Busi still sang at church. She had always loved it. She stood in the back row of the choir and sang her heart out. She saw Lunga there a few times after she had broken up with him, but she kept close to her mother, and so he never came near. Her mother must have noticed him, though, because she made a comment – just once, but it was enough.
“That Lunga boy has always wanted what he should not have. Freedom when he should be in school, rebelling when he should be learning. He wants a girl to give him attention when she should be studying. When will he learn to do things at the right time and in the right place? Doesn’t he know that there is a season for everything?”
“I don’t know, Mama,” Busi had answered softly.
After school and between her studies, Busi still helped out at her mother’s crèche. She loved to cuddle the babies and still sang to them. The little ones loved to hear her. She often found herself singing Lunga’s favourite song, and when she did she would pause in her singing, to brush away a tear.
My heart’s been waiting
caged and longing
to be set free
will you let the latch fall
and open the door
and as you do
I will fly to meet you
***
Josie was a travelling girl. Lunga loved to hear her stories about the time she had spent in London, and the time she had backpacked around Europe. Her father was German, and Josie had finished school in the city.
“I plan to live in the city one day soon,” he told her, as he stood at the window in her flat and looked down at the street below.
“I don’t know why you would ever want to leave this place,” she said sleepily from where she lay in bed. “It’s so beautiful. I’ve been to lots of places, and this is one of the loveliest towns in the world. I would want to raise a child here. I could be happy here. It’s peaceful. The city is so dangerous and busy. I love the quiet life.”
Lunga continued to look down at the street below. It was early morning and a few taxis were speeding up the road. As one rushed beneath him a snippet of a song travelled up to him as he stood at the window. It was one of Adele’s greatest hits, beating out loudly from the taxi.
Lunga closed his eyes. It was as if Busi was calling up to him at the window.
An image of her standing in her red dress in the spotlight filled his mind. He still missed her very much and thought of her often.
“Come back to bed, Lunga. It’s still so early.”
Lunga glanced back at Josie, her head resting among the pillows. He walked over to her slowly.
“I’m sorry, Josie,” he said quietly, picking up his clothes from the floor next to the bed and pulling on his jeans. “I’ve realised that I’m still in love with someone else.”
***
Tell us what you think: What do you think of Lunga telling Josie that he is in love with someone else?