My dad chased Ryan away like a filthy and disgusting human. He was treated like a dog, so I got moody, went straight to my bedroom, and locked it. I was devastated. Could they not see how happily in love I was?

My mother banged on the door a lot of times, but I buried my head on my knees. “Christy … Open the door … We need to talk,” she shouted through the door.

Instead of responding, I looked at the wall and cried like a baby. I noticed my phone was vibrating, it was Ryan. I wiped the tears on my face and quickly opened the messages.

“Baby, I ‘m sorry it didn’t work out as you wanted. I’m sure they’ll accept me if they only saw who I was,” the message said.

While I was reading the message, I realised that Ryan was not angry with me, so I became at ease. I had to think about how to make him feel at ease too. Ryan was good with words, and he knew what to always say to soothe my heart. He knew how to turn my anger into joy!

“You better not sleep with that guy, and this madness ends now,” my father shouted.

I felt his rage through his voice. But I knew that he did not need to worry because I was still a virgin. Ryan and I kissed and cuddled, but that was all.

“Open the door,” my father added. But I ignored him because I only wanted Ryan.

“I’m glad you aren’t angry with me,” I texted to Ryan.

“No! Why would I? I told you, nothing will separate me from you. Our love will conquer it all,” Ryan responded.

“Thanks baby,” I texted.

“Have a good night! Let’s meet at the same spot tomorrow!” Ryan responded.

“Okay! Good night!” I texted.

When I was done texting, I threw the phone on the bed, jumped into my smooth duvet, and slept. I did not even remove my clothes because I was always in my pyjamas. I usually bathed before bed, but I could not do that because I did not want to face my parents. The bathrooms were near their room. My stomach growled with hunger, and I dozed off.

When the owl began hooting in the trees and the crickets began chirping, I knew everyone was in bed and the streets were human-less. I sneaked to the kitchen, dished up some food, and ate. I was unsettled when I heard my mother coughing behind me. I did not want to see her. I was very angry with her, and I did not want to face the both of them.

The following morning, I disappeared before my parents woke up, and I met Ryan near the hills. Genuine tears flooded my eyes, but he quickly wiped them away while assuring me it was going to be alright. We watched the sun rise in the East. The dusk was beautiful, and it was showing a colourful horizon with tiny stars dazzling. It was romantic, and he looked okay and not bothered about the previous night’s scene. Instead, he whispered good, sweet love things to me.

While we were looking at the horizon, Ryan smiled, and that made my knees wobble. His handsome face had an effect on me, so we entangle in a long passionate kiss, and I savoured the moment.

“I understand that your parents don’t like you dating a white guy,” Ryan said out of the blue. He was holding my hand tightly, and I wondered where the topic was going. “Will you be okay to meet my parents?” he asked genuinely.

I was puzzled and dumfounded by his suggestion. What if the same thing happened at his parent’s place? I gave him a worried stare that made him tense, and I just wanted us to have a blissful moment that did not end.

“Don’t worry, my parents are not racist,” Ryan added.

I wondered what made him think my parents were racist. My parents were just in shock. They were not expecting what happened. “My parents are not like that,” I said, defending my parents.

Ryan was unconcerned as I spoke, and I saw that he was not affected more than me. I wanted my parents to accept the person I loved, but that was risky. I had issues at first, because I thought dating someone from a different from race was as bad as dating someone from another country. I loved him, though, so I took the risk.

Maybe Ryan was right! My parents needed to know him better in order to accept him. They should have seen how much he loved me, and how happy I was I was with him. I could not convince them, though, because I did not want trouble. I did not like noise, and the previous night’s commotion was still echoing in my ears. While I was thinking, I decided to let the dust settle down first, then I would prove to my parents that Ryan was a good guy.

“I’ll first talk my parents, then arrange the date for you to meet,” Ryan said, and my nerves ran short and I was nervous as he spoke.

“Will you tell them I am black?” I asked, looking for an answer, but he chuckled and fed me a strawberry, which he had dipped in vanilla ice cream. He then wrestled with me and kissed me passionately, and I enjoyed the moment.

Even though Ryan’s meeting with parents wanted to distract my pure, blissful moment, I felt light and that I had made it in life when I was with him. He was the stance of peace, and I always had peace of mind when I was with him.

***

Tell us: How do you think Ryan’s parents are going to react?