It’s early in the morning; I hear the birds humming sweet melodies. I find myself in a dark place; I can’t even remember how I ended up here.
Am I in jail? Must be, here’s a policeman. Should I ask, or wait and see what’s happening? Then he calls my name: Dumisani Mbatha. I am still drunk and smelling of alcohol. My father arrives to bail out me. I can’t ask my father what happened because he hates alcohol.
He drove me home, and I am so hungry but can’t eat. I go to my friend’s place. He is chilling outside looking stressed.
“What happened yesterday?” I ask.
“We killed him.”
I am shocked because I can’t remember anything.
“How many of us killed him?”
No reply at all. He is crying and I can’t understand. Luckily, another three friends came too. One asks me how it was inside. I don’t answer because I still don’t understand why I was arrested alone. Does that mean I’m the one who killed him?
I am stressed because I can’t find answers to my questions. I decide to go and ask the barman who must’ve witnessed it all, but he is nowhere to be found and the bar is closed. Walking back home I see a white car outside and I thinks of the police. I am shaking and think of committing suicide. My cell phone rings, I can’t answer it the first time. It rings again and I tell myself, whatever. It is my mom telling me to come back home. She has news for me. I am still scared and panicking. I go straight home.
I sit down on the coach. It is me, mom, dad and the barman.
The barman starts talking, “I am here because I know the truth. Your boy is innocent and he was drunk sleeping on the bar chair when the fight started. One of his friends who was wearing the same outfit as him stabbed the other guy with a bottle several times, then ran away. Your son was still sleeping. Unfortunately, the police came and took him because a murder case was already opened and the person who committed murder was described as your son, but it’s not him. It’s his friend.”
I go to the police stations to tell the police there is no case against me. The documents are cancelled and thrown in the bin. A new case is opened for a person who is found guilty.
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