Pastor Ngcobo feels a thudding headache as soon as he opens his eyes. The ceiling is unfamiliar to him. He feels two warm bodies on either side of him. He turns his head and jumps up from the bed, shocked to see two half-naked women with him on the bed. They are fast asleep and snoring.

He takes deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. He can see he is only wearing his boxer shorts. He is trembling as he looks for his clothes. He finds his trousers and shirt hanging on a chair and gets dressed. There are two empty whiskey bottles on the floor.

He can smell alcohol on his breath as he takes deep breaths. He only remembers taking one sip of the whiskey Pastor Likau offered him, and nothing else after that.

He riffles in his trouser pockets for his cellphone. His heart skips a beat when he looks at the date and realises that it is the next day! He punches the unlock code on the cellphone screen. There are 22 missed calls from Mbali!

He can hear noises from beyond the bedroom door. He opens the door and finds Bishop Likau and his friends still drinking. Their eyes are red; they are drunk.

“Awake at last, Pastor Ngcobo,” says Bishop Likau.

“What happened yesterday? Why didn’t you wake me? Why didn’t you tell me to go home? Who are those women in the bed?” Pastor Ngcobo’s eyes are dim with confusion.

“Why so many questions, Ngcobo?” says Bishop Likau in between puffing his cigar.

“The problem is I’m confused. I need to know what happened!”

“I’ll answer one of your questions. Those beautiful women are Nana and Zinhle. I hope you had a lovely time with them,” says Bishop Likau with a wicked smile.

“I’d never do that! I’d never cheat on my wife!”

“And what would you say if I told you otherwise?”

“What!?”

Pastor Ngcobo’s eyes are wide open. The shock on his face is complete. He starts trembling.

“I’m joking. Relax, nothing happened. You just blacked out so we carried you to the bed. They were already asleep when we carried you into the room.”

Bishop Likau and his friends break out into fits of laughter. Pastor Ngcobo shakes his head in disbelief.

“Relax, Pastor Ngcobo. Follow me.” Bishop Likau leads him into another bedroom. There is no-one else there. He closes the door and looks into Pastor Ngcobo’s eyes.

“You are now ready for the next step,” says Bishop Likau. He picks up a parcel wrapped in newspaper from the bed. “This muthi will make the people in your church love you. If you use it according to my instructions it will give you powers to perform small miracles.”

“Now you are talking, Bishop. What kind of miracles?”

“Small miracles. Healing ailments like headaches and pain on the joints by just praying and laying your hands on people. You said you wanted my help, remember?”

“Yes, Bishop. I want your help. I want the power to heal.”

“Well, this is how you use this muthi. For three days, at midnight you will burn this muthi at the pulpit in your church. Burn a little bit each time and don’t leave until it has completely burned and turned to ash. Take the ash and pour it at the church gate.”

“Thank you, Bishop. I need to go now. My wife is worried because I didn’t come home last night. I have many missed calls from her already.” Pastor Ngcobo takes the parcel of muthi.

“Wait, I need you to do one small favour for me,” says Bishop Likau.

***

Tell us: Is Pastor Ngcobo trapped with Likau now? What should he do?