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12 December 2018 | Story Mothepane Lebopo

The door closed. My eyes opened.

My dreams were halted as I sat up. She was already outside my window, the midnight moonlight lit her skin and erasing my fingertips on her arms. I opened the window… cold truth blew in. It stung my heart. She was going.

“Seriously? After four months this is how you are going to leave?”

Silence.

She was trying to control her breathing, to keep it as flat as possible. She had a unique, annoying gift of being able to compose herself in such situations, especially when she knew it was needed.

She stared at me.

My heart was pounding against my chest. In anger. In desperation. It had settled on her, but clearly she wouldn’t let me get close to hers.

I felt the first tear roll down my cheek. I quickly wiped away the second one. She just stared…

She could have been looking at me, thinking of other things. With her you never knew. She turned.

“Wait, please wait. Did you ever love me?”

She stuck her tongue out and left.

And I knew that was it: we were over. Thinking back, I might have known for a while that it was coming. But still… being prepared for something doesn’t guarantee your heart won’t break when it actually happens.

I left the window open, slightly. My head was spinning and my heart was tearing.

I laid on what was supposed to be our bed and dug my head in a pillow in an attempt to block out reality. It was useless; warm liquid from my broken heart poured out through my eyes. All I could smell was her.

But what was I expecting? It could never work. We were two puzzle pieces from different sets. Two pieces that were never supposed to fit… We tried to force it, and it ended in pain.

She was such an odd person. She had this ‘forbidden love’ thing about her. Being hers was strange, I knew she wasn't mine but I still tumbled head over heels. Being with her was like cheating on a diet. Or texting when you’re supposed to study.

She had beautiful, wild eyes that had perhaps seen too much. She got high on other people’s vulnerability. When her arms locked around me, she wasn’t just holding me, she was searching for pain. Insecurity. She would pin me down and kiss my nose. When she felt my guard coming up, she would tickle me and my power would leave me and enter her. She always won.

Often we’d try to watch the stars. I could never concentrate, her beauty was fierce and demanded undivided attention. She couldn’t focus either. She looked at the stars, not for their beauty, but for adventure. She looked at them as a guide.

I felt her hot blood in her embrace, she had to move to keep cool. There was rarely a still moment. Always dancing. Always moving.

I guess that’s what attracted me to her. I made her my adventure. I wanted to see what she had seen. I told her I was happy where I was but in reality I wanted to go everywhere she went. Wherever the stars would take her.

My lips only met hers when she was drunk. Perhaps she didn’t want to remember showing a little bit of emotion, being a bit vulnerable in front of me. But even then she rarely shared her thoughts with me.

So her secrets are still with her, while she knows mine.

That wild girl, may I never hold her again. She said she didn’t like it. She wanted to feel liberated. And my arms didn’t offer her that.

The girl with a storm in her heart had started a fire in mine and left.

I look out the window, where she had been standing. I almost smiled. What was I thinking?  Thinking I could fix her? Whether I love her or hate her, it makes no difference because she’s not here. She’s not coming back.

I will never know what exactly she wanted with me. But I’ll grow wiser from this.

You can’t teach someone who’s power hungry to surrender. You can’t mould someone who despises being held. You can’t put out a wild fire. Don’t try to pick wild flowers, because their thorns will pierce your skin and then they will wither because of your blood. But their scent will linger forever.

Now I know. You can’t tame someone who is wild. You shouldn’t offer your heart to someone who has sold her soul to adventure.

Don’t try to love someone who can’t be still.

 

News Archive

UFS postdoctoral Fellow expands international opportunities for women in Science Communication
2016-12-13

Description: Mikateko Höppener Tags: Mikateko Höppener 

Mikateko Höppener, postdoctoral Fellow at the
Centre for Research on Higher Education and
Development (CRHED), University of the Free State (UFS),
who was selected as one of five South African women
to participate in the Best Practice in Science
Communication UK study tour.

“Often, the power lies in our own hands as individuals to take the initiative, be curious about opportunities to learn, develop an interest to make a positive contribution in society through our research, and make use of our networks within and outside of academia to effect positive change.”

This is according to Mikateko Höppener, a postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development (CRHED), at the University of the Free State (UFS), who was selected as one of five South African women to participate in the Best Practice in Science Communication UK study tour. This was part of the British Council and Academy of Science South Africa (ASSAf) women in science project.

Höppener said she saw this as an opportunity to expand opportunities for women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). “The whole experience reinforced my conviction that there is a lot of untapped potential for young people to practise and enhance science communication in South Africa for the betterment of our communities,” she said.

During her visit to the UK, Höppener was exposed to an international networking platform of science communication practitioners and stakeholders such as the Director for Development of Vitae, departments at The Royal Society, science journalists at the BBC World Service, policy advisers and public engagement teams at the Welcome Trust, the Director of SciDev.net, and the Science Adviser for STEM Education and Public Engagement at the British Council.

Höppener said each of these meetings had highly interactive presentations and discussions with members of various organisations and the South African delegation. 

Being selected for the science communication fellowship and attending the study tour was not only personally and professionally rewarding for Höppener, it also enabled her to pass on what she had learnt to fellow emerging women researchers in South Africa.

Earlier this year, she hosted a WiSTEM (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Science Communication and Engagement Workshop at the UFS and through press releases and radio interviews, brought positive attention to the UFS to inspire young women across the country to get involved in science communication training.

“I intend to establish a science communication and engagement centre at the UFS where ongoing training, mentorship and support will be offered to young researchers to learn how to orient their knowledge and research to community development through science communication,” said Höppener.

The Best Practice in Science Communication UK study tour took place from 24 to 28 October 2016 as part of the Newton Fund Professional Development Programme South Africa.

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