DARK CORNERS – BUT WHY?

Last night, someone I know was walking back home in town (they live close by) when they saw a number of couples in the Harare Gardens. Their question was; what would grown men and women still be doing in the Harare Gardens that late? Is it because the setting in the gardens is beautiful at night? Have all the hang out places become so cliché that people figure the Gardens are more unique and romantic? Or is it just the most convenient “dark corner”? With all those trees and bushes and benches in the dark – you are guaranteed of absolute privacy, lol.

Most people have got an aversion to publicly declaring to the world that they love someone. I am talking about public display of affection (PDA). I was once told by someone that he preferred dark corners because it was more romantic. Really, they are? I have come up with a number of theories and today I decided to explore some of the possible reasons why grown men and women would rather hold hands, hug affectionately, kiss, or make out in the dark somewhere they are sure not to be found.

The classic excuse is that people are shy. Oh I can totally relate. The thought of people’s eyes on me makes me go all “pink” in the face. Thankfully I am dark skinned so people rarely, never do actually can tell how I feel from the colour of my face (Black is definitely beautiful!). But here is the thing, saying “I am shy” is becoming a cliché don’t you think? If you decide to date someone, why shouldn’t the whole world know?

One thing I think is most definitely the reason why is because people are players! If a guy has more than one girlfriend, he cannot afford to publicly display his affection to all of them now can he? Duh! He’ll get caught, and wouldn’t that just cramp up his style? So what’s the solution? Dark corners; and some have already seen the Harare Gardens working just fine J.

Another reason I thought of was, maybe the guy just doesn’t respect you enough to take you out to respectable places. You see I would think that if a guy is that much crazy about you, he would want the whole world to know that he has finally gotten you and that you are his - a kind of marking his territory thing. So if he does not care for deterring competition, it suggests that it does not really matter to him whether or not someone else comes and whisks you away from him. All you are doing is passing the time with him, so even if it is in the city garden – so what?

Or maybe, a couple was on their way somewhere and the hormones took over violently and a dark corner was the perfect get away. Well, in that case, they could probably be forgiven for not thinking straight. I doubt it very much that they would have even stopped to consider what the dark place is. I guess it really would not matter if the “dark corner” were behind an old car, an old building, tree, bush lol, or garden.

Be wary though of these dark corners, the city tabloids LOVE taking pictures of scenes like that. You see I figure I would rather come out in the newspaper holding hands with my boyfriend during the day in a public place. The caption below may even be something sweet as “young love…” or “don’t you just miss this?” I can only shudder at the thought of the kind of image they would get in a dark corner – worse still, the caption below.