It wasn’t something Thabo thought would prevent him from being evicted that day. The landlord did not care about his financial troubles nor did he care about Thabo when he lost his job. The landlord only wanted the rent money Thabo owed him or else he was going to evict him. That was what was stated on the lease agreement document. It was strictly business according to the landlord and he had no time to negotiate with Thabo for late payment. Thabo was turning into a charity case the landlord could not afford and this was evident in the argument he and Thabo were having.

“It’s either you pay or you go, I don’t want any excuses,” said the landlord.

Thabo looked like a broken man and he was running out of ideas in his attempt to convince the landlord to extend his stay, at least up until he has figured out a way to borrow money from a loan shark.
“Please Mr Kekana give me three days, I’ll get you your money,” Thabo pleaded.

Thabo was a man on the verge of collapse trying to find balance. He was doing everything he could to keep himself from falling to the ground.
“Please don’t do this to me sir, I’m begging you,” Thabo said.

The landlord was like a man with deaf ears; he wasn’t hearing any word Thabo was saying.
“I’m giving you until tomorrow, I want you out of my property or I’m calling the police,” the landlord continued.

The rage on the landlord’s face quickly turned off like an unwanted light in the darkness as he went inside his empty house, leaving Thabo standing in the doorway of the very same room he could not pay for anymore.

The night came before the morning and the next day was do or die for Thabo. He knew exactly what he had to do. He had to find a way to get money for paying his rent otherwise the landlord would evict him and he would find himself living on the streets as a homeless man.

Thabo decided to go and borrow money from a loan shark known as Bra Skoloto. Bra Skoloto did not live far away from where Thabo was situated. Thabo went to Bra Skoloto’s home by foot. He was walking as quick as he could due to the pressure the landlord was placing on his shoulders.

Thabo finally arrived at Bra Skoloto’s home. There was no gate at Bra Skoloto’s house so Thabo just entered without any struggle.

“Knock knock, is anyone home?” shouted Thabo.

Thabo noticed that the door was open while he was knocking so he let himself into the house as nobody was replying. After entering the house uninvited, Thabo was left in shock with his eyes wide open. He saw Bra Skoloto laying down on the floor of his living room unconscious.

“Bra Skoloto sir are you okay?” Thabo asked as he kneeled down to check if Bra Skoloto’s body had a pulse — there was no pulse. Thabo was terrified at that moment. He then looked around the living room and saw a big bag full of cash — this was Bra Skoloto’s money.
Thabo could not believe what was happening at that moment. He did not know what to do. This was a very strange and scary coincidence. The right thing to do was to call the police and report the death of Bra Skoloto and the wrong thing to do was to take the bag full of cash and run away.

Thabo chose the wrong choice and followed his evil instinct. He stole the bag full of cash and ran away, leaving Bra Skoloto’s dead body lying on the living room floor.

There was five hundred thousand in the bag. Thabo knew that this was a lot of money and all of the sudden his financial troubles were over.

“Yes! I hit a jackpot,” Thabo beamed with a big smile on his face. He didn’t even go back to the room that he was renting at Mr Kekana’s house. He just vanished with the bag full of cash. Thabo took some of the money and booked himself at a five-star hotel and bought expensive clothes.

One morning while he was at the hotel. Thabo took what was left of the money and started counting it. As he was counting, he started feeling dizzy and weak. He was all sweaty and was quickly experiencing a bad fever. He then came across a note inside the bag full of cash. On the note was written, The money inside this bag is poisoned, do not touch it or you will die.

This was the very same poison that killed Bra Skoloto. Thabo was already experiencing the devastating symptoms of the poison. He was drowning in his own blood; there was blood coming out of his eyes and ears. He could not breath anymore. The deadly poison killed him.

***

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