Hi
I'm Yenzokuhle Vanessa Zulu.
Dive with me—into the depths of my life, where the folded begins to unfold, where the unseen demands to be seen, where closed doors are forced open one by one as I stumble toward a version of myself I don't yet recognize. This is not a story of becoming whole. This is a story of surviving what was never meant to be survived.
Before the voices.
Before the blood.
Before they named me cursed—
There was a call.
It came late, when the sky was already heavy with night and my chest felt tight for reasons I couldn't explain. My one and only sister had gone missing the day before. The police were on it, and it seemed as if the whole neighborhood was up and down looking for her. What hurt the most was that people suspected me, since I was the last person she was seen with. And who am I to blame them? These people never liked me in the first place; I was already a sore to their eyes, but for a reason I'm unaware of.
My phone buzzed once in my hand. Unknown number. I almost ignored it. Something told me not to.
"Yenzokuhle."
The voice on the other end was low, calm—too calm.
"Your sister is with us."
My heart dropped so hard it felt like it cracked.
"Sihle?" My voice trembled. "Where is she? Is she okay?"
A pause. Long enough to suffocate hope.
"If you want her alive, you will do exactly as we say."
My knees weakened. I had to sit down.
They gave me a location. A place I knew but avoided—abandoned, forgotten, swallowed by darkness and rumors. They warned me not to involve anyone. Not the police. Not her boyfriend. Not our parents.
"Come alone," the voice said. "And don't be late."
The call ended.
I sat there staring at my phone, my hands shaking so badly I nearly dropped it. Fear wrapped itself around my spine, cold and deliberate. My mind raced through a thousand possibilities, each worse than the last. I wanted to scream. I wanted to call someone—anyone.
But fear is louder than reason.
I went alone.
The place smelled of damp earth and decay, the kind of place where secrets went to rot. My footsteps echoed as I moved through the darkness, my breath loud in my ears. Every shadow felt like a threat. Every sound made my heart jump.
"Hello is there anyone .....Sihle?" I called out softly. "It's me."
That's when I saw her.
She was lying there, broken, barely recognizable. Blood pooled beneath her body, soaking into the ground like it had been waiting for her. Her clothes were torn. Her skin bruised and swollen. For a moment, my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.