There goes Lorato, short, beautiful, and dark in complexion. She just completed her Matric but because of financial problems at home, she can’t further her studies.
As her mother, Kedibone, sent her to fetch water from the Kopanong river, you should have heard boys whistling and singing her praises. Truly she is the definition of beauty.
Lorato fell in love with a tall, handsome guy named Omphile. He dropped out of school to work as a garden boy at the nearby farm. He fed his family with peanuts he earned there.
They had it all planned for the future. Lorato and Omphile were crazy in love with each other. To such an extent that Omphile decided to hunt for a job at the mines. When he got one at Johannesburg he used most of his salary to pay for Lorato’s studies at Mmabatho college.
Although Omphile sent money, it was never enough to satisfy life in a city. Lorato caught the eye of a rich, successful guy called Ditiro – the son of a well respected business-man in town.
One day it was raining heavily. Ditiro took advantage of the situation and offered Lorato a lift back home.
They started spending a lot of time together either watching movies or eating at expensive restaurants. Money is truly the ticket to one’s happiness. In the blink of an eye, before Lorato knew it, she pulled down her pants for the mighty rich Ditiro.
A few months later, almost at the end of the year, Lorato went home. The moment she walked in her mother was greeted by a good looking pregnant woman. When Ditiro’s family got a letter explaining that their son had impregnated their daughter they wasted no time and paid for lobola.
Miners were released for their holidays. Omphile was looking forward to meeting his beloved Lorato who had been at college at his expense.
It was Saturday and negotiations were completed early that morning for Lorato’s lobola. All that was left was celebrations. Omphile arrived in the village. He quickly greeted his family then headed straight to Lorato’s house. He was excited about meeting his girlfriend.
When Omphile got there it was chaos everywhere. People were singing and dancing.
He asked, “What’s the occasion?”
A stranger answered, “We are celebrating two families which are united by Lorato and Ditiro.
Omphile said, “Are you saying Lorato?”
The stranger said, “Yes, Lorato is married to a rich gentleman from Mmabatho.”
The world stopped for a second. Omphile could not believe his ears or his eyes when he saw Lorato in her maternity dress passing by. She was holding hands with another guy.
Poor Omphile – like his name says – he gave her all. All because of love. Love is truly blind. He fell down.
His last words were, “I love you Lorato.”
He died taking care of someone’s heart, not realising his own was bleeding.
Months later Lorato had a miscarriage. Ditiro divorced her and said, “If only I had known.”
Money never made a man happy yet. Nor will it.
The end
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FunDza is working to develop young South African writers and provide them with a platform to publish their work.
