When Malik approached Lisa she smiled. But she wasn’t smiling at him, she was smiling at herself. She was praising herself for how brave and strong she had been in life. Nonetheless that smile opened a door for Malik.

He greeted her: “How are you?”

Lisa replied, “I’m fine, thanks. And, how are you?”

Malik responded, “I’m doing great. Can I take a seat?”

Lisa said, “Yes, it’s OK.”

“Thanks. You’re very cute and well groomed.”

“Thanks, you don’t look too bad yourself,” Lisa replied with a smile.

Malik said, “My name is Malik Williams… and you are?”

“Lisa Bill,” said Lisa.

“But soon your surname will change,” said Malik.

“Wow, really? To what?” Lisa asked surprised.

“Eh, eh, I think to… Williams,” said Malik.

“Oh, please, in your dreams and you know what? Actually, over my dead body!” Lisa replied.

Malik panicked: “Why? Am I too ugly? Am I too black?”

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just I’m not ready to get into a serious relationship now,” Lisa said. “I’ve been through hell, lost a thousand teardrops, got my heart broken into pieces that can never be fixed. So, please don’t get me wrong: I don’t judge a book by its cover because I know that dynamite comes in small packages,” said Lisa.

“Wow, wow, wow! I’m impressed you speak such words of wisdom and you sound very mature,” said Malik.

Lisa said blushing, “thanks.”

As she said this the bus arrived. The driver was very rude. He would never wait for anyone. So Lisa ran off without saying goodbye to Malik. And, he hadn’t asked for her number. He didn’t know where she stayed. He didn’t even know if they would ever meet again.

But, he did say to himself, “Until we meet again…”

He believed in letting go of what you love. If it came back to you, it was meant for you. Tears were welling in his eyes. He knew that what he was feeling inside was more than true love (e ne e le lerato la ga o ka swa nka go ja), it was more like Romeo and Juliet love… or just like the titanic love story.