Sparrow spent her days crying and watching romcoms. One night Thomas forced her to go to karaoke night.

“You can at least drown your sorrows and bury them under someone hot,” he said as he came into her room.

“I don’t want anyone hot. I want Jazz!”

Thomas clicked his tongue. “Sweety, believe me when I say that loser did you a huge favour! He was never going to marry you. If he had, you would be so unhappy.”

“How could you say that? I love him,” Sparrow stared at him, upset.

“I know, you love him. But he never loved you!” Thomas rubbed her arm.

Sparrow loved Thomas, but one thing she hated was when he told the truth. And Thomas always told the truth, no matter how harsh it was. Sparrow buried her face in her pillow and screamed.

“There, there. You’ve been crying for three weeks now. It’s time to move on,” Thomas said, stroking her back.

“I don’t want to move on,” Sparrow moaned.

“If you were anybody else, I would let you wallow here and die. But honey, you’re starting to stink. You need a shower.” Thomas peeled the covers off her and dragged her to the bathroom.

That shower was just what Sparrow needed. She cried all her tears and scrubbed every inch of her body. She wanted to get rid of every trace of Jazz on her body. She scrubbed mercilessly at all the parts of her body that he had touched and kissed. She wished she could scrub away the very memory of him.

When she got out, Thomas had an outfit laid out for her on her bed.

“Don’t argue, get dressed.”

She fingered the clothes. The thin spaghetti-straps on the red dress looked like they were not strong enough to hold anything together. And the dress looked shrunken, like something that would’ve fitted her when she was 8 years old. At least there was a denim jacket, she consoled herself.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to do what all great artists do, darling. We’re going to drink and sing and drink some more, until that bastard is out of your system!”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Sparrow argued. “And besides, I don’t feel like singing!”

“You don’t sing because you feel like it, darling. You sing because you have to. That’s why you’ve always been one of the best singers I know.”

“Then why am I stuck as a backup singer while Jazz is off chasing his dream? Let’s face it, I suck!”

“You don’t suck. You were just in love with an idiot who didn’t appreciate you. And he moonlighted you because he knew you were better than him.”

“You mean gaslighted,” Sparrow corrected.

“No, I mean moonlighted. All over your heart and all the way to Jozi. Now get dressed.”

Sparrow frowned and started putting on her clothes. She could feel his eyes on her, hurrying her along. But she couldn’t dress any faster.

There was some truth in what Thomas was saying. Jazz never complimented her on her singing. He always made her feel small. And he took her song ideas and made them his, butchering them in the process. She went to the mirror so Thomas could do her make-up.

“Jazz knows you are a better singer than he’ll ever be,” he said as he put on her eyeshadow. “That’s why he’s sleeping his way into Joburg’s night life. He’ll find some poor influencer and dance under her skirt. But you, my darling, you are Sparrow!”

He spun her around to face the mirror after he was done with her make-up.

Sparrow looked in the mirror and didn’t recognise the woman staring back at her. She was a goddess, a diva. Her eyes looked enormous, her lips full and glossy. This pep talk was starting to sound good and was bringing her back to life. But a little voice told her Thomas was just being nice.

She pursed her lips. “I don’t think I can do this, Thomas.”

“You have to angel, you have to. Now come, it’s karaoke night at Club Zero and happy hour starts in fifteen minutes. I want every free cocktail I can get,” Thomas winked at her.

“You’re hopeless,” she giggled.

“I know. But promise me one thing,” Thomas suddenly stopped at the door and turned to look Sparrow in the eye. He was serious. “Promise me that from now on, you’ll put you first. You’ll do what you want to do, and take every chance that comes your way. Promise me you’ll write your name in the stars. Yours. And no-one else’s.”

Sparrow’s throat tightened as she looked in her best friend’s eyes. Thomas would never lie to her or lead her astray. He loved her with all his heart, and it was time she loved herself too.

“I promise,” she said and hugged him tightly as she pictured her name written in the stars.

***

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