I am a 16-year-old girl and my cousin is 19. Her name is Lerato and she’s the biggest part of my life. Having Lerato around me just brings me so much.

We had a very strong unbreakable bond and we were inseparable. You wouldn’t harm my cousin, or should I say my sister, in front of me. I am the talkative one, so it’s like I’m her sister. We did so many silly things together including getting into trouble at home. We would arrive late at home and get scolded by our granny.

To be honest there were tough times, sometimes we would get mad at each other or even go weeks without saying a word to each other. This was caused by other friends that we had. They always found a way to cause a rift between us. I still remember in 2016 when we got into a fight. Apparently one of her friends told her that I stole her favourite magazine. She was so furious and she didn’t even bother hearing my side of the story. I was mad so I hit her; I’m stronger than her as I’m fat, so I beat her up. I was not in the right state of mind, at least the elders stopped us. We were angry for a month, but at least we managed to solve our issues.

Time went by and January 2018 we got into another fight; she accused me of stealing again. This time around I didn’t fight with her, I just stopped spending time with her, talking to her and I was no longer in contact with her. We no longer spoke to each other, we were like enemies. I stayed far away from her; this went on for, like, three to four months. To be honest this was eating me slowly, I missed her, I wanted to hear her voice, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t want to look desperate so I kept my distance. You could tell by just looking at her that she also missed me.

One day our granny got very, very sick. We were all really worried, especially Lerato, because she stayed in the same house with her, just the two of them. She needed me, but I was just not there for her. Our granny went away to go stay with her daughter. Lerato was left alone. I wanted to be there for her, but I was asking myself many questions.

One day Lerato posted that she loves all her cousins a lot and they all hate her. That’s when I finally got a chance to talk to her and show her all her mistakes. We finally made peace.

As you know that “blood is thicker than water”, we are now happier than before. She means the world to me. This time I will never ever go away from her again. She is my everything, I love her.

Tell us: Do you think having a good relationship with your cousins is important?