Lesego and Adam had been friends since childhood. Lesego’s father was absent whereas Adam got everything he wanted from his father. Their mothers were also friends; they were all like family.

The boys, as they used to call them, went to school together. They were best of friends. People envied their friendship because they did everything together. Right after matric, unemployment struck. They were still together. Lesego’s mother struggled to make ends meet but Adam was settled, he had no problems on his side.

After a year and half of unemployment, they both applied for a learnership that would give its candidates entrepreneurial skills; they had done business studies in high school. They went for interviews. The company only accepted 30 candidates and Lesego was unfortunately not called back.

Lesego got a job shortly after that. It was better than staying home. He started dating for the first time in his life. He changed girls, day in and day out. That didn’t mean that Adam and Lesego’s friendship was over, they were just apart. Adam would always call to check up on his friend, but it started becoming a one-sided relationship.

Lesego would always promise to visit Adam but never did. Adam eventually met the love of his life at the training centre. They fell in love instantly. On the other hand, two girls were already pregnant with Lesego’s babies. He was just not happy with his life. He would sometimes go as far as ignoring his friend’s calls.

Unexpectedly, Adam’s father passed on. Adam started giving his all to his girlfriend and was devoted to his studies. After 18 months of the learnership, a few of the candidates were awarded with start-up capital for their businesses. He became independent at last.

His life continued going smoothly, he made money. His friend was distant, just ice cold. At this point, two more girls were pregnant with Lesego’s babies. Adam threw a party and Lesego attended, but he was still distant anyway. Lesego was drowning in debt. Adam married his companion who was three months pregnant at that time. They pushed life together.

Lesego had rented a room outside his home because his mother didn’t allow him to live the way he wanted. Adam built a house for his family. Perhaps it was luck, or maybe just pure hard work. He was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. He adored her more than life itself.

COVID-19 happened after Hopewell, Adam’s daughter, was born. It was a hard time for everyone as Lesego got retrenched and Adam’s business went south. Money was no longer coming in. Lesego lost his job and had a total of six babies with six different girls.

Three months down the line, Hopewell went missing. It was getting harder for Adam: his business was suffering, his daughter was missing and his wife was under a lot of stress. He was in and out of hospital due to stress himself. It turned out his daughter had been kidnapped.

The kidnappers wanted a ransom of R2.5m in cash to release the little Hopewell. Adam went on to drop the money and didn’t get his daughter back. Surprisingly, Lesego was emotionally supportive throughout the whole ordeal. Another ransom was demanded. Adam’s business was failing and he was running out of money. His life had just taken off, so he didn’t have too much money. He went on to pay another R1.5m and still didn’t get his baby back.

All hope was lost, the police force wasn’t doing anything about his daughter’s disappearance. Adam decided to go about it his own way. He had to sell his two cars just to save his daughter. She was five months old. Her parents would cry themselves to sleep. It was a difficult time of their lives.

One day, another ransom was demanded. Adam decided to take another route to at least follow the kidnappers. They always used the same coordinates for the money so he knew that they were always somewhere around. He managed to get to where they were. He got to the warehouse and got the shock of his life.

Lesego was the mastermind behind the kidnapping. Hopewell was wearing the same clothes as when she had been taken. They were too tight on her, she had grown. Adam cried out so loudly when he saw his baby girl. Lesego quickly stood up and shouted at his men for being stupid. He was also shocked to see his friend Adam.

“You are busy living my life. Must be nice, neh?” Lesego shouted. Before Adam could even answer, Lesego screamed again, “You went ahead with applying for the learnership you knew I needed! You didn’t need it! You were just greedy! Your father gave you everything, what about me? You took everything that belonged to me! Why did you go ahead with the learnership knowing very well that I needed it more than you? You have a wife, a child, cars, a house, a business. Must be nice! Me, on the other hand, I have nothing, just too many children that I can’t even afford to take care of!”

Adam was staring on in disbelief. He didn’t understand why Lesego was saying all that because they were best friends. Lesego had been emotionally supportive during this ordeal because he was behind it. How was this possible? Adam’s eyes got teary, he felt his strength evaporate. He couldn’t even move.

“Remember when you hosted a graduation party? I wanted to kill you on that day. That is the reason why I was so cold. I wasn’t happy. I’m not happy. You’re an employer, I’m an ex-employee. You were supposed to give me what was due to me but you’re greedy! Right now I have your money, your hard-earned money is with me. Guess what, you are not leaving this place alive. It ends right here and now.”

Adam saw his life flash right in front of his eyes. Lesego had a gun with him.

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, that’s why I kept you even closer. I’ve never been your friend. You were always better than me. Opportunities knocked on your door, not the other way round. That’s how much life spoilt you.”

Adam couldn’t stand it any more. He fought with Lesego and the gun went off. Lesego shot Adam and thought he had killed him. He fled together with his men. Adam was left to die with his daughter in a warehouse. The police department was alerted to this incident and went to the scene.

Hopewell was rushed to hospital with her father. Adam woke up in ICU. His daughter had a kidney problem. She was dehydrated and malnourished. She was too tiny for all those problems and she died in hospital. Adam’s wife drowned deeper into depression, and he was discharged shortly after that. It was getting harder and harder for Adam and his wife. They had lost everything because of his friend. Lesego was on the run. He had money to do everything he wanted. He left his kids suffering, all six of them. He betrayed his only friend.

Adam suffered from a stroke because of all the stress. His wife went back home because it was too much for her. Lesego was finally caught, but the damage was done. He went to jail. He asked to see Adam. He went on to inflict that pain again. He opened wounds. He was still not sorry. He felt entitled to everything his friend owned.

The only mistake Adam ever made was to follow his dreams. He had to lose everything in a heartbreaking way. Adam was all alone until he committed suicide, and followed his daughter once and for all. He just wanted to rest.

***

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