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Saturday is here!
Hope your week’s been awesome and if it hasn’t- would you believe me when I say that no matter how bad any day has been, you lived through it. You made it through twenty four hours and to me, you are amazing and strong to have endured it all.
I hope you sail through any tough seas.
So, what’s in my bag this year? I have always wanted to post something about that, but I had my reservations:
- I never carry a handbag/ ladies bag
- I’m afraid that my bag is full of junk no one would be interested in seeing.
So, I gathered some guts and here’s my bag and what’s in it today:
Have a lovely weekend!
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If ever there was a man, a man made when the skies were full of light, and the seas were calm…if ever there was a man without a nose, then it would be Jabali.
My eyes are closing but my heart refuses to be calm even as I tell you about him.
When I saw him as a child, there was something in eyes, a certain kind of evil that struck me as odd in a child. His mother had just laboured in vain to bring into the world the tenth son. Her husband was seated on the mat in the corner looking at the tiny creature wriggling in his wife’s arms, wondering when he will ever plant a feminine seed that would grow into his old age.
It is true that a man can walk for miles but never get to his final destination.
Jabali’s father might have seen it that day. His mother, well, let us not talk to a goat while she is eating.
I will tell you about Jabali but not now because to speak of him requires a certain calmness that my soul has never had since the day Neema introduced him to me.
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Never answer a phone call past 2 A.M!
If someone calls you and starts by saying ‘did I wake you up?’, please ‘hang up,’ and go back to sleep or else you will take part in a confession that you will regret four hours later.
It’s almost 10 A.M and I am here writing this, and thinking of how much I need an Editor for this, but the truth is I brought it all upon myself. I stayed up yesterday because of three reasons and they are strictly in this order:
- Twist of Fate on Zee World
- It was 31 degrees hot
- I was reading the book- ‘The Shadow Prince.’
So, there I was reading The Shadow Prince by Stacey O’Neale and thinking to myself that I am better off being who I am and not part of some royal family when this guy I used to like sent me a message on Whatsapp.
I looked at it and set the phone aside until I’d finished reading the book then I sent him a message ‘hey, you, I’m good. Hope you’re awesome, have a goodnight.’
He did not respond. I went to bed at around midnight…now, people, two hours into my sleep I hear ‘hey I heard you are a wild one…oooh, if I took you home’ and I’m thinking, who is this? (You probably think that I should change my ringtone, and you are right, it changes with my mood…I need that song by RedOne featuring that cute Arsenal player with big teddy bear eyes)
So, if you said that guy up there, well, you are right, it was that guy! I look at that phone and think of all the things I could do including pressing the power button and switching it off, but you know how cunning that little devil is. I understand why Eve ate that apple and shared it with Adam, because I knew I was not supposed to answer that call, but in a split second I did, and in a voice dipped in honey.
‘Hi.’
‘Oh, hey there, for a moment I thought you’d not answer, lakini, how are you? It’s been days, mbona umenyamaza hivyo?’
I held my peace for a while, but in my mind the answer was : ‘Well, you did not like me like I liked you and so you went for someone else, and gave me the silent treatment, for a year.’
What came out of my mouth was ‘Aki si hivyo, you know what happens nikiwa on the road and all that, but thanks for reaching out to me, how have you been?’
‘I have been good. I have missed you sana.’
‘Yeah…well…( and here is where the devil did a number on me) I missed you too, when will you come visit Kisumu?’
‘That’s funny, I was thinking of the same thing, but I just got here today, and you are the first person that came to mind. What are you doing over the weekend?’
‘I haven’t made plans.I can’t believe you are in Kisumu.’
‘Well, I am and I want us to meet up, say Sato afte at Java? I know you love that place and besides, we have a lot to talk about.’
‘This Saturday?’
‘Yes, this Saturday, are you working or something?’
‘Yes, but only until midday and then after that I’ll be free, so how about 2pm?’
‘I’ve missed you so much and it will be nice seeing you again.’
‘Yeah, me too.’
‘So, you get your beauty sleep, and we’ll catch up.’
‘Goodnight.’
‘Goodnight.’
I set the phone aside, it was almost a quarter past two in the morning. How did I do that? I mean, why did I do that? The truth is I couldn’t sleep after that because I kept asking myself why I replied his message. Why did I answer his call?
Do not, and I repeat, do not answer phone calls after two o’clock in the morning. Why?
One, you are drowsy and will probably regret everything you say.
Two, chances are that out will have to follow through on what you say or agree to because you were half asleep.
Three, if you are the type to call people past midnight just to catch up on old times, please don’t, they’re drunk with sleep, and aren’t that coherent,aye?
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I dream of flowers,
A bunch or roses, a little bit of yellow and red, throw in some white roses and I’ll swoon.
I dream of love,
A bit of “honey,” “bae”, ” sweetie” “#relationshipgoals”, and cuddling, and endless gifts and hugs.
I dream of bliss,
A cup of coffee while reading a book.
I dream of insight,
A trip to Ghana to wander at the beauty and might of the Ashanti people and kingdom. A trip to Egypt, to grace the walls of one of the most famous libraries.
I dream of pleasure,
Waking up having slept in between satin sheets with a breakfast tray beside me.
I dream of clouds, music, love,laughter,books, hope…
Sometimes I dream of humanity, where we care for one another and parents don’t run for their lives while carrying their dead children.
I dream of children who go to sleep, and wake up trusting that the adults are true to their word.
I dream…I really do, and sometimes when anyone asks me about it, I say…
I dream…sometimes.
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I have a crush on someone. He is dark, but not that dark, some shade between brown and black, a little blend of Africa. He is tall and loves to wear long sleeved shirts and blue jean trousers. It is crazy this crush of mine, it turns up like rain in Nairobi, then causes my heart to flutter and disappears just like that.
So, here’s what happened: I was working on a story and listening to my playlist thinking of how awesome Emeli Sande is, by tapping the replay button on Breathing Underwater.
It was 30° hot in Kisumu. I was in the mood for a cold sip of Fanta Orange, but this meeting was pending and so, I walk in and I’m told to wait and the secretary hands me a cup of tea with Digestive biscuits on a saucer. I thought of turning it down, but hey, digestives! Who says no to digestive biscuits?
So, I give her my best smile, show her my crooked sharp teeth and set aside my bag and sip the tea. Hot!
I put it back down, and grab a biscuit.
There are six people in the waiting room,all glued to their phones. Three are in suits, two in jeans and one in something that looks like a capsule. She is the only one who holds my stare.
I take the biscuit, dunk it in the tea,and gently take it out and put it in my mouth. It’s a soggy heavenly flavour I tell you, and I do this for all the biscuits then finish my tea and hand over the cup to the secretary. Ten minutes later, I’m ushered into the room and this piece of awesome just greets me and I tell you I was mush! Why me? I think those Name tests on Facebook were lying, one said I’d be single this year, but lo and behold! A hunk of a guy ushered me into a meeting and I suddenly lost my balance.
“Sorry for that, we had a board meeting.”
“It’s okay,and thank you for the tea.”
“Yeah, you dip your biscuits in tea, it’s been such a long time since I saw that, we used to do that when we were kids, so, it’s quite refreshing.”
“You were watching me?”
“Everyone was watching you. Usijali, so do you have the concept ready? I can’t wait to show you what we came up with.”
“Sure, let’s do this!”
After the meeting, he walked me out into the hallway and said “listen, don’t take it the wrong way,what we discussed back there, I think it is cute that you dip biscuits in your tea.”
“Sure, no worries, I mean I’m not alone,kids do it too.”
“See you around then, maybe next time we can do all this somewhere else, outside the office and all?”
Wait…did you hear that? Tell me world, did you hear that? Is he asking me out,like out out or am I dreaming under the hot Kisumu sun? Please tell me you heard it too…or rather that you just read it…
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And so it was that Neema went to the Sea. I visited the beach every night hoping to get a glance of the little girl with eyes as big as the moon, and palms as soft as the love of the sun, but she never appeared.
Image Courtesy of Pinterest- user @sinsaymo The man from the Sea never visited, and with time I learned that one pearl ‘amani’
My husband, the one who dwells in a mnazi den, stopped coming home and I had the nights to myself again. I sat on my mat, watched the moon and sang myself to sleep. Those were the days when the women laughed into the night, and the children chanted their prayers as the men thought about dawn.
The weavers created the best carpets and mats.
The cooks prepared the best bhajias, kaimati, andazi and kokoto. Those were the days I tell you…but even then Jabali was but a little one, his feet finding their way around the sandy beaches we graced. He had his mother’s eyes, charcoal floating in milk, and his father’s shoulders.
Years later, this little gem would be the one who unleashed a wrath worse than the heat from the sun.
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If people knew about him, they would cast him out. He would be the genie they heard about. The face to the man they were told to fear as children. I wonder, did anyone ever lay eyes upon him and live to tell of it? When people speak of Neema, they speak of an unmatched beauty and unrivaled wrath.
They speak of her anger as though it was a strong wave hitting the shore.
Neema was grace.
She was silence.
She was the one who saw truth when our people saw lies and greed. Her mistake was to speak about it and fight it.
She was never one to keep her tongue between her teeth!
The man from the sea visited her every night until the day she took her first steps and that was the last time I saw her as a child. He handed me three pearls: uzima, baraka and amani. I carried these pearls home and wrapped them in my kanga and hid them under my mat.
My husband would have traded them for mnazi had he found them, but he would never give me a child had I asked.
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...continued.
I am going ahead of myself. I will tell you about Jabali, the handsome man of the sea. I will tell you about his eyes and smile, but for now let us start with her crown, for it is the only truth that has survived to date.
A crown of sea shells, pearls and a flower.
The sea shells were a gift from the ocean. The pearls were a gift from the one who ruled the waves and the creatures of the ocean.
It is believed that it was him who found her by the shore that night when her mother abandoned her. He rose from the ocean, laid his eyes on her and held back the waves. The first time I saw him my heart took to the nearby forest leaving me with my mouth wide open staring at fate. He had eyes like the ocean and a jaw of three men combined.
He gently placed a baby in my arms and though his lips moved no sound came out of them. The baby wiggled and let out a sharp cry but I kept my eyes on her knowing that this was a promise I would take to my grave. Every night, I carried the baby to the shore and waited until the waves kept calm and he would come and hold her, gently swaying her and looking into her eyes. For years I asked about the mother of the child and all he could do was look at me and shake his head. If people knew about him
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Chapter One
A tale is told among the old souls, of a Queen; the beautiful one who lived among the great creatures of the Indian Ocean.
She graced the land when the moon was high up in the sky. Those who saw her say that her skin glowed like the moon and the trees bowed when she walked past them. It was a soft swoosh of leaves, a swaying of such strong and tall living things. They believed she was not of this world, for no woman could have such grace and beauty at a glance. But how would they know without having laid their eyes upon her? Others say that she was a siren who charmed the young fishermen into jumping off their boats into the deep ocean floor with her. And I ask, how would they know yet no one graced the shores of the ocean at night? However, of all that is said about her, one thing rings true; her crown.
They all say that she wore a crown of sea shells and pearls with one flower at the apex. If I were to start from somewhere, I would start with her crown. Before we proceed, sit down, have some water and listen. This tale is told not because of her beauty or might, but because no one has ever heard it from the lips of an old soul. As word spread about her across the lands, so did fear and evil, but what is evil and what’s there to fear if not a lack of understanding?
Her mother crowned her Neema at birth. The ones who spoke of her beauty and cruelty knew nothing of the turmoil in her heart. They saw what they wanted to see.
It was Jabali who could have set things right, but even he could not withstand the purity she oozed and in denying her, he set upon us a wrath unlike no curse man has ever seen.
nilichoandika 