Lubabalo.

I met him in the 90s, when I could see and speak. He was the kind of boy every parent could be proud of. He was talented; a true artist at school, and he got straight As. He was kind, caring and if your life depended on it, you would trust that he would come through for you.

He had a tough life, like most SA kids. His family was poor; his mother struggled to provide for them but she always tried her best. Sometimes the dude would sleep without anything in his stomach, day in and day out, nothing was in the cupboards. His stomach would shrink daily because there was no food in the house. His daddy was a drunkard who showed no mercy; he would beat him and his mother up, like white people did to black people back in the day.

It was sad to watch, but he did not let that define him. He used his talents to better himself. Nobody knew his pain, but you could see it in his eyes. To me, he did what the police should do to make a person feel safe and protected; when I was crying, he wiped my tears off; when I was hungry, he took anything he could find just so I could have something in my stomach. Every chance he got, he made a good name for himself; entered competitions to try and better his home. He didn’t have much but he had love.

I don’t care what anybody says, but high school changes a person. I’ve seen many people turn from good to bad; it was no different for Lubabalo. It’s like the devil sends his people there, to make sure he make the Lord’s children suffer, and turn them into monsters.

Lubabalo started high school and all was well. They are not lying when they say the devil is a liar. Like every teenager without direction, no father at home, a mother who is slaving so he could have a future by sending him to school (because they do say education is the key to success), he was lied to.
I guess some think they’ve got life figured out. We tend to walk in the false light, which lead Bhuti to darkness; drugs, alcohol, gangs, mixing with wrong friends. Oh that is where we go wrong!

How people grow apart? How families turn into strangers? My friend, the one I looked up to and sought guidance from, was gone. Are you telling me life has worn you down? And what about me, if you give in, what do you think I will do? You are the reason I thought the sun would never turn into darkness.

And they say change is good; lying to us.