CHAPTER 9Ukusaba
The Escape
As I slowly come round, becoming aware of my surroundings, I’m struck by a sharp pain in my head and the overwhelming urge to vomit. I find that I’m lying on my stomach, in a strange position with my legs sticking out over the edge of the mattress. It’s pitch dark in the room, with the rain still drumming down on the thatched roof, but the storm seems to have moved on. How long have I been out of it? Perhaps fifteen minutes, perhaps half an hour?
Full memory returns only gradually. I turn my head carefully to look for Uncle Luthando. Again, that stab of pain in the head. But my eyes have now become used to the dark and I can make out the massive contours of his body lying on mother’s bed. He’s drawn a sheet up to just below his navel. He’s lying on his back w
