THE EDGE OF LIFE

I screamed out with rage knowing that there was no more chance left for
death to spare the ruins of my desolated life. I recited the words with which
Jesus Christ cried on the Holy cross when he screamed, “Eloi Eloi
Lamasabaktan”. I prayed to the Holy one that it was good for Him to stamp
out my breath. I had no any other best option rather than regretting and
meditating over my past miscellaneous evil deeds.

The condition in which I was, reminded me of my late father’s usual advice.

My mind was cropped up with his diurnal good advices which he, at all times,
tried to plant in me. I blamed my pretence big sized deaf ears for repelling his
good words instead of irrigating them in my mind. There was no one else left
for me to blame for I was the only causal factor for my life to start bubbling
out behind the twin sized bars at Kachere prison.

I recall how our invigilator, a man of small sized black spectacles

dumbfounded me with my little archaic leakage when we were writing
history. “Stand up young man! Put your hands up!” shouted Mr Mwale, our
invigilator whose face was already flushed and painted with colours of anger.
His hoarse voice pounded in my ears like the heavy earthquake of Karonga
in 2010. I pretended not to have made him out when he shouted at me.
“Wha... wha... but... wha... what wrong have I done?” my lips stammered up
and down for I was heavily mixed up. Swelling accompanied by sweating
engulfed my innocent body. “Bring that paper here! How do you dare to
cheat in an examination room! Mind you, this is MANEB and you think you are
clever to cheat me? Bring it here quickly!” he commanded. I felt some
powers draining out of my skeleton when I heard him calling for the police
officer who did not even hold up but was quickly after my cracked feet.

In no time I was at Kachere police station. Cheating in an exam room was an

open defiance against MANEB rules which were made loud and clear to all
students before entering the exam room. The following morning was
accompanied by my trial which I thought had come earlier than was
supposed to be. I was sentenced to serve jail for two and a half years with
hard labour.

I started my endless journey in the cell not knowing where my Iife was to end.
Living behind the bars was not as easy as a naive one can imagine. Most
mornings I was waking up very hungry, powerless. Having one serving per
each day, only at lunch, was meaningless to my life.

One morning, a certain officer approached cell 24. It was my cell perhaps
my mansion. When he saw me, he started smiling and I thought I was going
to be released. Unfortunately, it was my not as I thought. However, he came
to tell me that my father had paid for me the fine I was charged by MANEB
which was meant for a sum of K100, 000. With that, he left.

My life was qualifying for higher levels of a difficult life on each and every
day. It was quite far from what I thought could be like when I was caught red
handed with my archaic leakage paper which I thought was a weapon to
help me carry off well my exams. Cell 24 was an isolated cell. Some six
prisoners from preceding cells, had been released when I was only a month
old in my primary hell. I was now a year old in my Island and I was still not
coping up with the harsh conditions of the cell. I thought of running away. But
the window was very narrow for my big sized body to pass through such that
it could only give room to a small pet to squeeze itself between the burglar
bars on my dusty window.

One night I felt so happy and it was smiles all over my face which one could
not make out in the dark painted ether of my cell. I tried to reject it but it was
reluctant to move out of my face. This was the very same face which at all
times, at any cost, used to be a sorrowful face. There was no reason for a
prisoner to look happy at Kachere prison. But that day it was different. As I
was keenly thinking of how I could sneak out of the cell, a slight powerless
knock on my door, cut in my mind. It was officer Kululanga accompanied by
my father. They had agreed that I could be released only if my father had
bribed him with a sum of K25 000. And so, did my caring and loving dad. We
then prowled out of the cell through the dark and that was my escape.

To bribe out eared walls, my father sent me to a driving school in Botswana. I

keenly attended my driving school studies and I was soon a prowess in the
field. My boss, the owner of the school I attended to, employed me as his
family driver after reckoning my excellent skills. I was supposed to be driving
his wife to her work place and thereafter, drop his 15 years old daughter at
school.

It was a nice job for me and I loved it very much. I was well paid and
respected on top of being shared a room in their city mansion. To tell no lie,
on the basis of the truth, it was a very conducive hospitality for a foreigner like
I was. My boss’ family started considering me as one of their closest relatives
after I had politely served them for a year.

That year, Rhoda, my boss’ first daughter, was back from her college
overseas. We were now five in the house only that we were going to be three
for a week. My boss was going to chair a business meeting in India and was
getting along with his wife. As a family driver, I had to drive them to the city
airport. They left for India and were to spend a week or two in the country.
Rhoda and Sera were his only daughters.

It was four days now after the boss had left. I was taking Sera to school as
usual and I was also taking Rhoda to her friend’s home, a journey of five
kilometres from where we lived. I managed to do my job as it was expected
of me. Relaxing in my room, my phone rang. It was Sera’s teacher. She told
me that I was supposed to go and get her back for there were no lessons
that day for their librarian had breathed his last two hours later after I
dropped her at school. I went there to have her back home. Since Rhoda
was going to spend the whole day at her friend, I then thought of going out
with Sera at any cost.
I managed to entice her to make love with me that day. We went together
at a certain lodge. She was quite beautiful, attractive and also impressive
though an under-aged girl. A deep pleasure for sex overwhelmed my mind
and finally I realized that I had already destroyed her virginity. “Stop it! Stop it
now! What the evil are you doing?! See you have destroyed my virginity….!”
she caught on that she didn’t want it but was only carried off by the sexy
massage touch I mounted on her body.

When we got home, she explained to Rhoda what had happened and at
home, we found that the fridge and the plasma screen were not in the
house. Thieves might have taken them away when I was out. I knew that I
was the one to blame and was also the prime suspect.

After a week, the boss and his wife were back from the meeting. When they
enquired for the lost items, Sera told them that I was the prime suspect
adding that I had raped her when they were out. All what she said was taken
as the truth. My boss became very angry. I had no room to defend myself for
I could not even afford a lawyer to represent me in court. Finally, this pushed
me into my secondary hell. I was sentenced to serve in jail for 6 years for rape
and 3 years for contributing towards the missing household items. I felt it even
much harder to spend 9 years in a foreign prison. There, I had no chance to
escape.

After 2 years in prison, my father, in Malawi died of a sudden death. I was

only allowed to attend his burial ceremony then return to the foreign prison as
agreed. I went under supervision of a prison guard. I mourned heavily for his
death for he was a very loving, caring and a very responsible father. After his
burial ceremony, I got loose from the control of the prison guard and I
managed to escape. I then thought of going to South Africa.

I found a job in South Africa and was working as a truck driver of Supreme
Transports Company. I worked there for a year and my boss liked me so much
since I was a prowess in the field. I grew up a citizen at the firm and I was later
assigned to be doing some sorts of managerial activities. During my fourth
year at the company, I was found with a shortfall of seven million Rands
which I failed to detail cogently. My boss grew furious with me and this
landed me into a tertiary hell. I was sentenced to serve in jail for five years
with hard labour again.

During my third year of serving at the prison of Timberland, I managed to

bring forth another escape. Though I was kept under maximum security, for I
was a rogue recidivist criminal, I managed to sneak out. It was at night time
and I thought of spending the rest of the night at a certain bar and was
supposed to carry on my escape into Malawi the following morning.

As I was running, I came across a huge bundle of cash which probably could
have been lost by a certain rich man. I thought. Using the money, I filled
myself with nice industrially made beers which were totally different from our
traditional ones in Malawi. I drank up to a point that I lost self-control. I then
beckoned one of the sex workers who was also drinking and dancing with
men in the bar. Unfortunately, I realized that I had slept with the prostitute
though unprotected. I did not mind of having contracted STIs in the course of
that previous night adultery but I had to carry on my long journey.

In the course of escaping, the police were also in the course of looking for me
as soon as they learnt of my mechanical escape. I finally found myself
landing into the hands of two police officers from Timberland prison. I had put
my life at high risk and was to be thrown back into prison. The officers beat
me badly and ill-treated me as if I was not a fellow human being. I was now
sentenced to serve 10 years in prison. I thought it would have been better if I
had finished my first term sentence. I felt my body shrinking and freezing up
but it was too late.

Three years later, after being thrown back into the cell, I began to fall sick. I
was often attacked by fever and other diseases and my body began to
grow slim. I thought I was dying but I was not though I really wished death to
take me away. I was not even allowed to go to the hospital myself and only
a sample of my blood was taken for screening and testing.

The police in Botswana also kept on looking for me since I escaped and so
did the Malawian police. When they had obtained valid information of my
whereabouts, they contacted the SA police and another 10 years was
added for me to keep on staying in the prison.

Still crying out for the punishments mounted on me, the doctor came at the
prison. He, at the same time, looked anxious and nervous. He told me that I
was found with HIV and AIDS and other numerous STIs. I knew that I had
contracted them from that night adultery. I didn’t know how I was going to
manage a diurnal ARV dosage in an environment where food was never
sufficient.

Now my father’s ghost and spirit appear to me and torment me on a daily

basis. I fail to cope up anymore with the life I am experiencing behind these
big bars. I can see my life going towards its end. I can see it falling from the
edge of a very tall tower. I now pray to the almighty one that He should
quickly rush to my rescue or else should not spare the ruins of my life. Oh! How
I wish death should come with quick.

Author: Davie Gondwe the gravitas boy

Contact: 0880669644/0981922138
davietmgondwe@gmail.com
davietmgondwe@outlook.com