CHAPTER TEN A GIRL FROM EHOMBA MOUNTAIN WHO WANTS TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING

A GIRL FROM EHOMBA MOUNTAIN WHO WANTS TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING

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CHAPTER TEN

A GIRL FROM EHOMBA MOUNTAIN WHO WANTS TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING

From the Mountain to the City Lights

When I heard my aunt’s voice outside, my whole body froze.

My heart started beating so fast that I thought it would come out of my chest.

If she found Tusu in my room… in my bed…

Everything would be over.

I did not even think about what Tusu would think of me. At that moment, I only wanted to survive.

“Get into the closet,” I whispered quickly.

He looked at me, confused, but he did not argue. He moved fast and hid inside.

I rushed to pick up our clothes from the floor in the sitting room, my hands shaking, and ran back to my room. I quickly put on my pyjamas and jumped into bed, pretending to be asleep.

My aunt did not waste time.

She came straight to my room.

“Wake up,” she said.

I opened my eyes slowly, acting like I had just woken up.

She looked around.

Then she said something that surprised me.

“The house is clean.”

Her voice was calm.

She asked me to go outside and help bring her bags from her friend’s car. I did not even know the friend, but they seemed very close.

I walked outside, trying to act normal, while inside my heart was screaming.

The whole time, I could only think about one thing.

Tusu.

Inside the closet.

If she opened that door…

It would be the end.

I stayed awake until almost five in the morning.

Helping her.

Moving things.

Talking.

Pretending everything was normal.

I was tired, but I could not sleep.

I was guarding a secret.

After everything, my aunt said she was tired.

“Go and sleep,” she told me. “We will talk later.”

Relief washed over me.

I went back to my room.

Closed the door.

And sat on the bed.

For a moment, I smiled.

That day had been different.

No drama.

No Ndjona-Top.

No chaos.

Just peace.

Just me.

And Tusu.

For the first time, I felt like I could live my life without being pulled into everything else.

But then reality came back.

Tusu was still inside the closet.

How was I going to get him out?

If my aunt found him…

She would chase me out of the house.

She had already warned me.

“No prostitution in this house.”

Even though that was not what I was doing…

She would not believe me.

I waited.

And waited.

My aunt was still awake, talking to her friend in her home office.

Time moved slowly.

The night started to become morning.

Light began to enter through the windows.

Finally…

Silence.

I listened carefully.

No footsteps.

No voices.

Nothing.

I stood up slowly.

Opened the closet.

Tusu came out quietly.

We did not speak.

We just looked at each other.

And then…

He left.

Quietly.

Carefully.

Without a sound.

When he was gone, I went back to my room.

I saw his vest lying on my bed.

I picked it up.

And held it close to me.

For a moment, I felt him again.

His warmth.

His presence.

Then, suddenly, I thought about Mr. Officer.

If he had not called…

My aunt would have found us.

Everything would have been destroyed.

In a strange way…

He had saved me.

But that did not change what he had done to me before.

Some things cannot be erased.

Later, my aunt woke me up again.

“Morara ovikwaiye nao muatje ove,” she said.

(Why are you still sleeping, my child?)

“Can you not see what time it is? Can you not see that the sun has already risen?”

But this time, she was not angry.

She told me to rest.

She said she would be working in her office.

“No noise,” she added. “Not even water.”

The house was quiet.

Peaceful.

But my mind was not.

I had not heard from Ndjona-Top or the others.

Maybe that was a good thing.

After everything that had happened…

Maybe we all needed space.

I sat alone that Sunday afternoon, thinking about my life.

In just one week…

Everything had changed.

I had seen things I never imagined.

I had done things I never thought I would do.

But I had to survive.

Because giving up…

Was not an option.

Later, Mr. Officer texted me.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

For a moment, I did not know what to say.

But I replied.

“Thank you.”

We spoke for a while.

Then he asked me to meet him at the playground.

I told my aunt I was going to buy airtime.

And I went.

He was sitting on the swing.

Like nothing had ever happened.

I sat next to him.

He looked at me seriously.

“I have been patient with you,” he said. “Do not make me look like a fool.”

I could not believe him.

Was this the same man who said our deal was finished?

Now he was changing his words again.

I looked at him and said calmly,

“I came to say thank you. That is all.”

He held my hand.

“You think you are clever now,” he said.

“You think you can play games in Windhoek?”

“Imwi kamu haterwa mwakeyama… omotjirongo tjo kakambe.”

(You cannot play with Windhoek.)

That was the third time I heard those words.

“This is Windhoek.”

My aunt said it.

My cousin said it.

Now him.

I did not fully understand.

But I knew one thing.

Windhoek was not just a city.

It was a test.

When I returned home, my mind was on one person.

Tusu.

He had not called.

Not even a message.

I wanted to call him.

But I waited.

If he called…

I would tell him everything.

Maybe even tell him I loved him.

That evening, I was watching TV.

Then the news started.

And everything changed.

“Angolan businessman Vintolinho Paulo Makopi found dead in his luxury home…”

My heart stopped.

I could not breathe.

They continued:

“No signs of forced entry… police suspect personal reasons…”

My hands started shaking.

It was real.

He was dead.

I sat there, frozen.

I was part of this.

Even if I did not kill him…

I was there.

I knew what happened.

“Ovimariva o devil,” I whispered.

(Money is the devil.)

Everything started with money.

And now…

Look where I was.

I thought about going to the police.

Telling the truth.

Saying it was self-defence.

But what if they did not believe me?

There was no evidence.

We had cleaned everything.

And the girls…

We had made a promise.

A secret that would die with us.

My phone rang.

It was Ndjona-Top.

“Nguaendomuua, listen… Cota Ma-Cups is dead, waṱu.”

(He is dead.)

My heart dropped again.

She spoke fast.

“Do not leave the house. We are in trouble. Do not tell anyone.”

Her voice was shaking.

“Aju is looking for us. He came to our place with a gun. We ran away.”

My body went cold.

“Aju mavere oviyoze,” she said.

(That man is mentally unstable.)

“Do not make a mistake. Those people are dangerous.”

Then…

Noise.

Shouting.

The call ended.

Silence.

Heavy silence.

I tried to call her back.

Nothing.

Her phone was off.

“My Lord…” I whispered.

“What happened to my cousin?”

The End of Chapter Ten

Wait for Part Eleven as A GIRL FROM EHOMBA MOUNTAIN WHO WANTS TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING continues…