Melissa Van Rensburg

“The drop kick that healed a rainbow nation” by Melissa Van Rensburg

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to FreedomThe match was only due to start at 1:30pm but by 12pm, the stadium was already full, the 60,000 spectators buzzing like bees around a blooming flower. The spectators were swimming in a sea of South Africa’s new colourful flag, and the Soweto Gosp...

18 likes 23 comments 23

Read story

“Injury Time” by Melissa Van Rensburg

🏆 Winner of Contest #256

Trigger warning: Domestic abuse, rapeThalia wipes down the pristine kitchen countertops, impatient for the game to start. She glances at the clock, then her eye catches the pile of bills on the table. The radio blares pre-match commentary filled with praise for the footballers. She turns down the volume so it won’t wake little Gabbi. She takes a seat at the kitchen table with a sigh. Another hard shift at the hospital is behind her, but it was always worth it in the end. Today, an elderly woman hugged her and gave her a peppermint. “As ...

108 likes 106 comments 106

Read story

“Dear Mom” by Melissa Van Rensburg

Submitted to Contest #255

Trigger warning: Mental health, suicide I still have the letters my friends and I wrote each other in class in primary school, but I threw out your suicide note. This means whenever I want to, which is surprisingly often, I can relive every time Maggy and I were angry at Linda, and when Linda and I were angry at Maggy, as well as my massive crush on Jason for a full week because of the way he said my name, like he really meant it, you know? I will never know why Maggy and Linda were angry with me, because I wasn’t privy to those letters. And...

24 likes 15 comments 15

Read story

“Desperate Remedies” by Melissa Van Rensburg

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #248

Was she taunting me? I was jolted awake by a strange sound — pee-pee-paw, pee-pee-pee-paw. It drilled into my skull, causing shockwaves, though that might also have been the alcohol. I forced my eyelids open a fraction, afraid to face the light. It having been New Year’s Eve, I at least had an excuse for a change. For the first time in five years, I greeted the new year alone. What kind of new bird could this be? I went outside to look for the source of my annoyance. A female tui. I could tell because of the size and plumage. Stran...

66 likes 72 comments 72

Read story

“Joram’s Jarring Jest” by Melissa Van Rensburg

Joram had learned the hard way about the power that stories can have in shaping the truth. He also knew it was futile to argue with a 9-year old girl. “Grandfatherrrrr,” the girl pleaded, her eyes wide with the innocent curiosity of youth. “Tell me a story.”Joram sighed heavily, the lines on his face deepening in the firelight. “A story you say.” The crackling fire hurled long shadows on the hut’s walls. He prodded at the embers, causing a flurry of sparks to fly up, as if attempting to summon the past. “Are you sure?”“Yes, grandfa...

12 likes 9 comments 9

Read story

“What’s your moon sign?” by Melissa Van Rensburg

The only reason Amanda attended the WLW speed-dating event was to get Eric off her back. “Just go,” he had pleaded. “You never know — you might meet your perfect match!” It was easy for him to say; he had been with his ideal partner in a loving and stable relationship for 10 years. So far it had been a disaster, just as she expected. On paper she was compatible with all the women there, but attraction didn’t happen on paper. She wished she was at home watching Netflix. She didn’t need a girlfriend; she was perfectly happy on her own.&nb...

19 likes 14 comments 14

Read story

“A Recipe for Belonging: The Draniki Connection” by Melissa Van Rensburg

I never expected my draniki post to go viral, but it did, and now there’s no turning back. My life will never be the same again — it led me home. I guess I ought to explain. First, to all the non-Belarusians out there, I should probably start by telling you what draniki actually are, yeah? Well, if you go to Wikipedia, it will lamely redirect you to the ‘Potato Pancake’ page. This is madness. Surely it should have its own page? Putting that aside, yes, I guess it’s accurate to say that it’s some sort of potato pancake, but I reckon it’s...

17 likes 19 comments 19

Read story

“The Joy I Bring” by Melissa Van Rensburg

Helen said not to be scared, but that it’s okay if I’m nervous, that’s normal for the first day in a new job. This isn’t just a new job, it’s my very first one. But I’m not frightened. No, I’m super excited! I’ve been training so long for this day, and am beyond ready. The sun isn’t up yet and she is still asleep. I wish she’d just wake up already! Come on, let’s go! Months of rigorous training helped me to perfect all the commands, be an excellent listener, tolerant of unexpected noises and movements, and relaxed in all kinds of enviro...

16 likes 12 comments 12

Read story

“Opposites Conversion Camp” by Melissa Van Rensburg

The boys were kept separate from the girls, naturally. So that we wouldn’t succumb to our unnatural urges. That’s why I have no idea what their classes consisted of. I can only tell you about what they taught us girls. The first day’s classes were focused on history. Nothing new, of course. It was mostly about how back in the day, in the bad old days, couples couldn’t get pregnant on their own and so were forced to do the deed with the opposite sex. It was handled as a transaction, which it was, and so it was bearable, they said, and th...

8 likes 11 comments 11

Read story

“The Theft of Art's Heart” by Melissa Van Rensburg

Yes, it was perfect after all – the wall was complete. It wasn’t just any wall, but a canvas of reflection, dotted with 15 mirrors, each a portal to another time, another soul, each swathed in its own tale. And at the heart of this constellation was a mesmerising gold and black painting. It had filled the void that had been there for many years and now silently commanded the room as if it had been there all along. It was finally in its place. It wasn’t what Maxine had expected it would be; it was even better.  *** From the moment Maxine...

11 likes 20 comments 20

Read story

“Behind Closed Doors” by Melissa Van Rensburg

Submitted to Contest #239

The walls couldn’t talk, but they had begun to listen.  They didn’t know how this came to be. They believed that life had started for everything else on the day it started for them, too. Because before that day, there was nothing.  The same fate had befallen everything that was in contact with the walls at the time of the incident. And so it was that the walls and the wall clock formed a friendship of sorts. It was overwhelming at first, but they gradually started making sense of it all.  Inside the walls lived three Movers of...

33 likes 18 comments 18

Read story

“Which way to freedom?” by Melissa Van Rensburg

Sarima decided to walk.  She came to a crossroads. To the left, a tank in the distance; to the right, nothing but rubble. She turned right.  She walked for a long time. Each step kicked up clouds of dust that clung to her sandals, and her worn t-shirt was starting to stick to her skin, but she kept going. On the horizon, there were two tiny dots. She didn’t know what it was but kept walking towards it anyway; there was nowhere else to go. With time, the dots revealed themselves to be an elderly man and woman. Upon seeing Sarima, th...

10 likes 6 comments 6

Read story

“The Russian Tongue” by Melissa Van Rensburg

Submitted to Contest #237

What if she didn’t like me in person? I kept pacing up and down the apartment, too nervous to sit still. Several hours remained; perhaps I ought to go for a walk? It should help to calm my nerves. “Can I please get a photo?)))” she messaged me. Russian-speakers tended to use brackets to indicate emotion via text — the more brackets, the more the person was smiling.She asked me to send her pictures multiple times a day, so I guess she must have liked how I looked well enough, and we certainly enjoyed each other’s company, electronic...

27 likes 30 comments 30

Read story

“The Dangers of U-Hauling” by Melissa Van Rensburg

We were struggling to make our way up the mountain, our steps unstable on the pebbles under our feet and the fresh morning air filling our lungs, when Tara suddenly halted, took a long sip from her water bottle and faced me with a huge smile. “Audrey, will you marry me?”  I laughed because surely she was joking. Tara had such a quirky sense of humour, which was one of the things I liked most about her. But her expression was totally serious, which stopped my laughter in its tracks, leaving an awkward and expectant silence in its place. ...

9 likes 18 comments 18

Read story

“Back to School” by Melissa Van Rensburg

TW: Bullying I can't remember the exact moment I made the decision to go after all. But that's life, isn't it? Decisions rarely seem to come with a dramatic turning point. It wasn't a single instance that tipped the scales, but a slow accumulation of reasons, feelings, conversations, and subtle realisations that, over time, gave me the clarity I needed. The decision to go, once shrouded in uncertainty and anxiety, eventually emerged as the only way forward, as if it had been the answer all along. I discussed it with Nicola last week. And ...

10 likes 7 comments 7

Read story