The old lady smiled a slow crooked smile, making Isla feel like she was about to become a part of the Hansel and Gretel story. Was this old lady going to offer them sweets next? Slowly the old lady opened the door to her house. ‘Come in, I have some warm pap we can share before you go. Do not worry, that man will still be a while. He has far to walk, even for him,’ she said, looking at Venter striding up the hill towards the shop, chuckling to herself.

They all looked at each other uncertainly. Karabo shrugged. What harm could an old lady like this do? She stepped into the hut and the others followed. The interior of the hut was dark, lit only in areas by solar lamps that gave off an eerie white light. The hut also seemed much bigger inside than you would expect, looking at it from the outside.

‘Come and sit here,’ gestured the old lady, pointing to some crates and chairs along the wall. For an old woman she moved quickly and without making a sound. She handed them each a small bowl of warm pap as their backsides touched their seats. Karabo used her hands to grab small pieces of the doughy pap and place it in her mouth. The small balls of warm pap were delicious and moreish. Isla looked around for a spoon, but soon realised she wasn’t going to get one, and so followed Karabo’s example. Mzi and William followed suit – William picking tiny pieces of pap with just his thumb and index finger.

Without warning, the old lady threw her blanket down. She was dressed in the black, white and red clothing of a sangoma. Beads of red and black covered her ankles and wrists. Karabo stood up. ‘What do you want with us Ma?’ she asked the woman, feeling tricked. The sangoma smiled. ‘Don’t worry Karabo, you are safe. You have all come here so I can show you something. Let us begin,’ she said, waving Karabo away. Karabo sat back down and looked at Isla, who shrugged and licked her fingers before cleaning out her bowl of pap. The sangoma was lighting a handful of herbs in her hand. The dense smoke quickly filled the hut as she waved the herbs, making the four students cough out loud, unable to see each other.

‘Look, look into the smoke. There you will see your past,’ said the sangoma’s voice through the thick smoke, as she began to chant words no one had heard before or could understand. Karabo grabbed Isla’s hand just as images began to materialise from  the smoke. Karabo sucked in her breath: A battlefield of African warriors were running into an army of red coats. The British shot from their guns and the warriors fell. But the warriors also had guns, and many of the red coats were falling too.

Karabo felt sick watching the destruction. To the side of her gaze she noticed more men – in plain clothes, rough-looking and angry. They shot at the African men too. Karabo could hear Isla gasp, but no sound came from Mzi or William. The sangoma waved the herbs and the smoke moved, erasing the image.

A new image appeared: Men on large sailing boats – the captain of the ship speaking to a well-dressed man, in a suit and tie with a moustache. The well-dressed man seemed so familiar, but Karabo couldn’t place him. He was handing the ship’s captain a brown bag. He threw the bag up and down into the air, showing its weight. The sangoma blew the image away and began to chant once again. She waved the herbs once more and another image appeared. It was the battle again; there was the ship’s captain on the battlefield, who was now holding a gun, shooting at the African warriors.

Suddenly the door to the hut swung open, letting in a rush of air and light. ‘Hello?’ came Buzz’s voice, followed by a cough. Karabo heard him move back outside, spluttering.

As the smoke poured out the hut’s door, Karabo was released from the spell of the images. She jumped up, dragging Isla with her. ‘Come guys, we have to go,’ she said, trying hard to keep calm. ‘Mzi. William. Let’s go!’ she demanded, walking past the sangoma and out the door. Isla, Mzi and William followed. Buzz stood holding the door open, ‘What the hell was going on in there?’ he asked, looking at their stunned faces. ‘Are you guys OK?’ he said frowning, as he waited for a response. Slowly they all nodded their heads, their faces frozen, revealing nothing to the confused Buzz. ‘OK, weird,’ said Buzz. ‘Venter is back, we have to get going. He at least knows where to go, but we’re gonna be like 45 minutes late,’ Buzz explained, before leading them up the path. William’s jaw was tight, and he glared in front of him. Mzi kept shaking his head, as if trying to knock the mirage out of his head. Isla just blinked and clutched Karabo’s hand.