...reconnected with an old flame’
on 26 April this year, a familiar name popped up on Phemelo Molefe’s Facebook Messenger app – Kamogelo Makodi. ‘I’ve known Kamo since primary school,’ recalls the copywriter and single mother of one. ‘He was part of my brother’s group of friends, and I would avoid him as much as possible because I had a huge crush on him.’ Time moved on and they both left home for bigger and better things – Kamo to become a DJ and a member of the hip-hop group Crowded Crew, and Phemelo for university to study dramatic arts at Wits University.
On her first night at Wits, an impromptu catch-up session with some acquaintances from Mafikeng took place in her room. One of the people who came was Kamo. ‘When everyone eventually left, he stayed behind,’ she recalls. ‘I thought he was staying to catch up, but it turned out he was attracted to me. And so began our “entanglement”.’
Things got pretty serious between the two, with Kamo even professing his love for her, but it seemed like they were heading in different directions. ‘He was in Cape Town and I was in Johannesburg. So we saw each other only when he was in Joburg… and eventually the relationship fizzled out.’
Phemelo went on to meet the father of her son, and Kamo the mother of his daughter. And although neither of those relationships worked out, life went on. Over the years they kept in contact on Facebook, at one stage swapping numbers. And when lockdown hit, Kamo decided to reach out to her.
‘At the time, I found the message hilarious,’ recalls Phemelo. ‘It had been almost 20 years, and here he was telling me that he missed me and that he still felt there
was some chemistry between us.’ But she’d been burnt in previous relationships and was committed to being single
– so much so that she told her sister she was going to block Kamo. Needless to say, she didn’t, and he started to call her. ‘Our chats were amazing – we would talk for hours and stop only to take bathroom breaks, to do chores and to attend to work commitments.’
Because of lockdown regulations, they were limited to voice and video calls, but soon she started to realise that she was falling for him again. ‘After one of our long calls that had stretched past midnight, he told me he loved me, and I told him I loved him too.’ A few weeks later, he popped the question.
Today the two have made a home together and Phemelo is happy to report that her 16-year-old son, Kitso, very much approves of Big K, his nickname for Kamo. (He is, of course, Little K.) ‘Both our fathers have passed away, but our mothers have blessed the union, so we’re looking forward to a traditional ceremony before we head to court to wed,’ she says. Though they aren’t in a rush, and are just enjoying reconnecting.
Phemelo has asked Kamo whether lockdown had anything to do with his declaration of love. He assured her that lockdown or not, he would have found her again. ‘Finding my friend again has been the most beautiful thing ever,’ she says. ‘As a writer and story lover, I couldn’t have asked for a better love story.’