17:21 Season 2 Episode 1

At this point in time, Michael was just existing, drifting. Not really going anywhere, just going through days. The death of E’ness had hit him hard. But not too hard. He didn’t even cry. But it did affect him. Michael found himself walking along the pavement whispering all kinds of mumblings, with his hands held tightly to his heart. He found himself in her, and now that she was gone, he had lost himself again. He had lost his smile. He had lost his will to live, to love, to be loved, to be human. He was laying in bed when his phone rang.

         “Iwe, where are you?” the voice echoed through the earpiece.

         “Why are you shouting?” Michael barked at his brother.

         “Are you coming over for FIFA? I need to come beat you again”, Chapanga uttered proudly about a fictitious record.

         “I’ll come by later, now leave me alone.” He shrugged over to one side, cut the line and tossed the phone behind him.

         Chapanga was smart, maybe too smart for his own good. He was a cheerful person, giving and extremely caring. He was of average height and he made fun of people shorter than him. He was fair in complexion and fairly shaven.

         Michael made it 2hrs later. Chapanga had been impatiently waiting. He served Cookies and Appy Apple juice, which was his favorite. The session wasn’t going well for Chapanga. He kept on losing. He put his controller down and started muttering something. It could barely be heard. Have you ever felt alone in a place full of people, that’s what this felt like.

         “Are you talking to yourself or have you lost your voice, Michael spoke.

         “I don’t have much time left”, Chapanga replied.

         “Time for what, more losses” Michael chuckled.

         “I’m dying”, Chapanga shot out a bunch of words. It had been a terrible couple of weeks for Michael and things were exponentially getting worse. Chapanga went on to explain that leukemia he suffered as a kid had returned.

         “You already went for a checkup?” Michael asked as he lost control of his controller and it landed hard onto the ground.

         “Iwe we can fight this like we always have. You can eat more healthy, you can start going to the gym. We can even get a second checkup. Second, third, fourth, I don’t care. I just can’t lose you”

         “I’m tired. I’m tired of fighting. I’m tired of always checking my back. I’m tired of always chasing the people that want to come close to me, I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain, and the inevitable pain that will get worse. I have lost the will to live, I want to go rest. Besides, people will forget about me the moment that I’m gone,” Chapanga replied. A tear walked out of his right eye.

         “So there’s nothing I can do or say to convince you?” Michael felt helpless. This was more painful than losing E’ness. The bond he had with Chapanga had become strong. They didn’t always talk or see eye-to-eye but he meant the world to his sibling and vice-versa.

         “When…What…How much time do you have left?” Michael asked in resignment. He could barely find his voice.

         “I have approximately 3 months. Promise me that you won’t tell anyone,” Chapanga commanded.

         “I’ll promise if you promise me that you will go back to Chingola to see our parents when your condition gets worse.” Michael fired back. They both nodded in agreement.

         The tension in the room died down a little but Michael had another bombshell.

         “I’m leaving Lusaka in a month. I can’t stay here. There’s nothing here for me. E’ness is gone and now I have nothing. I hear every echo in the world, the noise shatters the walls of my heart, that’s how empty I feel,” Michael stopped and silence swallowed the room again.

         “There’s nothing that can make you stay?” Chapanga enquired.

         “I don’t think so. Plus I’ve almost made up my mind.” Michael retorted. He got up and was halfway out of the door when Chapanga spoke.

         “Michael, don’t go”. Michael didn’t even turn or look back. He just exclaimed.

         “Chapanga, don’t die”.