36 Questions to Fall in Love...in 36 days!

Chapter 42: Feel It Too and Slow Poison

29th November 2023🥀

"—She's giving me the silent treatment Mkhulu."

Dominique, who sits in the backseat of Mkhulu's car, puts his head in-between the seats of Mkhulu and I.

"She's not just giving you the silent treatment. She's giving you the silent treatment with a spice of attitude."

Mkhulu chuckles as he turns the car to the left.We're a few blocks away from school but I'm still not ready.

"Mkhulu, how could you laugh about all this?"

I'm baffled.

"Because you deserve it. Doesn't he deserve it Dominique?" Mkhulu turns to my friend.

"Mr July, he deserves this and so much more. I mean if I was Olivia I'd be plotting to ruin you."

"Again, this is not helping me feel better."

"You're not supposed to feel better." Mkhulu states.” You're supposed to feel it too."

I take in his words,while Dominique nods his head vigorously.

"Yeah Leo your Grandfather's so right he can never go left,” Dominique adds.

Feel it too?

“How?”

Dominique smacks his forehead, looking at me like I'm dumber than dumb. “Right after school. I want you to meet me at Mayfield park but I won't show up but you have to pretend that you think I'm showing up."

"Wow, so you do use your brains sometimes, Dominique." Mkhulu teases.

Dominique is flattered,green eyes glinting. He taps his head with his hand. " This tool has saved thousands of lives.It—"

"So what you're saying," I cut in before Dominique can say something even more stupid and lose all respect from my grandfather.

"Is that I should wait in the park, pretending to be Olivia."

"Yes." Mkhulu nods.

"And don't just wait for sixty seconds or ten minutes. Wait for two hours because that's how long Olivia waited for you."

"Two hours?!"

"Oh now you're surprised," Mkhulu cuts in, displeased.

“I didn't really think about it but can you blame me? All day I was trying not to think about anything related to Olivia so of course it slipped my mind that she could be waiting but I never thought it would be that long.”

The car passes a dozen students from Vestalia high and soon the green gates come into view.

“You can't turn back time.” Mkhulu advises as he parks near the school.

“Preach!” Dominique utters, a smile curving up his lips.

I'm hesitant to step out of the car.

“But I hope you've learned a valuable lesson on giving up Leonardo,” Mkhulu adds, turning to face me.

“I have.”

“It never ends well. Giving up is like a slow poison that you drink. At the moment it seems ineffective but it's only moments later, days later, months later and sometimes even years later that you realize what you killed. You're blessed that it was only a day for you.”

What did I kill?

I killed what the two of us shared together, taking up these questions like they were way more than questions off the internet but like they were sacred. Treating them like they were the keys to our heart that we willingly let the other open.