“Codex isn’t a person!” I exclaimed. “It’s a password!”

They were all bemused.

“A password?” Jones asked. “To what?”

“To the safe!” I said, feeling like Sherlock Holmes. “The safe where you’ll find a huge stash of drugs. And we’re standing right above it.”

And so it was. I told them that the goods were surely here in the club and that they should look for trap doors and hidden passageways below us in the basement, because there was certainly a safe down there.

Of course they were probably going to do that anyway, but I’d saved them a lot of time by giving them an idea of where it was and the password. They tried ‘Codex’ and it worked first time, like a charm! Eat your heart out Veronica Mars.

Dash said he had never seen such a huge stash of hard drugs, filling the walk-in safe.

*****

After all the excitement, events after that seemed to happen in slow motion. Jakes was sent to prison, awaiting trial. Ketsu, Violet and Jones were praised for their detective work and so was Dash. He was even up for promotion. They also rewarded me with a special citizen’s medal for bravery.

Ketsu and Tommy moved away, and Violet and Jones went off on some new mission, with their location being classified. Nikki meanwhile, went into training to be a police officer.

Family and friends were amazed and happy that there was such a good reason I hadn’t pitched for the wedding, of course! And, soon enough, my mother called and started drilling me about re-arranging the ceremony.

“What’s this nonsense I’m hearing about you and Lungile not get married anymore?” she asked.

“I told him I needed time to think,” I replied.

“Why? He’s the best you’re going to get.”

I took a deep breath. “I think I love someone else, Ma.”

“Don’t be silly!” she shouted. “You and Lungile are meant to be together.”

“I don’t think we are,” I told her. “I can’t go through with this wedding.”

“You can and you will. Listen to me,” she said. “Marry Lungile! Don’t embarrass our family.”

When she cut the call, conflicting thoughts whizzed through my mind.

My mother’s words: “Marry Lungile! Don’t embarrass our family!”

Nikki’s words: “If you’ve got something good, hold onto it tight.”

But none of it mattered. Is doing the expected thing meant to make you this miserable? No, I decided. I had made up my mind.

* * * * *

“Hey, Zuks,” Lungile answered my call. “Are you phoning to accept my proposal?” he asked, sounding all confidently smug.

“No,” I responded. “I not doing what our families want. I’m doing what I truly want to do. I can’t marry you.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I think, truthfully, we both know that we aren’t in love with each other.”

“Is this … is this about Musi?” he asked carefully.

I was confused. “Why would this be about Musi?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly.

I would have asked more about it, but I had to get to Dash. I had to tell him how I felt. I couldn’t wait another second. I was always going out to parties and clubs, in search of something; in search of more. But right now, I felt that it didn’t matter if I was out clubbing or sitting on the sofa and eating popcorn. All that mattered was who was beside me, and I wanted that person to be Dash.

I took a taxi to his apartment, ran up the stairs because the elevator was taking too long. Then I knocked on his door. He opened it and his eyes widened when he saw me standing there, out of breath.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, worried.

“Everything is right! I called the wedding off,” I smiled. “I realised that I’m in love with somebody else. Somebody once told me that if you’ve got something good, hold onto it tight.”

“But Lungile is your something good,” he said sadly.

“Yes, he is,” I said. “But sometimes you have to let go of good things so you can have something great. And Dash, you’re my something great.”

His face broke into a jubilant smile and he kissed me. My world was thrown off its axis. It was pure magic and bliss.

***

Tell us: Have you enjoyed the romantic plot thread in this story? Do you think Zuki and Dash will make a ‘great’ couple?