Adrian :
So what happened when you and Takunda fell apart when he spread rumours about you?
David (he answers, his voice breaking slightly):
He left that day, without any ceremony, without a backward glance. He just… went. And I stood there, watching the door close behind him, like a chapter in a book that I hadn't even finished reading yet.
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David (a moment of silence before he speaks again):
I stayed, and I kept quiet. I kept to myself, letting the days blur together, knowing that the world had a way of moving on, even when you couldn't keep up.
But without Takunda, the silence grew louder. His absence left a hole in the space between the walls of my life. There were days when I didn't know how to fill the silence, how to push through the weight of it all.
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David (reflective, soft):
I wasn't the same without him.
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David (pauses):
But I didn't give up. Not yet.
Because, in a way, Takunda had already given me something. He had given me the idea of freedom, even if I couldn't take it for myself. He had taught me that there was more to life than surviving — there was living.
And even though I couldn't leave, I began to dream of what life could be like beyond the orphanage walls.
---
David (voice soft, thoughtful):
The truth is, I didn't just lose Takunda that day. I lost the version of myself I had always known. The boy who had stood still in the shadow of someone braver. The boy who had hidden behind silence because it was easier than facing the world.
But somewhere in me, a part of me still wanted more. A part of me still wanted to speak, to be heard, to be seen. And though I didn't know it then, that would be the first step towards finding myself — outside the walls of silence.
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David (pauses, his voice steady):
Sometimes, you don't realize how much you need someone until they're gone. Takunda was my fire. He was the spark that ignited the possibility of change. And now, I had to figure out what came next — by myself.
But I wasn't sure if I was ready for that.
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David (with quiet resolution):
And that's where I began to change. Slowly. Quietly. But I started to change.
The truth I taught myself that at times, we've got to let the ghosts go.
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