The Found Tourist - an excerpt form the book 'Midnight Memos About Love'

The Found Toursit

form the book Midnight Memos About Love- Nokulunga Mazibuko, get it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y6F3TKG

He stood tall at the door, his unruly brunette hair sitting on his shoulders.

"Greetings" he said in a strong, rustic British accent that didn't suit the youth of his appearance. He was a tourist trying to camouflage, a city boy trying to escape the noise to hear himself. This was the first time he had dared such a venture and he was discovering it to be an uncomfortable yet necessary one.

The small town he had found himself seemed to have been forgotten on a mountain; isolated yet sufficient and cultural. He had heard of a wise love guru while he was talking to a local stranger in a pub. The stories of 'wise love man' aroused an insatiable desire for answers since and after trying to casually ask for directions, He was ushered to a small hut whose opening was half covered with a curtain as it's door. The youth could see the wise man wearing cloths rather than clothes. The guru peered at him through squinting eyes. "Come in" he said in a clam deep tone. 'I'm definitely in the right place' thought the tourist.

"Name?" The old man inquired.

"Charlie, you?"

"You have come inquiring of yourself, not me...yes?"

Charlie shifted where he stood feeling unsure of coming here. "Have a seat, Charlie" the guru spoke as he gestured to a flattened and slightly grubby looking pillow laying across him. "Yeah, thanks" Charlie tried to sound as confident as he could. He sat crossing his legs and looked at the guru expectantly, feeling a little like a schoolboy again. The guru looked at him, squinting yet again, as he examined his strange visitor wearing a white shirt, kaki pants and boots. The way he carried himself betrayed his character. 'a love player' thought the wise man. Charlie watched self-consciously as the guru studied him.

"I don't suppose you have true love in your life?" the guru finally said rather than asked.

Charlie caught his breath.

"No, well not really...I-well" he replied clumsily before letting out a sigh. "I'm seeing three girls at the moment..." he looked up to check for judgment but the old man was unreadable. "None of them know... "He continued," the problem is that I don't know which to love"

"No. the problem is you don't know how to love young man." Charlie flinched at this truth and tried to think of a response. "Well...no it's just that-" The guru put his finger against his lips to silence the rambling youth.

"Young man, love is not a group event. You do not plant many seeds in a small place and expect anything to grow. The seeds will be competing for resources and none will have a chance to grow. The seed symbolizes a relationship and the resource is your time, affection and love. The heart is one; let the one you love romantically be one as well."

Charlie was caught on every word the old man spoke like a cloth caught on barbed wire. Truth is a foreign language in the city where superficiality and vanity runs higher than people care to realize. Charlie struggled for the words and failed to find them. The silence was punctuated with the sound of falling rain outside.

"Come" the guru ordered as he slowly rose from his mat. Charlie rose and followed the guru to the curtain door. He opened it and walked into the rain while Charlie stood at the door in hesitation."Um..I-"

"Follow me" the guru cut in.

With a sigh, the tourist followed the old man into the rain.

The old man stood still stopping Charlie in his tracks. They stood still for a moment as the rain soaked through their clothes. "You are carrying much, extend your hands to the rain with your fingers spread as one who is carrying much"

Charlie tried to understand his words and hoped he was doing as he was told; his palms stretched out like he was 'holding a lot'. He looked like he was shrugging without his shoulders. "How much rain are you collecting?" the old man asked"It's seeping through my fingers" Charlie replied. "Love is the rain. It comes from above; all you have to do is extend your heart-that is your hands. You, young man with your many lovers, will only have love brush past you and held for but a moment till it slips through. You know it's sensation but you have never known it.". Charlie looked at the guru then at the ground.

The guru took Charlie's hands and united them so that they were cupped. Charlie watched as the rain fell into his hands and started forming a small puddle.

"Don't you have more water now" the guru asked

"Yes..." Charlie replied. He watched the drops filling his hands for a moment then looked up at the guru," But there's so much more to loose" He half whispered. The guru took a step towards him so that their foreheads were almost touching. "But there is more to gain" he replied. Charlie stood there in the rain with the epiphany running through him.

As the rain drops fell, it was not clear which were from the sky and which were from his eyes.

From the book "Midnight Memos About Love" Nokulunga Mazibuko © 

book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y6F3TKG

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