Telepath.

The women watched the leaders clothed in black cloaks as they sprinkled drops of blood around a tomb they excavated, from a sheep the leaders sacrificed before the ceremony. Everyone else in the room was naked, their arms stretched out to a person front in line, fists clenched and ready to jump into the tomb after a signal from the leaders. The leaders bowed in unison after casting the lifeless sheep in the grave and slowly retreating towards the naked women in the room, with their palms open, an indication that it was time, “save yourselves. Save yourselves. Save yourselves. “

Belinda gingerly followed behind these women, her eyes cautiously searching the hooded faces of the leaders.

She saw nothing. There was nothing but a hollow dark space inside the cloak. Belinda stumbled with shock, falling into the tomb.. .

Belinda woke up in a start, her eyes bulged and chest throbbing. She breathed in slowly, scanning her gloomy surroundings. She was home. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she exhaled. Shit, she cursed as she realised her dreams were back and still as ominous.

The last traditional healer she consulted three months back promised they would never return as long as she did exactly what she asked of her, which she did.

She had to slaughter a sheep, wrap its head with a White cloth and bury it at the front of their house. This would connect her spirit with the ancestors and they will reveal themselves in her sleep or let her rest. Her father's soul was not at rest, the sangoma told Belinda. That’s why she was restless. she had to cleanse the house to chase away the spirits lurking around the house so her father's soul would rest, and she would rest too if her father's soul was quiet. Three months later after the cleansing, the dreams were back.

Belinda looked over the side table. It was 1 a.m.

The last dream she had three months back was the same faceless ‘’leaders'' who warned every women in the group that they would be back to “settle” an agreement that was never fulfilled. The dream rattled Belinda she had to entrust her sleep with pills and working tirelessly.

After the last dream, and that was after her late father's funeral she never attended because her paternal grandmother thought it best Belinda not going to the graveyard because of the state she was in, every family member casting her side looks of a suicidal person. As time slowly passed by, Belinda resented her grandmother for depriving her of saying her last goodbyes, no matter the state she was in. You cannot forbid a child from paying their last respect to a parent, no matter what state they were in. Its deceitful, and there's no recovering from that. That's probably the reason why her father was not rested. Deep down she knew that seeing her fathers casket slowly going down the grave would've helped her heal.

The dreams usually came when she was in a dark place emotionally, and she thought she was making progress with the departure of her father.

A cloud of grief enwrapped the room as she rolled out of bed rushing to the bathroom. She splashed cold water across her face and watched her reflection through the mirror, tears threatening to stream down the corner of her eyes as she shut them. Today was not the day for this, she sighed deeply as she wiped her face. It was a Friday for gods sake, and a holiday. Which meant a long weekend of no work at that sordid factory she worked for, no feebleminded colleagues and that was supposed to put her in better mood, right? she groaned as she buried her face under the blankets.

She had dark, eerie nightmares since her early teens and this one was nothing compared to the ones she had before. Her father promised they meant nothing, she just had to pray before bedtime. Belinda was not brooding over this dream and promised herself to recite bedtime prayers from tonight. She was grateful for the two hours of sleep she got with no gory dreams.

Today was going to be a wonderful day, she mused as she dragged her feet to the kitchen. Her sister and niece were visiting the boyfriend for the long weekend, she had the house to herself and the plan was to watch movies all day with Ntobeko, her boyfriend of two years. He was the only living steady person in her life, except for her three siblings she rarely got along with.

Or visit the graveyard.

Her phone rang. It was her sister Yolanda.

“You need to try call Zama because my phone signal is the worst this side. They tried calling me around 5 this morning that your brother was stabbed in town yesterday…”

“That’s no surprise,” Belinda cut her. “He's probably laying somewhere in a ditch, licking his wounds. He'll show up, he always does- “

“would you stop?!” Ziyanda firmly cutting her, “this time it seems serious because Zama was crying and he hardly does that, actually he never cries. Please try and call them.” She hang up.

There goes my day, Belinda thought as she went through her phone's contact list.

Voicemail. Good. This was her proof she tried. No more.

Belinda's brother, Raymond was no stranger to crime. At fifteen he visited a holding cell after he stole at a local grocery store and the whole family hoped that would be his wake up call, instead he got worse and befriended the most unstable known gang in the hood. By eighteen, he was in and out of jail for drug possession and illegal firearms, which was the last straw. Her father kicked him out of the house with his growing violent behavior and stealing from the house. Belinda and Raymond were very close and it tore her apart when she had to let go of him. She never did, blood is thicker than water after all but for her sanity she kept a distance from him.

Belinda was lost in plucking out weeds around the gravestone she didn’t hear the woman speaking next to her until she tapped her shoulder,

“what? Sorry.” she stood up quickly dusting off her gloves.

“I got lost there for a second. Can I help you?”

“You shouldn't be here…” the woman whispered, twiddling her fingers.

“I’m sorry?” Belinda checking her wrist watch,

“I still have an hour to be here. You guys close after 6.”

“Belinda they are watching,” the woman looked around them with concern.

“They know. They are watching you.”

“Who? Who's watching?” Belinda looked towards the entrance at the two security guards who were laughing at a joke through their phone. She turned to the scrawny tattered woman and realised she looked out of place with her soiled fingernails and greasy teeth, a scarf wrapped loosely around her head with months of not getting a proper wash.

“What do you want?” Belinda asked with irritation, “I don't have any food with me and I doubt you should be here. Go ask the security guards”

“Zweli is not…”

“Wait! How do you know my father?” Belinda was stunned. Her eyes searching the woman's face, “Who are you?”

“The leaders know what Zweli did and they are out for revenge. Blood for blood, Linda. They know you can see them. They are coming for what your father owes, you can't…” the strange woman looked around in doubt,

“I have to go. They are watching us.”

“Wait!” Belinda hastily packing her water bottle and gloves inside her bag. “Please tell me how you know all this? Why are you…”

She looked up and the strange woman was gone.

“But what does this woman know about father?”

“ I wish I knew Yolanda. That woman knows about things I see when sleeping and I’ve never told anyone outside the family, not even Ntobeko. I'm terrified.”

“I told you to never visit the graveyard alone, you never listen to anyone. I'll try come see you tomorrow then we consult that sangoma again. For now, you can call your boyfriend to come sleep over. And please don't do things I wouldn't do under father's roof.”

“ha.ha.ha very funny. Did you finally get hold of Zama?”

“I knew I forgot something! Let me call him. Bye weirdo.” She hang up.

Belinda was skeptical of inviting Ntobeko over who always saw right through her and tonight she thought it'd be best she avoided him. Poor guy has been through every drama of her life, he deserved a lot more than she offered, she was indebted to him.

Belinda sent him a text that she had a migraine and an early night would cure it. He was concerned and promised to show up first thing in the morning when she refused him coming over.

Belinda took sleeping pills and covered herself with a blanket in the couch, trying to catch up with a TV show.

Belinda ran as quickly as the wind could carry her, with her bare body and feet hurdling over branches across the woods. She was screaming for help, her hands covered in blood. She could feel the snake closing in on her as it slithered through the ground, hissing on her heels. She ran.

Belinda tripped over a log and crushed to the ground.

The snake menacingly lifted its head over Belinda as she lay on the ground, flickering its tongue. It coiled its tail around Belinda's neck, tightening its grip as she gasped for air…

Belinda woke up choking, her phone ringing:

“Linda…” her sister sounded drained, beat and that alarmed Belinda.

“Linda, Zama was supposed to pick you up and his car died. Please come this side, you can’t be alone.” Belinda stood from the couch, “why, what's up?”

“It's best you come this side, you'll still get a taxi. Please its important.” She could tell her sister was crying.

“what happened? I can't just up and leave at this hour Yolanda. Its winter and already dark as we speak!” Belinda exclaimed with agitation, her head pounding from the pills she took earlier.

“Raymond was stabbed in town earlier this morning and he didn’t make it. Raymond is dead.”

Belinda’s world went dark, everything around her hazy. She leaned against the couch's arm rest.

“What…” she whispered through the phone, “he’s dead how?” Belinda stammered in confusion. Raymond was tough as nails, even drugs could not take him out.

“He's dead Belinda. He was stabbed in the neck this morning, and I’m going to the morgue to identify his body. You shouldn’t be alone, please come this side…”

Belinda placed her phone on the coffee table, bleakly staring into space. She could not move a muscle. Her brain ceased to function. She sat there immobile for what seemed like eternity trying to think of a distant happy memory, or a song to quiet the bell that insistently rang in her head. Nothing except the ill - omened breeze closing in around her.

Her phone was ringing, probably her sister. She blankly watched it ring to voicemail then staggered to the bedroom, dragging her aching body into a room that suddenly went icy cold with gloom. Belinda slowly got into bed to try sleep off this heavy load that just landed on her chest, she could feel the load about to tear her chest apart and she wanted to be asleep when that happened. There was nothing she could do but feel her chest bleeding. She curled her body, arms crossed tightly around her chest and steadily rocked her body.

“We are coming for more,” the leaders echoed at a distance as Belinda hastily dusted off soil from a lifeless infant she unearthed at the back of her yard.

“We are coming for more…” the four leaders raised their hands in unison as the baby’s incessant crying echoed around Belinda.