The early morning sun rays penetrated the window once Sekani parted the curtains above the kitchen sink.The light dazzled her sleepy eyelids down to a squint.She was still disoriented.She turned her weighed down eyes away once enough light had poured in and helped not only brightened up the room,but her mood as well.She was a morning person and no matter what nightmare or foul she felt when she recovered from her sleep,the bright morning light always cheered her up.
She paused as her nose had picked up on a scent she was familiar with but also despised greatly.Although her other senses were still partially asleep,her sense of smell was wide awake and her nostrils flared as she inhaled the air around her with her eyes closed like she was trying to shut down the sense of sight in order to strengthen the one for smell:Cheap musiyn beer and the sweat a man's sweet filled up the small house.
It was a small two bedroomed house with a living room and small kitchen.A two meter passage connected the four rooms and the convenience.It was easy for any smell to fill up the room especially with the other windows around the house closed.She hated bad odours especially in the morning when anything unpleasant would disturb her mood.And she had had the talk with her brother about letting the bad odour take over the house and she thought he had listened and understood as there had never been such unpleasantness in a long while.
She stormed into the living room with rage already registered on her face as she prepared to unleash some strong words.But she stopped in her path,her mouth which was already half-open with the first word she planned to utter already on her tongue closed.She was stuck as the person she thought would be sleeping in her couch was not the one she found.But the bad odour was still coming from him and it was stronger than the one her brother would carry the times they fought about it because he was too drunk that he ended up falling asleep on the couch and his body perspiration mixed with the beer in his system and produced the unpleasant smell.Bizwayo who was his brothers longtime friend was the one on the couch.His clothes were stained and he looked like he had not bathed in ages.He had become like something resembling a junkie who was too busy looking for a fix to worry about his appearance.His hair had over grown like he was keeping it so that could twist it into dreadlocks.His chin had also been covered with a thick bush of facial hair.She held her breath and frowned in disgust as she looked closer at the fast asleep piece of walking garbage that slept on her treasured couch now worried about it possibly crawling with lice.
She looked around the modestly decorated living room that had a thick carpet in the centre,a glass coffee table on top and centre of the rag.A tv stand with a pay tv decoder.A medium sized flat screen tv mounted on the wall just above it.A pot of artificial plastic flowers sticking out in the corner of the room.Nothing was missing but her eyes travelled to a pair of remote controls on the coffee table.They were small enough to be pocketed and snack out of the house without them knowing.Sekani knew Bizwayo s criminal record and seeing him there made her immediately switch to security mode.So she grabbed the remote controls as she turned to knock on brother's bedroom door.But her closed hand paused before Mbeso's door.She reminded herself how she couldn't knock and wake up Bizwayo as she didn't want him to hear what she had to tell the brother about him.Even when knocking and waking him up would help get rid of him as soon as possible,she would rather have a serious talk with the brother first and make sure he doesn't bring this menace around again.
As she left the room,she wondered why Mbeso did not share his double bed with his friend and spared the house the torture of the scent of the inside of a refuse bag.She remembered how her young brother had a tendency to bring girls home and even if she was never in support of him bringing different women home,there was nothing she could do to a man who was six years into adulthood.She instead went outside and around the hose to knock on Mbeso s window.
Mbeso moved the curtain aside and his frowning sleepy face full of displeasure greeted Sekani."why do you have to disturb me this early? What is it?",he asked with a complaining tone.He woke up very early during week days as such he made sure he caught up on his sleep during the weekends."It's because of the visitor you brought home with you.What were you thinking?"Sekani's question happened to bring Mbeso to the realization that he didn't come home alone as his face gave away the impression of someone trying to recollect memories that have been jumbled by a combination of sleep and temporary alcohol inducing amnesia."That friend of yours is wanted by the police and I hear even his fellow criminals are after him",she continued firing her brother with words that seem to beat some sense into him.Her was quickly sobering up and knew he had put them at risk.
Despite his plans that morning being only to catch up on his sleep,he had to get up early and find a polite way to dispatch off Bizwayo.After all,the two were childhood friends and still shared a mutual bond.Despite Mbeso knowing about Bizwayo's life of crime,he had no problem with him as long as he never perpetrated his criminality on him or anyone he cared for.But the fact that he was a wanted fugitive had skipped his mind due to his drunk state.Bringing Bizwayo home told Mbeso just how drunk he had been.Because despite their friendship,he knew that was treading on thin ice and had put his sister on that ice as well.
He woke Bizwayo up and told him he had to get to wake despite having told him Saturday was his off day.Something that Bizwayo remembered and reminded him."The boss just wants me to go in and check up on something that is coming in".Bizwayo knew it was just a polite way his host had to use to get rid of him.Being on the run and losing friends had made him master the art of knowing when and where he was not wanted.But before leaving
he asked to be allowed to bath which he was granted.Mbeso also helped him with a change of clothes as he wasn't oblivious to the unpleasing odour and appearance of friend.The two enjoyed the pap Sekani had left for Mbeso the previous night which they had skipped as they had filled up their bellies with enough roasted goat meat kebabs,unripe bananas and goat soup from the braii stand at the Bar they had been drinking from.
As the two parted company,Mbeso gave Bizwayo a fifty kwacha note for a haircut.He was never scared to let his friend who was notoriously feared know he needed to look like a more presentable even if Bizwayo didn t see need or reason to tidy up his appearance.He also assured him of giving him a call once he got back in town from a work trip he would embark on the day after next.It was also just another story to make sure Bizwayo didn't make a habit of visiting him at home.Mbeso went on his way and went to one of his girlfriend's place where he resumed his sleep.
Bizwayo got the message of Mbeso not wanting to spend too much time with him.It never bothered him as he knew what he had done and how he should be grateful that there are even friends that could still embrace his company as most had villainized and abandoned him.He was grateful for the couch Mbeso had let him sleep on.It was the most comfortable sleep he have experienced in a while and even his body felt different and better rested.It was better than the floors in abandoned buildings or concrete benches in bus stop shelters or grave yard lawns his body had gotten accustomed to for the past three months.He was grateful for the money for the haircut which they both knew wasn't gonna go towards the intended purpose.The beards and afro was part of what had kept him ahead of those who pursued him.With them facial hairs his face had become almost totally unrecognizeable as long as making him appear like a deranged homeless psycho who no one would not want to mess with or even have a second look at.He was the one who usually recognized people and he only did that to those he knew were unaware of his fugitive status and those who would not sell him out.
