Dawana and Nathan drove to Nala’s school after the news of the release of the other children. They had waited patiently in their house for too long even though they so desperately wanted to leave to anywhere so they could get some closure about the kidnap. Nathan still had bloodshot eyes due to lack of sleep, Dawana was dressed clumsily and didn’t care. They drove into the deserted school premises freely as if it wasn’t a school day. The gate was wide open and the school was abandoned by staffs.Parents had come and gone back with their wards that morning after learning that the school had closed down till further notice as a result of the strike. The entrance to the school’s building had been securely locked with a chain and padlock. Nathan fiddled with the padlock and its noise alerted the school’s security guard. He peaked out of the small window from his post and without stepping out yelled
“there no here, please Vamos “, then he disappeared into the tiny room.
Feeling frustrated they moved to the front of the gateman’s post and yelled question at him and all his response was “I don’t know” without even showing his face.
“Kusamo, why are you acting so rudely” Dawana took over the conversation “I give you good tips every now and then, you know my daughter; Nala was taken from the school yesterday and .......” Kusamo rushed out of his room, his river of patience had run dry
“Am i the police?! please leave this compound, I want to lock the gate”. He escorted their car out of the school’s premises and locked the gate after them. They parked their car outside and waited to see if anyone would turn up.
Nathan and Dawana waited for hours still yet no one appeared at the school. Their phones were busy with calls with no breakthrough information about Nala. Tired of sitting in the car Nathan strolled to a nearby kiosk and asked for a bottle of coke, he brought out one of his cigars from his breast pocket and lit it. He dragged in from his cigar and puffed out then he took a sip of the coke. His eyes met Dawana's, she frowned at him,hissed then she popped her head out of the car window and yelled
“kill yourself with tobacco”. He shifted his gaze from her and continued dragging his cigar. Dawana drifted into deep thoughts trying to dissect and analyse to understand the reason for her daughters kidnap the more she tried to comprehend it, the more it managed to slip through the determined grasp of all her reasoning powers. She repeated the process again and again until her husband’s voice brought her back to reality
“Dawana, it looks like the rain is coming, we should go home”.
The weather deteriorated quickly and driving back home was really difficult. It was hardly 3 pm and it was as dark as night, the rain poured heavily, every car had its full head lights on and wipers moving up and down on full speed. The traffic was long because cars moved very slowly. Drivers who couldn't risk it packed their cars by the side of the road and left their hazard lights on. Nathan still refused to stop even though he could only see a few feet from him and continued moving on snails speed . He turned into their street and found a barricade of cars blocking the entrance to his house. He pulled over by a corner and handed over the only umbrella in the car to Dawana and asked her to proceed into the house ahead of him. Dawana was shocked to see several news channels in front of the house; soon as she was sighted they all moved towards her. Before they asked her any question she asked them “has my daughter been found” the journalist closest to her responded " not yet" and asked her questions too “Ma’am why would anyone kidnap your daughter?” Dawana fought tears back and responded “that’s a mystery even to me” Nathan came beside her and held her shoulders tightly and took over the conversation “I know you are watching – the men who have taken my daughter away. We are open to negotiate, whatever you want, I just need my girl back home safe. Please call my mobile number 6162.....” he wasn’t allowed to finish reading his number when the police stopped the report and led the Gana’s back into their house.
The other four children released and their parents were invited to the police station for their testimony. The Gana’s were invited too; the room where the children were kept had been made to resemble a play room so they could have a relaxing atmosphere and ease whatever fright going to a police station might cause. Dawana couldn’t handle what she was hearing as the children recapped what the kidnappers had done especially to Naya. Dayo one of the boys said “one of the men in mask kept on hitting Nala until blood came out of her nose and her eye had swollen up and turned black”. The parents of the children also brought up the issue of Nala bragging to her classmates that her father had a lot of money and sometimes he brought money home in his briefcase. When the children were asked if Nala said so, they all agreed to Nala saying so. “Can we go home with our kids now” Dayo’s mother asked “the evil this Nala has caused our kids because some parents choose to train their children with money” Neither Nathan nor Dawana replied her, Nathan turned to his wife and said “I am sure Nala would still be alive if it’s the money they are after” They were lost in their world and didn’t even notice when the others left. “Bragging is pretty normal with children that age” The police man added when the others had left . “Hmmmmm” Dawana responsed.
A week passed and yet no breakthrough in the case. Nala’s parents had become so desperate announcing through all media channels that they were willing to disburse cash to have their daughter back with them safe and sound even before the kidnappers communicated any ransom. “I am convinced it’s one of the hungry teachers that has planned this, there is enough evidence for my suspicion, it’s annoying that the police hasn’t arrested all the teachers from that school” Dawana said when the she was interviewed on one of the news channels. Unhappy about Dawana’s accusation the head mistress had visited the news channel too and gave response “Yeah, blame it on the teachers who have been starved of their wages for months, because Nala is very discrete about how her parents splash cash around”.After hearing the teachers reply on the evening news Dawana felt frustrated that they all used the fact that her daughter bragged about certain things that were not necessarily true to her friends at school, Nala had told her they all shared their bragging rights to each other. On the night of the eight day while her husband smoked his cigar out of their house a habit he suddenly revived she brought out her bible and read psalms 31
1 O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O LORD my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
“No one will die” Her prayer was cut short by Nathan. He entered the room in a hurry looking for a paper and a biro, he scribbled something quickly and said “can I at least hear her voice”, then the phone went silent and he threw the phone down frustrated.
