It was fall and Mandla was getting ready to hit the road to work at Highveld in Witbank. He worked as a security guard. Every day when he woke up the first thing he thought bout was is music. He played the music on his phone or tape to his heart’s desire. Doesn’t matter if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed or if he had a long day, music would always put him in a good mood or cheer him up.

Mandla was known as a kind man in his community, he was always friendly and easy on the eye according to the community women. He was also charming and polite, but there was only one woman who had his heart, Thandi. The two of them lived an ordinary middle class life. One day Mandla was polishing his boots, when he heard a loud knock on his door. He was irritated at the thought of who it was because he knew that he owed money to the local loan shark and that were his goons at the door.

The two men entered the house through the window while Mandla hid in the wardrobe. He didn’t even bother to let her know who was at the door, when she entered the front room she was facing the barrel of a pistol before she even had the chance to run or scream for help. They tied her up intended to keep her ransom for her husband, they searched for him but couldn’t find him anywhere in the house. He was in the house though, still hiding in the wardrobe, they just didn’t think to look for him there. While Mandla’s heart was thumping in his chest in the wardrobe, one of them suggested that they beat Thandi up until he showed up, which scared her very much. She could only ask god for mercy at that point.

Thandi had been wearing her nightgown because she had prepared to go to bed before the incident happened. Her nightgown was see through, she tried using that as means to seduce the burglars, but they weren’t interested in what she was offering. She then felt resentment towards Mandla who had left her alone to face his mess. They questioned her about his whereabouts, but she remained silent. Before she could look up she felt the back of the pistol wiping across her face and pleaded for mercy. The entire time she had been hoping that Mandla would show up and save her, but he didn’t. She loved him and was willing to give up her life for him, but not in such a manner.

They beat her up some more to the point of where her mouth bled, but she staid faithful and true to Mandla. She stood up for her coward and selfish man. She asked the Lord to forgive the men who did this to her. She told them that she was a Christian woman and believed that they didn’t know what they were doing. They paid her no mind, instead they asked her if she was ready to tell them where her man was. Thandi’s face had swollen up and paled, her lips were black and blue and she couldn’t talk properly. Mandla stood there, in the wardrobe listening to them beat up his girlfriend the whole time. He then decided that he couldn’t take it anymore. Before he could do anything he fainted and fell out of the wardrobe. The two men then picked him up and tied him to a chair opposite Thandi.

When he came to he thought that the nightmare had ended, but to his dismay it hadn’t. His heart sunk when he saw the state that Thandi was in. He then prayed to God, asking him to save him and Thandi from the wrath of the two men who were there to torture him. He wished so hard that it was only a dream, but every time he glanced at Thandi, he knew it was not. He started to cry, he cried like a baby would cry for their mother. He asked the men what they wanted and why they were doing that to them. The men told him that they were there for the money that he had failed to pay back. They told him that he’d been avoiding them for a long time and that he wouldn’t get away this time.

He was speechless and couldn’t say anything because he had a pistol pointed in his face. He then told them that he had money in the house and that the they could take that money in the meantime as settlement for his loan. The men agreed, they took the money and left. There’s an English say, “money is roots of evil”. Indeed it is. Mandla tried to wake Thandi up, but it was already too late. Her soul had departed her body already. Mandla ran outside to look for help and when the ambulance arrived, Thandi was declared diseased. “At least it could’ve been quite impeccable if you were informed when a terrible incident was impending, I guess that’s how life is, not even-handed, cruel and unpredictable.

Truly speaking there’s nothing more sympathetic and heart breaking than to see a grown man shed tears like an infant. People felt for him and gave him their condolence, except for Thandi’s family. They blamed Mandla for their daughter’s death. Thandi was laid to rest and the police investigated the matter. The loan shark was arrested and he was denied bail (25years jail).Eventually a cowardice man found his vengeance.