?”
I hesitated. Why did he need to know? We had known each other less than an hour.
He read my face.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I want asylum papers. My passport was taken during the robbery. I can’t go to Joburg without documents.”
It made sense.
“We can go together,” I said. “I might need those papers too.”
I had not thought about asylum before. Now it felt like a path. A way to move. A way forward.
We avoided the highway. The N1 would be crawling with Border Management Agency patrols by now.
It was late afternoon. I had not eaten since I parted with Sekai. My stomach tightened and growled.
“We need shelter for the night,” Tawanda said.
“And food,” I added.
Up close, his face looked haunted. I wondered what he saw when he looked at me. I felt like a shadow of myself.
He was medium-built, darker than me, with a small scar above his eyebrow. I caught myself staring at it. I was wondering how he got it.
Our best chance was to enter Musina under cover of darkness. Less patrols. Less attention.
We waited on the outskirts of town as the light faded.
Darkness crawled in.
As soon as it settled, we would move. Find food. Find somewhere to disappear for the night.
“Put your hands up slowly. Don’t make any sudden movements.”
The voice came from behind us.
I turned.
A SAPS officer stood there, gun raised, steady.
I lifted my hands.
So did Tawanda.
Then the policeman said something that startled me.
“So it’s you again,” he said, pointing at Tawanda. He knew Tawanda. What was going on here?
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