Day 333: Courtney from Durban

I stayed with the Themba Trust in Dirkiesdorp and from there Ingrid, one of the staff, invited me to stay with her in Wakkerstroom. But I only stayed one night because I was keen to cross the Mpumalanga/KZN border. Back to Natal, my province. I spent five days with my sister and family in Dundee and my parents drove down from Eshowe to see me for only the second time since the start of my journey.

The final notebook I receive on my journey is from Courtney Lawrenson. When her mother, Monique, hears that I am running out of space for taking notes, she suggests that her daughter may be able to help. But Courtney looks a little embarrassed – all she has is a little Bubble Girl booklet. Self-consciously she shows it to me, crinkling her nose and suggesting that it isn’t very appropriate. It has a lock on the side, its pages are quite small, with wide lines and a picture on every page.

I tell her that if she is willing to part with it then it is perfect and will help to tell our uBuntu story. At that she beams a wide smile and informs me that she has to do something before she can give it to me. A little later she returns looking shy and proud at the same time as she holds out two items. One is the little pink Bubble Girl book that now features a personal inscription from her, the other is a woollen pom-pom she has made especially for me.

By this stage in the journey I had chiseled a massive space around my heart to create the space in which it could keep expanding. It was moments like these that shaped love in my heart.