Take me back to the 27th of September! The day I met the love of my life. ‘Hunk’, well that’s what I called him. I didn’t know his name. It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon at the mall. A 16th birthday celebration of my beloved church mate who became my sister Snothile Ngema.

It was an epic hangout until I set my eyes in him. There he was, the most handsome male I’d ever set sight on. Dark in complexion, not tall or short, average height and wore reading glasses. Nerdy vibes kind of guy.

Well at first I didn’t pay much attention to him until I noticed that he was been staring at me. He gave me a very warm smile, held up his head and waved at me. I waved back. He took off his reading glasses, wow! His eyes, they were so beautiful. Marble like, dark and pretty. The sight of him was to be compared to a view of the Bahamas beach.

Our eyes locked. The universe stopped for a second. I was magically transported to another dimension ‘The love dimension’. I felt goose bumps, butterflies in my stomach, electric shock within my externals. My knees went weak. Goodness what was happening to me, I was love struck!

He pointed at me and said something to his friend. I saw his teeth. Well-crafted, as white as snow, beautiful. He had this Zulu accent that was similar to mine. It drove me off the wall! I’ve always had a thing for dark, bold Zulu men.

The lovely moment was rudely interrupted by a phone call that changed his mood. He suddenly went numb and stopped looking at me. I was curious what happened, why did you stop looking at me? He walked away, it broke my heart I won’t lie. I stood up, I wanted to follow him.

A drunk man appeared and accidentally stepped on my shoe. It was a new pair and I didn’t want any stain on it. I took out a tissue to wipe it.

When I raised my head, I was hoping to see him. He was gone, it’s like he just disappeared into thin air. No knife could cut me deeper than seeing him walk away.

I went back to the food court where the rest of my friends were. I sat down. My heart wasn’t there anymore, it was stolen by that mysterious human.

I kept thinking about him. Is he okay? What did the caller say to him? I asked to be excused; I went to look for him, to find out what was wrong! I strolled the whole mall but I never found him.

I headed back to the food court. We took pictures, laughed, shared memories but it wasn’t as pleasant as it was supposed to be. Around half past five, I went back home. With human trafficking and gender-based violence making headlines, I didn’t want my father to be worried.

As I got to the kitchen, I found him cooking. I smiled at him. God bless him, one of the most reliable people in existence. I was so tired; I wouldn’t have been able to lift a spoon.

“Some people are so blessed. Imagine having a father that cooks for them,” he said.
It was true. At times when I felt ill, he’d do all the house chores. Most Zulu men have the mentality that says men are not supposed to be doing house chores. Such a blessing.

I took a long, hot bath. Ppeeew! I threw myself on the bed. I still couldn’t sleep.

A million questions ran through my mind. I kept mulling about him. I’ve never felt like this for someone. There was something special about him. My imagination of a perfect partner or rather perfect guy was alive, it was him.
I thought I was crazy for a bit, I mean how one could feel so madly in love with someone they had just met. Does he even exist? What if my mind was playing tricks on me, as it always does. It was love, a very different one for that matter! Love at first sight? Yes it was!

***

Tell us: Have you ever experienced love at first sight?