Come to me.
No, run to me.
Come like thunder, blazing like lightning,
Set me ablaze, let’s burn.
I want you to keep coming,
At dawn, at dusk
In January, in November
With a pen in hand or a keyboard before me.
Come my way, won’t you?
Flow through me, come so I may write you down.
Lahaula visited me during the King’s mourning ceremony following an invitation from Prince Jabali to their kingdom with news. She smiled with renewed life and talked to me about the things she had seen at the palace and all the while I kept my thoughts hidden from her. It was something I had been learning while spending time in the singing forest.
“Laana, tell me why is it that your light and the Prince’s light are lost?”
“He blames me for the death of his father.”
“What else are you keeping from me Sister? I feel you slipping away into darkness, is there anything I can do to draw you back?”
“Do not worry about me Lahaula. Prince Jabali will come to ask for my hand in marriage after the King’s burial and I will accept. What I do not know is how I will cope with his anger.”
“Ei, I see, however, I want you to accept a gift. She comes from our kingdom and she will attend to you. Her name is Amina. Her tongue never stays still but when it comes to you, she will always do what’s right. I ask you to care for her, train her because I have a feeling that she knows more about the earth, what grows where and what it can be used for.”
I looked at the young girl standing behind Lahaula for the first time. Her eyes were the color of darkness, a quiet reminder of how far the dawn was. She looked at me then looked away. I smiled and asked her to sit beside me. She nodded and did so and I could see her beautiful toes, feet meant for a princess, but feet that told the story of wars unrivaled by any I had encountered. She lowered her eyes and folded her legs beneath her. Lahaula released the breath she was holding, but I had already seen the girl’s past and her future was only what she could make it to be.
Lahaula stayed with me as her father and his envoys stayed at the palace.
I wanted to tell you something,
But it came down to one thing;
Seek.
For in your journey, you may find more than you ever thought you needed by the time you get to your destination.
This month has breezed right past me and one thing I haven’t done as much as I had hoped to is to write consistently. However, I know NanoWrimo is two days away and I have already signed up and started drafting the novel I will be writing.
On reading: I am discovering new writers, reading more books as I hope to see to meeting this year’s Goodreads challenge, so far I have read 161 books and there are some titles I read on Netgalley that haven’t reflected yet, so it means I have a lot more worlds to explore.
I am currently reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova which is giving me quite some history on Dracula and I can’t help but wonder how this will end.
I love love and cannot resist romance, which led me to this Italian series on Netflix and with just six episodes, I am already rooting for Alice, wishing her the very best in what she does and waiting to see her gain more confidence in herself. What this series did for me was give me a couple of hours to laugh, immerse myself in astrology (the Pisces that I am) and improve my eye coordination-keeping up with subtitles!
On work: It’s more of a balance that I definitely need because this month has been involving because of work and classes- and like my friend June keeps telling me, if you can study or work or travel now- do it before you take on lots of responsibilities- the only thing she forgot to tell me was that I would need more sleep.
I also learned a phrase that now I associate with “no, we are not doing that,” when I took part in some collaboration and in one of the briefs mentioned some key areas of improvement and was told “we’ll take that under advisement,” and let’s just say that 3 weeks and 3 days later- no improvement has been acted upon.
On fashion: I love kitenge. There is something about buying that 6-yard fabric, taking in the colorful prints and discussing designs with the tailor to finally get something I enjoy wearing. The downside to kitenge of course is that you have to iron it after you’ve washed it and I for one, do not find that act enjoyable. So here’s a jumpsuit I got and can’t wait to wear.
On music: I have been residing in the K-Pop world for a while and the one album that I highly recommend as a mood/energy booster would have to be No Easy by StrayKids.
And that’s it for October, 2021 is almost coming to an end and the curfew was lifted in Kenya, and a huge part of me hopes that we stop acting like we are out of the woods when it comes to the pandemic.
Have an awesome weekend, this girl has got an assignment on Strategic Management to submit before her class tomorrow.
I thank the Heavens for you,
For the nights I wept,
For the days I smiled,
For the secrets I kept.
The dreams I had.
For the hope I lost.
I thank the Heavens that I still have you,
Yes, you…the one staring back at me, who holds this body, who sways this mind.
The one who is both dark and light.
Self.
Me.
Nine days into October and this is a reflection on what I’ve done so far:
Read 4 books
Started compiling a short story collection
Bought two sets of gym wear and installed the 30 Day Fitness Challenge app, but I haven’t worked out even for a single day.
Completed watching the K-Drama: He is Psychometric
Changed my phone ringtone.
I’ve had a serving of chicken flavored noodles every day since 3rd October.
Started drinking tea every morning
Prepped and ready to take part in NanoWrimo 2021. By being ready it simply means that I bought new stationery, a tote bag full of colorful notebooks and new set of highlighters.
Love this quote by Dorothy Parker:
I will be on the road tomorrow looking forward to an activity filled week, so until then, have a lovely weekend. PS: If you haven’t been watching Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha on Netflix, check it out, it’ll make your weekend swoonworthy!
I am in awe of how fast time flies. We are 10 days to October and I went out and about today doing things I love.
I came across these five insights on writing that I absolutely love and I hope you do too.
Step into a scene and let it drip from your fingertips.- MJ Bush
Write until you surprise yourself.
You can’t blame a writer for what the characters say.- Truman Capote
What would you write if you weren’t afraid?- Mary Karr
A drop of ink may make a million think. – Lord Byron
Have a great week and I hope you surprise yourself too!
I knew you’d come,
I just didn’t know I’d still be home.
Here you are,
Unbound, warm, delightful,
As sure as the sun rises and sets,
You are here.
It’s the last week of August and Covid-19 containment measures have been in effect in Kenya for 524 days. We have had lockdowns, curfews, issues and we are still experiencing the upheavals and grief.
A few minutes past midday on a sunny Sunday and I am on my second cup of coffee listening to Usher’s song, Trading Places, thinking of how best to share what’s been going on in my life in the past two weeks or so.
I got to travel to Nairobi twice, sometime in Mid July and on August 13th and discovered art and food at The Nairobi Street Kitchen eatery in Westlands.
On Writing: If there is something I have been loving this month, it’s writing and rewriting scenes of a book that I thought I would not publish but something about going back to a story you let gather dust has me loving the characters and working on completing their story.
On Reading: I have been reading more books this month. Perhaps the greatest shock to me was how brief Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain is, 55 pages! I nearly had a heart attack just wondering how a 2hour movie could be born of 55 pages! Other books I’ve read this August are:
I am currently reading: The Illuminator by Brenda Rickmann.
Aside from enjoying reading and writing, something that I have been deeply committed to is watching Korean Dramas on Netflix and this August, there have been awesome shows that kept me glued to my phone late into the nights and let’s just say that once you start watching a K-drama there’s no stopping until you get to that finale! So, here are some shows that I absolutely loved this month:
There are rising concerns about the spread of the Delta Variant and for someone like me who has to work in communities visiting public schools, I find myself always traveling with hand sanitizer and masks, so much so that now when I get home, I shed off my clothes and take a bath before doing anything- somehow, I find it interesting how people in the rural areas respond to Corona, one old woman told me that ‘death is the one thing all of us experience, if we live in fear, always looking over our shoulder, we may stumble and fall to our death because we look back and not forward.’ Schools will be taking a break for 3 days from this coming Thursday and I look forward to traveling home, just to have tea and evening walks with my Mom, maybe she’ll weigh in on the current book I am writing.
Have an awesome week ahead!
nilichoandika 