“Alex what have you done?”
“Melissa, you made me do this. You’re the one to blame.”
“Let’s take him to the hospital, you can’t leave him like this, please! What if he dies?!”
Lwazi is barely moving, “Lwazi, say something!” begs Melissa.
Alex runs to his car and drives off as Mr Sithole and Innocent arrive in their white bakkie.
Mr Sithole sees Melissa crying by the road, holding Lwazi in her arms. “What’s going on there?” Mr Sithole asks.
“Dad, that looks like Lwazi!”
They quickly get out of the car and run to see what has happened.
Mr Sithole checks on Lwazi, who’s now barely breathing.
“What happened to him?” they ask.
“He attacked him, and ran away.”
“Who attacked him? Were they fighting?” asks Innocent.
“Innocent, we need to take him to the hospital as quickly as possible. Girl, you come with us.”
“Yes,” Melissa agrees.
They pick Lwazi up and carry him into the back of the bakkie and drive off to the nearby Rhoda hospital.
***
They arrive, and he’s taken inside. Luckily he’s immediately taken in on a stretcher to be attended by a doctor. They then wait in silence.
After half an hour, the doctor comes back. They all stand up to hear what she has to say to them.
“How is he, doctor?” asks Mr Sithole.
“He is going to be fine, he just fainted due to shock and pain. He has no internal injuries. His body is weak, he seems to have not been eating well for a quite number of days. Are any of you his relatives?”
“No, he works at my shop with my son.”
“Oh, none of you is related to him?”
“I’m his girlfriend,” Melissa says.
“Alright, if any of you has his parents’ contacts, please notify them. And he’s awake, please feel free to go in and see him.”
The doctor goes. Melissa sits down with her eyes watering, holding back tears.
“What have I done?” she whispers, as she comes back to her senses. “You go in to see him, I don’t think I’ll be able to do so.”
“You’re serious?” asks Innocent.
“Yes,” she says, and gets up, walking away.
“Hey, wait!”
“Innocent, let her go, we can’t shout in here. Let her go, that’s what she wants.”
“But Dad…OK,” he agrees and they go in to see Lwazi.
Lwazi tries to turn his head to look at Innocent by the door but fails due to pain. He has a bandage wrapped around his head. Mr Sithole and Innocent stand on each side of his bed.
“My boy, how are you feeling?” asks Mr Sithole.
“Much better now, just a little pain on the spot, and when I try to turn my head as well it hurts.”
“What really happened, Lwazi? Your never ever get into arguments with people.”
“Where’s Melissa?”
They remain silent for a moment, and then Innocent speaks up.
“She’s outside. You never told me you had a girlfriend, bro.”
Lwazi checks his pocket and feels that he still has the money she gave him.
“Well, now you know,” he says. “Mr Sithole, I’d like to ask you for a favour.”
“Anything, son, it’s fine.”
He gets out the R500 and hands it to him. “Please, can you buy Lungelo school shoes, size four? He really needs them, and that should calm his worry when he hears that I’ve been hospitalised.”
“OK, please allow us to take him home with us for the time being, he can’t be alone.”
“Alright, Innocent will take you there, and please, tell him not to worry about me.”
Mr Sithole shook his head. “Lwazi, your girlfriend Melissa actually left, she ran out, she honestly couldn’t bear to see you in this condition. We tried to stop her but she refused.”
“Oh! I understand. Thank you for saving my life, Mr Sithole.”
“Don’t mention it. We will bring you some toiletries and clothes tomorrow. Take care.” They leave, and Lwazi rests.
Tell us: Why do you think Melissa left?