It didn’t make sense to me when they said: “Love is just a word, until someone comes along and gives it meaning.” I was like: “Are they crazy when they say something like this?” I never understood what they felt, until I met my match, Evodia-Babe. That’s how I used to call her when I was at my best. She is simply godsent, innocent and kind. She’s the source of my happiness and I am not afraid to tell the world how much I adore and worship her. They say: “There’s no fear in love, but perfect love drives away all the fear.”

On one beautiful day, I was in the library, somewhere in Butha-Buthe town, doing my research as usual. I felt so frigid, as if I was in a cold room. I was determined to go out in the sun for some basking. Today, I was having a conversation with one of my allies, who was passing near the library complex. An elegant lady in her twenties came out of nowhere towards us. My heart was pounding so fast. I just raised my eyebrows. I don’t know if it was love at first sight, but I couldn’t trust my feelings. Are they lying to me right away?

I just wondered. Still, it was too early for me to fall for a girl who was a stranger. As she approached us, she greeted us. Her gentle voice sounded melodious to my ears. It really caught my attention and my eyes followed her until she stepped into the library. “Thank you, God,” I said to myself. I didn’t know why I ended up saying so.

Perhaps I was beginning to develop some strange feelings towards her.

She looked “African”, but she was adorable. I actually liked her natural hair colour. It was pitch black as if

“Enecto Super Black” had been utilized to dye her hair. But I was just imagining. She may have used it, or maybe she didn’t. She was wearing small, diamond-like earrings. I couldn’t see any signs of makeup on her face. This was a bonus to me because I’m not a big fan of women who wear makeup. I commonly go for simple but original beauty. I don’t like fake beauty.

As my friend and I continued to chat, I lost interest in our conversation. I was with him in the flesh, but my mind was absent. I was now contemplating hard about the madam who had just passed us. When our talk came to an end, I went inside the library. But, instead of going to my seat, I went to the desk of the librarian, which was on my left when I entered the door. I passed behind the “stranger” girl’s desk, which was in the middle of the room. Then I started making a hell of a noise, breaking the rules of the library. My intention was to attract the girl’s attention. Since the librarian was my friend, it wasn’t a big deal and we laughed our lungs out together.

Surprisingly, the strange girl seemed to not be distracted by our behaviour. She was serious and concentrating on the book in front of her.

Realising that she didn’t get disturbed, I decided to go back to my desk, which was on the right when entering the library. Before I went to my desk, I headed straight to the stranger girl, to apologise for having made such a noise.

“I’m sorry for making noise,” I apologised as I came closer to look at her face.

I realised then that my eyes hadn’t deceived me. She was the woman I had always dreamt of possessing, the woman I would die for. “No, it’s fine,” she said. She appeared not to be interested in me, but she had a good personality.

Without wasting any time, I sat down and started messing around with the keyboard on my Hisense cellular phone. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I kept peeking at her from time to time. I was very attracted to her. She was the apple of my eye. I wanted to make a move. How? I didn’t have any clue.

While I was still figuring out how to woo her, I saw her closing her book and walking towards the exit. Before she unbolted the lock, I was standing right beside her. “Are you leaving?” I asked. “There’s something I want to discuss with you.” I felt little butterflies in my stomach. I feared that she might ignore me.

“I’m not leaving,” she assured me, “I’ll return.” She looked so confident and relaxed. Nevertheless, I was in a dilemma about whether I should propose love to her on the spot or set her free. Finally, my decision was to be not “too harsh” towards her. Why would I be harsh? She was cooperative. Then she disappeared into thin air, leaving me with some hope. I retreated to my desk and continued with my work.

Before I knew it, she returned and sat where she had been sitting and continued reading the same book. “Thank you, God,” I said once again to myself. Before the library closed at 16:30, I packed my books into my “school bag” and remained alert to sense any signs of her departing from the library. I didn’t want to make the mistake of allowing her to go away without wooing her. After reading, she hurriedly went towards the door, but before she touched the handle of the lock, I was already near her. We both went out together.

My mind was blank. I didn’t know how to start telling her about my feelings. Then I started asking her a number of questions. “Where are you going from here?” I said, trying to break the ice.
“I’m going straight home,” she told me.

“Are you taking a taxi?” I asked, trying to see if I would have enough time to convey a message from my heart.
“Nope,” she responded. The answer brought so much happiness to me, though I was now battling with the little fear of losing. But, I needed to be a man, enough so that I could win her heart and make her my mistress.

It was irritating to traverse through the stampede on the streets in town as we headed to Baroeng, alongside the tarred road to Caledonspoort border. I didn’t know what to say. Then I kept asking more and more questions, like: “How long have you been living there?” and “How come I don’t know you?” The questions were boring, but Evodia (I later found out her name) didn’t become offended. She was patient and understanding. This gave me the courage to tell her what was bothering me.

Truth be told, it’s not easy to woo a woman. So, I kept on beating about the bush instead of hammering the nail on the head. I wanted to convey my message indirectly. Evodia-Babe seemed to not enjoy my style. She wanted me to be simple and straightforward, but instead I kept making many “parables”. It’s not easy to tell a woman that you love her, especially on your first encounter with her. You don’t want to risk your feelings. Eventually, she got my point. And then it was her turn to answer me. Even though she understood me, she didn’t want to fall for me easily.
She played some sort of hard-to-get like every woman. But I remained patient, because love is patient.

My understanding of our conversation and actions was that she had fallen for me or she would fall for me. I could feel it in my veins that she would be mine. We exchanged phone numbers and according to how I saw things, this was the beginning of our journey. I guess I was the one so desperate for her cell number because I needed to call her after one or two days to get my feedback. I didn’t put pressure on her because I wanted this love to grow in her heart. However, when I called her after a day or two, I didn’t get the welcome that I had expected. I misinterpreted the tone of her voice. It had some element of coldness in it. I was immediately turned off. I realised that I was wrong in my belief that she “liked” me. I lost hope.

Later, we met several times and started to get to know each other better. We couldn’t deny our feelings forever and we fell deeply in love. I started to see the best in her and she started to see the good in me. I became aware of the fact that I had nearly lost a very wonderful lover, due to a mere phone call that I had misinterpreted. Now everything seems perfect, even though we have some little differences here and there. We aren’t perfect. We are just human. I don’t regret any moment we spent together because she brightens up my every day with her amazing love and kindness. She’s indeed the source of my happiness. But I don’t remember her telling me that she has accepted my love. One day, I will go down on my knees to ask her one more time, but this time asking her something more. Until that day, let the good times roll.