The Smoke that Thunders

By Paul Zunckel

The Smoke that Thunders is a collection of three short stories.
Feel the power of the mighty Zambezi river as it comes down in flood, a young girl caught in the raging current, the smoke that thunders hangs high over her head as she is sweeped towards the precipice; a hundred meter drop.
Over 500 million litres’ of water a minute cascade over the almost 2 km wide falls, causing a deafening and spectacular explosion of spray that can be seen from 30 miles away. This is why it is known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya or The Smoke that Thunders. Can Piet van Zyl pull off a rescue attampt.
The Anniversary is a dark tale, leading you down into the darkness of a deranged mind.
"n Boer maak n Plan" shows the softer side of Piet van Zyl as he gathers his courage in his hands and persues the lovely Peggy in a short romantic lighthearted story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Zunckel
• Release date: Mar 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370680399

Book preview

The Smoke That Thunders

A Piet van Zyl Adventure short story

by Paul Zunckel

One Thousand Five Hundred meters above sea level in the Mwinilunga District, very close to the border where Zambia, Angola, and the Congo meet, lies the source of the mighty Zambezi River. The thunderheads tower up into the sky, darkening the land below them. Lightning flashes across the darkened sky as if heaven itself is taking photos. The wind picks up into a gale force, causing the creatures of the wild to scatter and flee for shelter and safety as the thunder rolls out its warning in ominous tones. Lightning stabs down at the ground below and the gates are opened as heavy rain is let loose on the earth below, drowning out any sound.

The mighty Zambezi accepts the offering, and the slow sluggish movement of the river slowly changes until the flow is like a train leaving a station, gradually picking up momentum as the flood waters start to rise, tearing trees and bushes from their roots and pitching them into the dark boiling waters as it starts its journey down, rushing into Angola. Churning into Zambia under the cover of darkness, the mighty river turns the Cholwezi Rapids and Chavuma Falls into raging white water as it continues its downward journey towards the Victoria Falls and the unsuspecting people of the Zambezi Valley.

Lightning splits the sky in two. Thunder rolls across the heavens and the rains hammer down on the ground below. Small streams are turned into rivers. The mighty Zambezi River is turned into a raging torrent as the power of Mother Nature takes hold.

Slowly Africa comes awake. The chatter of the primates in the tall trees surrounding the safari camp, the varied calls of the birds, and the grunts from the resident hippo pod in the mighty Zambezi River carries across to the tent where Piet has taken on more than he can handle... trying to feed baby Heather.

"Ag nee man Peggy, this child will not sit still, how the moer am I expected to feed her if she will not take the bloody spoon... damn... give me a break... I can handle a bloody man-eater, fok, a fucking poacher, or whatever other shit has been thrown at us... but, hell... I can’t even handle my own daughter... hell, man."

"Ag Piet, my skat, don’t worry so much. You can’t be perfect at everything, you know, even if you would like to think so. Here, give Heather to me. Let a professional show you how it is done."

Piet hands over baby Heather, and as soon as she is on her mother’s lap, her mouth opens, and the offered spoon is accepted, leaving the burly South African looking perplexed at how easy Peggy makes it all look.

"Not a moer, I’m going to go and find something I can handle... like a bloody crocodile that wants a wrestling match or something like that... Peggy, if I can’t handle the young one now, what the hell is it going to be like when she gets older?"

Well my big white hunter, since you asked... now you will get the chance to see how you will cope.

"En nou, wat praat jy... I will get the chance?"

I forgot to tell you, my love, David and Adele are leaving for South Africa tomorrow... going to spend a few days in Cape Town, and have asked us to look after Debi for the time that they are away. As we all know, she is your blue eyed little girl, so we figured Uncle Piet would not mind.

"That is fine with me skat. If she gets out of hand, I’ll just tie her to a bloody tree, or make Pooch her babysitter."

Oh Piet, how can you say that?

Ja, Peggy, and you think you know me, hey? That one has a piece of my heart and I would do anything for her... so, ja... bring it on... and we’ll have fun... nothing dangerous, and at least when I want her to eat, she will eat...man that kind can put it away. And then, there is always Pooch to keep an eye on her."

The waters move slowly, eating up the eight hundred kilometres that separate it from the Barotse Floodplain, where it starts to spread its girth over the land, swallowing up the bush and land that border it, driving back the villages and wildlife that live off its life giving waters. By the time the waters reach the Katima Mulilo Rapids, it is once again a fast moving express of destruction, washing away whatever stands in its way, joining with the Chobe River in its headlong rush towards the magnificent Victoria Falls that waits eighty kilometres away.

The sky is