Ligumaletfu

  I lost a dear friend to suicide, and the pain of that loss still lingers with me. Her name was Thando (I'll call her that here), and she was one of the most family-oriented people I’ve ever known. However, her family life was far from easy. Thando came from a polygamous family, a dynamic that created tension and distance, especially with her father and stepmothers. To make matters worse, she had lost her mother at a young age, leaving her without the one person she had always felt closest to. The absence of her mother was a void that no one in her family seemed willing or able to fill. Despite this, she tried so hard to put on a brave face. At work, she would often break down in the quiet moments, when her thoughts became too much to bear. But she always wiped her tears away before anyone could notice. I’d catch her in these vulnerable moments, and she’d give me a weak smile, pretending everything was fine. But I knew she was hurting. We all knew, but none of us really knew what