Chapter 39

Rima—Darkness

The clouds covered the sky like a thick, suffocating, icy-cold blanket. The warmth of the day was gone, taking with it the joy Priscilla had felt in her heart.

“Let’s stop by this Pine Tree Inn. They have these warm, sweet scones and jam that I know you’ll like,” Unashe said as they drove away from the waterfall.

“And tea?”

“Yes,” Unashe said and took off towards another dirt road. This place was not as popular as Troutback Inn, but had its own charm and privacy. They entered the dining room where another fire blazed.

“I also told them to make us a packed dinner and more scones for breakfast tomorrow,” Unashe said as they sat down.

“Thanks. How long do you think we should stay here?” Priscilla asked.

“One more day. Tomorrow afternoon we can drive back to Harare and I’ll take you to my friend’s house,” Unashe said once Rudo was talking to a little white boy with curly red hair and a million freckles. They were getting along really well though she wasn’t sure if the parents liked it or not. They kept glancing at the children with stiff expressions. The mother called the boy over, but the boy refused to come. Rudo had a knack for getting along with people, and the little boy was enjoying her company. Priscilla concluded that he didn’t see color yet. His parents would teach him.

“I would like to be as far from Chamu as possible. How long can we stay in hiding? What do I do after a week? A month?”

“Then you get a lawyer to tell him that it’s over,” Unashe said.

“I hope it’ll be that simple. How can I start my life from scratch while you still work for him?”

“I forgot to tell you. I resigned a month ago. After I learned about Chantel, I knew I wanted to leave. I also think he is under investigation for fraud. There is a lot you don’t know about Chamu.”

Priscilla’s eyes widened at the surprising information Unashe was telling her. Would she ever learn everything about Chamu?

“He is also very dangerous,” Priscilla added, shivering. “I just have a cold, hard feeling that won’t go away. I don’t think he can stand the humiliation of being divorced.”

“You are his trophy wife. Everybody in the city knew that. They envied him.”

“I’m surprised he would go to such lengths to keep me when he has another wife. I want to tell myself that he doesn’t care if I leave him, but I remember the look on his face when he slapped me.”

“He what? I need to get my hands on him,” Unashe thundered.

“It’s not too bad,” Priscilla said, but her eyes filled with tears.

“He’s crazy,” Unashe said then regarded her for a while. When he spoke, she could tell he was trying to make her feel better. “But in some strange way I can understand his temporary madness. When you dumped me, I thought I would lose my mind. That moment when you were angry…”

Unashe reached over and covered her hands. Slowly he picked them up and brought them to his lips and kissed the center of her hand. Priscilla felt the warmth spreading from her hand to her heart and then to the tips of her toes.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Priscilla said, and looked up and saw Rudo staring at them. ”I missed you every day.”

“I missed you. When I saw Rudo the first time, I wished she were mine. It’s a miracle to me that she actually is.”

“She’s all yours.”

* * *

The drive back to the house was quiet as Rudo lay in Priscilla’s arms again. The car overflowed with the sweet aroma of the warm scones and jam they had ordered.

Outside it was already getting dark though it was only 4:30 p.m. They got to the house and Unashe started another fire while Priscilla put the food in the kitchen. Rudo found a game of checkers and played against Unashe. He let her win and she was excited. She asked Priscilla to play against Unashe. Their game was tough, and eventually Unashe won.

“I’ll challenge you tomorrow,” Priscilla said, getting up and beginning to put their dinner on their plates.

“I think someone needs to go to sleep,” Priscilla said when she saw Rudo yawning.

“Do I have school tomorrow?” Rudo asked. Priscilla looked at Unashe. He was already the daddy, and Priscilla naturally gave him the respect.

“You will go next week. Right now, you are having a holiday. A special holiday.”

They ate together in front of the fire. Rudo chatted a lot and Priscilla let her tell Unashe all about school, piano lessons and dance. She could tell that Unashe felt left out, especially when Rudo spoke of her trip to Disney with Daddy. Every now and then she glanced at Unashe and their eyes connected, filled with warm sincere messages they knew they couldn’t hide anymore. Priscilla had just put the dishes in the kitchen when she sensed something.

Both Priscilla and Unashe were surprised when they heard a car drive just outside the house. Unashe had just told Rudo it was bedtime.

“Who’s that?” Priscilla asked. Her heart was already racing.

“Maybe it’s Mum. I left a message for her again when we were at Troutback Inn,” he said. Priscilla ran to the window and peered outside at the silver twin cab.

“I don’t know who it is,” she said, but the way her heart was beating, she had an idea. Unashe saw the fear in her eyes and ran to lock the door. The air in the room became charged with terrifying electricity.

“Rudo, I want you to go and hide in the wardrobe and don’t come out until your mum tells you, okay?” he said.

Rudo ran to Priscilla in fear.

“Go quickly, Rudo. Don’t come out until I come to get you. This is very serious.” Priscilla had to push her. Rudo ran with tears streaming down her face.

“You go, too, Priscilla. I’ll deal with him,” Unashe said.

“No.” Priscilla shook her head, fear in every fiber of her being.

“Go now!” Unashe’s look demanded submission, and Priscilla went to make sure Rudo was hiding. She found her in the wardrobe and Priscilla gave her a kiss.

“I love you, Rudo,” Priscilla whispered. She jumped when she heard Chamu yell.

“Where is she? Where is my wife?”

She stood up. “Stay here. Don’t move,” he commanded and left the bedroom. She was not going to run away from this evil. She had to face him.

When she reached the living room, her heart stopped. Chamu pointed a gun at Unashe’s head, the same gun she had seen him packing for shooting practice. Unashe had backed away, holding his hands up. His pained expression grew when he saw Priscilla walk into the room.

“Chamu, don’t do this,” Priscilla begged, shaking her head. “Let’s talk about it.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. He’s going to die, and so are you!”

Priscilla lifted her shaking hand to him.

“Take me. Leave him alone,” Priscilla whimpered.

“I told you to stay away,” Unashe said.

“Shut up, you two! You make me sick. You thought you could get away and have your little affair without getting caught, didn’t you?” Priscilla shook her head, as much to say no and partly to shake off what surely was a nightmare.

“Nothing, nothing happened,” she said.

“I gave you everything, and this is how you thank me? And you…” Chamu looked at Unashe. “Why didn’t you stay in England? You couldn’t keep your hands off my woman. I should have killed you back then.”

Priscilla had never seen Chamu look like this. He was crying and fearsome at the same time.

“Let’s take this outside. Let Priscilla live. She will go back to you,” Unashe said.

Chamu laughed a cold, hard laugh. “You can’t give her to me. She was always meant to be mine, but you had to try to steal her from me. Nobody else is going to have her now. She will die mine. Mine, do you hear me?”

“Yes,” Priscilla sobbed, seeing her life flash before her eyes. She was trembling so much she thought she would have a heart attack. She was going to die. He was going to kill her and Rudo.

Oh, God, please help me.

He pointed the gun at Priscilla. In the same moment Unashe jumped quickly towards Chamu; as he was about to reach him the gun went off. As if in a horror movie Unashe saw Priscilla clutch her stomach and fall to the floor, blood gushing through her fingers.

There was no time to help her. The two men fought for the gun with grunts and curses. They both fell into the TV and knocked the whole cabinet down with a loud crash, stunning them for a second. The battle for the gun continued. Chamu managed to gain the upper hand, and with a grunt aimed the gun towards Unashe. Unashe held his ground and tripped Chamu. Both men fell, and the gun tumbled towards the door.

Scrambling on their knees, they dashed for the gun and with both hands on it continued the fight to survive. After the struggle by the front door, the gun went off and both men fell still on the floor. Priscilla never saw what happened, as she lay motionless on the floor.