At work, there was one guest that Nozipho spoke to very often. He was a rich guy who was tall, dark, and handsome. He had a beard, but it was not a scruffy one, though. His beard was brushed each morning, and his fragrance filled the lobby where Nozipho worked before he was even in sight. You could smell him before you saw him, and he was so well mannered that, during the first time they spoke, he addressed her as Ma’am. When Nozipho asked him why he did that, he replied: “any beautiful woman like you deserves a house, kids and people to cater to their every need, without you lifting a finger.”

One day, the man asked Nozipho out. She was a bit hesitant at first because she was well informed about the blesser culture. She had read many books and watched many movies that portrayed rich men as the crazy, controlling types that abused women. She had worked hard to free herself from those kinds of chains, and she was not going to go back. She did not trust him, and she did not trust that he could take care of her heart because she had developed trust issues against man. So, after the man asked her out, she declined and turned him down.

The man could tell that Nozipho did not trust him, and that she has been hurt before. He knew that he had to prove himself and prove that he was different and he would not hurt her. He did not mind doing that because he understood where she was coming from.

The thing was, the man had also been hurt before, and his heart had been handled like a soccer ball too. He had been left at the alter by his previous fiancé. She had runoff with a richer man, and at that moment, the woman that he had been planning his whole life with dropped him. So, he knew that they were both broken, and that they both had issues.

Because the man was determined, though, he started sending Nozipho flowers each day of the week, and they all came with a different message each time. He knew it was the little things that mattered, things like complementing her hair when she wore it differently, noticing the colour of her eyes, and noticing how she had a habit of licking her lips and biting them when she was nervous. He knew that no big gesture would amount to the little things he did and appreciated about her.

That was what the man would do, and each day after work, he would go to Nozipho in the lobby and ask her about her day and how she was feeling. They would talk for hours in the lobby, and after that, he would transport her home. Because he was a gentleman and he was willing to wait for his woman, not even once did he try to kiss her.
 
The man continued like that with Nozipho until she agreed to go out with him.

On the night of the date, Nozipho sat in front the mirror preparing herself for a date the first time in five months. She sat there looking at her reflection, then she realised that, if she did not give the guy the same chance that she gave to Thando, it would not be fair to him. The guy had looked past all the rags she was wearing when she was cleaning, and saw her as a beautiful woman. He did not see a job position nor did he see someone who was in a lower socioeconomic status than him, he just saw a beautiful woman.

But isn’t that what love was all about, though? Seeing past all the material things and focusing on the soul of the person? That was the thing that the man had seen: a beautiful soul. As she was preparing herself, she realised that she was afraid of whether the guy would do what Thando had done to her, and that that meant that Thando still had some sort of hold over her. He was still pulling her down, even when he was gone. While sitting in front of that mirror, Nozipho promised herself that she would no longer live-in fear.

Nozipho and the man’s first date was a candlelight dinner on the beach, and they sat there while looking at the stars on a hot summer night. It was just like how she had dreamed it would be, and it was perfect and God knows she deserved it.

Tell us: Do you think this date could be the start for a new chapter in Nozipho’s life?