The Unsang Love Song For Sherry

There was a boy Wilson who was talented into charming girls with a beautiful song sang from his heart how he adored each of the beautiful girl he met. One day he met a girl Joy on his way from school. This was the most beautiful girl he had ever met . He stopped and said , " I love you and I will sing any song to prove my love." The girl waited patiently to see what song was he going to sing. In a moment the boy Wilson sang a song from his heart that connected with her heart. As he sang, the world came to stand still to Joy enjoying the sweetest melody ever heard. She gave him a hand and they didnt need to say anything that they were in love. The following day the girl told everyone of her friends about Wilson , how his sweet melody brought the magic of love to her , how they held hands letting the wind acknowledge their new found affection and how everything became a moment of magic. But, alas, Joy was disappointed. Three of her best friends also told her that Wilson had performed a sweet melody show to each of them asking for love. Joy went to confront Wilson . Wilson did not deny but he said, " That song came out of my heart only for you , darling." Joy threw the sand on his face and walked away angrily. Years passed, Wilson met Sherry . He had tried to sing to her but he failed . He didnt understand why he couldnt sing for her because Sherry was the most beautiful ladies of all he has ever seen in his life. Wilson and Sherry have been together for eight years but on each year of their anniversary Wilson had tried to compose a song for Sherry only to run short of words. Sherry was becoming disappointed, 'you told me you can sing but you have never sang a song about our love...i hope that was just a joke.' One day Wilson had a dream was sitting at round table in a dimly lit room. There was a man sitting across the table from him and the man looked to be in his late eighties with grey hair and a walking stick.. “I’m here to answer your question,” he said. “What question?” Wilson asked. “The one you’ve been asking yourself for years,” the old man replied. “What’s wrong with me?” Wilson asked , “Why can’t sing for Sherry a love song?” “Perhaps you can’t sing for her a love song because you realize, that leaving love unsang and unsaid is the most beautiful confirmation of love you to someone. Because you truly do love her, and true love cannot be translated into words. Because words alone could never do her any justice.” Wilson nodded in agreement. He went on: “The sad truth, of course, is that this expression of love without words will always remain unnoticed. Because there is no trumpet to be blown , no song to sing and nothing toshow off but the within love.' Wilson woke up from a dream and realised that he had unsang love song for Sherry.

A Wedding on His Behalf

Samson Chidongo was only twenty one when they asked him a favour that turned his life for ever . The request was put to him when he had just completed his university. It was a hard and difficult question to answer . But he knew two things , saying no meant his parents would not be happy , saying yes meant he would have the wedding on behalf of his brother . That was what he deemed unthinkable . How would girls think of me ? He asked himself over and over shaking his head violently left and right . He thought about what his parents have said , he thought again and shook his shoulders up and down , he shook his head not knowing whether it was time to flee . " The thing about your brother , he is not coming home as of now . All he is asking is you sit in his place as a dummy , complete all the marriage rites on his behalf and then she will follow him ." His father Chidongo said . " You are asking me to have a wedding with a woman I don't know ? " " For the sake of your brother ." His father said and continued , " You see , Anah and your brother Mark are engaged but your brother will find it extremely expensive to travel from South Africa and have the wedding, so that's why you are the answer to his problem ." It took four weeks for Samson to give his father a nod . His father assured him , " Anah is not your type , you will only kiss on the wedding day and pretend you are a couple then off she goes to your brother in Durban. " He showed him the pictures , " This is how she looks , very good for your brother hmm ? " Anah Banda appeared to be in her early twenties and Samson looked at the photo closer , she appeared tall , slim with broader lower bottom and long black silky hairs . Samson when he looked at her was not that very much attracted . He assured his father Joseph Chidongo , " I may have a wedding on my brothers behalf then she travels to South Africa , has she been there before ? " Joseph Chidongo said , " Never , but your brother will be waiting for her at the Beltbridge if not he will be at Petersburg in a motel waiting for her . " " Why can't her family take her there to him ? " " Her sister in law will accompany her ." Joseph said . He thanked his son with a warm hug for accepting to do his brother a favour . The wedding preparations began . The announcement on radio said , " The family of Joseph and Isabel Chidongo , Matt and Ivy Banda are cordially inviting you to the wedding of their second born son Samson Chidongo and the first born daughter Anah Banda . The wedding ceremony will take place at St Michael's church and the reception will be at College of Medicine Hall ." The news spread faster that Samson was getting married . It was just a shock to many of Samson's friends. How can he start with a family instead of looking for a job ? Many friends debated . Samson only confided to a few that he was in reality just a dummy but he would do nothing beyond a kiss on the day of the wedding . Well , the rehearsals began . Samson and Anah held hands . And a new song of Bendeka Bendeka was chosen to be the one to dance as they would enter the hall . The more they rehearsed , as days to the wedding drew closer , the more Samson found Anah very attractive . Suddenly the opinion about her as an ordinary girl changed . ' No wonder my brother is mad about you , ' he whispered to himself . The wedding day was colourful . Almost half a thousand people attended . Samson and Anah kissed in front of the priest attracting a chorus of applause from the crowd . Then during the wedding party at the College of Medicine Hall Samson kissed Anah , this time it felt different . Her lips were sensuous and he didn't want to let it go . She politely pulled herself from him and sat down as the crowd joyously sang and danced . A strange feeling was growing in Samson's heart but he quickly and furiously chased the bad feeling . ' I only do this for my brother ,' he assured himself. After the wedding the couple traveled to a hotel. Samson's father constantly reminded his son , " this is only for your brother , please don't do anything silly in the hotel with her , tomorow we finish the ceremony then she travels to South Africa ." " Dad , I have no feelings for her ." Samson said . When Samson and Anah arrived at Chitukuko Hotel they were left in a large room with ensuite just the two of them . The two of them sat on the edge of the bed and they talked about Mark a hundred times . " I really like your brother , he is a nice guy , I cannot wait to see him , thanks for accepting to wed on his behalf .' Anah said . " Aah my inlaw , this is nothing , I want the two of you to be happy ." Samson said . As the night grew older Anah walked to the bathroom and changed into pajamas. She looked stunning in his eyes . He looked at her again and he breathed deeply , ' so how shall we sleep my in law ? I can sleep on the floor , I don't mind ." Anah said , " I think that's too harsh on yourself my in law , what if we put something in between , you face that side I face that side ?" ' Good idea " They slept peacefully as agreed . In the middle of the night Samson was not aware that Anah wrapped him with her hands . Anah too was not aware . When both were awake , there was fast apology from either side , " sorry my in law , sorry mulanu! " The reality that Samson and Anah became closer each day was becoming a thorn in their lives . In the morning Anah told the story of run away lovers , " its such a fascinating movie , two people are in love but the problem is they are both already with someone , so they ran away , my in law you should watch it ." At that point Samson had other ideas on what to do with Anah . Find out next

The Power of What You Say

Two women were trapped in a river . They had gone there to fetch water for household chores . As they fetched water they decided to go swimming . They swam and and swam and felt it was time to go home . They did not see that the river was swelling . It would soon be floods . The floods came faster and swallowed their buckets of water . They managed to climb a long tree and people came from all directions to see what was happening . Within hours a huge crowd assembled and looked at the two women on top of a tree . However none of the crowd was brave to rescue the two women . The crowd shouted loudly and waved at the two desperate women , " the waters are so deep , we cannot risk our lives to come there and rescue you . Please don't jump off a tree and until the river floods have vanished and if you swim you are likely going to die .' When the other woman heard this put her head against the tree branch and gave up . But the other woman was deaf . She didn't hear what was said . The floods kept on coming . The deaf woman sadly jumped into deep waters . The crowd shouted at her and waved hands frantically. The deaf woman kept on struggling with deep and furiously running waters . The crowd gave up on her . They concluded she was going to die . The waters kept on swelling the river . The other woman held on to the tree as advised . After sometime, the deaf woman managed to reach the shore . The crowd was left surprised . People shouted happily cerebrating she made it . They asked her , " what made you jump into deep waters despite our advice ." The deaf woman said , " I didn't hear what you said but when I saw you waving hands and openning mouths I thought you were cheering me up to be brave and jump into the waters . I thank you for that ." The crowd was left silent and the other woman who held on to a tree was swallowed up by floods .' Lesson : be very careful of what you say to others . It may affect their lives for ever .

The Stranger and The Prospective Boyfriend

Tenson and Fiona held hands . The whirlwind swept past them and the excitement of just being two of them grew. Fiona for the first time looked at Tenson in his eyes at a closer range . There was something leaping up and down in her heart the moment their eyes met . She saw that Tenson was not only handsome, he was becoming a man with masculine features of small beards at the end of his lower chin. ' So what is your favourite thing to do when you are free .' Fiona asked . Tenson touched her shoulder tenderly and smiled , " When I am free I like talking to nature . I have a language of the universe ." Fiona's face looked surprised , " What is language of the universe ? " Tenson brushed something off Fiona's hair then said , " The language of the universe means talking to animals we tame and talking to certain birds that feel free in our company . " Before Fiona asked he pulled her hand , " let me show you ." They walked past the bushes and walked past the stream until the view of cattle grazing on the hill was nearer . " You see those animals , I can say one thing to them and they will obey , let's get closer .' When they reached where the cattle were grazing , Tenson sang a song in a very thick masculine voice . The song was not amusing at all to Fiona . Fiona laughed the way Tenson sang . As he continued singing Fiona saw cattle coming from different directions to where they stood. The cattle made a ring fence around them . Fiona was perplexed . Tenson continued singing until the cattle were within touching distance around them . " Will they not hurt us ? ' Fiona squeezed herself to Tenson with fear . Tenson said , " They like this song, do you want the birds to join us as well ? " Fiona nodded . Tenson sang a different song. This one was better sang than the previous . He hummed the tune causing Fiona to smile . It was getting darker and darker . The birds made creaking and twittering sounds as they descended into Tenson's feet. Many birds flew into the sky and followed the sound of Tenson's song . Fiona looked at Tenson , " Tenson are you a magician ? ' Tenson smiled , " No , Fiona , am a follower of the universe . I was taught by one man who I met on the road one day . The man said every thing living comes from one family of the creator of the universe . You have to enter into the birds mind and feel like them and live amongst them for them to understand your song ." " I have to get home , my mum is going to be angry if I am late . " Fiona said . Tenson looked at her and he saw it . The beauty of Fiona was glittering into his heart . The moment he held her hand to walk her home he felt something different . In between them as they walked there was huge silence . Each of them had fear and afraid to talk about their love . " I want you tomorow to show me another talent like today ." " Right ," Tenson said . As they neared Fiona's home their hands didn't want to let it go . They stood by the tree frozen and speechless . No one moved an inch . Words lost . Fiona chewing pieces of grass . Tenson looking away playing with leaves . Stories ran out of their heads . Suddenly a man with white shiny hairs appeared in front of them . The man said , ' I guess both of you know me by now . " Fiona was the first to scream , " Mr Zina Zina , the man who showed me where Tenson was ." Tenson didn't want Fiona to know that it was Mr Zina Zina who taught him how to sing a song and attract animals and birds . The white shiny hairs were brightened. " Right , let's get down to the bottom of the matter . You are both afraid to say you love each other , am I right ? " There was a silence of guilty between Fiona and Tenson . The strange man Mr Zina continued , " The thing about love and happiness is , unless you say it , you may miss the boat . If you Tenson cannot tell Fiona , Fiona may end up in the hands of wrong boys , would you like it ? " Tenson shook his head protesting. He turned to Fiona , " If you Fiona , having felt in your heart his love , can pretend you don't love him and Tenson ends up with someone else , would you like it ? ' Fiona shrugged her shoulders . The strange man.pulled them together , " the language of the universe says you have a duty to express your love with no regrets and if you do the opposite you will suffer stress and regrets the rest of your lives . Now I live you with freedom to do what you want . " Suddenly the man with white shiny hairs disappeared . Fiona and Tenson were left speechless as Fiona saw her mother approaching . Find what happens next

The Stranger and The Prospective Boyfriend

The walking continued .Fiona wanted to see Tenson . Her heart was dancing far away from her chest . She put hands above her head . It was a long walk because Tenson lived five kilometres away from school . As Fiona walked past her house she noticed familiar faces staring at her . She was not in a mood to talk to anyone until she had seen Tenson . Every minute without seeing the face of Tenson was like five years away from him and every hour was like tens of years away from Tenson . She wondered , as she walked nearing Tenson's home village , what had Tenson done to her . "Surely I was not like this before , is it now that I am bewitched , what is this madness following Tenson ? ". Fiona asked herself and shaking her head at the same time . She assured herself once she sees Tenson she would just pretend she followed him because the teachers were asking about him . No need to show a boy that you like him so much , he may think I am cheap , Fiona told herself. Just before she turned left into a hilly road a man with thick voice called her name, " Fionaaaa ! " Fiona turned with her heart pounding . Her eyes met a man with white hairs that shined and his smile twinkled at her, Fiona was afraid . The white haired man stepped forward extending his hand , " Let's shake hands , don't be afraid." As Fiona shook his hand the memories of her dream came alive . She previously freaked after dreaming a man standing between her and Tenson proclaming , " it is done." The said , " Fiona , you are looking for Tenson . You lied to your teacher about the stomache." Fiona jumped in total shock. How come he knew her mind . The white haired man continued , " You see Fiona , you are planning to pretend that you were not looking for Tenson . You want to tell Tenson that the teachers were looking for him . That's where I have a small problem , Fiona . Pretence is a mother of frustration. Turn around, look at that stone ." Fiona turned around . " Now imagine , if that stone pretends its a river would you believe it ? " Fiona shook her head left and right . The white haired man continued , " Now , the stone might be acting foolish to pretend its a river , isn't it ? " Fiona nodded. " Then when you meet Tenson , tell him exactly how you feel. Tenson is not brave to say he loves you but between two of you one has to break the ice ." " So if you know what happens underneath the heart where is Tenson and do you think he will like me ?" Fiona asked . The white haired man folded his hands and stepped backwards , " Fiona , it is not the third person like I to show you the way where your heart wants to go . If I tell you where Tenson is , tomorow you will need to come to me when Tenson disappears . Go and look for him. If I tell whether Tenson likes you , it will be like discovering gold for others , go and explore his heart on your own ." Fiona was not happy with the response . She walking away from the white haired man . The village where Tenson lived was nearing and her eyes visualized how it would look if Tenson is with his mother . She closed her eyes and as soon as she opened , the white haired man stood in front of her , " I forgot one more thing he said ." Fiona looked away and said , " I don't even know you go away ." The white haired man said , " Ummm , am Zina Zina , by the way, I forgot to tell you Tenson is not at home . Take this other route, he is not far from here ." Fiona was about to ask him questions when the man vanished . Fiona turned right and followed the orders . She walked and walked and walked . She passed tall trees and the forest was getting thicker and thicker . It was afternoon , her mother would be expecting her home . But she promised herself she would not go home without seeing Tenson . She didn't care if her mother gets upset with her . Tenson was more important every second of her life . She reached a small river there was a wooden bridge . She called out , " Tenson ! Tenson ! Tenson ! " She only heard the sounds of birds mocking each other. Fiona was afraid . It was getting dark . What if the white haired man told her the wrong way. What if he was dangerous ? Fiona found her heart pounding . She wanted to ran away . The sight of tall grass and tall trees with sign of no one was frightening . She called for the last time , " Tenson ! Tenson ! " There was no answer . Fiona started running home , the bush was just scary . Along the way , while still in a forest, she heard a rustling sound . She didn't even want to look incase it was a snake . She ran and ran but when she sat on a rock exhausted a voice made her look up . " Fiona I have been looking for you all day. " " Tenson I have been looking for you as well , I didn't attend classes because of you ." Tenson said , " After assembly I ran up there with my school bags looking for you ." They stood there panting and exhausted. They were frozen with shyness in between them . They found it difficult to move a step forward and hold hands even a hug was somewhat enbarassing . Fiona moved a step forward . Tenson talked about how the assembly was . Find out what Fiona and Tenson do next .

The Stranger and The Prospective Boyfriend

It became obvious in classroom that Tenson and Fiona had became soulmates .They were just better than friends . The sitting plan was for Tenson to sit at the back , but Tenson found the distance between him and Fiona was just too far . He moved and always sat with Fiona in the first row. Both Fiona and Tenson were ambitious, well mannered , well respectful but there was something more deeper in between them . Like twins , they liked similar things , they loved similar hobbies and sometimes they would finish sentences for each other . In one science paper exam both Tenson and Fiona , despite sitting far from.each other in the exam hall , got 88% and both failed similar questions. After school it took three hours for Fiona to reach home . Not that she was up to anything bad , Fiona would stand near the large baobab tree with a smile on her face talking to Tenson . Elders and villagers passed them wondering what were these teens up to. Tenson spotted something on Fiona's blouse . He raised his hands and she looked anxiously wondering to herself he wanted to hold her . " No , its not that I want to hold you , there is something crawling on your blouse , stay calm ." Tenson told her and his large beefy hands picked the spider and dropped it on the floor . Fiona was perplexed , ' how does he read my thoughts ? ' she couldn't know how . When Fiona got home it was dark . Her mother looked at her sternly and disapprovingly . Fiona threw her school bag in the bedroom , she changed the school uniform and wore slippers . " I am just worried you are spending too much time with Tenson . I heard from neighbours that you stood together talking under the tree by the road for long, what is going between you two ? " Fiona shrugged her shoulders . Her mother said , " my daughter you are brilliant in classroom , don't waste your time with boys. I know Tenson has a good reputation in our village but things happen and you know very well that if your father finds out then I will be in trouble ." " Mum , I just talk to Tenson . We are talking about exams ." ' Ah , I see , you are my good girl ." Fiona washed the dishes , made dinner and cleaned the house before going to bed . While doing her house chores all she thought about was Tenson . When she said her prayers before bedtime she included Tenson . She wondered to herself what would the world have become if Tenson was to be transferred to another school . She corrected her thoughts , ' no , Tenson is going no where , Tenson is here to stay ." At night Fiona was dreaming . She and Tenson met a man with white shiny hairs . The man pulled them together and he said , " Today I pronounce you and Tenson as lovers ." When she got up there was nothing . Fiona got ready for school . When she reached school she checked for Tenson . She put her bags in the classroom her eyes looking around . She was wondering why Tenson was running late . Tenson is normally early , she told herself . The school bell rang . Tenson was no where to be seem . Other school girls were calling her , " Fiona ! Let's go for assembly ! The teacher is waiting ." Fiona found her legs failing to walk to the assembly . She didn't want to tell her school girl friends she was checking if Tenson was already in school . She stayed in classroom . When she heard the footsteps her heart jumped ! Fiona thought it was Tenson coming . The teacher, Mr Phiri stood there in front of her, " What are you doing here Fiona ? " " Am not well, sir ." Fiona lied . " Alright stay here I will get you the school nurse ." The school nurse came and all Fiona could do was , ' I want to go home, my stomache mwee ." She was given a sick note. Fiona was not going home, she was going to look for Tenson .She wanted to find out if Tenson, the boy who made her heart tick, was alright . She paced faster looking for Tenson. Find out what happens next .Will she ever see Tenson again ? Check the next story .

The Mysterious Note That Tormented King Chibuku

King Chibuku assembled all wizards of the land , all prophets of the land and world's best physicians . The situation was so urgent so that he spent sleepless nights worried . He read the letter , he read it again and when he read it all day he just shook his head . He looked at his mistress sitting there on his large comfortable bed no words were said in between them . His wife, queen Latifa Kachasu was also in disbelief . No where in the world have they ever come across such a thing . In the afternoon when the wizards were assembled he told them the situation, ' I want each of you to interpret this letter . Please tell me exactly what is the meaning according to your gods . Don't be afraid , I will not react violently if the meaning means doom for my kingdom .' King Chibuku said . He walked over to where the world's best prophets were assembled , " Here is the note , I haven't slept because of this letter . The contents have frightened me for the whole three nights , please look at it and tell me what the God is saying . I won't care or worry if its bad news . ' King Chibuku ordered his wife queen Latifa Kachasu to have a word with doctors about the letter , " let them use their psychology to analyze the handwritten note , the motive of the writer and if the message means something or its just a farce ." Queen Latifa Kachasu sat with the doctors as her husband has ordered, ' The previous nights my husband has been so much disturbed . He wakes up at night and screams . Sometimes he cries . Sometimes he says the person who authored the note was standing in his bedroom but I have never seen the person . We have a big problem here in Palace ." She handed the handwritten note to them , " please look at it and advise your King about the future . The king will accept whatever the gods say ." The note was like this , ' Dear King Chibuku . Enjoy while you can for your days are numbered . I watch you day and night and last night when you changed into brown pajamas you forgot to take off your socks. So don't think I don't know where you sleep . Outside your room there were two armed bodyguards , do you know that they fell asleep on the sofa ? Well here is a code for you and this code says what your future will be like . It's Setesete.". When King Chibuku got up and saw the note by his bedside he thought he was dreaming . He walked outside . It was dawn . Indeed the two armed bodyguards were fast asleep . His heart pounded with fear . He ran back to his room . He looked at his feet . He remembered the note , indeed he forgot to take his socks off . How come ? He asked himself . Since that day he replaced all guards but he saw the same note by his bedside on three consecutive days . Now he had no choice . He called them to help him and he narrated the whole story . His life was in danger . The wizards consulted their gods all afternoon . They used their magic , their magic took them to far lands where they consulted the sky , the winds , the rivers and the sands of the deserts to reveal the future of King Chibuku . To interpret the code setesete. They saw visions within that hour and all of them had one frightening conclusions . King Chibuku came, " so what are the gods saying ? ." Well , no witch was brave to tell him the news . Every witch was quiet with its head down . King Chibuku asked again , " So tell me the future .' At that point the chief of all wizards of the land grabbed the right leg of the king , " we have been spiritually consulting the deserts. , the sands , the rivers and the sky , they have all conspired one terrible thing . Long live the King . If you permit me your majesty , I will say , only if you promise to spare us the sword ." King Chibuku dropped his sword on the floor , " None of you will die for telling me what your gods say ." He stretched his hands as a proof that no one was in danger . The chief of wizards got an approval looks from his colleagues. He started narrating , " we have consulted and reconciled our findings, we seem to have the same message . Your reign is coming to an end . The winds , the sky and the sands have all pronounced that you will not enjoy the fruits of the treasures you have assembled . You will be deposed of leadership and it is too late to correct this . Nature is angry with you . All we can say is Long Live the King ." At this the King looked puzzled , his mouth remained open for some seconds . He picked his sword . He charged and marched towards the chief of wizards . By the time he was listening to the prophets , the wizards were dispensed with a sword perfectly so that he ordered the guards to get rid of them , possibly throw them in Shire River . The King Chibuku reached where the prophets were assembled . His face showed many wrinkled lines . The lines so stretched and it was obvious the king was disturbed. He lifted his swords , " The wizards annoyed my kingdom . They insulted the king so I dispensed them and the only reason you will never hear about them , its because they planned to commit treason . They have paid for their sins ." King Chibuku's words were so alarming that the whole group of prophets lifted hands above their heads and cried , " God save the King Chibuku " as he spoke . Only him knew that his sword dispensed the wizards because they revealed the frightening thing that would happen to his kingdom . King Chibuku stepped forward . His wife Latifa Kachasu with hands folded behind him . " Am sure by now you have consulted your God , please tell me the future , don't be afraid. I will take whatever message your God says. " King Chibuku said . The chief of all prophets Bishop Prophet Dr Amos Mukontho worshiped the king as he grabbed King Chibuku's leg , " God save the King , the most high King Chibuku , whom am I to deliver this news to you the king ? Will you spare us your prophets ? " King Chibuku threw his sword down , " What ever it is I will take , please go ahead and reveal the message of your God ." The bishop prophet Dr Amos Mukontho was assured . He said. " God forbid , the message means your kingdom is coming to an end . You will be taken away from the palace like a cow that has a contagious disease with the type of diarrhea which in brief in means setesete ." ' Is there anyway , this can be reversed by form of offering ? " King Chibuku anxiously asked . The bishop paused then shook his head left and right , " No , the message setesete means when things are being let out of the body they don't come .back . Like sweat , urine and poo, when they are let out of the body it means the body has nothing to do with them anymore . You will end like that ." At this King Chibuku ordered an immediate arrests of all prophets and anounced a state of emergency . But whenever he went to bed it was frightening . Every morning he received a similar frightening note next to his pillow . This made the king increase security . He employed more guards , more spies and more police to guard his life . The only worrying thing was despite everyone guarding him , every night was a nightmare. He consulted all doctors . He got one of the world's best psychiatry doctor , " please see in my head if everything is alright ." The psychiatry doctor asked him to count , he counted , asked him to check the direction of the finger close to his nose , he detected . At the end the doctor announced, " You don't have problem ." This did not only make the king happy. , it proved to king Chibuku that the wizards and prophets were liars. But sadly one day the wife queen Latifa Kachasu found her husband hanging on the wall . He left a note , " I couldn't cope being tormented every night ." Lesson ; There are some things once written on wall you cannot change them . Just use the warning to your advantage to plan your going than killing all messengers

The Stranger and The Prospective Boyfriend

One day the boy Tenson Ngoma was herding cattle in the remote area of the village . Tenson was hungry and thirsty so he abandoned his animals and went to drink water from the spring . At the spring Tenson felt the strength of whirlwind turning dust , moving leaves and causing confusion . Tenson waited for the dust to settle down before kneeling down to drink water . Suddenly someone tapped him from behind , it was a stranger , a tall man with white and shiny hairs wearing white clothes . " Do I know you ? ' Tenson asked . " Yes , we might have met somewhere , I guess you are Tenson . You are fifteen years old . You have been raised up by your grandparents unfortunately you only have a grandmother now ." " For God's sake , who are you that know my life ? " " I am not to be remembered but I have been part of your life since you were born. There is nothing I don't know about you .' This was not only frightening for Tenson but he just abandoned what he wanted to do and ran home . When Tenson reached home he narrated the story to his grandmother Nyabanda. " The man's hair is very white and it shines . He seems to know everything about our family . I was scared I thought he was a ghost ." The grandmother , Nyabanda protested , " my child , ghosts don't appear during day time , you might have been afraid of a certain family friend .' She made lunch for Tenson . It was dried fish and porridge with cabbage and tomatoes . Tenson enjoyed his lunch . After lunch he would see if his animals were alright . He planned to herd the cattle back to the kraal and then he would go and play with his friend . Just after locking the kraal to make sure no animal forces its way out Tenson went to see Fiona . Fiona Tembo was a girl of his heart . Tenson planned that one day when he gets a little bit older he would propose marriage to Fiona . After all , Fiona and Tenson were age mates , they went to same school and they attended the same church . Fiona according to Tenson might have sensed that Tenson had an eye for her . And Tenson was not surprised that the two became closer friends , each day after school they would walk slowly passing the maize fields , passing the hedges until Tenson was sure Fiona was just yards away from home . He would shake her hand to say goodbye see you tomorow . But whenever they shook hands there was some laughter and happiness in his heart . " See you tomorow Fiona ." " See you tomorow , Tenson " . One day on his way home the very white haired man appeared . He saw Tenson runing home . " Hello Tenson , have you been seeing off Fiona ? " Tenson stopped running and turned . " Tenson , it is not right that you don't tell Fiona you love her , you should say your mind ." At this, Tenson got surprised . How does this stranger know I havent proposed to Fiona, yet . Did Fiona tell him ? Tenson tried to find clues he couldn't understand how the white haired man knew his secret . The old man continued , " You see Tenson , that day you ran away and told your granny everything about me. Your granny said maybe am a family friend but that can be yes or no . Yes because you and I are friends . No because I haven't talked to anyone in your family apart from you ." " So what do you want from me ? ' Tenson asked . The white haired man walked Tenson home and paused before saying , " whether you want a proper teacher in life its up to you . If you tell me not to come again , I will go but if you allow me I will show you something about life ." Tenson was not decided what to say . The white haired man said , " You see the world out there , Tenson . The world is a school . It gives you life as a teacher and life offers many experiences like the one you have now with Fiona .Every experience tests your courage , wisdom and you see my white hair ? There are many people in this world who have got white hairs but when life offered them experience when they were young like you and Fiona , they didn't take opportunities. I can help you to get into action , action is what you need right now to achieve what you desire ." " So what is your name ? " Tenson curiously asked . " I am Zina Zina ." Before Tenson asked another question , the white haired man was no where to be seen . Surprised as he was, Tenson decided to tell no one about this conversation with a stranger Mr Zina Zina . Find out what will happen to Tenson and Fiona in the next story . "

The Wisdom of Granny-Nothing for Free

Have I been harsh with you?' The question came after she threatened that I will have nothing to take with me to watch football. All I asked her was one kwacha to buy glucose power business. Her response was very unusual, ' go to my bedroom, pick my blue handbag and look for one kwacha in it.' I dashed to her bedroom as fast as possible and within seconds I was breathing fast with excitement after my eyes saw the hand bag, my hands searched everywhere there was nothing. When I told her I saw nothing she said, ' No no no there has been a big mistake, go to my neighbour Nyamusinanjowe she was here she took the one kwacha I remember she said she will give it to you.' I found myself running fast to the house of her neighbour, the neighbour smiled, ' good boy what have you come to get?' I told her my grandma said the money I need is with Nyamusinanjowe. The neighbour said wait here my boy. I waited for few seconds and hen she came she said , ' Oh my boy the money you need is with me but another friend Nyavwaramahamba wants to top up , so go and get one kwacha from her then you have more money to take with you to football. Convinced that I will now have two kwacha I ran fast, fast to the house of Nyavwaramahamba. I saw her standing with her husband all their eyes welcoming me. Before I opened my eyes she said, ' my husband Chiswakhata was just thinking about you, he is going to get his money just there at the hill and he was thinking if you go with him you can have two kwacha that will be your money to buy everything you want.' I smiled and started following her husband and when we reached where he said he would get money he said,' you see that bush?' I said yes. 'That is the one which owes us money,' Chiswakhata said with hands dug into his pockets. He continued saying, ' your grandma wanted you to know that there is nothing free in this world. If you want money for pleasure you have to work for it.' I furiously asked, ' Why she didn’t tell me straight away?' 'She wanted you to walk house by house and the elders have agreed that all children asking for things will be treated in that way to learn and see for themselves that money is not sand.' When I got home said, ' Next time pick a hoe, do piece work then you will have money of your own to take to watch football.' She unfolded a cloth and gave me one kwacha. This was how it was hard to get money off her; she wouldn’t give without giving a lesson

The Lover And The Lover's Hearts

He imagined everything about her was beautiful, he imagined she had long hairs , beautiful lips , nicest body that drives a man crazy . George was already crazy about her . Crazy about Susan , every day he sang Susan's name in his heart . When he sees a couple holding hands , laughing happily and passionately kissing , George felt one day it would be him and Susan . The only thing was that George and Susan had never met face to face although both of them started their relationship. One day on Valentine , George travelled by bus all the way from Zomba to meet his lover Susan Phiri .George Banda waited for the girl of his life at the bus station . George and Susan agreed how to recognise each other . " I will wear a red hat and with flowers in my hand ." Susan told George in her last letter she wrote before the meeting . George also wrote back , " my darling Susan , I will wear a white suit with a love badge on my shirt ." George was ,tall and about six feet and how he started communication with Susan was very unusual. He read the leaflets about Temwa bakery and it said , " if you want to contact the customer services please write to Susan Phiri , Customer Services Assistant, Temwa Bakery , Po Box 009996 ,Limbe Blantyre . " George wrote his first letter about a year ago , " I have never met you but for the whole bakery to trust you to be a customer services assistant it means you are a lovely lady. Am in love with you .' Susan ignored the letter . George wrote again , Susan ignored . When George wrote for the third time , this time it was more powerful and the letter provoked a response from Susan . He wrote , " my dearest Susan , this morning you went to work to earn money for a living . Well ,I decided to stay home and write to you . You see Susan , beauty is not what the eyes see , beauty is what the heart feels and right now in my heart I feel you are the most beautiful lady . My heart has never deceived me and I think I am madly in love with you ." Susan read the letter and suddenly a strange feeling travelled around her heart , around her mind and that strange feeling started telling her to respond . She responded , " I have been heart broken before . I only want a man who can mend my heart , a man who can take care of my heart like his own garden watering it everyday with love without ceasing .' Her response meant a yes to George and they exchanged letters of love and cards of love almost every week . One thing Susan asked George was not to exchange photos that means the two of them were madly in love but have never seen each other . Well , the bus arrived from Zomba and was stationed at Wenela depot . Susan wore her red hat and had flowers in her hands . Every second she turned her head around looking . She saw people coming out of bus ,whenever she saw someone wearing white her heart was beating thinking it was George . But there was no sign of George . Suddenly she felt a tap from behind . She turned around , there she saw . A man seating on a wheel chair , wearing a white suit smiling at her . The man looking to have grey hairs and in Susan's eyes he was probably thirty years older than her . " This is Susan , I think you are George my lover .' The man did not respond but shook her hand . Susan led the man to her house thinking , " if love is blind maybe am blind ." When they reached home the man asked Susan to help pushing the wheelchair , Susan did . Just before they entered the house the man smiled and said , " congratulations Susan , you have passed the test of love . Am George's father . George is following us . He has been looking for the real lover and here you are . " George elegantly arrived and held Susan's hands . Everything was beautiful and Susan felt like she was in paradise . That happens when the lover meets the lover's hearts .George's and Susan's hearts of love that became one .

The Valentine Prophecy And A Game of Fortune Tellers

There were lined up in one big room from corner to corner . There was no space for more people . They took turns one after another everyone with his or her own problem . Some problems big some problems small but there was no bigger problem to the prophet . Prophet Pempho Nakuti had every answer to the problem . The night was thick and only candles were able to make people see each others' faces . It was time for Martha Phiri to face the prophet . She had never been married and her main problem was she would get engaged then suddenly all men would run away soon after engagement . Martha knew she was growing older , her younger sister Katrina and her cousin Maria were all happily married with two children each . Martha knew that everyone was talking about her the moment she is out of sight. One day she caught her own mother gossiping about her , ' I don't know what's wrong with Martha , my daughter , yesterday she broke the news that Mike has stopped calling and is rumoured to be seeing someone else . Last year she was engaged and just when we thought things would move she quarreled with James and James left . Now she is just on her own ." Martha heard this but she knew her mother was right , there must be something wrong. Now the prophet was facing her , " What's your problem madam ? " " Men ." Martha said " What is it about men ?' The prophet asked . Martha shyly said , " Every man that comes into my life runs away just like that .' The prophet Bujiti Dende asked Martha to give him her hand . Martha did . He closed his eyes , shaking his head then moving his head round and round in motion until he openned his eyes with a big smile on his face . ' I can see a young man coming in your way. You are about to have somebody in your life . But the gods need a sacrifice .' Martha smiled , " I will do anything . I am prepared what it takes to have a man ." The prophet Bujiti stood up saying , " the gods demand you give your most treausured assets . All this suffering the gods are testing your patience and your dedication to give something." Martha searched her heart and knew that she had just bought a car of her life , a Mercedes Benz. In her job as a lawyer money was not as difficult but she struggled to save millions to buy the Mercedes . She topped up with a huge bank loan . She said to prophet Bujiti Dende , " I will sell my car and sacrifice all my money from the sale for all I want is to have a man and start a family like my friends ." The prophet shook her hand and said , " you are blessed . Your miracle is about to happen .' A week later Martha sold the car for ten milion kwacha , it was top of the range Mercedes . She took nothing for herself and gave all to the prophet , " here is my sacrifice ." It didn't take a month Martha met the most handsome boy a girl could dream of . Emanuel Mtimawanga was tall , athletic and with a six pack chest making ladies hooked to him . Martha felt blessed and thanked the prophet many times .The wedding day announced , hall booked and just when everyone was excited the boy Emanuel Mtimawanga broke the news . He came early in the morning crying , " Sorry Martha , Am already engaged somewhere. I was hired by the prophet to date you . He paid me one million kwacha . I am sorry we are not getting married ." The whole world came like crashing on her . The prophet Bujiti Dende in his holy response said , " You did not exhibit faith lady , sacrifice without faith is useless." When she confronted him about hiring Mr Mtimawanga the prophet angrily said , " you shall not touch the annointed ." Martha gave up . But she was pleased to meet a man of her life after five years without help of a prophet .

The Girl Who Ran Away From Her Valentine

On Valentine day he wanted to show her his passion . She waited for him at the bus stop with a box of roses on her hands . As soon as he arrived she kissed him.on the cheek and gave him the flowers but to her surprise Getrude saw nothing in his hands . Mike said , " I have a surprise for you . Let's go to the river . You will love it ." When Mike and Getrude arrived at the river he pointed at the river sand, " I want us to play with sand , we can build tunnels and pretend we live there ." Getrude was more annoyed with this thinking . She looked away , " This is our first big date and you ask me to play with sand , are you crazy ? " Mike held her hand , " That's only way how I can express my love to you ." Getrude ran home and never bothered to see Mike again . She told her friend she accidentally dated the most boring man on earth , " imagine he wanted us to play with sand like kids ." Her friends echoed and made fun of Mike . Some said , " a day like Valentine that's when a real man must hold you , embrace you and show his love ." Days passed , weeks passed , years passed Mike was out of Getrude's life . Getrude got married to the most handsome guy . One day Getrude and her husband went to town . Getrude husband's said , ' Stay here I will meet my boss in his office ." Suddenly Mike appeared from nowhere. Getrude told Mike how she moved on , got married to a successful husband and he is very rich with a lucrative job as an engineer. Mike said , " congratulations , this is amazing ." As they were talking Getrude's husband appeared . He seemed to know Mike . They shook hands and Mike left to give them space . Getrude asked , " My dear husband how did you know Mike ? " Getrude's husband replied , " That is my boss I was talking about . He owns a construction multimillion company and deals with gold found on sand . He told me many years ago he met a girl of his heart , he wanted to introduce her to the life of gold found in river sands and how he became rich but he was heart broken the girl didn't want anything to do with sands . She ran away from him because she expected roses ." Getrude almost told her husband it was her who ran away from Mike . She regretted she was chasing roses instead of real love from Mike , playing with sands on Valentine . Lesson ; Take love as it comes. It does not come in sugar coated roses but it is natural .

The Vampires Funeral - Gomani Wants His Job Back

People gathered from all walks of life listening to chief Kalipo Kalipo . Rain soaked people's clothes but nobody moved an inch , this was a very important gathering . The life of everyone was in danger . Mysterious things have happened in the past weeks that had made families uneasy . In north of Ruvuma river young girls aged between sixteen and twelve reported they saw a tall man like a palm tree approaching , they had to ran. Just few days ago young boys between ten and fourteen years old reported when they passed a certain church in a remote area they saw a tree looking like a person. The tree had a mouth , nose and the side of the tree were two stretched lines that looked like legs of a person. No one believed all these stories . But now the elders of the village saw it for themselves . Gomani's tomb was empty . " We are all gathered here to find a way of catching the ghost of Gomani . Gomani is not there where we burried him . All we can tell you is that he left a note at the graveyard that he is no longer there and that he is seeking to settle a dispute . As your leader , women make sure you watch over your children . Nobody should walk alone . We don't know what we are dealing with . All witch doctors , church people and any religion ,.let's join hands in catching the ghosts of Gomani before it finishes all of us . ' When chief Kali po Kalipo finished talking people walked home in a group . Everyone was afraid of anything moving or coming from behind. When Kadamulendo and his wife got home , he quickly went into bedrooms to inspect if everything was alright . He looked in his bedroom there was nothing strange . He looked into the children's bedroom there was a broom at the corner . Kadamulendo thought about the broom and quickly shouted for his wife in the living room , " Kodi madam , do you remember leaving the broom here ? ' The wife thought for a moment scratching her head . Kadamulendo asked again , this time with urgency, " Please tell me where did you leave the broom ." There was fear and terror in his voice . Kadamulendo's wife shrugged her shoulders , " I never swept the house so am surprised as well ." At this Kadamulendo signaled to his wife and the children. Everyone ran outside the house . " There is no way we can sleep in that house . ' The whole family walked in hurry with speed towards the house of pastor Charlie Highly -Favoured Gondwe . Kadamulendo explained what he saw at his house and the well known pastor Charlie Highly -Favoured Gondwe assured him , " Sleep here in my house . My house is safe . Nothing evil will come into this house ." Everyone said Amen . At night when everyone was asleep Teacher Kadamulendo thought about Gomani . Gomani used to be a teacher like him and Kadamulendo wondered that if one day he is dead and rituals are not followed would he come back to haunt everyone ? Kadamulendo shook his head left and right , " there is no way I can do that I would better rest in peace .' In the early hours of the morning Kadamulendo fell in deep sleep and very asleep . He dreamed he was travelling on foot to Lilongwe but he suddenly forgot an umbrella at his house . In that dream Kadamulendo walked home and was surprised the umbrella was not there . Anyway , Kadamulendo got up around five in the morning, he looked around he discovered that there was an envelop under his pillow written To Mr Kadamulendo . He opened the letter . He thought pastor Highly -Favoured Gondwe wrote him a prayer to protect his family . He smiled and started reading . But suddenly his face changed and looked more worried the more he read . He was not afraid until he read this , " Mr Kadamulendo . I think I died too early . I could have gone for good if you burried me properly but now that you messed my burial , am back . As a retired teacher , I can no longer get my pension because everyone thinks am dead . This gives me no choice but to ask you to give me a teaching job at your school , the job I had before I retired . You tell everyone am a new teacher , tell them am not Gomani . Do this or I will come to your house everyday .' Teacher Kadamulendo knew that there is more trouble ahead .

The Vampires Funeral _ Gomani's Leaves A Frightening Note

Early in the morning Kadamulendo assembled all leaders in the village and explained to them what he and his family have experienced. " I cannot sleep in that house anymore . My kids and my wife are terrified. The taps were running all night and the doors closing and opening on their on , even the radio was switched on . Never in my life have I experienced this ." Teacher Kaamulendo said . People put hands on their chins surprised , some clasped their hands , " What on earth is going on ! " Teacher Kadamulendo sneezed then let the handkerchief wipe his nose , " Lastly , all we heard was the voice of Gomani . He said he has come to settle the dispute and that he was not happy to be burried wrongly ." Chief Kalipo Kalipo interjected , " I don't think this is true . After all , we burried Gomani that way because the graveyards are full there is no space to afford such luxury ." All heads nodded . That very afternoon everyone agreed to pay Gomani a visit to the cementery where he was burried . They planned to say prayers and invite pastor Charlie Highly - Favoured Gondwe to lead them into prayers . They would sing bible hymn songs and they were sure that was enough for Gomani to rest in peace and he would never come back to haunt families . When they reached the graveyard , they all knelt down and prayed . Pastor Charlie Highly - Favoured Gondwe preached and prayed and prayed and the crowd responded with an emphatic Amen . It was time to go home . Chief Kalipo Kalipo and his advisors asked everyone to leave the graveyard . People left . Chief Kalipo Kalipo and his advisors including Teacher Kadamulendo inspected the grave where Gomani was burried . Everything looked perfectly normal . The soil was intact and the tombstone depicting " Gomani from 1945 to 2010". It didn't look like the graveyard has been tampered with . Chief Kalipo Kalipo motioned to his people with his finger that it was time to go . Just as they started to walk away Teacher Kadamulendo screamed , " Oh Jesus ! Please come and see this ." Everyone flocked without asking questions what was that . Kadamulendo pointed on the edge of the grave his face in shock and terrified , " Gomani is not here ." All eyes watched in disbelief , there was a large hole leading to where they burried Gomani , the hole disguised by a shrub . Chief Kalipo Kalipo took a long stick and when inserted into that hole it felt like there was nothing , not even a coffin where Gomani was burried . A small dried banana leaf was noticed to have been placed on top of the graveyard . It read , " I Gomani, will never accept this kind of burial . I have moved away from here until this dispute is over . " People ran into different directions , chief Kalipo Kalipo as old as he was found himself running like a school boy . Fear shook the entire village .

The Man Who Married A Mosquito

The wedding card invitations were sent. People saw it on television. People read it in the newspaper , they read it again and again but couldn't believe what they had read . Everything announced became the talk of the town . In busses , in restaurants , in schools and in synagogues everyone talked about the wedding , the date of the wedding 17 March between a man and a mosquito . The wedding cards read , " You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mr and Mrs Banda's second born son Gabriel Banda who is getting married to the family of mosquitoes , Gabriel is wedding the one year old mosquito they met on River Ruvuma last month . After the officiating ceremony the couple will be cerebrating at Comesa Hall ." The card read like that . The tv advertisement said like that . The radio announcement was heard like that . As days drew closer to 17th March everyone including those that had no interests in attending weddings vowed to see this wedding . Samuel Phiri a 49 year old carpenter was reading page four of the Daily Times and his eyes saw it then he motioned his right hand beckoning his wife to come and see , " I think this man is trying to make fool of everyone, how can he marry a mosquito ? ." Samuel's wife joined the chorus , " for heaven's sake , where is this world heading to ? How on earth can someone do that ? " They both shook heads staring at each other in awe . Just before Samuel closed the page there came a group of people passing by and talking about the same wedding . " These are signs that the world has gone mad ." One passersby said. On 17th March the roads leading to the wedding hall were blocked by crowds of people . Thousands of people travelled from all over the country to hear about this wedding . Animal rights' protesters were marching against this wedding . Bill boards read , " Gabriel Banda , Get A Proper Wife Leave Our Mosquitoes Alone." Across ten kilometres the roads were full , everyone wanted to see. When about 9.00am in the morning there came the limousine , the man of the day Gabriel dressed in brown suit with a hat and glasses . He stepped out of the limousine his shiny shoes as if he was a prince . Music band from most famous band of the country was playing . The procession entered the church , crowds gathered inside the church looking with anticipation to see the lucky mosquito . There came the man walking majestically on his left hand holding a test tube . People had never seen this madness . At the front bench the Reverend Bishop Kwacha Tichezenawo asked Gabriel some questions." Gabriel do you agree to love mosquito as your wife , in health and in sickness ? " Gabriel's happily said , " Yes I do .' Bishop Kwacha Tichezenawo asked , " Gabriel , do you swear that you and mosquito from today on you will be one body ? " Gabriel smiled , " Yes I do ." One person at the back shouted , " Gabriel, you are insane! ." The crowd murmured and whispered to each other with shock , " The poor boy is mad , the police must deal with this madness." After the exchange of vows Gabriel hugged the test tube and the mosquito was visibly flying up and down . In the afternoon , it was time for the wedding party . The journalists from all over the country took turns taking photos . How on earth a man spends a million kwacha wedding a mosquito was utterly foolishness , thought one reporter from the BBC Africa . It was time for snacks and speeches . The man held the test tube where the mosquito was and heads of people shook left and right as he stood up to speak . " I will tell you about my sweet heart mosquito. My sweet heart is suffering from a condition known as Agorafobia which means she gets very ill and loses breaths when she comes in contact with the crowd . " The crowd laughed at his speech . A man and a wife said loudly , " Now his lover the mosquito is shy to see people , you see darling how madness has rained today .' Some people swore at the Bishop who blessed the wedding , " You are as mad as the mosquito lover ." The man Gabriel turned to the crowd , " I want to show you something. ' Everyone became quiet , the lights went off and suddenly on the board it was like watching a movie . Everyone saw an angelic face of a girl called Titha . She looked about twenty five. Titha's face beamed and she said , " Hello I am the lucky girl getting married today . The reason he nicknamed me the mosquito its because I have a lean body , beautiful like the anospheles mosquito but my problem is agoraphobia , whenever I see people I lose breaths and get panic attacks . Please join us cerebrating this big day , Gabriel will see me home in the evening . I love you . God bless you ." Everyone in the hall , outside the hall shed a tear for Gabriel . Gabriel's story became a true love story of the year , a man prepared to be ridiculed , to be insulted on his biggest day just to make the woman of his life happy on their wedding day .

The Implications of Civilisation to Love Life , Work and Morality

Before civilization we were all hunters . There was nothing funny about seing someone dressed poorly because we wore skins and our chests were mostly bare. All men and women were not as big as today because we ate raw food , we drunk river water , we chased animals to hunt and bring meat to our loved women . Women would equally fetch firewood and help their men to dry or smoke the meat . Before civilization even simple things like setting fire on required energy , four men would take turns to make fire using sticks and stones . Before civilisation every morning to brush your teeth we needed to go to the river put white sand in our mouth and shake with water until our teeth were white . There was no one pooing in the river for it was a great curse to do so . Before civilisation the most admired men were those who were adventurous , who would leave huts to hunt wild animals would return to their family later at night bringing meat and fruits to their wives, girlfriends and children. Their wives or girl friends would welcome them home with a smile on ther face wihout suspicious questions, ' why were you taking so long ? did you really go hunting ? let me smell your body.' But now women want a man who has time for them , they want when the phone rings ngiri ngiri ngiri the man must explain where he is , what he is doing and when is he coming home . They want the man who can say ' I miss you , I love you ' at the end of each call. And before civilization women could go and walk far away to visit their relations without a man becoming paranoid ' when are you coming home ? I can hear the voice of a man on the background , who is it ? I am not spending much time with you these days , is anyone else in your heart ? ." But now every hour milions of mobile phones are ngiri ngiri ngiri men asking where are their lovers . Before civilization it was normal to see the wife of your neighbor sweeping outside the hut without covering her top but now even a slight exposure of her body be mini skirt or blouse raises temperatures and murmurings . What has civilization done to us ? We have built houses and only feel comfortable to see the nakedness of your wife or husband in your house that's why when we see women with mini skirts they become victims of violence because civilization only recognizes the nakedness of men and women while inside the house . We used to have no laws of privacy but civilisation has made us to question the moral character of two people holding hands in public , two people kissing in public , civilisation has taught us to call such behaviors indecency or sexually provocative manners . Before civilization love was expressed not by a number of text messages , phone calls or flowers or cards . There was no Valentine yet families stuck together more than now . Civilisation has taught us capitalism , individualisation , we now own dogs , cats , cars , houses and we need our own space but before civilization your cat was my cat , your car was my car and I would work for no.pay as long as its good for the community but now mankind has changed . In total all these evil things in society are somehow to do with civilization which has made us lazy, less adventurous , paranoid about the things we see , greedy and lack of community oriented approach to life . I stand to be corrected .

The Vampire's Funeral-Gomani Returns

It was pouring heavily. There was thunder and lightning. All villagers stayed indoors. The night was as dark as when you have closed your eyes firmly. Teacher Kadamulendo shut the doors, locked the windows and told everyone in the house to go to bed. The three children of his Pheee, Mantha and Nkhalo obeyed their father's orders and changed into pyjamas and slept. In the middle of the night there came a dribbling sound. The sound went drip drip drip and everyone was awoken. Teacher Kadamulendo asked his wife Mrs Zangauone Kadamulenge, ' kodi madam, did you turn off the taps?' Zangauone rose up, ' I surely turned off the taps.' Teacher Kadamulendo said, ' but I can hear the water running.' The wife walked to the kitchen and indeed the water was dribbling drip drip drip. She turned off the taps. There was no more sound. Everyone slept again. In about an hour’s time there came a sound of water as if someone was bathing. Everyone woke up. Teacher Kadamulendo thought it was his son Nkhalo having a bath. Nkhalo had no manners and sometimes he would wake up at night just to cause trouble. Mr Kadamulendo rushed to the bathroom, indeed there was water running and the bath tub was getting fuller and fuller. He turned and headed to his son's bedroom. He wanted to tell Nkhalo off that, ' don’t bath in the middle of the night.' What surprised him was that Nkhalo was fast asleep. So who could have been running a bath? Anyway he made sure all taps in the kitchen and in the bathroom were shut. He even locked all doors leading to the kitchen and bathroom to make sure no one could enter. He then told his wife Zangauone, ' now we can sleep beautiful darling. I have locked the kids’ bedroom so that no one comes out and plays fool games with us, especially this boy Nkhalo, he could be doing this and then pretend to be fast asleep.' Teacher Kadamulendo cuddled his wife and everything was perfectly normal. Tomorrow he would be going to work and there was no more time to waste, he wanted to sleep. The night was still enveloped in thick clouds that only owls could be heard from the distance. After about half an hour there came a sound of water running from the kitchen, a sound of plates being washed, a whistling sound and a sound of radio turned on with full volume. Everyone woke up. The children shouted, ' mum we are still sleeping, please put the radio volume down.' And the parents as well shouted at the same time, 'Nkhalo our son , what the hell is going on into your head tonight? We need to sleep!' Teacher, Mr Kadamulendo furiously dashed to the kitchen and to check who was this silly child running taps but to his surprise, all plates looked like they have just been neatly washed and the tap water was still running. The children were still in their bedroom and the bedroom door was locked, there was no way Nkhalo could have done this. Teacher, Mr Kadamulendo told his wife Zangauone,' shut the taps I will shut the radio,' and they did. They decided to stay awake on the sofa to witness what was going on. Suddenly, they heard a noise of a man talking to somebody from outside the house through the window. Mr and Mrs Kadamulendo pressed their ears against the window to listen. The voice said, ' I never wanted to return but it's just that they buried me wrongly , near my neighbour and Mr Teacher Kadamulendo is the one who made the final decision. I will never be happy with his decision, so I have returned to resolve our disputes.' Fear was everywhere in the house.

The Funeral of A Vampire

Before his funeral he gave clear instructions, ‘When I die burry my body far away from my next door neighbour and when you bury me let my head face where the sun is setting.’ Everyone around him nodded. He told everyone he would die on Wednesday afternoon and that before his death there would be two bulls fighting, one would be wounded to death the other one would survive. Nobody believed what Taulo Gomani said. Taulo Gomani in his mid-sixties was a joker and people could not buy his jokes anymore. When he heard the sound of an ambulance he knew the doctor had just arrived. Well the doctor arrived, he examined Gomani’s chest, listened to his heart beat and soon after it was proclaimed, ‘You are well, alive and kicking. I don’t understand why you called the ambulance.’ ‘Doctor, I am going to die on Wednesday. I told them not to call the ambulance but my friend. I also don’t understand why they called you.’ Gomani yawned. But when his mouth was wide open the doctor saw a long tooth like iron steel, it was the longest tooth he had ever seen in his life. ‘Mr Gomani, how many of these long teeth do you have?’ ‘Actually I was born with forty two teeth.’ Gomani gestured to the doctor to look into his mouth. The doctor counted one tooth at a time and when he finished counting there were forty two teeth. Doctor Elvin from Ekwendeni Hospital shook his head not believing what he saw, ‘surely you need a dentist.’ ‘I have been to many dentists but none has managed to help my situation.’ Gomani said. ‘I will make a referral for you to go to the biggest hospital regarding your teeth.’ Dr Elvin was more sympathetic. But Gomani smiled, ‘No thanks, doctor, don’t trouble yourself. I have grown up with these teeth without any problem. Am told there are only three people born with this situation in a thousand years. I feel so lucky to have them.’ Dr Elvis was about to go and he decided to shake Gomani’s hand. He held his hand for a moment and at that point he felt it in his palm as if there was an electric current, he only felt normal when he pulled his hand away from Gomani. Dr Elvin left sooner than he came. Wednesday came nothing happened. The morning was as usual bright with sunshine licking the banks of Rukuru River. All day people made fun about how Gomani lied about his death. They saw him walking, strolling along the streets and they all waved at him. At lunch time Gomani ate lunch and went for a nap. It was a deep nap and he dreamt that the bulls were fighting. When he woke up people had gathered all around his house. He looked up, ‘what is this?’ ‘Well the bulls fought as you said.’ The crowd yelled. ‘Therefore it means am dead.’ Gomani said but when he wanted to sit down he fell accidentally and suddenly the crowd witnessed him rolling on the floor and breathing his last one. At the burial people ignored his wish. They buried Gomani near his next door neighbour and his head faced the east instead of the west where the sun sets. It didn’t last a week before strange things began to happen. In the morning of November people walked to their fields to farm but along the way back when it was a little bit dark they saw a large bird like the size of a man just next to the borehole. Everyone ran fast home leaving hoes and tools behind. One day three young people came harvesting fruits, they passed near the grave where Gomani was buried. They walked quietly in respect of the dead. Suddenly they heard a sound of footsteps coming from behind. The boys started running. They ran and panted until they heard nothing but when they looked back it appeared they had not gone any further from the graveyards. They suddenly heard,’ I am not happy here where you buried me next to my neighbour. Go and tell them.’ The boys were terrified at the voice from the graveyards, they ran faster with a speed of an antelope fleeing a lion and the sound of their heels thumping the soil was the only sound at night . The boys ran faster and until they reached home. When they told elders the following morning about the voice they heard from the graveyards no one believed them. One day there was a wedding. People saw a man dressed like Gomani in safari suit. People thought he was a distant relative of the family having a wedding. People tried to greet him. The man did not respond but later on disappeared when the crowd were pointing at him. Later on that day when everyone was dancing that Gomani lookalike arrived in the hall, he started dancing but when he smiled the long teeth like iron steel came out. He whispered into the ears of one guest, ‘Am not gone yet. I have come back to settle down the dispute with my neighbour.’ Then he disappeared.

An Old Man Who Danced at His Son's Funeral

At the funeral one old man opened a cane of Fanta and told everyone to take a sip. After a while he asked people around the funeral, ' I am looking for the best music so that I can dance, anyone with latest songs here?' People found his behaviours much unwelcome and not sympathetic to the situation. “It is very shocking to see someone not showing any sign of tears, we have come from far away in the capital city to mourn our beloved friend and coleague but this man has no respect for the funeral,”a gentleman from Lilongwe said to his friends who arrived with the body for burial the previous night. When time for announcements came it was discovered that the old man who behaved strangely was actually the father of the deceased man. He was given an opportunity to speak and he looked around then danced a little bit shaking his leg . People shook heads left and right and some sneezed with fury at what they saw. Some concluded the old man was a witch if not insane. The old man smiled and said, “I had four children and this one you are burying today is the last one for three of them died together in a car accident last year, but who am I to question God why I have lost my most precious assets, the children I had? This tragedy has taught me that in life cerebrations should not only be restricted to birthdays but I have learnt to celebrate the days, the years and the lives of my four children that are no more with me. Every year I take a long walk to the graveyards here and I say the following thanks to my God: Thank you God. You gave me children then took them away. To make me strong and understand life belongs to you. You gave me a family but when you realised I had enjoyed living with them , you decided to take them to where they need you most. This is because, you are training me , so I can help others understand that God’s family is best. When I asked for Wisdom, you gave me Problems to train me to be a problem solver. When I asked for happiness, you gave tragedies to train me to make others happy. For only those who have once cried understand the value of happiness.” The crowd shed tears except for the old man who told everyone, ‘You can cry and cry but my children and my family would be happy if you celebrate their lives than crying our loss.’ One man stood up and protested, ‘It’s part of our culture to cry and we expect you to shed tears.’ The old man danced above the graveyard and shouted, ‘tears are there not to moisten our cheeks but to remind us that there is something we can do to change our situation, in life those who cry persistently without a solution are the worst sufferers because they cannot handle it. I cried for one minute then I told my heart, I don’t want another heart attack which nearly killed me after I lost my nephew, today, I told my heart I will do the opposite, cerebrate their lives.” Eventually the whole crowd sang songs of joy cerebrating life and death of their beloved ones.

The Sign of True Love According to Antelopes

Two antelopes who were very much in love asked each other , " How can we prove that we are in love ." They debated about the things they did for one another . The male antelope told his wife , " Remember , when the lion was approaching , I alerted you to run and because of my actions we managed to flee to safety lands ." But the female antelope argued , " My dearest darling , what you did that day to alert me about danger was good but if I have to be honest , I could also do the same to you , that is not a proof of love " The male antelope questioned his spouse , " Do you really think you love me more than I do ? " The female antelope leaped up and down then raised its leg and shook its head up and down , " I not only think but I feel I do love you more than you do love me. " The male antelope said , " That's not correct dear,remember I am the boss of love , the oasis of love and I breathe love for you , right now my whole body and soul together think of the greater love I have for you ." The debate between the male and female antelope went all day and nobody seemed to have won . So the two antelopes agreed to how to prove who loves best than another , " The antelope who loves another more than the other will be the first one to come here in the jungle ." They both agreed and went to sleep . Early at dawn the male antelope ran to the jungle . It wanted to be the first to arrive . Because he slept in a different location from his spouse he was sure the female antelope was still sleeping and by the time she gets there she would find he was already there smiling holding flowers in between his teeth . When the male antelope arrived in the jungle , it saw nobody there . It sat under a shrub smiling and telling itself , " I have proved I love her more than she does ." The male antelope waited for an hour there was no sign of his wife . It waited for another three hours the wife was not seen . This alerted his mind , " It means the female antelope was not serious . I have loved her all the way but she decided to stay home despite the arrangement to have a competition who loves more than another ." After waiting all day the male antelope was frustrated and it spit the flower from its teeth and cursed the female antelope in a very angry tone . It walked home angrily and with great bitterness . As it passed an acacia tree its eyes met something that made it stop walking and look closer. There was blood on the soil and below the tree there were pieces of the skin . The male antelope walked closer it saw writing on the soil , " Dear darling , since we argued about who loves another most yesterday , I didn't go home . I have tied myself to a tree so that when you come you will see me already here. Just incase I die of coldness or am attacked by carnivorous beasts , just know I was here since last night . I.love you ." The male antelope wept .

Are Boys From A Different World ?

When I was at primary school I told my mates I would never do things like fetch water, cook, wash clothes or fetch firewood because that is for girls. My grandmother heard me boasting so she waited for the right moment to teach me a lesson.She kept on saying that, 'I will teach you a lesson one day that boys are not from a different world as you think.' I challenged her, ' Never ! I can never be doing house chores, firewwood is for ladies but us boys our job is to hunt and bring meat home. We are different you see? ' I dipped my hands into my pockets of short trouser with two patches at the back gigling . Weeks passed, months passed and nothing happened and I was very sure the arguement whether boys can fetch water or firewood was won and I was sure my grandmother lost that arguement . But day when about nine years old my cheeks were swollen as a result of the toothache. My grandmother told me she was convinced this was not toothache but a rare condition that only targeted boys called, 'katukutuku'. She said, ' for you to be better, go and fetch firewood, run with a bundle of firewood on your head singing katukutu kora basungwana banyamata vinthu vyawaka / tell the condition to target girls because boys are useless.' I went to fetch firewood in the mountain as instructed and ran with a bundle of fire wood on my head , girls laughing their lungs out thinking i had gone crazy but because the instructions said when am singing this song i should never look back or stare at anyone , I couldn’t bother to look at who was watching me. I ran fast towards the junction singing and I dropped the bundle of firewood at the cross roads as instructed. When I reached home the fever was gone but I didn’t remember that in the morning before going to the mountain I swallowed pain killers to ease pain . All I thought was the running and fetching of firewood is great medicine for toothache. I totally believed that there was some medicine in the song and the dropping of firewood at the cross roads until one day my grandma laughed at me and said, ' All that was to make you exercise, a little bit because you were making yourself worse just sleeping on a mat and I wanted you to do some work for your mother like fetching firewood and the moment you dropped that bundle of firewood, your mum was waiting nearby and she picked it. So from now on don’t say because you are a boy you cannot do this and that , just fetch water and firewood for your mother.’

The Murder of A Fiancee

The moment she told him she was pregnant he laughed with a choking voice at the end . The girl loved this and liked this , if his laughing was a Facebook status update she would have ticked like it and she would have commented I love it . What she did not know was what was inside that laughter . What she did not understand was the bitterness hidden in that laughter , the anger boiling like an oven inside the choking laughter . Well he told her to come in the evening for a chat . He told her , " Honey , come please I want to touch that belly and I want to have a feel of my baby inside your womb ." She did not wait to think about it , " I am coming straight away , I love you darling ." She ended the call with a wild long kiss overhead by passersby making everyone envious . Passersby listened to the sound of her kiss on the phone and admired marvelously, a couple told each other , " we wish our love was like that ." Well , Naomi was in love with him , deeply in love and much deeper than the Indian oncean but she did not know that Stanley had other plans . The pregnancy news reached his ears as an electric shock and the fact that he told her he was not married it means Naomi was already spreading the news faster about her pregnancy. Blantyre was too small and sooner and sooner his wife would come accross the news and then the trouble would start. Although Stanley regarded himself as a serial cheater , he wouldn't bear the thought of losing his wife just because of an affair and just because of the pregnancy he was never thinking about . He wouldn't bear the embarrassment right from his family , his church and his friends that he lost his wife because he made a certain so and so pregnant . Stanley vowed to do everything he could and he swore under the sun that he had no choice but to do something. Well when Naomi arrived at the apartment which he used to rent secretly , he hugged her then gave her a long and passionate kiss . " Honey I didn't want to tell you , am five months pregnant . I went for scan but your baby is normal and I can't wait to give birth ." Stanley looked away and said , " Naomi , I think we are rushing things here . I told you I wanted the holy wedding first then we can have kids ." This came as a shot to Naomi , of all these months she had been dating Stanley there has never been a moment when he has been as negative as now . She was tight lipped hoping they should restart their conversation . Stanley touched her shoulders , " The lord said we should get married first , so abort this baby ." Naomi threw the cup of tea that was in her hands , " Oh yes , now you say holy holy holy . When you were pressuring me to sleep with you , when you said you would leave me if I didn't sleep with you was it the lord saying this to you ? " Stanley laughed sarcastically for seconds watching Naomi as if she was a comedian making him laugh . He said , " By the way dear, all you and me did was bad , we didn't need to sleep together . I repented my sins and I urge you to abort and start afresh." Naomi knew that she dated a wrong man . A man who sounded sweet when he wanted to have what he wanted but now he has chewed whatever he wanted and its time to spit the dummy . She rose up and started crying. She walked away from the living room and clasped her hands , " Thank you for everything . Just know I will keep this baby whatever the situation." He blocked the exit door and spoke in a raging voice , " You have no authority to keep that child .' Naomi shrugged her shoulders looking away He raged again , " Do you hear me , you cannot keep the pregnancy against my will , I am the father telling you to abort it ." Naomi spat on his face , " You idiot , this baby is inside me , I will keep her as much as she is inside my womb ." She started walking , he followed her with raging words of insults . She ran towards the third door on the left , he chased her . He screamed behind her , " I will deal with you ." When she reached the door she held the key , she twisted the key left and then pulled the door knob down , she felt a sigh of relief , she just wanted to go home her leg was now outside the door . She couldn't bear this man anymore . Just as she tried to shut the door on his face she felt a firm grab on her shoulders them heavy hands pulling her backwards , pulling her back into the house . She fought and screamed , " Leave me alone, " but who could hear her in the middle of the night . After all , his right hand covered her mouth . When inside the house the ordeal began . He tied her legs , her hands and covered her face , he didn't want her to flee anymore . She begged him , " Stanley , please am sorry . Ok I will abort this child , please don't hurt me." But what she said was too late , the fist had already landed on her chin . She wanted to stand up to him but her legs were tied like a lamb . Then another fist came and then they were raining everywhere on her body. She wanted to tell him he should mind the baby , she wanted to stop him hurting the baby but her voice turned into a groan , her eyes saw many stars . She heard and felt the knife going into her womb and the pain made her choke and gasp for breaths , blood was everywhere . The kicking continued and she now reached a point where she no longer felt pain . Her face swollen but her lips smiling at the thought of giving birth but her soul was swallowed into darkness . In the middle of the night her body was burried in the garden with flowers planted on top . He watered the flowers . By the time she was reported missing , he had fled the country .

The Men's Talk and Fears

I telephoned a friend of mine yesterday in Maputo and we spent about half an hour on the phone reminding each other the great goody times we had together in Mozambique . He told me he has now been promoted to the position of Chief Executive and there are about two hundred people working under him . He told me he has bought the happiest car of his life the Mercedes Benz and that he is now enjoying the best of his life . I met Cardoso when we were both boys with wild ideas how to make things work in life . Cardoso by then was a student at University of Mundlane in Maputo but he told me.one thing , " You see Snr Lungu , I have befriended you for a purpose , I want you to teach me English . If you can do that then my life is sorted ." I also said this to him , " Amigo Cardoso , teach me Portuguese and then my life is sorted ." After three months either of us was good at the respective languages we desired to learn . When I left the country we remained in touch and although its more than ten years my Portuguese is good enough to speak and express myself. Cardoso on the phone last night told me how well he is doing and I congratulated him but before I finished what I was saying he said , " Amigo Snr Lungu , if you can just do me.one thing then my life is sorted , only one final thing my friend ." I tried to guess what is it ? I couldn't come up with anything. He said , " Amigo , although I said life is good , things are bad here. I have been given a notice ." " A notice for what Cardoso ? " I feared now this was leading to money matters . I feared he was going to ask me for money which I was preparing to say sorry I have nothing . " I have been given a notice to quit my job . Am afraid I won't handle this ." Cardoso said . I spoke in my light Portuguese tone , " Olha amigo , O Deus conhecido o teu caminho / God knows better about your journey ." Cardoso took no time to respond , " Amigo , I know that , what I am dreading is the notice says I will move from being employed to own my own company that will be contracting government and non government organisations ." " So what help do you need from me ? ' He said , " I want you to advise me how to be a better man and how to make this company successful, I will put your name as one board member , as director and as my own family ." " Alright , this is my advice , first sell the Mercedes Benz , buy a corrolla , second , get out of your expensive mansion , put in on rent , move to an average house , third , enroll for an accounting course to know how to guard your money and lastly go and pray for guidance ." I said to Cardoso . There was silence on the phone . I said hello , he was very quiet thinking . After a few seconds Cardoso cleared his throat and said , " This is the hardest thing to do amigo , my Mercedes is my life , everyone knows am so and so once they see my Mercedes passing , not only that , I have a certain upper status in my community because of the Mercedes ." " But do you know how much it is costing you to fix it ? How much are you prepared to take out of your business to maintain an expensive car ? " I asked . Cardoso could not decide . He said he will think about this . I plan to call him this evening after work and follow what we discuss .

The Love Story of Two Illiterate Lovers Who Made Everyone Laugh

Growing up in a village was fun, we had our own ways of feeling entertained and sometimes we followed where the drama was unfolding. One day my distant uncle sat on the veranda and told us, ' You know what boys, when I speak English my wife does not understand me.' The wife who was cooking stopped everything and interjected , ' Iwe Gonapamuchenga utesi, dont deceive my boys here, in fact am better than you because you dropped off from school at standard four , at least I dropped off at standard five.' The two wanted to prove to us which of them was better at English, so my uncle agreed that he would say something and his wife Nyamuzota would tell everyone the meaning. My uncle started, ' Iwe Nyamuzota, muwoli wane.' Nyamuzota, ' Ine dada.' My uncle Gonapamuchenga: ' I am bloody flabbergasted.' Nyamuzota : 'Pala ukuninena nina ndopa mu basket, nawe zako ! / if you are saying i have blood in baskets , your blood is there too !' Gonapamuchenga: ' Mwamupulika Nyamuzota !' Nyamuzota: ok, you interpret this, ' Am too dear for you.' Gonapamuchenga : Walemba kalata wati deary darling.' Nyamuzota: Hedeeeeee Gonapamuchenga wachita mutu zweee with my english We normally had such stories after dinner

The Hidden Billions

Days felt like weeks, weeks felt like months, and those many months felt like eternity of waiting. She was waiting to see them day and night but there was no sign of anything . She was aware of that terrible feeling each morning. The feeling when she wakes up and realise that is what life was going to be. She sobbed and cried but only the walls listened to her. Judith hoped that everything that happened to her was just a dream, she wished it was a joke and this joke was not real but the more she wished it was not real the more reality made her wander hopelessly around the house. She shook her head and then shouted, ' Mummy, ' but no one answered. After a while she shouted, ' Daaaddie,' but her father's voice was not heard. Judith asked her uncle every time after breakfast, after she has stopped crying, ' where is mum ? Where is dad?' 'Please eat your food. Your mum and dad travelled.' Judith understood and started eating her food but in the middle of eating her food she stopped and asked again , ' Uncle, when are mum and dad coming back? I want them to buy me a doll.' At this, Uncle Joe stepped aside at the corner of the door and wiped off his tears. He then came back on the table and sat down his face smiling, ‘Listen Judith, when people go to heaven they don't come back. Ok? ' Judith shrugged her shoulders, 'Oh, but i want my mum and my dad back. I want them to bring my doll. Please uncle, tell them to come back.' When Judith grew up she came to understand that her parents died in a car crash, the car went into a truck, head on collision. She only survived because she stayed home with the house maid while her parents went to see her grandfather at the hospital. When her parents were alive Judith was too young to know that they were very rich. Now she grew up she was always told her father was a business man. Uncle Joe took Judith to places where her parents had businesses. She reached a famous town with rich suburbs in the low density areas, uncle Joe wanted to show her where her father used to live, ' You see that, that is Makwacha Bank, that is Makwacha Grain and Cotton factories, that is Makwacha Mining and Oil Drilling Company, all this is named after your father Gabriel Makwacha who used to own them.' Uncle Joe told Judith that her father was very rich such that any worker or relation to him would just go to any shop and mention his name, 'Makwacha !' that is only one had to do then the shopkeeper would allow you to take anything you can want. When Judith reached secondary school she decided to ask her uncle, ' you say my father was very rich, you have shown me all those buildings and factories he owned so why are we living in poverty, you cannot even afford a car.' Uncle Joe did not like this question, 'Your father said no one should touch his wealth so I didn’t touch it and I have nothing to do with eat.' Judith was not convinced with the response, she began to suspect something fishy. Even though Uncle Joe had no much money he was able to pay fees for Judith until she finished her university. But when Judith finished her university she was very aware her father was rich and she started investigations why she inherited nothing. She accused Uncle Joe, ' I suspect you are hiding information, please tell me my dad left something.' Uncle Joe shook his head. One day Uncle Joe was sick and he had few hours to die. He called Judith to sit closer to where he slept and whispered, ' do you remember all those factories and building which belonged to your father?' 'Yes,' Judith said. Uncle Joe held her hand, ' They still belong to your father.' Judith got angry, ' Why you didn’t take care of my father's businesses? You have let me grow in poverty while my father left billions.' Uncle Joe smiled, ' Listen Judith, only when you have seen poverty, that’s when you can take care of riches. I and your father grew up in rags, shared a torn blanket and I promised him when he was alive that whatever happened to him I would never have to let you grow up as a spoiled child. Am glad now you saw poverty, you can understand what life is and you are mature enough to understand the meaning of money and life in poverty.' Uncle Joe gave Judith all documents and deeds and cheque book, ' I am very happy today because all these years I have fulfilled a promise that I would squander none of my brother's billions until you take over his empire. I can now die.' He closed his eyes and breathed his last breath with a long smile streched across his lips. Lesson: Dont spoil your children with material life , remember where you came from and teach your children ways to understand that poverty is real and anyone can be poor if wealth is not taken care of and if lessons from poverty are notb learnt.

The Girl Who Won The Gender Debate

Lucy Sankho found herself to be an orphan not because her parents were dead as many orphans you can think of, it’s just that she was born a girl. She was born on father’s day as planned. She was born as the second born child in the family but if she had known what her father was thinking she should never have been born. She should have been better off staying there as an angel or a singer in heaven, but who has that choice when and when not to be born? Lucy was born anyway. When the labour pains started Mr Sankho was in the kitchen. He dropped all the bottles of liquor from his hands and rushed to help his wife Suzy Sankho. Suzy shouted, ‘Frank, call an ambulance, my waters are breaking.’ Frank looked away and said, ‘I bought the delivery kit manual, I will help you darling.’ Frank started guiding his wife how to give birth. The wife loved the idea although she was in great pain. ‘Push Suzy! Push! That’s it my darling! You are doing well.’ After some hours a baby girl was born. This is not what Frank Sankho expected. He has told his wife he only wanted a son. The moment he realised it was a girl the excitement became a frustration, the face looked wrinkled with bitterness, the smile fade away and he stopped looking at the baby, the baby crying and searching for her mother’s breasts. It was hungry. Before midnight Frank told his wife Suzy, ‘You have two choices, give away this child or you and me it’s over right now.’ Suzy was thrown into tears, ‘this is our blood, our own child how can you think of this.’ Frank looked away and said, ‘I told you, this house only belongs to boys, I mean baby boys. No more girls.’ Frank Sankho, in the middle of the night picked the baby girl wrapped it in a cloth and made sure no one was looking when he placed near an orphanage. He was pretty sure the orphanage workers would pick up the baby girl and take it to the home of orphans. He walked home and told his mournful wife, ‘Everything will be fine, don’t cry, the orphanage will look after the baby but when people ask you what happened to the pregnancy say to them you had the miscarriage.’ This was the saddest day for Suzy. She knew men were cruel but not to the extent of giving their child away. She cried uncontrollably and Mr Frank Sankho made sure she told everyone the unfortunate thing happened, miscarriage. In the nearby road close to where the baby was dropped, three thieves planning to break into people’s houses heard the baby crying. The thieves stopped and listened, the baby’s cry was heard nearby. When they turned around they saw the baby girl. Mark Phiri, the leader of the thieves said to others, ‘I have never seen a beautiful girl like this.’ The two other thieves Sikeremu Gondwe and Jailos Mangochi also adored the baby girl. They took turns holding the baby girl; Mark took off his shirt and covered the baby girl to make sure it was warm. The three thieves were about to break into the house of a businessman and take away cash and shoot anyone who would stand in their way. But suddenly they changed their plans. ‘Gentlemen, this girl reminds me of my late mother, she is looking into my eyes. I can no longer steal tonight maybe another day.’ Mark told the two others. Jailos Mangochi suddenly started weeping , ‘ this girl reminds me of my sister , she died last week of cancer, my only best friend I have ever seen in my life, I think we should not steal tonight.’ Sikeremu Gondwe picked the guns from each of his friends and said , ‘ I think this girl has certain powers , I feel terribly guilty why I have been stealing , am sorry guys I have to throw away the guns no more stealing for me.’ The three thieves decided to live together and raise the baby as their own child. They took turns washing, dressing and feeding the baby. As thieves they were both good at running so they taught the girl Lucy how to run. When Lucy was at primary school she was already the fastest runner in school. Lucy got used to be teased by fellow kids, ‘you have no mum, and you are living with people who were thieves.’ Meanwhile Mr and Mrs Sankho had three boys. The boys went to the same primary school where Lucy went. Even though Mr and Mrs Sankho knew that their daughter Lucy was living in the house of thieves they never bothered to think of finding ways to take Lucy into their home, Mr Sankho hated the idea of having daughters. One day there was a running competition. Lucy and other girls and boys were in that competition. Mr and Mrs Sankho’s three boys, Joy, James and Alick were also taking part in that competition. The stadium was full to capacity and the atmosphere was brilliant. ‘On your marks, get set and go!’ The whistle blown and the children started running. The three thieves cheered their much loved Lucy who was in fore front, ‘Come on Lucy! You are the reason we stopped stealing!’ Sikeremu shouted, ‘Come on Lucy! Lucy my mother’s photocopy, when I look at you I see my mother telling me to behave!’ The running reached its peak, Lucy was number one now. She sprang fast passing everyone, the stadium exploded with noise of cheering and everyone stood on his or her feet shocked and amazed at the little girl Lucy. The president held the hand of his wife excited, ‘my darling I wish that girl can be my daughter.’ Lucy was going to win a million kwacha. She was now nearing the touching line as everyone cheered. Suddenly she passed two boys who bumped into each other and collapsed on the floor. Lucy immediately stopped running. She walked to where the two boys were and checked their pulse if they were alright. The boys were the sons of Mr Sankho. Lucy hugged them and assured them they would be alright. Because of what Lucy did every child stopped running and they all hugged each other and cheered up the two boys Joy and James Sankho. These scenes made everyone in the stadium to stop cheering and cry , they cried the fact that the girl who was in the process of winning a million kwacha stopped the race just to make sure the boys are alright. Anyway Lucy still got the award of a million kwacha for saving lives but the loser was Mr and Mrs Sankho for the money Lucy won could have stayed in their house not the house of thieves. Lesson: Every child comes as a gift and a blessing. Lucy changed the lives of everyone it didn’t matter she was born a girl.