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.