28/08/2024
Title: A-The First Letter (Novel)
As he props his head out the window, the current beating against his face and with the wind in his hair, he sighs. A sigh of relief? Or maybe... No one notices the streak on his face. He can only cry with one eye. He is a man, men don't cry! This is Africa.
He is seated behind the driver and as he looks at the speedometer, he realizes they are at a speed close to 180km/h. Junior is skeptical, maybe this is a ploy to fool him into thinking he is still on the program. School is unbearable, he just lost everything to the housing agent and he is afraid, where will he go back to after the conference is over and done. He has friends, or so he thinks.
He has a myriad of emotions, the culmination of a troubled childhood. He smiles, perhaps embracing the fact that he is different. He shall never be like everybody else, he shall never be perfect, he can never fit in, he is not Jesus. A figure flushes through his mind, it is a woman, in her early thirties, the image is unclear. She is dressed in a suit, black with fading white stripes. On her head, a Brazilian wig. Her face is calm and she smiles. Her chubby figure is married by the dress. She touches his chin with her fingertips and smiles. Absent mindedly he smiles back and another tear falls down his cheek. He feels a sting just below his rib cage, his stomach is back at it again. Grunts and takes his head out the window again. All around him as far as the eyes can see are green trees, shrubs and members of nature. They are trailing a bus headed probably for Kakamega or Kisumu. Towards the left side of the road is the Great Rift Valley Escarpment. Like dots he sees structures, probably homesteads and scattered water bodies.
Again he sinks into his thoughts but before he can go back to the "lady" there is a loud hoot and screeching. Everyone is startled but at the back it is pure laughter. What was the topic of discussion? Who cares? He looks at the driver, he mumbles inaudibly to the guy sitting on his right and they both laugh but they frown again as if in unison. The whole vehicle is silent as if a spell was suddenly cast upon it apart from the purring of the engine. The guy sitting to his right clears his throat and slumps into the seat. SILENCE!
His mind goes blank, he has been training himself the art of callousness and in doing so he has learnt how to shut the world out and still be a part of it. Today he is on this journey physically, his mind is eleven years behind, back to the night whence he last heard her, saw her smiling, held her warm hand, had a meal with her. Eleven years ago when he was last mad at her, or so he thinks. Eleven years ago when his future was clear and cut out for him, when he knew he was either going to be a pilot or some sort of engineer. Now he is just an actor, no a poet, maybe a dj or an mc, he could be a content creator but whatever he is, whatever brings food to the table. Wait! Which table? He laughs, he could be anything bora money. He goes back to the specific last night between the two of them. Nights were unbearable for she couldn't sleep, her breathing was labored and hallucinations were a norm. She couldn't breathe properly, her bed nearly became her toilet luckily it was just outside their door. He was ten or eleven but he had to clean her up, wash himself up and do the house chores. They had just relocated to Joy Town in Kakamega. The stock for the business they were to set up was in stores across Kakamega, including at his grandparents'...
Hoot! They were at Nakuru, he needed a breather and a bathroom break. He had to clean his face first. A man is not supposed to cry, or so it is, this is Africa.
(Should I continue writing?)
Copyright: ACE Inc 2024 ©
Author: Asher
