📖 Chapter 2: A Ring and a Rumour
I didn't sleep that night.
My body was tired, but my mind kept racing — back to that white BMW, back to the flash of gold on that hand. Bongani's ring wasn't just jewelry. It was a promise. A piece of our late grandmother. And now it was driving around Mamelodi like nothing had happened.
I sat up in bed, staring at the ceiling through the cracks in our zinc roof. Rain was coming soon. I could smell it in the air — that dusty, wet scent that made you feel nostalgic and unsettled at the same time.
I grabbed my cracked phone and opened WhatsApp. I clicked on Bongani's profile.
Last seen: Two weeks ago.
No profile pic. No status. Just silence.
> "Where are you, bro?" I whispered.
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The next morning, Mama was in the kitchen with red eyes and silence. She barely touched her tea. I didn't ask questions. That's how grief worked in this house — it sat between us like furniture.
I left for school early. I needed answers.
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At break, I went to the back corner of the quad — where the smokers chilled. The boys didn't like when girls came through, but I wasn't there to impress them.
Spha, Bongani's ex-friend, was leaning against the wall rolling a cigarette. The same guy who used to sit in our house and play FIFA with my brother like they were blood.
"Ey, Spha," I said.
He looked up slowly, surprised.
"Lethu?" He coughed. "What you doing here?"
I didn't waste time. "You seen Bongz?"
His face changed.
"Nah. Not since… not since that party in Nellmapius. Why?"
I stared him down. "Someone drove past me yesterday in a white BMW. Wearing his ring."
Spha froze. "The gold one? With the engraving?"
I nodded. "Tell me the truth, Spha. Where is he?"
He dropped his cigarette and stepped closer.
"You didn't hear this from me… but Bongani was messing with people. Serious people. He was running with Mavusana's crew before he disappeared."
My stomach turned. Mavusana. A name whispered in fear around these streets. He wasn't just a hustler. He made people disappear.
"And now his ring is driving around like a trophy?" I asked.
Spha looked around, lowered his voice.
"If you're smart, Lethu, you'll forget you ever saw that ring."
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🕯️ End of Chapter 2
> But I'm not smart anymore. I'm desperate. And I want my brother back.