REBEL GRAINED

CHOKED

Something good.

Something good.

Something wrong.

Something terrible.

Something...something.

"Aahhhh, Ahhh, Arrggh, let go of me. Nand, Nanda, wake up. Please don't do this to me, Nanda. Let go of me," Thulile fought with all her might. It was a nightmare; she wanted to wake up. Why didn't someone wake her from this hell?

"NANDA, NANI, SISTA, SISTA."

If someone had told Thulile this would happen, she would have never read Nandi's coffee.

The most beautiful stars are shooting stars. Who said that shit?

"NANDA," Thulile threw herself on the casquet. "Take me with you, Nana, take me; oh, Nandidiya, take me."

Through the struggle and the pain, they were together. Nandi was her rock. Thulile held on to life because her best friend was there.

How could God do this to her?

Wasn't the trials she lived enough? It seemed not.

Thulile didn't see anything coming. Too focused on her business venture with Dalai, the friend failed to see Nandi's issues. Nandi was a rising star with fans but also enemies. Many dissociated the two, but sometimes, a person could be both.

The news scrolled all day on the news forecast ticker: An influencer found dead in her apartment. Some spoke of burglary, but the truth was something none dared speak of.

According to the police, someone waited for Nandi to come home. The killer raped and stabbed her fifteen times. Nothing in Nandi's apartment had moved or disappeared. The police concluded it was a crime of passion.

Thulile didn't believe it, but she could not exclude the theory. It seemed plausible.

Like many others, Thulile found herself in the police's interrogation room. She told them about the last time they met and about the disturbing messages Nandi got. Thulile felt guilty; perhaps Nandi's killer was the person sending her messages. Why didn't she pay more attention? WHY?

"NANDA," Thulile screamed at the top of her lungs while stamping her feet. She, who usually remained silent on such occasions, cried more than Nandi's relatives.

"Thulile, stop it; you'll hurt yourself."

"Let go, Sus, let go of me ㅡ."

It was the last words Thulile pronounced the next moment she opened her eyes. She was in the hospital.

The face that greeted her wasn't the one she expected.

"Gisele."

"Thank goodness, you gave everyone a terrible fright."

"Nandi. Where?" Thulile tried to sit up.

"It's over, Thulile; they buried your friend yesterday. You were in such a state, and we couldn't give you sedatives. Your gran is here, too. She isn't well at all. Her diagnosis isn't good, Thulile. Do you understand what it means?"

The shock of Nandi's death affected everyone, and Thulile's Gran could not support seeing her granddaughter in such a state. Thulile's gran tried to cover her weakness for her sake but could no longer stall what was imminent.

Thulile's eyes scanned the room, "where's Femi?"

"Next to you."

Thulile looked to the side of the bed; Femi slept on a foldout sofa. She laid back down and tried to recollect her thoughts.