It's been a few weeks since the coronation ceremony and I was back at school. Between juggling schoolwork, chores and a secret love affair you can say I've been quite busy! Me and Thendo were officially a 'thing' now and yes i know about the whole ' royals cannot date commoners' jargon but we just couldn't leave each other alone. We agreed to meet very early in the mornings and watch sunrise and very late to watch the sunset. This way we could avoid being spotted and broken up. Each day we met at the old oak tree near the river, it was were we first met and had our first kiss so it was quite special to us. Our love was the forbidden kind of love, the one where you played with fire but it felt okay because you enjoyed the warmth of the flames. One afternoon after a draining day at school i immediately headed home and changed into comfortable clothes. I fetched wood and water and began that evenings supper. I made sure to cook early so i could go meet Thendo at our special spot. Fast forward an hour and and thirty minutes later I'm standing by the oak tree alone. Thendo usually meets meets me here 15 minutes before our usual meeting time but today there isn't any sign of him strange... I make myself comfortable on the grass hoping he'll show up soon but nothing. It's almost 8 now and I should head back before i get grounded by my father. The walk back home was long and disappointing. " Roni, is this the time for a young girl to come home?! Have you seen the GBV statistics in the country?! Do you know how many women and children get raped and killed daily?!" my very angered father yelled out. " Ndi kho humbela pfarelo, zwi nga si sa dovha zwa iteha". (My sincerest apologies, it won't ever happen again) i muttered with my head faced down. I then proceeded to go to my room and i couldn't sleep a wink that night. I woke up and sat on the bed. Shoni tapped me on my shoulders and said in a quiet voice " he didn't come did he". Shoni was the only person i trusted to keep this secret and we spent the rest of the night contemplating reasons on why he didn't show up but none of them sat well with me. I didn't own a cell phone so the only phone i had access to was the home landline but my step mother didn't allow us to make social calls. I was really worried about Thendo's well being i hope he's okay wherever he is