Gladys, Mkhulu, and Ntombi hadn’t heard anything from either the doctors or the nurses. They had been waiting on those uncomfortable chairs for more than four hours. Ntombi was even sleeping, her swollen eyes shut.

Mkhulu got up and stretched himself. “Do you need anything from the cafeteria?” he asked Gladys, who was dozing half-awake near Ntombi.

Gladys decided to go with him. She didn’t want to stretch her legs, but she did want to know what Mkhulu thought about all of this. She asked him as they went downstairs.

“I don’t know, really. We will have to wait for the doctors to update us about her condition.” Mkhulu bought three hot muffins and three black coffees as soon as they arrived at the cafeteria.

“What do you think about this Gogo Lesedi? Do you believe her?” she asked Mkhulu again.

“I think Ma’ Zwane was wrong to kick her out. She should have listened to her and got more information, rather than just kicking her out like that.” Mkhulu gave her a small tray of hot coffees. He held the cupcakes, and they walked back.

“What will we do if the doctors don’t manage to find out what’s wrong with Kganya?” Gladys asked again.

“Then we will have no choice but to find that Gogo Lesedi.” Mkhulu was looking ahead in the hall as he said this.

“You heard how Ntombi feels about her,” Gladys told Mkhulu the obvious.

“Well, it’s a good thing that this is not about her, it is about her daughter. If it gets to the point where we will have to find Gogo Lesedi by ourselves without her knowing, just to help Kganya, then that is what we will do.” Mkhulu was looking at Gladys now with a very determined face. Gladys nodded in understanding. They got in the elevator and they ascended to the waiting area.

***

Kganya was lying still on the ground. She had given up on trying to figure out this strange, creepy place. Its bareness and dimness confused her. While she was on the ground thinking about her mother, thinking about how worried she must be, she heard those hoarse voices that had always tormented her call her name, “Kganya!”

She quickly got up and looked around. She couldn’t figure out where they came from.

“Kganya!” they said again.

Kganya realised that they did not have a particular direction, they came from all around the place.

“Who are you? Where are you? Where am I?”

“So many questions,” the evil voices laughed in a menacing tone.

“I want to go home!” she cried.

“You will go home, but first you have to come to us and drink this water,” the voices said to her.

“Which water?” She turned and looked around for the water the voices were talking about, but she didn’t see any.

“Just walk a few steps and you will see it.”

Kganya walked slowly. She saw a small pond.

“Just drink that water and you will go home to see your mother,” the evil voices told her, in strangely enticing tones.

Kganya looked at the water. It was crystal clear. Suddenly, she felt her throat go dry. Should she drink it? It was just water, wasn’t it? Plus she was thirsty.

***

“Miss Zwane?” A doctor called for Ntombi as he arrived at the waiting area.

“That’s me.” Ntombi raised her hand quickly.

“I am Doctor Nathen; I am heading the team that is attending your daughter.” He stretched out his hand to her.

“Oh, thank you, Doctor,” Ntombi shook his offered hand softly while trying to smile. The truth was, she only wanted to hear how her daughter was doing, and Dr Nathen seemed to know this. He went straight to the point.

“Miss Zwane, your daughter is still unresponsive. We have run multiple tests to see whether she has suffered a stroke or a prolonged seizure, but all tests came back negative,” Dr Nathen said, in a steady tone. “What’s surprising, though, is that all is well with her. Her blood pressure is normal, her brain is still functioning as it should be, and her blood is okay, but she is just not responding to any stimuli.”

“What does that mean?” Gladys asked, beside Ntombi. Dr Nathen gave her a questioning look.

“She’s my friend, you can tell her,” Ntombi told the doctor in a strained voice.

“I am not sure what it means now, that’s why we are running extensive tests on her. I don’t want to speculate.”

“Can we see her?” Mkhulu asked in a gentle tone.

“Yes, of course. She’s heavily monitored, so it will have to be one person at a time, and five minutes each.”

While the doctor was escorting her away, Ntombi turned. She could have sworn that she saw Mkhulu and Gladys looking at each other and nodding. This secrecy between them made her uncomfortable.

Tell us: How do you feel about what Mkhulu and Gladys are planning to do?