I would never forget that moment, seeing my dad die like that. We didn’t sleep that night. Ayanda and my mom didn’t stop crying, even though they fought constantly they loved each other, he was the father of her children and supported us even though he didn’t work anymore.

The question of who did this to him didn’t cross my mind at that time because he didn’t have enemies. Apart from the people he would drink with at the sheeben, Hughley was his only friend that he usually talked about most of the time.

The police had told us that their deaths were gang related. With so many gangs in Mathailen, they didn’t know which gang it was. Hughley was mixed up in gang issues before he got his sheeben and apparently changed his ways. I guess my dad was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

We buried him the following weekend. This was hard on us more especially on Aya; she had sleepless night and my mom signed her up for therapy every Wednesday. There was only one car and my mom used it to go to work, so I had to accompany Aya to her sessions by taxi. Sometimes I would walk back home; I didn’t like taxis that much.

One Wednesday afternoon after Aya’s session, making my way back home with my headphones on, there parked a BMW X5 next to the cash wash. I loved the car; my dream car. Admiring it from a distance, I slightly moved my eyes and saw a scary sight. Three guys, one of them had an iron pipe on his hand, were running in the middle of the road towards the car wash. I said to myself, “Kuyoshuba ke manje”.

The guys ran to a guy talking on his phone standing outside the car; must’ve been the driver. They started beating him up; the one with the iron pipe was hurling him with it all over his body. At that moment the back door of the car opened and a girl came out of the car and ran towards me. One of the guys saw her and chased after her.

As she got closer I could see that she was petrified. I grabbed her and started running with her towards the passage down the street. I realized that we won’t get to the other side; the guys were closing in. I told her to jump over the wall and I followed her. We ran across the yard through to the next house and out to the next street. We ran until the river; which divided the township and the town.

We stopped and started looking around to see if the guys were still following us. The coast was clear.

“Are you okay? Who are those guys and what did they want?” I asked the girl between breaths.

“I don’t know! Whatever they want has to do with my dad,” she said sobbing. “Shit! I left my phone in the car!” she said panting.

I reached for mine and handed it to her. She made a phone call and she explained what had happened and where we were. As we stood and waited for whoever she had called, we were silent.

Moments later a car stopped next to us and the doors opened, and out came General. I just went cold and wet right there and then. He made his way towards us and I thought I was going to faint.

General was the most notorious gangster in Middleburg. He and his gang did everything from bank robberies, ATM bombing, fraud, loan sharking, carjacking and killing anyone who got on his wrong side.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he rushed to the girl.

She just looked at him and went to the car.

“And who are you?” he asked looking at me up and down, sizing me.

“I’m Chris… Sir,” I answered nervously.

“I believe you saved my daughter, ngiyabonga,” he said as he held out his hand.

I didn’t say anything; I was trying to look neutral and he could see that. I just held out my hand to shake his hand.

“Uhlala kuphi? Can I offer you a lift home?” he asked.

“Mathailen, kodwa ngigrand, ngizohamba,” I responded looking at the ground.

“No, I insist, woza,” he said as he turned his back and proceeded to the car.

I followed him. In the car I kept quiet as he was on the phone.

“Eintlik what the bloody hell was he doing at the car wash with my daughter? Take care of him and the idiots that attacked him!” he yelled at the person on the other end and hung up the phone.

They dropped me off at my house. My mom asked who that was and I told her it was no one as I rushed to my room. Later that night, while sitting watching television with my sister, my phone rang. I looked at it, not recognizing the number calling, I contemplated picking it up.

Tell us what you think: Could Chris’ dad have been involved in gangs? Would you risk your life to help a stranger?