REBEL GRAINED

GASLIGHTING

The dream left Thulile perplexed, but it didn't wipe out the sorrow. She saw her life flip upside down in a blink of an eye.

When did things start to shift?

Thulile tried to pinpoint the exact moment. It didn't take her long to find the spot. The images replayed themselves without being prayed. In the nightclub, she saw him amid all the bodies in movement.

Curiosity was what pushed her to near himㅡLars, unwanted yet desired. Thulile couldn't imagine how her sentiments would evolve the first time she saw him at the truck. Also, she didn't know the man would stick around in her life.

Now Elije moved out of her mind; Thulile tried to prevent Lars from moving in when in life, she was the one who took up space in his residence.

Thulile found herself in sudden turmoil.

Did she genuinely have feelings for him, or was she just a victim of the cliché white savior syndrome she deplored?

She couldn't; no, she didn't want to. These impressions were her mind playing tricks on her.

Lars was kind, goofy sometimes Thulile found herself laughing at one of his daddy jokes as soon as she remembered one.

The man's unwithering, almost religious belief in their coffee venture blew Thulile's mind away.

Never had a stranger shown as much passion or compassion. The more Thulile conjured Lars' actions, the faster her head throbbed and heart combusted. Still, the woman refused to accept the facts.

"Do you think she'll come down?"

Femi, Steven, and Thulile's gran watched Lars pace like a man waiting for his wife to deliver their child all afternoon.

"Lars, come and sit down. You're not helping her in any way right now. It was a difficult day, and we all agree Thulile needs rest."

"I can't just stand there."

"Then go out," Steven said. Steven wondered how things would go if Lars left. His friend was too engaged in Thulile's life. Lars didn't have a work permit; hence he had to leave South Africa when his visa expired. The limit was approaching.

Lars had already done it once. He visited other countries and came back. He told Steven he might go back to Sweden, but that was before he met Thulile.

Lars' gaze switched to Femi and Thuliles' gran. They both nodded in approbation to stevens' suggestion. The man grabbed his keys and went for a drive only to come back at dinner time.

Thuile didn't come down.

They ate together and went to sleep with the same gloom that highlighted the day. There was no change the following day.

Lars refrained from knocking on Thuliles' door. Instead, he went out again.

He drove back to the truck. Tape blocked access to the spot. No passers stopped to ask what happened. Instead, Lars noticed small queues in front of the other cafés, usually empty. It was their lucky day; Lars found himself suspecting neighboring competitors.

The man had no proof to incriminate anyone. He walked about to clear his head, but he couldn't. He thought of her alone. "Come on, Lars, stop it," he muttered as he strode. He had issues, things he needed to tell a therapist. The man missed his family; he wished he could go back and erase his faults. Despite the hurt he caused, his errors had to exist. Otherwise, he wouldn't have met her.

Lars was confused. His first feelings for Thulile were platonic; he then desired her physically. The man almost preferred when his emotions were purely charnel, but they shifted since, and Lars feared the feeling.