Buhle looked at me with his eyes wide open. He made it so difficult for me to tell him what I wanted to tell him because the way he looked at me made me just want to keep telling him only one thing over and over again. That I loved him.

“I love you,” I said to him.

He blushed, smiled, got shy, stopped staring at me and looked down. That gave me a chance to talk. I did not wait for him to reply I just went on.

“Buhle I have six senses and I know what is wrong with Andile.”

“You know why he is like this?” he asked in a shock.

“Yes I do, how else do you think I am the only one who can tell the proper difference between you and Kuhle?”

He went quiet, I guess he was shocked.

“Buhle, Andile’s half soul is up in the sky. The evil took it he works for them up there. That is why he is like this.”

He looked at me as if he thought I was a witch.

“Buhle I don’t have any powers I just can sense things, not everything but just few little things, I can sense the presence of God. That is why I have my time to pray, I know when he is with me or not. That is it, nothing more nothing less.”

“I hear you Slie, how is this going to help us be together?” he asked very sadly.

“I’m going to try to heal him. I’m going to have to fast for three days, begging God to bring half of his soul back to him. I’ll be praying and not eating.”

“What? You can’t do that. How can you not eat for three days? No way I’m not going to allow that. You are going to die – no!”

I laughed a little. “Buhle I’m stronger than you think, I’ll survive trust me. I have made up my mind I am doing this.”

“No!”

Now tears fiiled his eyes. I could see they can fall at any moment. It broke my heart deeply to see him cry but I had to do what I had to do both for him and I.

“Buhle listen, I love you with all my heart okay? I would do anything for you that is why I’m doing this and it’s worth it, baby, trust me. The first step is already taken so there is no turning back.”

Tears had started falling in his eyes. “What is the first step?” he asked.

“I told my aunt that I’m going to heal Andile. She does not know how but she is waiting for me to.” He took a deep breath.

“Okay I’m going to be fasting with you,” he said.

“You don’t have to this is my fight,” I replied.

“I want to,” he insisted.

“Okay baby if you can.”

“For you I can, for you I will.”

He knew I loved him but he did not know I loved him that much. Of me he was proud. I could see he wanted to say it out loud. He could say it in front of the crowd. I could tell from the way he looked at the clouds.

“I should go wash dishes now, i’ll see you. Remember, I love you,” I said to him.

“I love you too. When is the fasting going to start?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Okay, go wash dishes I’m with you in this.”

“Thank you baby.”

I then walked away to wash the dishes. I was not worried about the next three days of fasting, but I was worried about the next five days… Will Andile really be normal? Just when I started packing the dishes in one place Kuhle walked in.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“No.” I replied.

“Well I’m going to help you anyway.” He was very stubborn. He came close and he started doing what I was doing.

“So when are you going to realise that I really love you Slie?”

“I know you love me, of that I’m sure. The problem here is that I don’t love you back. I do not have feelings for you.”

“Oh, you have feelings for Buhle?”

“That is right, I have deep feelings for Buhle, guess what? He loves me back so don’t you dare try to ruin it.”

“I don’t understand. Buhle looks exactly like me, how come you love him and not me?”

“That is your problem, you always look at things in the box. You should try looking at things out of the box.”

“I hate Buhle.”

“No it’s me you should hate not him.”

“I can’t hate you I’m forced to love you.”

“Exactly. I can’t love you because I’m forced to love Buhle.”

“I’m going to kill him. When he is dead I’m the closest you can find to him, infact him and I are one. I’m so gonna make look like an accident I got it planned. If you don’t agree to be my girl now you might never see Buhle again.”

“Look here if you kill Buhle I’m going to be forced to kill you too, so do me a favour before you kill him just start with me. That is if you want to live afterwards.”

He laughed. “We will see about that,” he said and walked out.

He left me with thoughts. Is he really going to kill him? I thought of cases where children kill their parents because of the satanist and I got scared. I got worried on top of the worries I had. Oh God, why is this so hard? I thought to myself. Can Buhle realy die? Can he?

Just when I was confused, thinking of Buhle leaving me Mkhulu arrived. Yes, the father of the twins. I was like, oh God you really love me. There is no way he is going to kill him now. I expected to see an old man since he was called Mkhulu which means grandfther, but he was not old at all, not even close. He was just a man. He looked like them. Everyone around seemed excited – this man was really special here. When he saw his boys after so many years he cried. I continued with my dishes but at least I was not so worried anymore. Buhle came in to drink water.

“You look like your dad.” I said to him.

“That means I’m cute.” He replied laughing.

“Of course you are cute! Come on, that goes without saying.” I said and he smiled.

“There is something I need to tell you, Buhle.”

“What is that?”

“I do not like soccer, in fact I hate soccer.”

“Really?” He asked.

“Yes I hate it. And I would be glad if you can stop playing soccer and start writing poems.” He went quiet for a while.

“I don’t like soccer anymore and from today I won’t play it. Yes I’m going to start writing poems.”

I smiled at him then Kuhle and his dad walked in.

“Buhle, let’s go! Your brother just told me you are better than Messi now. Come,” he said, “you got a game in 30 minutes, now I want to see you play. I know how good you were when you were a kid. I always knew you were going to play for Kaizer Chiefs one day.”

Buhle’s father loved soccer more than anything. He did not eat when Chiefs lost. Buhle knew that, well his dad had just reminded him of that. He looked at me and I looked at him back. He knew I hated lies so he had a decision to make, he had to choose beween me and his dad.

“I’m not feeling well, dad, not today maybe some other time.”

“He is lying.” Kuhle said.

“Actualy Buhle was telling me now that he does not want to play soccer anymore, he wants to write poems. He just told me he will never play soccer again. If he did not mean those words he will go and play I don’t know if he meant them. Did you Buhle?” I said.

He kept quiet for a while as if he was thinking tryng to make up his mind. “Dad I’m not playing soccer anymore. I know you love it and I am really sorry but it is not something I want to do.”

I could see his dad was getting hurt badly.

“What? How can you say that? How can you throw your talent away like that? I’m your father and you are going to listen to me: I’m saying go play.”

“I’m sorry, dad, I can’t.”

“Then I’m afraid I’m going to have to send you back to your mom.”

Right at that moment my aunt went in.

“I’m going to have to send Buhle back to his mom. Since he does not want to listen to me.”

“Aunty, if Buhle goes I’m going too I won’t heal Andile.” It went quiet for a while in the house.

“Mkhulu, Buhle is not going anywhere.” My aunt said.

“What? No he is going!” Mkhulu replied and we all went quiet just listening to the two of them.

“Look this is my house. You sold yours. I’m saying Buhle is not going anywhere.”

Mkhulu kept quiet he went out very disappointed. They all went out only Buhle and I remained.

“You chose me over your dad?” I asked him.

“I love you more than anything Slie. I choose to die where you do.”

I was speechless, I just stared at him. He went out and that was the last time I saw him that day.