Making a local connection

by Lorna Kalimashe (South Africa)

Making a local connection South Africa

I wished I'd been able to rid my mind of the memories, but like a key deeply wedged into a door; they were stuck there. Where does one even go to find the shattered pieces of glass to make the heart whole again? I decided to pursue the trip. Maybe leaving the brutal Cape Town winter and dipping my skin several degrees deep into the heat of the Durban winter would do me a whole lot of good. People had often deemed Durban the city where the sun had found it's permanent residency and I needed nourishment deep within the crevices of my soul. I sent him a direct message via Twitter, proud for not remembering his mobile number. Even though I'd promised myself that this would be a solo trip, the healing I finally needed. "A quick drink between old friends wouldn't hurt." I said to myself; as a way to ease what I was already paranoid about. Except he wasn't just an old friend but rather someone I needed him to be, old news like the back sections of a newspaper passed on from generations. It's wprth mentioning that he and I had planned the trip long before and no one wanted to cancel and so we agreed on booking separate accomodation. I needed this and so did he, obviously. As I painted the curves of my lips, slowly moving the bright red lip colour across the grooves, I was looking forward to seeing him again, it had been a while and perhaps we knew now what we didn't then; we just weren't meant to be. As my phone rang I rushed over with excitement, the sweet taste of champagne adding a little bounce to my step, my heart was thrilled to see his name and I picked up without hesitation. "Hi!" I said, I couldn't deny the excitement in my voice even if I tried. "Hey...ummm... can you hear me? I've had to change my mind about this evening..." The rest of his words were silent chatter, my ears couldn't bare to hear the rest, the hurt and the dissapointment gushed over me like clouds making way for the rain. "Not again." I quietly whispered to myself. I got off the phone and slowly paced around the room, trying to formulate a new plan. "I can't waste a good outfit," I thought to myself. Walking out of the uber, I was instantly captured by the aura of bad decisions, tears on side walks shed by inebriated indivuduals with broken hearts, caused by God knows what or whom. I stepped onto the pavement confidently and proceeded to cross the road heading towards a Jazz lounge. I planned to only have 2 drinks and call it a night; visiting a new city by myself was already something quite unusual for me so I wasn't going to add to my newly found adventurous nature by staying out the entire night. I found a seat by the bar. Looking around you could see the regulars raising their voices in the corner. The space was pretty relaxed, I was however, confused by the blasting of pop music but I just asseumed it was probably still early and the bar staff were just enjoying a few of their own jams before the live performances. I continued on my own element, slowly browsing through my Instagram feed encapsulated by #LoveLivesHere images of couples I'd never even met. Just as I ordered my second glass of wine, in walked a gentlemen. I saw the height of his silhouette and the suspense was killing me. I'd always loved tall men but strangely never dated any. His face was finally caught by the light in the entryway and just like that, there stood the first boy I ever loved. Last I saw him was the year 1999 in my hometown, and here he was right across from me. Hours passed and there we were catching up and in awe of what people would describe as the right place at the right time. A weekend in that beautiful city turned into 2 years and then the rest of my life with a man I've loved my entire life.