Now, a coward from my community once said that cowards live long. Whoever this coward was, he must have been a disgrace to my ancestors. Ata ivo, as ashamed as I am, I support him being that my cowardice reaction on this day is the reason I survived to tell this tale. Nlikuwa nimeachia hapo penye Uhuru ameachwa. Adrenaline kicked in and I had no option but to embarrass my ancestors, especially Mango. However, I wanted to do it with dignity so I started by walking, then went to semi walking-semi running mode then full blast running mode. Had Usain bolt seen me he would have retired that day. The only explainable reason as to why I’m not competing him for medals is because I lacked resources lakini nlikimbia brethren. In high school biology, tuliambiwa kuwa adrenaline is for fear reactions but I proved this day that it also plays a huge role in balancing the body. Imagine kumenyesha, matope, kuko slippery but I never fell in as mush as Satan’s angels tried to trip me.
I was running the same direction as lucy, our favourite dog but it was quite ahead of me. In that instance nikaskia lucy, ahead of me inalia sasa cha ukweli achana na ile ya kulia katikati ya kubweka. Apo nikajua mbele haiko sawa. I assumed hizo vitu zimeruka mbele kwenye tunaelekea. Nikapiga kona na kufuata ka path kengine kwa vichaka. How I managed to beat that corner still remains a miracle to date cz speed nlikuwa ndani haingenikubali nipige corner sharp kama iyo. From afar nikaona kuna nyumba imefunguliwa mlango na taa ya koroboi inawaka ndani. Home was quite a distance na my top speed did not seem enough for my safety, mimi uyoo kwa hiyo nyumba chuuuu!!! Straight hadi bed room chini ya kitanda.
Kumbe ni mama alikuwa uko bed room amedoze kwa kitanda. Acha apige nduru……’uuuwi Saitoti mchawi kwa nyumba!!!, mchawi Saitotiiiii!!!’ na mama akatoka nje mbio….that’s when I realized nimeingia kwa nyumba ya Saitoti. Saitoti was a village drunkard who was known beyond neighboring villages. Saitoti aliingia kwa nyumba top speed na kunijoin chini ya bed, tukaangaliana, tukashikana na wote tukachomoka apo tukisambaratisha kitanda in our efforts to squeeze ourselves out. Kutoka nje is when we bumped into a crowd in Saitoti’s compound, people armed to teeth na mapanga na rungu, bailing for blood of the mchawi. Apo nikaona nimekufa, nikachapa dua kidogo na kuambia Mungu may thy will be done.
Bahati nzuri cz kulikuwa na mwezi, jamaa waliona I’m too small kuwa mchawi, let alone being too young. Na thanks to my mischievous ways most people knew me and most importantly, they knew my grandpa. My grandpa was Saitoti’s wingman in the drinking spree hence his fame was unmeasured. Saitoti recognized me, ‘si wewe ni mtoto wa (insert my father’s name), mtoto wa (insert my grandpa’s name), mwenye nimekunywa naye sai jioni kwa (insert mama pima’s name). Kwanza babu yako ako na deni yangu namdai glass mbili za chang’aa….’ I told them my predicaments na upon finishing my story, kila mtu alidisappear from viscinity. Kumbe kila mtu anajua vituko za iyo base. Saitoti himself was once a victim, pia alikuwa amelewa but his experience is too long for me to type. Sources intimate with my sources claimed that on that particular day, yenye Saitoti alitimuliwa mbio na hizo shetani, alikuwa na my grandpa but that remains to be proven.
Saitoti offered to escort me home but nikamsho ata village nzima iseme inaniescort siendi na siendi. Bibi yake aka suggest aniekee mattress sitting room nilale kwa floor till morning na nikawaambia I will only sleep apo kama pia watalala apo. . Alikuwa amevaa kamisi ya yellow yenye imeraruka line hadi kwa kiuno so I couldn’t help but notice the biker underneath. Saitoti akasema basi waniekee chini kwa bedroom yao na nikasema unless pia wanalala na mimi apo chini ata wasijaribu kufikiria iyo idea. We ended up sleeping on the same bed and still nlikataa kulala kando so they had no option but to sandwich me.
Morning came and I left, nikaelekea home, surprisingly nlipata simba imeekwa kufuli. Yaani ata my bro kumbe hakurudi kudoze uko. I whistled to call lucy but she didn’t respond. After kendo 1 hour nikacheki bro anaingia kwa boma akipitia panya route. Hakuwa na koti yake, neither did he have shoes. I don’t know where mum was. Tukaangaliana akaniuliza nlilala wapi nikamsho na akaangua kicheko. Mimi nikamuuliza pia anisho what happened. And now let me narrate his version.
“mimi vile niliona hizo vitu nikakumbuka story nimeskia za hiyo base na nikajua tumepatikana. More so nliskia place kuwa mbwa hujua ghosts zikiziona na that’s why lucy alianza kubweka akikimbia. So I had to run for safety. nikafuata lucy mbio. Vile nilikaribia mbwa nayo ikadhani imeshikwa so ikaanza kulia. Nikaipita na ikaanza kulia zaidi. Vile ililia mimi nikajua mbwa imeshikwa so I had to increase speed. Nikaona viatu zinanikazia kukimbia poa, nikazirusha na mateke kwa hewa zikatoka. Mbele pia nikaona upepo inavuta raincoat nikaamua kuiachia. Kufika njia ya ku branch home instincts zikaniambia bado hizo vitu zimenifuata sa nikapita straight to a relative’s home where I spent the night.” That’s when nlielewa why lucy ilifika mahali ikaanza kulia.
As for my brother’s shoes, I felt relieved alizipoteza cz hizo viatu zilikuwa zimechoka. Zlikuwa zimeisha zinakaa ka za hawa watu wa aim global….you know those guys wa do you want to make 10000-30000 daily at the comfort of your home using your phone bla bla bla ……as I tell you this, lucy never came home. Sijui kama alipotea njia, ama those creatures caught up with her but my best hypothesis is that alioleka cz pia alikuwa anapenda kupigwa mti sana na doggy wenzake.
Saitoti went and spread my story in his drinking dens and word spread like bush fire hence elders waliamua waende kwa that Christian guy wamsho two bulls MUST be slaughtered. They threatened to report him to the local clan elder hadi akakubali. The bulls were slaughtered and from that day till date hatujai skia any other incidence.
