“When I returned home, mom took me to different churches until the men came to me and told me that if I went to church again, they would hurt someone I loved.” Nokbonga said.

Her mom thought that was a good sign, she thought it meant the demons were scared and insisted they continue going to church. The next Sunday, while they were in church, two strangers entered their home and beat up Nokbonga’s big brother.

The neighbours didn’t see anything and her big brother said the two men were wearing black hoodie jackets and their faces weren’t visible. Her mother refused to stop taking her to church and said that God would protect her family. While they were in church again, her mother received a call saying her sister (Nokbonga’s aunt) had been in a car accident and she was dead.

“So babe, if you’re gonna tell me to go to church, you can just stop talking to me and forget about me like everybody else does.” Nokbonga said.

I pitied her, even her close friends had left her. Someone had to be there for her, and so I stayed with her, as a friend.

I asked her many times what the tattoo was and she never told me, but from the testimonies I’d heard in church, I knew it was a code. I believed that if she came to my church, my pastor would help her. I had seen him cast demons out of young girls many times without fail, but Nokbonga didn’t want to try.

A month later, she decided to let me see her. I was scared, very scared, but I believed God knew I no longer had lustful intentions for her, I just wanted to help. We met in town on the corner by Shoprite. She was more beautiful than she was in all of her pictures.

“Here’s this amazing soul.” She said.

She hugged me and held me long enough for all my fears and nerves to fade away. We then began walking around talking. The conversation was so good that I didn’t care where we were or where we were going. I was just lost in the realness of a moment that felt like a dream, meeting the girl that loved me. I think an hour passed with us just walking around talking. She told me she was tired and we stopped. We were then in a quieter side of town with only a few people passing by.

While standing there talking, our conversation went somewhere. I don’t know how but I found myself kissing her, and she was kissing me back. She gently pushed me back and said, “My love, we’re in the middle of the street here, what are people gonna say?”

I didn’t care. I pulled her close and she let me, then we kissed again, and we kissed more. We kissed until my hands couldn’t help but touch places they weren’t supposed to.

“Babe, no, not here, not out in the open like this.” She said.

I looked around and saw an abandoned old building on the other side of the street.

At that point, all I wanted was her. I wasn’t thinking about sex or anything, I wasn’t thinking at all, I just wanted more of her, all of her. As we walked towards that old building, I realised I was letting lust get the best of me but I told myself just this once, let me just be young and stupid, just this once.

The building had no door. There were trees and weeds growing on the floor, the windows were all painted black but most were broken. There were signs that some street people slept there, judging by the cupboards on the floor and some old blankets. I gently pushed Nokbonga to the wall and kissed her.

***

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