once upon a village

I had always hated him. His guts mostly if not the whole of him. He would sit there, on the slap next to the tap for hours, once in a while throw
ing that ball he always had in the air. he dared never looked at me washing, rinsing and airing clothes. even when I finally caught him trying to sneak a peek, I put the whole bucket down and went in. I would lock myself in there, coming out only when he leaves. and the cycle would go on. for weeks and maybe months, I wouldn’t know. I didn’t wanna count and I was sure I didn’t care.

but then, once in a while, we would meet. early in the morning. me taking my runs, him bringing milk. it was usually at the gate. so I killed my morning exercises. the nerve of him to just wait and appear when I opened the doors. but he was like a bug that didn’t want to die. he would be in the market, in town, in my head, in my dreams everywhere I looked. yet, I was stubborn. I wasn’t easy to conquer, when he came from this direction, I would turn and go the other. but again,he thought I liked it, playing police with him. ours was a small village. so small I knew his life his plans his everything. I had seen him, once in a while, growing up but I hadn’t really seen him. not the way he looked that day. black t-shirt and black jeans. then Black shades and his hair trimmed .. almost like he wanted to pull off a men-in-black look. but it wasn’t the look, it was something. the MAN in the black maybe. something snapped in me. something warm that made me feel cold outside and my stomach filled with water. as if I needed to use the ladies, I ran. so fast. when I got there. the urge had subsided to nothingness. I stood there for a while, staring at the mirror for a long time, trying to make sense of it all. how did he grow up so fast?

Nairobi

something has changed about Nairobi. I can’t seem to place my finger on it yet, but as the bus rolled into the CBD I could tell that something was off! maybe its the way the streets looked deserted and the people fewer. normally its usually bursting with conglomeration of humanity, cars ..half dressed girls carrying heavy giant handbags. maybe it’s the cold that made me wish I could run back to kisumu…. even the Nairobi lady had their jackets on..
or perhaps it’s this Ebola virus putting fear into the hearts of men. suddenly the city under the sun didn’t look so sunlit anymore ..or it’s the economic hardship. that struggle for rent had started to burden the city dweller. or the numerous terrorism attacks maybe we are yet to recover! or maybe it’s just me! maybe I don’t wanna be in the big city, maybe I fell in love with the intimacy of the country side. the good mornings the cheers of close friends, the constant nagging of family …suddenly the city looks too vast without this people ..
I don’t know yet …but one thing I know, something has changed about Nairobi.