Reo and Shawty stared at the moving crowd, each of them scanning faces and shapes, searching for the man who had just changed everything. The rush of people in Gweru’s busy town was in full swing. Schoolchildren in faded uniforms wove between vendors packing up their goods. Minibuses fought for space at the rank while drivers shouted impatiently through open windows. Street preachers called out Bible verses as someone nearby beat a drum. All this should have made the man easy to spot. He was tall, wore a plain jacket and had a strange calm about him. Yet somehow he was gone. He had disappeared as quietly as he had arrived.
Reo craned his neck, looking past a row of fruit sellers whose wooden tables sagged under piles of bananas and tomatoes. Beyond them was the taxi queue, noisy and restless. Shawty stepped toward the street, her eyes sweeping across the movement of people, hoping to catch sight of that plain jacket or that unsettling smile. There was nothing. The man was nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s just… go somewhere,” Reo said finally. His voice sounded flat and unsure. “Let’s eat.”
They began walking toward Lakapadi Chicken, a few streets away. The evening air was warm with the smell of fried food drifting from small takeaways along the way. Inside Lakapadi the noise was different from the streets. Oil crackled in deep fryers. Pop music thumped faintly from speakers near the ceiling. The low murmur of hungry students and families filled the room. Every table smelled of chips and barbecue spice and the glass display near the counter glistened with golden chicken pieces under bright lights.
They chose a corner table, one slightly hidden from the main walkway. Both sat down with their eyes fixed on the laminated menu in front of them, though neither of them was really reading it. Shawty was the first to speak. Her voice was low, almost lost under the music.
“I’m not hungry.”
Reo shrugged. “Let’s order anyway.”
A waiter walked over, a short and soft-spoken man in a faded red cap. His eyes lingered on them just a little too long. When he took their order, he repeated it twice, almost as if he was trying to memorise not just their words but also their faces.
“Two quarter chickens, two cokes. Got it,” he said. Then he added with a curious look, “You’re both looking tired. Long day?”
Shawty only nodded. She did not know how to answer without sounding strange. Reo stayed silent. Everything about Gweru was familiar to him. He had been born here, grown up here and learned the rhythm of its streets. Yet today it all felt different because of one short meeting on a street corner.
As they waited for their food, Reo pulled out his phone and began scrolling. He opened the search bar and typed “The Love Prophet.” His eyes scanned the results. There was nothing useful, only old articles and random stories about prophets in other towns. Nothing about the man who had just spoken to them in the street. No picture or name. No clue.
Reo’s thoughts kept circling. How did that man know my name? How did he know about my secret? Only one person had ever known and it definitely was not Shawty. Did he ask around? Or was he truly some kind of prophet? But prophets do not just vanish into a crowd like that. Could it be God Himself? Only God knows some things.
Shawty sat across from him, silent in her own storm of thoughts. What did he say to Reo? He looked shocked, almost shaken. Did the prophet tell him something about me? How could he have known what he told me? Was it a warning? Was it a blessing? Or something I should be afraid of? Maybe this was just God’s way of speaking to me.
The food arrived, hot and steaming. The waiter placed the plates on the table, but instead of walking away immediately, he leaned slightly closer than necessary.
“Sometimes the ones who surprise us the most are already close,” he said quietly. His voice was calm, almost casual. Then he straightened and smiled politely before moving on to another table.
Reo and Shawty glanced at each other. The moment felt strange, too deliberate to be just a passing comment. Still, neither of them spoke about it. They picked up their forks and began to eat in silence. The food was good, but it felt like something too heavy sat between them, heavier than the meal. Outside the glass windows, Gweru’s streets kept moving. The noise of the city was muffled now like a distant echo.
When they finished eating, Reo raised his hand for the bill. As he waited, his attention was caught by a man moving between the tables. This man had a sharp goatee and carried a small pile of colourful flyers. He stopped at each table with a smile and a quick word before placing a flyer down. Eventually he reached them. He smiled warmly, set a flyer in front of them and moved on to the next customer without lingering.
Reo barely glanced at it. He left it lying on the table while his eyes followed the waiter bringing the bill. When the waiter arrived, he looked down at the flyer and then at them.
“You know,” the waiter said with a small nod, “sometimes God brings answers just when you need them most.”
Only then did Reo pick it up. He turned it over in his hand and read the bold letters at the top. His heart gave a small jolt. He passed it across the table to Shawty.
The words were printed in bright red: THE LOVE PROPHET – MIRACLE CHURCH CRUSADE – TONIGHT!
For a moment they simply stared at it. The letters felt larger than paper, almost alive. They seemed to echo in both of their minds.
Neither spoke. The air between them was thick with thoughts they could not say aloud. Something was happening, something they had not planned for. They had no idea if it was going to bring them closer or tear them apart.
They left Lakapadi together, the flyer held between them like something fragile. Outside, the evening air was cooler. Streetlights flickered on one by one, their pale glow mixing with the orange haze from the setting sun. The city’s sounds swelled again as vendors called out last-minute prices, buses hooted and feet shuffled along the pavement. Somewhere in the distance, a preacher’s voice carried through a crackling loudspeaker.
Reo and Shawty walked side by side without speaking. They could feel the weight of the day pressing on them. Between them now was the silence of secrets and the growing mystery of the Love Prophet.
