The world was dark and cold for the Nkosi family. They were under a dark cloud that the sun could not fix. This was a horrible time in their life, the death of a family member. Baby Thami had died in her sleep. The burial was even more horrific, baby Thami’s mother fainted and fell inside the burial hole where baby Thami was laid to rest. It was as if something was pulling her inside it. Those who attended the funeral couldn’t believe what they saw or what was happening. It was as if the surface beneath them was about to open up and swallow them all. The ghosts of the bones at the cemetery felt fear. The winds blew so hard, even the air felt frightened and birds fell from the sky.

“Thandeka, my child, are you alright?” Gogo Nkosi, Thandeka’s mother said, trying to keep her daughter from the evil that was surrounding her.

The end of the day was a short afternoon and the long night was about to begin. The family was under siege and the brightness was disappearing into darkness. Something was coming for all of them.

“Mama what is happening to us?”Thandeka asked.

Gogo Nkosi held her daughter’s hands and started praying for the family, “My child, only the Lord Jesus Christ will help us overcome this,” she said.

Thandeka could not close her eyes, the darkness in her thoughts kept her awake. Deep inside her mind she saw a shadow of a man coming towards her every time she fell asleep.

“All I want is for this to stop Mama,” she said.

Something evil was haunting Thandeka. Gogo Nkosi knew all about it. She had a dark secret and she kept it from her family.

Thirty years ago, a women by the name of Mariam Nkosi took a pillow and suffocated her own child. She did this as some form of sacrifice to her ancestors. Today her daughter and relatives faced the consequences. “Protect us from this darkness, dear God,” Gogo prayed.
While she was praying, she had a vision. In her vision she saw a priest holding a bible kneeling down. She was in some form of a church and the entire church was burning. Her soul began to burn and she started coughing smoke.

“Mama what is going on? You are burning!” Thandeka screamed in terror.

She tried to pour water on top of her but the water turned into steam and she continued to burn. The priest in Gogo Nkosi’s vision said, “Tell her your sins, Mariam, or hell shall rise and burn your entire family.”

“Forgive me, my child, forgive me my daughter,” Gogo Nkosi pleaded.

She opened her eyes and looked at her daughter, Thandeka, and confessed her dark secret to her.
“Mama what are you talking about?”

Gogo Nkosi began to cool down and her soul was granted relief, she could breathe normally again.

“My daughter, it was me. All that is happening to our family, is the result of my dark actions a long time ago,” she confessed.

Thandeka couldn’t believe what her mother was saying. She felt like she was talking to a stranger.

Gogo Nkosi held her daughter’s face and pleaded for forgiveness, “Forgive me, my child.”
The night ended and the morning began. The dark cloud that was haunting the family shifted from the sky and the sun rose above them.

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