THE THUNDERSTORM..

The afternoon’s thunderstorm had cooled the scorching heat wave experienced in the country side for the past few weeks. Drips of rain spattered against the windshield and windows of the old beat up truck. Ubaba Jaca was making his way back home after a long haul to Port Elizabeth. He lived in the southern coast village of Booi - Booi. The radio preacher had him all attentive about the mysteries of the unknown realm. “Spiritual realm he called it.”

“We have to keep an open mind about these things. We put on the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Sandals of Peace and the Helmet of Salvation. I lift up the Shield of Faith against all the fiery darts of the enemy; and I take in my hand the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, And I choose to use Your word against all the forces of evil in my life….” XXXSSSSSHHHHHHHHH. The signal of the Christian radio station was lost. Ubaba Jaca took his earphones and placed them neatly into his ears and turned his Iphone8 on, flipping to his music list. Pressing play, his favourite gospel singer, Sinach was singing her song, Way Maker, - “Way maker, Miracle worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, My God - That is who you are, Way Maker…”

Ubaba drove humming and singing along as the music boomed over the earphones. He drove towards the town’s lights that were flickering like spirit flames in the distance, “a few more kilometres then I would be at home”, he thought. The lightening flashed and the thunder roared over the vastness of the fields that lay bear. Only the trees and rocks obeyed the orders given from heaven. A loud WHOOSHING sound came from his engine, and the truck jerked. He was forced to leave the road and came to a complete halt on the side of the road.

Ubaba Jaca turned on the hazards and took his warning triangles from behind his seat. Feeling for his torch in the cubby-hole, he found it and slowly receded the truck’s cabin and knelt in the mud, by the driver’s side front wheel and shone the torch under the truck. He tried to see if anything happened to the undercarriage of the truck. The radiator was overheated. Steam escaped through the vents of the “Flat Nose.” He safely placed one of the warning triangles at the rear and the other in front of the truck as the hazards flashed on and off.

Slowly he walked back to ascend to the truck’s cabin. He was going to call the depot to get the mechanics, who were on standby, to come out to him with a tow truck so that they could tow him back to town.

Waiting on the side of the road, with his Iphone8 in hand. Ubaba Jaca was surprised by a deep, bass voice in the dark. “Do you need help, Malume?” Ubaba Jaca could feel his body grow cold, the hair at the back of his neck rose, a chill tremor ran down his spine. Ubaba Jaca had a trickle of urine run down his left pants leg. He was so afraid of the voice behind him, the unknown voice had frightened him.

It was an unpleasantly cold and wet night, dark, mystifying, the moon was sheltered by the murky looming clouds. He felt so anxious and uneasy as it was just a little past midnight. The treacherous thoughts that lingered in his mind made him feel ill to the stomach. He had to do the unmentionable and turn around to face the person who was standing behind him. One, two, three, Ubaba made a 180 degree turn to see the culprit in the dead of night that had given him such a scare.

“Ubaba Jaca, it is me, Tony from home.” The built up anxiety drained from Ubaba’s body. “Ha its You Tony, Haaibo!!, what are you doing here at the side of the road in the dark?” “Had a stand of avocados and the seven colours, you know them veggies Malume?” “Pumpkin, beet root, carrots, cabbage and sweet potatoes …” “The thunder storm started and I went to find shelter under that huge tree, shine your torch in that direction”, Tony pointed to the left. Ubaba saw a make shift tent made from plastic and rope. “You scared the beejeebers out of me”, said Jaca “What is wrong with your truck?” Tony asked. He knew Jaca’s Delivery Truck from a distance. “The radiator overheated, don’t know if it’s the coolant that is finished or if it’s the fan belt that snapped. Help me Tony to check please. It’s cold and late. I want to get home.”

Tony and Jaca had to undo the cab hinges on the side of the cabin so that they could let the truck’s cabin move forward. Jaca drove one of those “Cab Over Engine” trucks. It was the only way to inspect whether if it was the fan belt that was damaged or something more seriously. Low and behold the fan belt was indeed snapped. To make matters worse Jaca’s Iphone8 battery was dead from all the music he was listening too. He couldn’t make that call to his depot to get a tow truck to fetch him after all.

“You know what Malume, I have some old pairs of pantyhose’s uMama gave me. I use to bundle the avos in, I use them when the packets are finished. Let me get them for you.” Ubaba took his opened “okapi knife” from his jacket pocket and cut the measured pantyhose from the snapped fan belt. They managed to tie a knot around the pulley. They returned the cab back to its original position, clicked the cab hinges shut. “Let’s try and start the truck”, Tony suggested. Ubaba ascended once more to the truck’s cabin that dark night to start the engine. Prrrft Prrrft!!!, then after a few attempts the engine purred and the truck was ready to carry on its journey to Booi - Booi. “Get your things Tony and pack your boxes at the back here,” Ubaba pointed to the small bed behind the seats. Cosy little bed that beckoned Tony to take a nap, but he only packed his boxes there. One of the huge avos rolled under the passenger seat and hid there in the dark. Tony was so tired, he left it there, hiding, as they travelled homewards.

“So tell me Malume, what did you think was behind you, when I spoke to you” “Good grief Tony. I thought you were a ghost of some sorts. I was listening to a sermon on the Christian radio station before I broke down. The preacher spoke about things in the spiritual realm. Remember that time when your sister and my nephew Tsepo ran away together and Sheila got so ill. We had to get Minister Nandi to come help us heal Sheila. I still remember the bible verse he read that evening in her bedroom“, “Lift up your heads, O you gates, be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in Battle, By his stripes, May you be healed….”

“So you don’t believe in magic?, I have my talisman I keep around my neck for protection“. Tony slowly lifted the rabbit’s foot from under his shirt. “No my boy, I don’t believe in such Magic, this is my protection“. Ubaba fondled on the side of the drivers door, and pulled out his bible. He opened the bible and the gold cross bookmark, his darling wife, MaPam bought him, was there marking the passage of Psalm 24.

“Lets get home my boy, and I will ask my dearest wife to prepare us a meal with your seven colours and my chicken breasts so we can eat and rest.” suggested Ubaba Jaca. Tony searched in his pants pocket for his favourite Taxi Snuff. Pinched abit of snuff and inhaled it up his left nostril, Achoo Achoo!!! …… Tony sneezed as they travelled towards the spirit flames that grew brighter as they drove closer to the town. A thought came to Ubaba’s mind as if it was by fate or pure coincidence that he broke down at that particular spot.

MaPam was waiting with bated breathe at the front door as the two men drove up into the driveway. Tony took his belongings from the small bed and made his way into the kitchen, Ubaba headed straight to his bedroom to change his pants. MaPam, prepared the most delicious meal that Tony had eaten in a long time.

“Tell me Malume, when will you be bringing home some Snoek or that Cape Whiting they speak about?” “Soon my boy, Soon.? Replied Ubaba Jaca.

MaPam picked up her husband’s muddied pants which he had left laying on the bedroom floor, and found in its pockets, some orbit chewing gum, a small tub of Blue Seal Vaseline and an old folded Shoprite till slip from last month, with these words written on the back, in red ink,

“The Lord is my light and salvation -whom shall I fear? The Lord is my stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1