The Power of Love

chapter three.

It was nine pm on the June 10th 1970, Andrietta Marie Du Toit found herself walking into her parents bedroom. Gloria's speech had given her the strength she needed. Her parents would have to see how much she loved Luthando Williams. She was resolved to begging for his freedom.

She walked into their room without even bothering to knock. Andrietta begun talking before she lost her nerve, "I have something to say. I love Luthando Williams and believe it or not, he loves me. He did not "brainwash" me. Luthando is currently in jail over a lie. I am begging you both to find some sympathy in your heart to get him released from jail. I know that you have connections in the prison system. I know that you can stop this torture that you are putting us through. Please, I am begging you." she pleaded with her parents. 

Almarie stared at her daughter, she felt her heart shudder under the immense pain her daughters word were spoken with. She looked over at her husband. He merely looked at their daughter before calmly picking up a book by his bedside and reading it. Jacobus was unfazed by his daughters apparent despair.

This action by her father broke Andrietta. Instead of letting this defeat her, it gave her some strength. She found the courage to say, "I really do have deep feelings for Luthando. Honestly, I do not have to explain why nor how I fell in-love with him. For some reason, you cannot comprehend it, due to your prejudices. I suppose I expected too much from you, this just proved to me why I should not have expected you to do the honorable thing. Silly, pitiful, naive me, expecting a great deed from a man that has the heart to put an innocent man in jail." she felt anger flowing through her veins.

Her father looked her in the eyes when she spoke and for a second she saw something flash in her fathers eyes, but it was blinked away instantly. He sighed and looked at his book once again. Andrietta realized that she would never get her parents to change their minds so she left. 

She found herself on her bedroom floor. She was trying to find a way to figure out how to save Luthando from his impending doom. She was not coming up with much of an answer. Before she could process it, her parents walked into her room.

"Your father and I have something to say. We heard what you said and we both agreed that we will figure out a way to get Luthando out of jail. It will be done by tonight." her mother sincerely said. She looked at her father and he looked flustered. She was not sure what her mother had said, but her father looked like he was not too happy. However, she did not care too much. She felt a heavy load fall of her shoulders. Andrietta walked up to her mother and hugged her.

Her mother smiled at her as she took Andrietta's hands into her own. "We have to go to the prison now." her mother softly said. Andrietta found her heart hammering in anticipation.  

Luthando Williams threw himself on his bed. His whole body was in pain. The hard labour they made him endure was getting to him. His spirits had been broken. He could not understand why he was being put through all of this.

Hot tears fell from his eyes. He tried to imagine what Andrietta would tell him to make him feel better, but he could not picture anything. Recently, he had not been able to call on Andrietta's love to help him push through his pain. He forgot what her love felt like.

He had been broken to the very core. He had given up any hope of seeing Andrietta alive. He would never be able to touch her tender love ever again. He screamed into his pillow in despair.

When he finally found himself drifting to sleep, he heard one of the guards calling his name. He barely registered what was happening when he felt himself being pulled up from his bed and shuffled out of his cell.

Trying to fight his sleep induced mind whilst trying to figure out why he was was being taken out of his prison cell. The guard bitterly said, " Your offences have been retracted. You are now released from prison." The words filtered through his mind, he somewhat understood what the guard was saying, but it felt unreal.

He found himself shoved into a brightly lit room. He heard her voice before he saw Andrietta running towards him. He found his arms embracing her as she lifted him up and spun him around. He felt their love stronger than ever.

If in that moment, someone asked Andrietta Marie Du Toit what love was like. She would have said that their was a power that love had. In that moment, embracing Luthando ,she knew that love was more than just a soul tying connection. Love is being willing to sustain that connection, even if the whole world goes against your love. She held onto him and knew she would never let him go.