WHISTLING BEAUTIFUL

  Thirty three year old Lauren, a marketing executive in one of the top firms in Durban, South Africa, had an amazing life. She was hardworking, very intelligent and successful in her career. She was loved by many, especially her family and close friends. She loved going to brunches on the weekends with friends, the merry girls, she had been friends with them since elementary school. Lauren was strikingly beautiful and heavy on the fashion sense. She glowed so radiantly. She was every man’s dream, but she decided to settle for one man. The love of her life, who swept her off her feet at a Christmas party. Damina Williams was everything Lauren wanted in her husband. He was about six feet tall, handsome and wealthy. She landed a hot catch. He was the CEO of a tech company. They hit it off at the Christmas party and followed up with a romantic date on Christmas eve. Lauren knew Damina was the one. He spoiled her, they went on spontaneous weekend getaways to Johannesburg, Paris, Dubai,...

  Giselle sat on the edge of her bed, scrolling through her social media feed on a hot and humid Thursday afternoon in Lagos. She was accustomed to mindless scrolling and getting news updates from influencers, her family and her friends. She was about to continue scrolling when a picture caught her attention and made her stop. She was shocked. Timi, her ex boyfriend, was smiling happily, his hand wrapped around a beautiful young woman. She looked high maintenance, her skin was glowing, her hair was popping, her outfit was expensive. They were at a dimly lit restaurant. It did not look familiar, the caption of the Instagram photo. Giselle’s heart skipped as she stared at the photo. She and Timi were once a happy couple. They shared everything together, and the memories came flooding back. It was eight months since the break up. They were both ‘No Contact.’ There were times when she felt like picking up the phone and calling, but then she changed her mind. His ego would be stroked, s...

  Lilian wiped down the tables. The restaurant was about to close in thirty minutes. She had taken this job to support herself. She was a graduate student studying biochemistry. She lived in Berkeley, sharing a room in a house with two other young girls. As she wiped the tables, her thoughts wandered. This shift was longer than usual. Time seemed to move slowly. She had homework she needed to complete before going to bed. She stared at the time on the big wall clock close to the register. It was a few minutes to midnight. She needed to get going. Her boyfriend George was not answering her calls. She would probably Uber home, the last train left at 11.30. She lived two miles away, but didn’t feel like walking. She pulled out her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and tried to call him again for the fifth time. The call went straight to voicemail. She wondered where he was and what he was doing. She noticed a change in his behavior lately. He didn’t spend much time on the phone,...