At quarter to nine, Nathi arrives at Butter Street and sees the stop sign he saw the lady in his dream standing at. “She said nine o’clock,” Nathi remembers, and decides to drive around the block until five to nine. At five to nine, he drives back to the stop sign and truly, down the road, he sees a young lady in a yellow dress carrying a baby covered in a blue blanket. She is walking up the street. He takes a deep breath as his heart starts racing.

“Malahle does not play games indeed,” he thinks to himself. “I am really doing this,” he says out loud to himself.

The lady gets closer. She has tears running down her face, a black eye and a busted lip. Nathi notices that she is way younger than he would have guessed, between 18 and 22, maybe. He gets out of the taxi and goes to the young lady.

“Hi, sisi, are you OK? Do you need some help?” Nathi asks.

She does not reply.

Nathi takes her by her free arm and leads her to his taxi. He opens the door for her and they drive away. Confusion fills his mind, as his conscience battles with him. “Where are we going, Nathi, Soweto at Malahle’s shrine, the police station, the hospital, where?” he asks himself, as he does his best to keep calm and collected.

After an hour of driving, they arrive in Jozi, town. “Are you hungry?” he asks.

The young lady nods.

“You see that spaza shop there?” he points to a shop across the street. “They sell chips. Go get some. Let me hold your baby for you”.

The young lady looks unsure for a second but hands her baby to Nathi and takes the money. She heads for the spaza shop. Nathi uncovers the baby. It is a baby girl, a beautiful baby girl sleeping peacefully. Nathi checks for the lady and her eyes are on Nathi. She smiles and Nathi tries to smile at her too.

“Now is your chance,” he thinks to himself.

He places the baby on his lap and starts the car engine, and as he is about to drive off, he hears a voice in his head: What is the use of gaining the whole world but losing your own soul?

Tears fill his eyes as he drives away. He makes a sharp turn and parks directly in front of the spaza the young lady is in. She gets in the taxi and starts eating the chips and rolls greedily. Nathi watches, his heart breaking, from the rearview mirror. The young lady is done within minutes.

“Where to?” Nathi asks.

“KZN,” the young lady says.

“How are you planning to get there?” Nathi asks her.

She shakes her head and shrugs. Tears run down her face. “I rebelled against my parents and moved to Joburg with a man twice my age who I thought loved me,” she says, wiping her tears with her dress. “I do not care about my face, the judgments and gossip waiting for me back home. Yes, I thought I knew it all and I just found out I did not, now what? I have parents that love me. I do not know how I will get to them but I must.”

Change your ways and call your mother, kanti yini ngawe ngani [what’s with you, child]? he hears Mr Ndlovu say.

“True, there is no place like home,” he says to the young lady. “You are in luck, I am going to KZN first thing tomorrow morning to see my mother. If you like, we can travel there together. You can spend the night at my place. You will sleep on the bed, I will take the couch. If you’re comfortable with that,” Nathi offers sincerely.

The young lady’s one good eye beams and tears of joy run down her face this time. “Thank you, bhuti, you are so kind, God bless you,” she says.

“Money might make the world go round, Malahle, but kindness and ubuntu warm the heart and overwhelm it with joy. My soul is the most precious thing I have. It is me,” Nathi thinks to himself, not noticing the big smile on his face.

“Why are you smiling?” the young lady asks.

“There is something I have to tell you,” he says, taking a deep breath, and he turns to look the young lady in the eye.

The young lady pays attention with a concerned look on her face.

“It’s not only me in my room. There is also a rat that…”

They both burst out laughing before he can even finish speaking.

Tell us: If you were to name the young lady’s baby based on how the story played out, what would you name her?