“Sorrow drips through your heart, through a pin hole just like a faucet, but there is comfort in the sound.” Death Cab for Cutie.

Just the other day I was approached by an acquaintance I have here in town. We met along the road which is where I meet most everybody somewhere along the way.

Our greetings were typical. Tall and thin-maybe too thin-he’s a younger guy I know who was going to college in Maseru. He’s been around Semokong for a while now. We played quite a lot of soccer when the weather was nice. His hanging around although I knew school had started back up, concerned me. He made me think something happened that made him leave school. Never before had he mentioned anything beyond that first time we met. That was until this particular day.

I don’t know the timing people feel within themselves to discuss certain things. What happened this day to drive this guy to tell me that he was ‘sick’? There isn’t much I can say or do. He feels I’m someone he wants to talk to right now on a dirt path surrounded by fields. Maybe he needs to say it out loud. Whatever the reasoning, though, I want to listen.

His eyes aren’t dodgy like I would imagine someone’s to be as they told one of their deepest secrets. Calmly he explained what happened and then, as if to reassure me, he said he was still preparing to head back to school next semester. All he needed was a doctor’s note. He needed to have someone vouch for his health. Does that seem degrading? I guess I’ve had that done for me too but really? This is what he needs to get back into school.

Good luck to him.