Sub-Saharan Sunshine: A Journey of Love and Resilience
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Published 3/21/2023With striking blonde hair and blue eyes, 20 year old model Marc embarks on a quest to journey century-old Sub-Saharan Africa and discover inner peace, but will he conquer the oppressive system and find the solidarity of true friendship and resilience amidst skinny jeans and Converse sneakers?
"I'm so tired of being beautiful."
"Sucky, sucky, sucky!"
"What's sucky? What's sucky?"
I catch the ball and toss it back to her. "You're not gonna like it."
"Like what?"
I sigh. "Me not being here."
She frowns and takes a step back. Her knees bend and she plants her palms on the ground. "Why you gotta go?"
I kneel down in front of her. "Because I have to find something more important than this village."
Her eyes grow wide. "That bad?"
"Worse, Aria. The world is bigger than you can imagine, and I want to see it all before I die." I smile, but it doesn't quite reach my eyes. "Don't worry, little cuz. I'll be back to visit soon."
She grabs my hand with both of hers and puts her head against mine. I can feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she whispers, "Please don't go!"
* * * *
The airplane begins its descent into Jo'burg airport. It's been almost two years since I left Aria behind, but the pain hasn't gone away yet. At least that's what people keep telling me - 'you'll get over it', 'time heals all wounds', blah blah blah. But for me, time has just made things worse; every day that goes by makes me miss her even more because now I know what she is missing out on by being stuck in Bantulandia forever. And knowing that makes me feel like an asshole sometimes because I had the chance to experience everything while she didn't have the chance to do anything at all. How fair is that? I mean, seriously now? And with that thought in mind, I turn my phone off and decide to take a nap instead.
* * * *
"Where are we going again?" My cousin asks as we hop onto a bus outside the airport terminal.
[END OF LINE]
[END OF BOOK]
[END OF STORY]
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This is a work of fiction, assisted by artificial intelligence. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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