November

The foliage outside the mansion had turned shades of gold and red while the warm Autumn weather made the residents cozy up in the beds longer than usual. Mandisa tossed and turned in hers, gripping her sheets tight and groaning in her sleep. In her dream images of blood dripping from the head of a pale boy, his eyes fixed in one place and mouth agape. The sound of ululating filled the air creating a rich atmosphere, she saw this and ran as fast as she could, as fast as her legs could take her. Outside, she inhaled the smell of freshly cut grass as it stabbed her feet as she ran.

Why didn’t you Thwasa? A familiar voice whispered in her ears, wide eyed, this startled her awake and she shifted her weight out of bed, put on her slippers and white gown. She took the stairs, admiring the scenery before her through the large windows and headed for the kitchen. Inside, she took out a deep pot, a saucepan and her ingredients. She plaited her dough in crisscross patterns and tossed them into the hot oil next to her, once fried she put them into the saucepan with transparent syrup.

“Woo, what smells so delicious?” Akira sniffs at the aroma of hot oil and sugar.

“Morning, they called koeksisters,” Mandisa tells him still occupied by her baking.

“What does that mean in English,” he asks and she tells him it means ‘cake sisters’ in Afrikaans and is a South African doughnut.

“Can I have a mom and dad too?” Jiro beams and Mandisa chuckles.

“Just hold on for a few minutes it’s still hot,”

The rest of the residents poured in and enjoyed the yummy treat for breakfast with cups of milk tea. They spoke about how it would almost be a year since Kacey moved into Newman Heights and how the weird things that happened to them have changed their lives.

“There’s something I’ve been thinking about,” Kacey says in Mandisa’s direction.

“Why were you in America the first time I met you?” she continued to say.

“I wasn’t, as far as I know I got lost travelling back to the mansion one day and then I saw your car crash,” Mandisa explains and Kacey asks how that was possible.

“That my friend is what we call a Rip in location,” Gherro appeared and then disappeared in the very instant.

“What does that mean?” Eliza asked.

“Its when a portal opened in a specific location ceases to have a location at all,” Mandisa explained and Akira asked to further explain.

“Let’s say the kitchen has a Rip in location that means when travelling to and from the kitchen it could be in any room or even someone else’s room in a different location completely making it difficult to pinpoint where it’s true location lies,”

“So we could possibly be in New England but also not be in New England either,” Colchester says and takes a sip of his piping hot tea in a porcelain cup.

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“Oh, wait, I need to show you guys something,” Fitz said holding something in her palm in one hand and a koeksister in the other.

She closed her eyes and said, “mucyo vinivida deur osobaba,” before their eyes she turned invisible.

“That’s so cool, how did you do that?” Eliza asks while tearing apart a koeksister and dipping it into her tea. Fitz turns herself back to normal

“Who told you about this?” Mandisa expressionless.

“Nera taught me, I had to do the creepiest thing to-,”

“Did she not warn you of the dangers of doing this?” Mandisa interrupted her as she storms out the kitchen.

“What’s the harm in doing it, I mean we all developing weird and indescribable techniques, why can’t I have one?” Fitz pouted and sat down.

Mandisa undressed and took a shower; she let the water drip against her forehead and into her hair which turned it into brown spring-like curls. She put her forehead against the wall and closed her eyes. She let the minutes pass by, recollected herself and got out.

“I’m not leaving till you give me an explanation,” Fitz with folded arms and a tapping foot.

“Man, you took forever in there,” Kacey says while munching on a koeksister.

“What are you guys doing in here?” Mandisa asks patting her hair dry with a beige towel.

“We came to check on you,” Jiro also feasting on the delicious treats.

“I’m okay-“

“Nope you not, so tell us what is it that’s bugging you?” Akira interrupts her obvious lie.

“Tell them,” Colchester bluntly states.

Mandisa explains to them that she was meant to be a Sangoma, though they didn’t quite understand she explained that a Sangoma is a traditional healer from South Africa.

“So, is that a bad thing?” Eliza asked sitting on the bed with the rest of the residents.

“They get a bad rep because they use muti or ritual murders,” Kacey explains

“Oh, that sounds bad,” Akira said.

“But that doesn’t mean you would do that,” Jiro said swinging his leg on the bed.

“You right, I wouldn’t that’s why I ran away from home,” Mandisa told them while blowing through her hair with a blow dryer and comb.

“The day of my Thwasa or initiation I had to drink of kidnapped boy with albinism,” she continued to say and put down the blow dryer once her hair was dried, she tied it in her usual low ponytail.

“That’s crazy,” Kacey says and asks Jiro for a bite of what was left of his koeksister.

“That’s why I’m apprehensive about using techniques from the spiritual realm,” Mandisa tells them and Akira asks where Gherro is.

“You called for me,” Gherro appeared standing at the window with a coy smile.

“I am rather upset though,” he appeared in between where Kacey and Jiro were seated on the bed.

“Why?” Jiro asked licking the syrup off his fingers.

“I wasn’t offered any,” he states and feigns being hurt by placing a hand on his heart.

“Shush you, kutheni ulapha?” Mandisa says.

[Translation; Why are you here in Xhosa]

“Ngoba kutheni?” he responds.

[Translation; Why not? In Xhosa]

“Haai, ek sê niks,” she gives in with arms up in the air.

[Translation; I say nothing in Afrikaans]

“Alright, I’m okay so everyone out,” Mandisa finalized and waved her arms back and forth.

“Can I have another one, please?” Kacey asked while being shooed away and Mandisa nodded a yes.

Alone in her room, Mandisa sat on her bed to gather her thoughts as she ran her fingers through her hair, messing it up. She re-ties her hair and lies back onto the comfort of her blankets with her legs dangling at the edge of the bed.