Iziyo sobs in bed. It is midday but the curtains are still drawn shut. Her cellphone is on silent. She looks at it. Eleven missed calls from her ex-boyfriend, S’the. She hasn’t seen him since that day he beat her and she lost their baby. She never wants to see him again.

There is a knock on her bedroom door. It opens before she can answer. “Mntanami, you have been crying the whole night. Why don’t you go outside and get a bit of fresh air?” says her mother.

“Mom I just want to be alone,” says Iziyo.

“Fresh air will do you good, mntanami,” she says, rubbing her back.

Iziyo covers her face with her blanket. Her mom opens the window and curtains. The sound of children playing outside in the streets drifts into the bedroom. Iziyo lifts the blanket. Out of the window she can see trees and clouds. A sparrow chirps. The bird lands on the window sill. Even its chirping reminds her of how empty she feels.

“It is a beautiful day, Iziyo. Even the birds are chirping for you. Get up and enjoy this day,” her mom says, as she closes the door on her way out.

Iziyo gets up and tries to chase the bird away from her window sill. But it keeps coming back. She sits on her bed and starts to listen to it. Birds sing when you are in love, she thinks. She looks past it to the tree in the garden – the almond tree she planted there is beginning to bloom. Tiny pink flowers are visible. She thinks of Brian and her heart sings.

She takes her phone out and texts him.

Brian, you said you were not afraid anymore.
I’m also not afraid anymore.
I just wanted you to know.

Brian is walking between the guests at his wedding reception. No expense has been spared by the Mavela family. The groom has gone through the wedding in a daze, without feeling. He let it happen to him. He didn’t have the courage to stop it.

When the speeches start every speaker praises the married couple in their speeches. Siphokazi is glowing at the praise, but Brian is reading and re-reading Iziyo’s message.

As Vuyo, his best man, takes centre stage, Brian looks down at the Pandora wedding ring on his finger. Only the outer surface is visible. It reminds him of something else that sits underneath, unrevealed. It reminds him of true love and hope.

“As kids, Brian and I would watch karate movies and go outside in Vilakazi Street and fight like our action heroes. In our minds we were Jet Li and Jean-Claude van Damme …” Vuyo recalls.

The crowd laughs.

“What I’m saying to you is, this is my friend and my brother,” says Vuyo.

Brian gets up. It is not time to make his speech yet but he walks to Vuyo and asks to take the microphone from him. There is a sudden smile on Brian’s face. He is glowing now. He looks at the gathered crowd.

“I want to say something,” Brian says and clears his throat.

Heads nod. He sees smiles in the crowd. Brian hesitates, then he starts.

“When we were young we were told that we should believe in love, right?” Brian says. “And when we find it, we should do whatever we can to never let it go. To keep it forever.”

The crowd claps.

“So that’s what we should do, fight for that chance of happiness even when the odds are against us. To fight for that chance of falling and being in love no matter how scary the fall is.”

Siphokazi smiles at the crowd and waves her shining diamond wedding ring, but she is confused.

“I believe that is what I should have done a long time ago. It is what I should do now, no matter how scary it is. Now I will fight for the chance to be happy. That chance of being in love again,” says Brian.

Some in the crowd stand and clap. The older women are ululating as Brian walks over to his bride. He holds her hands in his.

“I hope you also find that special someone. We are not the right people for each other,” Brian whispers to Siphokazi. She looks down, mortified to find he has slipped his wedding ring into her hand.

He turns and walks swiftly across the hall and out of the door. He does not turn to look back at the damage he has left behind: Siphokazi shrieking and collapsing on stage and the bridesmaids and her family crowding around her.

Tell us: Do you feel sorry for Siphokazi at this point?