📖 Chapter 3: Taverns, Taxis, and Triggers
I shouldn't have gone to the tavern.
Not alone. Not without a plan. Not while my mind was still spinning from what Spha told me. But that ring haunted me, and the name Mavusana rolled around in my chest like thunder.
After school, I didn't go home. I walked straight to Tshwane Rank, bought a kota I couldn't finish, then waited outside the taxi loading for Nellmapius. My stomach was tight. I wasn't sure if it was hunger or fear anymore.
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The tavern sat like a wound at the edge of the kasi — tin roof, black windows, and reggae music leaking through the cracks. Everyone called it "Half Moon." I'd never been there, but Bongani used to disappear into that place almost every Friday night, before he vanished for good.
I tightened my hoodie and slipped inside.
It was dim, hot, loud. The smell of sweat, cheap perfume and stale beer hit me all at once. Men leaned over pool tables, women laughed in booths, and smoke curled through the air like ghosts.
I didn't belong here. But I wasn't here to belong.
I scanned the room. That's when I saw him — the guy from the BMW.
He was sitting in a corner, whispering with two others, his gold-ringed hand resting on the table like it belonged there. I stepped closer, heartbeat kicking.
Then someone grabbed my arm.
"You lost, pretty girl?"
I spun around. A tall guy with a scar down his cheek stood grinning at me. His breath smelled like Lion Lager and ego.
"I'm looking for someone," I said.
"Oh? Who? Your boyfriend?" He laughed.
I pulled away, moving fast, heading for the back. I needed to get closer to the ring guy. Just see his face properly. Just confirm it.
But as I stepped forward—
> "Aowa, she's Bongz's sister!"
The voice came from my left. I turned.
A girl stood by the bar with red braids and sharp eyes. I didn't know her name, but I'd seen her before, with my brother months ago. She looked older now. Wiser. More tired.
"Lethuxolo, right?" she said, walking up. "You shouldn't be here."
I hesitated. "Do you know where he is?"
She looked around, then motioned for me to follow. We slipped outside into the back alley, away from the noise.
---
She lit a cigarette with shaking hands.
"They said you were asking about the ring."
I nodded.
"It's Bongz's," I said. "I saw a guy wearing it."
"That guy's name is Ronzo. He works for Mavusana now. He's not someone you just 'see' and walk away from."
"Is he the reason Bongani's gone?" I asked.
She looked away.
"I don't know. But Bongz got in deep, Lethu. They were running phones, spiking ATMs… even guns. Then he found out something he wasn't supposed to. After that, he started hiding. Then… nothing."
I clenched my fists.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
She looked me dead in the eyes.
"Because girls like us don't ask questions in this place. Not unless we want to vanish too."
---
I walked back to the main road with the weight of her words on my shoulders. The sky had darkened. Clouds thick and grey.
I felt watched. Followed. Like the Kasi knew I was stirring things that were supposed to stay buried.
Just before I could cross, a black Golf GTI pulled up beside me. The window rolled down.
It was Ronzo.
He smiled like a hyena.
"You're Bongani's sister, neh?"
I froze.
He held up the hand with the ring.
"You're looking for this?"
My blood went cold.
He leaned closer.
"Tell you what, girl. Stop asking about your brother. Or you might end up where he did."
Then the car peeled off, tyres screaming.
---
I stood in the middle of the road, heart pounding.
The message was clear.
Back off. Or disappear.
But it was too late for backing off now.
They had Bongani's ring. Maybe even his body.
And I wasn't going to stop until I found out everything.
Even if it killed me.
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🔚 End of Chapter 3
> In the township, secrets don't stay buried. They rot. And I was done pretending not to smell the truth.