The KT OLLA Web Stories

NOW after Es & Em had performed earlier, they’d gone live on social media and released a video. It was a small announcement the duo made. Yet their video shattered the internet. It was an announcement about them both. ‘Hello, friends!’ the dude waved. ‘Vickie’s saying hi, too!’ ‘Hello, guys! We’ve missed you, really!’ ‘Yeah, it’s great to be back after our marine year!’ Nile picked up. ‘Vickie says it’s 365 days without seeing our fans! ‘Well, I’ve joked about why we must split one year – just one unit… into a hundred and sixty five more! ‘But then we reminisced and I saw one year really felt so long!’ The girl talked up. ‘Still we’ll like to do that, if we need to choose again! As long as you’re by us, we’ll spend a lifetime at sea!’ The lovebirds were beaming smiles, looking new. Now Nile was the one to break their news update. So he moved on to announce then. ‘Our lovely people, we’ve got a piece of news today… ‘You know Vickie and I have been sharing the same stage now, it’s be...

ZADEQUE’S family turned to the people and lifted their young prince up in the air.  The ovation was loud and it went unending. Yet there was time for much more, so the people settled and watched the event. Now Prince Zadeque and his wife Princess Yalowe bowed before the monarch. The man bowed low on one knee while his lady went down on both, carrying the crown prince in her hands. Then King Maqwela I of the Kingdom of Cape Islands took a wreath of fresh leaves and laurelled their heads in green. He set the green to touch their ears and brows. It was the mark of honour in the Cape Island nation. Now as the laureates were commanded to rise, the king declared: ‘Our ancestors say, “When the coconut bows in beach sand, it rises king of palms. ‘People of the nation of Cape Islands, I present you Prince Zadeque the Greater... ‘Son of the former King and father to the future one… ‘Lieutenant in the order of the Great Chaka and Guardian of the order of our heritage… ‘I announce to you the K...

SAND and Muse performance came to an end with a standing ovation. Yet there was no fanfare or any effort to scream raving cheers. It was a piece of everyone’s story. And each person standing felt like musing on. Samba George was equally musing in the audience. She was seated in the event married already. Samba was there with her husband to see their friends perform. She’d just been wedded to Collins. Now while Nile and Vickie were away, the lady had got a new employment and had gone on to wed. Then the musicians had returned to work with a new staff as their manager. Yet Samba and Collins wouldn’t stop gushing over the duo. They had remained top fans. So it was time to announce the Crown Prince. And along with announcing him, the king would be revealing Zadeque. He’d been prepared for this day in the past one year. For he’d be decorated alongside his son.  Now King Maqwela I of the Cape Island Kingdom mounted the stage as the people settled down. He addressed the assembly with a sm...

GLITTERS dazzled like gold dust on the coastline ground of the Cape Island Royal Palace. It was a constellation of the leading powers in the island nation. The prime minister, the parliament, and the cabinet. But those statesmen weren’t the only twinkles that lit up that night. The populace of the flourishing state was represented also. It was a royal banquet hosted by the King Maqwela I. It was a party thrown to people of all walks. A full year had passed since the leader of Cape Island overcame his ill health. His symptoms hadn’t returned ever since. His brother also was well. It was a fresh start for the 41-year-old ruler as he looked with gratefulness to set the future aright. So he called the people for this purpose. Now Maqwela had reigned 19 years without an heir with his wife. He was childless but it didn’t bother him at all. He’d become very careful of repeating his father’s error. He wouldn’t take his paths of desperation. So the monarch had been leading the nation those year...

MAQWELA stepped into the house now; and there he saw the couple engrossed in a talk. The man had knocked about a few times yet the couple had gone on talking things. Yes, he was meant to leave and return another time. He was meant to respect their right to privacy. But the king was in a daze and every word spilled drew his steps inside. He found himself opening the door and standing in a radiant house. He was at loss on everything happening. That moment was special for Zadeque. He’d just heard it from his bride that she was pregnant. He was sitting with her on a couch backing the door. He fondled her belly and lit the house with smiles. Suddenly, Yalowe stopped her husband’s hands. She got up and bowed her face. ‘Your… Your Majesty!’ Zadeque looked behind then he saw King Maqwela. He was staring back at them. The prince stood and only gazed as an awkward silence filled the house. But it was Maqwela who felt most uncomfortable. Prince Zadeque finally spoke. ‘Welcome, Your Majesty... you...

IT was one month since the close talk which brought King Maqwela peace. The ruler had almost lost touch with reality before. For 15 years he’d been quite like a running machine, his whole system of nerves being alert every time of day. The man’s heartbeat would wake his nerves like a working clock wakes the night. His pulses also were live beats that set his whole frame restless. In 15 years, he’d chased nothing but peace. Now since that day he turned his heart to Christ, he’d found a new reality like that of a baby. He felt like a newly born in the way he slept and laughed. Everything was peace like that of a child. So after about a month of basking in the wonder, Maqwela thought of Zadeque. He wanted to ask forgiveness. He thought about calling Nile and Vickie over so they could pray for his brother. But first, he thought to beg for his forgiveness. So the monarch went back to his secret place. Yet this time, it wasn’t to lurk somewhere near the man and cry. No, it wasn’t even to bri...

THE new lovebirds turned back to pick up their phones. And then the call came again on Vickie’s. Vickie took up her phone and realized it wasn’t a call from her mum. She checked and it was the same number that’d called first. The girl showed her boyfriend the unknown number. Then Nile looked at his watch to check time. It was a quarter past ten. So Nile found it too late for a stranger call in. Vickie read his eyes. ‘You know we don’t answer a caller that’s not saved on our contacts!’ She said that to put his heart at rest. Nile nodded at her. The girl yawned. ‘The caller should text if they’ve got something important!’ Now Vickie was turning round when she discovered she’d picked the call. She was alerted and quickly showed it to her man. Nile assured her with a smile. He nodded she could answer. The young smart lady knew what that meant. She placed the call to her ears and stayed silent. She listened for the caller’s voice. The voice on the other side was that of a young dude. Seemin...

NILE’S eyes sparkled when he heard Vickie’s answer. He pulled her in and held his arms round her. ‘Thank you, baby! Thank you for being you!’ Vickie stiffened up in the close snug, her hands dropping down limply. Then Nile surprised her. ‘Allow me please,’ he whispered as he bowed to peck her cheek. The girl’s belly bolted when the dude pecked her. She didn’t know what to say and what not to do. She thought hard then she left all things called math. Now she climbed on her toes and pecked her boy back. It was just her liking him. Nile smiled as Vickie brought her own arms round him. She hugged him then stayed there in the boy’s clasp.  She closed her eyes and thought just one thing. That she’d found love at long last. Suddenly, the youngsters heard a smartphone ring in the sand behind them. They figured that it was Vickie’s. ‘I guess that’s your mum calling,’ Nile said, loosening the clasp. ‘She must be wanting you back now, you know.’ Vickie didn’t move at the words. She in fact se...

THE words dropped. They dropped suddenly, sweeping Vickie off her feet. ‘Spill it, Vickie! What is it you’re staring at in Nile?’ The girl was caught off guard as the handsome dude looked in her eyes and spoke. The young pair locked eyes for seconds, as Vickie’s heart raced away while her gaze was stuck. She looked away at last, embarrassed a bit much. ‘Wh... what are you talking about?’ Nile gently raised himself, slid his feet back in his sandals and buckled it. Then he sat in front of the girl, searching her eyes. It was a piercing look that told Vickie her boy saw through her. That he peered in her soul. ‘Yes Vickie, you’ve been distracted lately, so I’ve been wondering why you are! ‘Thank God we’re finally done with the convocation event and the performance! ‘Then we’re through with the King. He’s become well, you know! ‘But why is Vickie staring at Nile? You know I caught you yesterday, too. And the other day! ‘What is it with Nile? Tell me everything!’ Vickie felt absolutely flu...

IT was on the night following. Two young soulmates carted away to a small beach to talk. It was a lonely seaside quite a little removed from Vickie’s residence. Victoria’s friend had gone visiting, so the girl had asked her mother for a private time. She asked for them to take a walk outside. It was night, still Sara obliged. Well, Vickie and Nile’s parents weren’t blind to these little surprises going on with their kids. They’d been watching them since they met and clicked like  lovebirds. Then they knew that if they pestered them about love, they’d stop talking to them altogether. Now they didn’t want to lose their teenagers’ trust. They didn’t want them to lose each other, too... As the adults had seen love where the kids still fought for friendship. So the parents let the young birds play and like each other as they wanted. They did like they didn’t care when, in fact, they met together to talk of them. The boy’s parents and the girl’s mother soon bonded pretty much, but only N...

MAQWELA didn’t know about the experience that transformed his brother. He couldn’t think of wellness for a man under lock. So when he narrated how Zadeque had faked passing out just in a bid to stop the assault, it didn’t occur to him that a sick man wouldn’t have thought to do that. Even so, the king broke down and cried so much. He cried for his bad actions. His listening guests felt that he’d asked them a tough thing. Especially now that he told them his bad deeds. Still they were human and he shared with them something worse. It hurt them that a man was that evil. Now when Maqwela raised his gaze to listen, it was Nile who answered him. Then his answer came as a shock. The king had asked if they still felt he could be forgiven. So Nile took over now. He surprised him. ‘You may not get Heaven’s pardon, Your Majesty!’ Maqwela was stunned at that. He wiped the tears off his face and looked up immediately. He didn’t expect to hear those words. Those words that sentenced him. But then N...

THE lay reader’s voice came up now as she read the next two verses. It was the next verses of the same passage. She went: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created Him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moved on the earth.” Reverend Wadibe’s voice came up right then. ‘But what does it mean?’ he asked. ‘What does it mean that we are created in God’s image? ‘What does it mean that God made us male and female?’ There was silence as the question sounded rhetorical.  But then Phil Wadibe had an answer. So he went on to speak. ‘When God formed us out of mere dust, He crafted us to look exactly like Him. ‘He made man to be His likeness on earth. The representative of His reign here. ‘So when He made you as male, He was saying this to you: ‘“You are man in My image. ...

THAT day when the ruler stoned his brother a year earlier, it was only Maqwela who was left in the prison cell of his mind... His brother had been free from his own cage. Earlier that year, Zadeque’s caregiver who was employed to take care of him, had suddenly resigned. Then King Maqwela got a new person to take on the job. The caregiver’s job was to prepare the prince’s meal, administer pills to him and do laundry. She’d leave and return to the cottage each day using the back gate. Yalowe was the new caregiver. She was a beautiful woman of thirty-two; and she’d got no one to call family. So when the lady was offered quite a big sum to take the job and keep palace secret, she jumped at it and pledged her life to comply.  She agreed yet only wondered what monster lived there. Now the thirty-two-year-old started work. Then she was surprised at the man she met inside. She saw a pitiable soul hiding all day. She met a grown-up man who couldn’t meet people. Zadeque wouldn’t talk when sh...

NILE and Vickie turned to Maqwela, listening to hear him all out. So the king went on to the case in point. ‘I told you the other day that I live with paranoia. That I always run to stone my sick brother at my time of crises. ‘Zadeque is the name of that brother of mine. I’m the only reason why he’s paranoid today. Why he hides from the world! ‘But, you see, I cannot let him roam because people will talk. I care for my throne that much! ‘Still, I want to atone for my sins. But then I keep on hurting this man!’ Nile and Vickie looked on and said nothing. ‘You see, I am selfish and self-centred! But you may be so generous that you’ll excuse these under frenzy… how about this incident? ‘It was a year ago when I was most desperate for a cure. I got some people who claimed to be experts of some alternative therapy. ‘They were carrying out experiments on acute cases like mine. They were also in the last stages of study, so I offered to be their study. ‘I brought in my brother as second guine...

IT was a special morning for Maqwela at his palace. Sand and Muse returned for their assignment with the ruler. The music stars were in a private talk with him. They were seated with him inside the secured hall where he’d had a talk with them before. It was the place with a secret pass into Zadeque’s. The prince lived in an adjourning cottage which the pass opened to.  So in their talk, Nile and Vickie told the monarch about salvation through Jesus. They told him that it was Jesus who had touched him through their music. That He’ll always restore wholeness to those who’d be grateful to Him. They told the monarch that Jesus was ready to give him a second touch and make him well. That the man needed to turn his life to Him. Maqwela smiled at the friends and said no. He gave a reason that surprised the two.  ‘I know your Jesus… probably more than you think I do. I know He pardons sins – I’ve heard it many times before. ‘See, if I was to be talking with other people, I’d just have...

VICKIE sat on the ceramic tiled floor, crouched in a corner in the little room. She clasped a small bible over her knees, spread it open at nowhere in particular... But Vickie wasn’t gleaning from her bible, she was glaring at Nile. It was the recess that’d got Samba to go out and check her phone. This was during the prayer meet-up. So they were on a break – and Samba must’ve gone chatting up Collins, she thought. But there they were, together... both Nile and her, they were the only ones left musing. So Vickie stole a glance at the young man as he sat a small distance away and jotted down some things. The tall, slim dude faced away from a doting girl, so he wouldn’t know a lady was tripping. He wrote in a notebook like a class pupil and didn’t know he was looking quite charming. Vickie turned to look some more and found herself gazing, and loving him. She wasn’t unfamiliar with him scribbling notes, especially after a spiritual encounter. She was pretty sure he’d got a revelation for ...

IT’D been a few weeks since Maqwela invited Sand and Muse over to the palace, so the media had got a tiny wisp of the news. The chatters spreading round the capital were that Es and Em got itself a big contract to play at the king’s palace. It went with talks about how fat their deal must pay. But that was not what happened, as the talk with the monarch was quite different. King Maqwela had asked the duo to play him therapeutic music till he was well. He’d offered them a huge pay for their time. But the friends weren’t some experts in music therapy. Nor would they share the credit of what God could work through sound. So they took on the spiritual work they’d take no pay for. They wouldn’t stop till the day he was healed. Now everywhere they turned on internet, there was something nagging them to explain better. They didn’t want the king’s secret leaked. They didn’t want their purpose known, too. So they chose to keep their phones down and focus on work. Within those days when they sta...

LIGHTS shone down on them, as cameras filmed at angles. It was the set of a viral show that crossed two stars the world had been dying to wed. They were solo artists who claimed they wouldn’t date each other. And had never been seen together. But all the Islands went wild every time they released their tracks after each other. As they rapped bedroom stuff that gave dirty meanings when synced in cross sequence. They were a different breed of stars, the other kind of shine. They called them Rich Hard and Dame Queen. Now the online talk show kicked off and there were about 600K live viewers with likes of half the number. It wasn’t what a Cape Island channel had ever recorded on the platform. Even youths across the borders liked to watch. Then Richard and Dame – that was their offstage names, took the internet by a big surprise. They went clumsy at their intro and made obvious efforts at bonding. They smiled and greeted, but everything seemed plastic. Yes, the viewers understood that they ...

MAQWELA rushed down to his brother and called for help. The then head of palace security showed up. The man was Collins’s father. He’d also served Chaka-Hulu before he died. That man knew when the brothers’ talk turned a quarrel. As he’d been watching out for the king’s safety close by. But the quarrel went so fast that before he could figure where things were headed, there was the mess. So he rushed in while Maqwela cried, and called an ambulance. In a while the ambulance arrived as it was one of those stationed for the palace. Now the man went with the victim and stood as his guardian through surgery. The surgery went on for hours then the patient was turned to an intensive care. It was long weeks of sleeping comatose. Now after the dead sleep, Zadeque came awake… and survived. But the prince didn’t live the sane fellow he used to be. He woke up a paranoid case. And so, Zadeque began to live with paranoia from the age of 28. Well, so acute was it that he couldn’t bear to see anyone. ...

THE argument started like every other one that night. The argument about freedom between two brothers. It was 3 years after Chaka-Hulu died and Maqwela became king. So the new king had been visiting Zadeque at night to hear him out. But this night didn’t go down like other times. It went on and on and never dawned… It was a painful evening that rolled on for 15 years. Prince Zadeque pleaded, as he’d always done, for the newly crowned one to set him free. But Maqwela stood his ground, so the brothers wrestled with words. Zadeque saw that his brother wouldn’t yield, so he chose to throw words in his face. Words that could hurt his pride and make him bend. ‘Are you this scared about me? Someone who wasn’t raised with privileges like you? ‘Look, no man wants your throne – it’s just you! So why should I stay here to make you feel capable? Why?! ‘Come, if you’re so weak to hold your place then leave it out to regents! Go on, abolish monarchy in Cape Islands… who cares? ‘But you can’t hold me...