16. Protector.

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Definitions:
Umkhulu: Grandfather.
Umzukulu: Grand daughter.

(Two years later; circa 1971)

Lerato and Thato's relationship remained strained and she didn't want to rekindle their flame; she had decided to leave him as an afterthought even though the decision was not mutual.

As the days turned to weeks and the weeks to months, she found his relentless pursuit of her annoying and distasteful. Whatever she liked about him before began to infuriate her now.

The charm he once held made him unattractive.

His wit made him cocky.

His confidence made him arrogant.

His forthrightness made him rude.

And the funniest change in her attitude towards him was how his precious good looks were now just average. The list was long but this one point was noteworthy.

The morning after Lerato went home following their late night trysts all those months ago, Maria came over to gossip and let Lerato know that she was safe. Indeed, behind all the fumes of pleasure she had been subjected to, a [distant]part of Lerato's mind worried about whether her emotionally vulnerable friend was okay.

After going on a rant about how her fella had been so kind, caring and attentive, Maria then asked whether that was the case with Lerato. When she received a nonchalant shrug, she didn't think much of it, choosing to assume that perhaps Thato wasn't down to make sensual love. It was purely an exchange of carnal pleasantries.

No strings attached.

But then when she asked whether Lerato enjoyed herself as much as she had and was only granted with an "Eh, he was alright," alarms went off in her head and immediately Maria knew that something was off. Lerato was always in touch with her femininity. So, this meant one of two things: Thato was truly just average despite his body, or something bad happened between the two of them.

"What do you mean 'alright?' A man with a body like that can't just be 'alright.' Alright is the response you're supposed to give someone if they asked how the morning is, not how an animalistic was!"

Lerato actually found Maria's frustration funny. And, it was warming in a way to know that her friend was hoping that she had enjoyed herself just as much as she apparently did.

Unfortunately for Maria, Lerato didn't want to delve into details further and aptly changed the subject, asking Maria to talk more about her new lover even though she listened halfheartedly. Only being attentive enough to do the necessary 'ooh' and 'ahh' but never really being fully engaged in the conversation because nagging away at the back of her mind was how disrespected she had felt by Thato's words.

And how deeply it cut her. She had come to realize that it hurt her this way because she expected a lot from him, hoped for a lot from him, but was instead shown one of his potentially biggest red flags. And it would only have gotten worse from there.

The thing about Thato was that what he wanted was usually what he got, and all along he had wanted her but she was being 'too stubborn for her own good.' He wasn't used to being told no.

Within the time frame of about two years following the morning of her conversation with Maria, she had managed to actively avoid any and all interaction with Thato solely because she wanted him to know that she did not belong to him, or to anyone else for that matter.

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⏰ Last updated: Aug 26, 2019 ⏰

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