I TOLD YOU SO !

                                                                                              CHAPTER 1

It’s Monday. A drowsy, boring, and lazy Monday. Jezza, Flash, and Mari all have to be somewhere. Respectively, they are at that place we all hate so much - a place which requires you to be a responsible robot. The workplace.

Later on, at around 20:30, as Monday is creeping away, the three hopped on a WhatsApp video call. They were complaining that they don’t see each other enough and that tomorrow -Tuesday -Flash and Jezza will come see Mari.

Jezza, Flash, and Mari were longtime friends. Soldiers who brushed shoulders in the coldest times. Warriors who stood together in the loneliest of times. The type of friends who share war stories. They lived in the same neighbourhood for many years until Mari and his family moved out. Ultimately, they were good friends who kept in contact.

The following day came and, as planned, Jezza and Flash met up at Jezza’s house right after work and took the highway to go see Mari. Their trip involved the usual- laughing and playing loud music. They travelled in Jezza’s father’s modest orange Ford Ranger with tinted windows - the pickup. Four seats with a truck bed.

Ten minutes before arriving, they called Mari asking about his exact whereabouts, and Mari directed them to a nearby park, stating that this is where he is. Flash and Jezza instinctively knew that Mari was lying and that they would get to the park and have to wait for him to come. It was about half past five when they arrived at the park. Jezza and Flash waited, as they had guessed. They complained to each other about Mari always being late and making them wait for his arrival, as usual.

The park seemed rather quiet. It had humongous trees which stood tall on the edges of the park. The trees were almost all at the same height, and when brushed by the wind, it’s as if they sang together. The wind, the trees, and its emptiness gave the park this dangerous and slithering feel. It had Flash and Jezza ready for anything.

After waiting for about twenty dreadful, tense minutes, they saw Mari from a distance, but with someone similar in height, though with more body mass, right next to him. Their walk showed intent and purpose, which gave the hint that maybe Mari was hurrying to meet his friends and avoid the “always late” complaints. The two were walking as friends would, each intense and hurried step in sync.

The three friends joyfully greeted and embraced each other. It had been roughly six months since they last saw each other. The trio was breathing the same air again. In the midst of embracing each other and greeting each other laughingly, Mari introduced the new friend he had made - Skhanda. Jezza, Flash, and Mari had always been welcoming people. In fact, that’s how they met - through mutual friends. So they were never the type to be unfriendly and hostile to someone new being inducted into the mix of their masala.

Jokes were told, and the catching up happened. Within about fifteen minutes of meeting, Mari -being the alcoholic he is - told them about the liquor store close by. Jezza and Skhanda got in the truck bed of the Ford Ranger. Flash and Mari got in the driver’s seat and passenger seat.Skhanda and Jezza really spoke for some time. On the way to the liquor store, Skhanda told Jezza a bit about himself. He spoke of his love for money, his trials and tribulations, and how he needs money for his family. He even told him about a period in time where he used to sell Zol. During this period, Skhanda witnessed a lot of crime and attained contact details of many people involved in crime and in the underworld.

He looked him dead in the eye and said to Jezza, “When it comes to the money, I will kill a bruella.” He boldly stated, “If anyone messes with you, just let me know.” Jezza could see a flame flicker through Skhanda’s eyes during the conversation. Jezza listened very closely to Skhanda’s words. It was as if the world had stopped for Jezza to listen. He spoke with so much conviction, you would swear he had mastered the art of public speaking. He explained his great desire to be a king in life and his strong ambition not to share his glory.

They eventually bought some beer -one quart for each man. As they reminisced and conversed on life and its complexity, Mari proposed a business plan for them to consider: a logistics company. Mari claimed to have the necessary personnel to start this business, and it was just a matter of funding capital and getting the vehicles to accomplish this. Jezza then asked Mari to explain this business idea thoroughly so that all could understand clearly.

Mari explained that all the boys have to do is as follows: one person collects the goods, distributes them to each member, and each member transports them to the stated customer. Mari claimed the collection point is in Johannesburg CBD, and from there, the person who collects the goods must meet the rest of the boys at the truck depot to distribute the goods, and then delivery to customers begins.

The supplier and clientele were sorted - it was just a matter of convincing the supplier of their competency. He told them that he could schedule a meeting with the supplier. Mari ensured them that they would only be travelling within the Johannesburg region -no travelling across different provinces, at least for now.

So the job was simple: collect at Johannesburg CBD, meet at the truck depot, distribute, and deliver. It was a procedure that definitely requires trust, transparency, and good communication amongst them. Surely it would be all right, the boys excitedly believed.

Flash then questions, “Who is the fourth man?” (assuming that he, Jezza, and Mari are the three longtime friends). There was a moment of silence amongst them, and suddenly Mari says, “Skhanda.”Flash and Jezza subtly nod their heads and continue with the conversation. They continue to drink, laugh, and play music they love until around 10 p.m., when Flash and Jezza decide to go home and sleep to be ready for work the next day.

The very next day, the three longtime friends hopped on a WhatsApp group video call to discuss the logistics business plan.Jezza and Flash firmly expressed to Mari their desire not to include Skhanda in this business plan. They both explained that the stories they had heard from Skhanda were alarming, and they gave them a sense of the type of person he is. They believed it would rather be a dangerous adventure.

Mari explained that Skhanda would be a great addition due to his hunger. He said that this hunger stemmed from Skhanda having to make money to pay for his daughter’s school fees and livelihood. He described Skhanda as a hard worker who had the necessary connections to make this work.

He emphasised the extreme need for Skhanda to be part of the logistics business. He even went as far as saying that if Skhanda was not going to be involved, then the business idea was off.

Jezza and Flash assumed that maybe Mari and Skhanda’s friendship was really deep. They were very curious as to why Skhanda was needed. They asked Mari why he felt so strongly about his friendship with Skhanda, but he didn’t give them an answer and dismissed the question.

He told the boys to just trust him.Flash and Jezza assumed that the time these two had spent together had brought them closer, and that they had formed a loyal bond. Eventually, they gave in and allowed themselves to trust Mari’s judgment of character.They were skeptical -but they chose to give the benefit of the doubt to their longtime friend

                                                                                        CHAPTER 2

The truck depot was basically a collection point. Its location was similar in distance for all four of them. None of them ever complained about how they operated at all. There was no major fight that ever saw the light of day. It was minuscule, minor disagreements they would logically sort out -the types which stay in the past and don’t stir anything significant.

On this day, things were different. This was their biggest deal to make ever since. They were transporting used oil to four different customers, and it all had to be done by the end of the day. Over time, five months after Skhanda’s scare, they had all started to trust him, and his value to the team was evident.

All in all, the team was a well-oiled machine. Everyone understood their roles really well. The boys had crafted it perfectly. Skhanda’s efforts were an integral part of the system. At times, Skhanda was more motivated than the rest of the boys. He was on top of things, and he managed to bring in more customers for them. In certain moments, he was the engine of the team. He was a money-making machine, as he had warned them before - a hungry lion that had nothing to lose.

On this sunny day, all Skhanda had to do was come with the big brown aluminium containers of with oil from Johannesburg CBD to the truck depot to transfer them to his fellow comrades by 1 p.m. It was their first time as a team delivering oil. They were excited . They knew they were getting into a new market, and the new connections they would get would surely set them on the path of completing their goal :becoming a formal logistics business.

The three comrades arrived at 10 a.m. together. The clock ticked and tocked. Cars drove past them. The wind came and went. The sun passed the blinding clouds until it was half past twelve, when the boys started getting worried.

“Where could he be?”

They thought, pondered, and debated. They all believed it was some sort of mistake, and it was going to be something they would eventually just laugh off, like the last time.

They called Skhanda -no reply. They called the supplier - no reply.

They even called his girlfriend, Oratile, from his neighbourhood, and she also didn’t know where he was. She said he had not been picking up his phone since the morning. She stated that this was very unlike him. She said she was with him the day before. They had dinner at a fancy restaurant—which was unusual—and he said something a bit cryptic, which she ignored at the time.

Skhanda’s words were:

“Our time together is about to be good.”

She said she had never seen his eyes glitter like that before.

After he dropped her off, she said that when he told her “I love you,” it felt different. Although it was something he always said after a night out together, this time it felt softer and very intentional. After explaining how unusual the previous day was, Oratile proceeded to question them - asking if he had been acting unusual on their side as well, and whether they had noticed anything. She was very worried, as the friends could tell.

Mari had the phone on loudspeaker for all to hear. The sun was beaming, and worry and fear were in the air. Skhanda was missing, and his girlfriend said he was acting unusual.

1 p.m.- the supposed arrival time -and Skhanda was a no-show.

They waited until 2 p.m., and Skhanda was still a no-show.

At 14:03, the supplier called the boys and politely thanked them for the business they had done. Then, politely -like a baby being placed on a bed -he told them that he would only be working with Skhanda. Mari, holding the phone, tried asking the supplier what exactly the reason behind this abrupt decision was and how it came to be. The supplier calmly made the boys aware that he could not explain why and could not answer their questions.

His words were:

“The man to answer your troubling questions is Skhanda, majita.”

The boys were heartbroken, betrayed, and angry. It all felt so sudden. What could it be that Skhanda had done? Why could only he answer? Would they ever see him again? Was it truly over because of one man?

These were all questions they pondered on.

The supplier’s words turned out to be very true - only Skhanda could answer.

They sat down on the hardened and oily grass of the truck depot, dumbfounded, in complete eerie silence, each deep in thought. Deciphering what this meant for the business they had worked on for the past months. Their logistical company’s loyal customers had been taken by Skhanda. Could it be that Skhanda’s ambition meant they had to start again?

They accepted defeat and fate after sitting there for about fifteen minutes, allowing their shock-pumped pain to settle in their hearts. Eventually, they unwillingly walked to the orange Ford Ranger - the one that belonged to Flash. Whilst in the car, the boys did not utter a word to each other. It was total silence. The kind that weighs heavy. On their way back to Mari’s house it was quiet. Usually, the boys would play loud music - the type that doesn’t allow you to hear yourself think or talk -but this time, silence was sound, and they were definitely allowed to talk.

And in the midst of this silence, Jezza finally cut through it and said:

“Mari… I TOLD YOU SO!”