The Bride

The Kiss

Fatu and Djenaba were at another Guinean party surrounded by music, dance, and the warm atmosphere of their community. But something had changed in the air, and the tension was palpable between the two girls. Fatu had just met Babakar, her fiancé. "Well, well, well, if it'snot any other than my wife" said Babakar. "Not yet," Fatu replied with an uncomfortable smile, trying to hide her nervousness. "Come on, give me a hug, my love," Babakar said, getting closer to Fatu. Fatu was forced to give it to him, but what Babakar did next caught her off guard.

Djenaba had seen the scene from afar, mistaking a stolen kiss for betrayal.

Later at the party, Fatu, encouraged by the music and the party atmosphere, approached Djenaba with a smile on her face and extended her hand to invite her to dance. But Djenaba rejected her abruptly without even looking her in the eye.

Fatu felt confused by her lover's attitude and tried to ask her what was wrong. "Why are you like this, Djenny? Are you OK?" she asked with concern.

But instead of answering, Djenaba exploded in a fit of rage. "How could you do this to me, Fatu? How could you kiss that man and then come here to try to dance with me as if nothing had happened?" she reproached with tears in her eyes.

Fatu was momentarily paralyzed, not understanding what Djenaba was talking about. But then, she remembered the kiss that Babakar had stolen from her.

But Djenaba didn't seem willing to listen to reason. "I saw it all, Fatu. I saw how you kissed him. Did you like it? I saw how you kissed him as if he were the only man in the world. Couldn't you have rejected me the first time I kissed you? But no, it was more fun to play with me," she reproached, her voice trembling.

The argument started quietly but quickly escalated until the two girls were shouting at each other. Fatu tried to explain that it wasn't what it seemed, that she hadn't kissed Babakar with any romantic intention, but Djenaba didn't want to hear it. For her, she had seen her lover betray her, and that was enough to feel hurt and betrayed.

"How could you do this to me, Fatu?" Djenaba exclaimed, with tears in her eyes. "How could you kiss him and then come here and tell me you love me?"

Fatu tried to approach Djenaba and put her hands on her face to make her look at her, but she backed away. "I don't understand you, Djenny. You and I are nothing, we've only kissed once, and that's it," Fatu said, trying to calm the situation. "You know very well that he is my fiancé."

Fatu's words fell like a stone in Djenaba's heart. Was it true that they were just a kiss and nothing more? Had she imagined everything she felt for Fatu? Confusion and sadness took hold of her. Junior witnessed all of this and approached Djenaba to take her out onto the street and let her vent with him.

"Are you okay, Djenaba?" Junior asked, concerned about his friend.

Djenaba dropped herself onto the step and started to cry. "No, Junior, I'm not okay," she confessed. "I saw Fatu kissing another man and I don't know what to do."

Junior looked at Djenaba with confusion on his face as she spoke of the betrayal she had witnessed at the party. "Why are you so affected by this?" he asked. "It's not like you two are a couple."

But then Djenaba confessed to him that she and Fatu had also kissed at her house, and that she had thought there was something more between them. "But now I know I'm just a friend to her," Djenaba said with sadness in her voice.

Junior looked at her attentively and tried to comfort her. "But...are you sure of what you saw, Djenaba? Sometimes our emotions can play tricks on our minds," he said softly.

Djenaba wiped away her tears and thought about Junior's words. Could it be possible that she had misinterpreted what she had seen? Could she have seen something else? But then she remembered the conversation with Fatu and the passionate kiss that Fatu had given her at her house, and she felt confused again.