18/06/2026
One day I was coming back from groove at around 2:30 in the morning. I was proper drunk, my broer. Not the normal drunk where you're singing old Brenda Fassie songs. I was drunk-drunk. The kind of drunk where you greet a cow and expect it to greet you back.
I lived in rural KZN, and after leaving the tavern, there was a long walk home along dusty gravel roads surrounded by darkness and tall trees. At that time of night, there were no streetlights, no houses nearby, and no people. Just darkness, and strange noises.
As I stumbled along the road, I noticed a small bright light coming towards me from a distance. Because I was drunk, I thought it was maybe a scooter or a bicycle light.
But the closer it came, the bigger and brighter it became. At first I wasn't worried. Then it became brighter than a car's headlights. Then brighter than a floodlight. Then brighter than anything I had ever seen before.
When it was about three metres away from me, I realised this was definitely not a scooter and definitely not a bicycle. This thing was glowing like Eskom had finally paid all its debts and unlocked unlimited electricity.
Suddenly the light exploded into a blinding brightness.
Yoh!
I couldn't see anything . I fell to the ground, rubbing my eyes and coughing dust. My heart started beating faster, but I told myself it was just the alcohol playing games with my mind. When I finally looked up, I nearly swallowed my tongue.
Standing where the light had been was a man. His clothes were torn, His face was covered in blood. One side of his head looked crushed. His eyes looked strange, almost lifeless.
The man just stood there staring at me without blinking. That road was famous for robberies, so I immediately assumed he was a tsotsi trying some new criminal technology.
I jumped up and raised my fists.
"Listen here, mfowethu," I shouted. "You're not taking my money or my belongings tonight!"
The man looked at me and spoke in a weak voice.
"Help me, my broer..."
Before he could finish talking, I attacked.
I started fighting like I was defending a world title belt. The poor guy couldn't even explain himself. Every time he tried to speak, I landed another punch. The strange thing was that no matter how hard I hit him, he never fought back.
He just kept stumbling backwards.
Then, after taking a proper beating, he suddenly looked at me and said:
"Hau... Do you want to kill me for the second time?"
The moment he said those words, my blood turned cold. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up . Everything suddenly became quiet. Then I remembered the bright light.
I remembered how this man had appeared out of nowhere. I remembered his crushed head and bloody clothes. And then it hit me.
Yoh.
This wasn't a robber. This wasn't even a living person. I was busy boxing with a ghost. My drunkenness disappeared immediately. The alcohol left my body faster than a salary on payday.
I didn't wait for another explanation.
I turned around and ran. I don't know how I did it, but I covered 4 kilometres in less than 9 minutes. At one point I think I overtook a taxi.
I got home, locked every door, pushed furniture against the entrance, covered myself with a blanket and prayed until sunrise.
