Magical places.

On the first of July I moved into a tiny room on the first floor of a three story accommodation in Saltriver. Each wall of this room had a different colour: pink, beige and I think, grey. The floor was tiled and there was an empty white cupboard there, it smelled new. It also had a built in beige-ish desk and one of those adjustable black chairs with wheels.  

 I didn't like the room much. I particularly hated the pink wall. The room had only one small window which faced the corridor. So I moaned about living like a person in solitary confinement, because I had to keep my room light switched on at all times otherwise it was complete darkness regardless of what time of the day it was. In addition, I also found out soon enough that I was the only female on that floor. So imagine the places my judgmental mind went. Nonetheless this was my room, MY room. This was the first time in my life I could actually say those words. For the first time I would sleep alone in a space that was mine alone.

Bongi came to visit and of course she came with her ability to genuinely make anything look or sound beautiful. She kept going on about how she wanted to do a photoshoot in my room, how the pink wall had such a vibe, and how she believed I was in a special place and how the building was romantic yoh, she went on and on.

Sooner or later I started wanting to see this thing that Bongi could see that I wasn’t. I hung out with the guys from the other rooms. One of them explained that he was studying industrial design. I had never heard of that. When he explained what industrial design was about, I was completely blown away. He was in his first year, and he knew so much.

Then I had a conversation with another one, he is a chef, an actual chef guys like for real? He told me what cooking meant to him, how it calmed his mind and all that deep stuff that just make my mind come alive. I could go on and on but the point is there are some cool people in this place. I fell in love with the place, with the room, I fell in love with the world around me.

The no air and no natural light situation was real though. I couldn’t ignore it. And then, as things happen, one of the guys moved out, wasn’t returning or something like that. So I asked if I could move in there. The landlord agreed. This room is also small but, it has a wooden floor, white walls and about three quarters of the wall that faces the main road is glass windows. GLASS WINDOWS! I can see everyone on the street from my bed. All the strings just came attached. Sometimes it sounds like the cars are in my room lol but I don’t mind that too much.

Yesterday was the 10th. I finally became too poor to keep buying food, so I went out and bought the basics you know, eggs, rice, noodles, beans, tomato, you know basics. I found plantains, ripe plantains! Can you believe it? 2 average plantains for R40, I closed my eyes and bought them. It was so worth it. I fried the plantains and also fried some beans, yoh it was about to be a lit evening!

 I had to hurry though, because the guitarist who will accompany me for this month’s Acoustic Night was due to be here at 3pm. The food got ready at exactly that time and a few minutes later I was getting to know him and getting to know those beans.

We worked on a few of my original songs and what a wow. This man’s finger’s did things to that guitar, and it was like he could read my mind, the way he played it just how I knew it should be played.

When he left I listened to the audio recordings I had made and I danced. I could see my reflection in the glass windows and I could see the world outside of them, I was right in the middle of it. And I danced and danced and danced. It was in that moment that I felt myself. And I loved it. I loved me.

Today is the 11th. My 11th day in this place, and here I am writing again, I cant even remember the last time I did. I am still a little scared of sleeping alone and in the dark, but the anxiety is slowly passing. I am growing, that’s all that matters.  I am so grateful for everything that my life has become, and all that it is yet to be and I am thankful for the intensity of its romance.


Bongi was right, afterall, there is some magic to this place.

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