You’d not believe in love at first sight until it rammed into you at a vendor filling your nostrils with a twinge of lime sending you two or three steps back. Trust me, I believe in love and more so in lust and being speechless.

It is 11:45am and I am listening to Fireproof by One Direction in this cyber cafe along Moi Avenue in Nairobi. Chances are you have spotted me: brown braids, brown bag, blue jeans, black ngomas, and a walk like the apocalypse is coming!

I was heading to Cafe Clarion opposite Jeevanjee Gardens for a cup of house coffee, but I had to stop and write this.

Scoot closer…just a little more, okay, listen…I met this guy! Yes, who would have thought, right? Yeah, so listen, I was walking from the bus station when I made a stop at that book vendor right outside Tuskys. You know I cannot resist a good book, or a bookshop or a vendor. So, I was talking to that guy asking if he had any Biographies and he was checking around picking and dropping books like they were not the speck of gold he needed. I was following his hand movements careful not to touch any book because I had to buy just one book. If I touched any but a Biography I wouldn’t have any money left for my coffee. So, he’s looking and I am helping when someone runs into me sending me off my feet and just before I land flat on the books, someone grips my hands jerking me up and I crush into this pile of muscle!

I’m telling you it was like running for your life only to have someone shake you out of your nightmare! There was this scent: I know Hugo Boss for Men, I know there’s one with a twinge of lime and just a dash or euphoria, like an arousing of senses you never thought existed in your body. This muscle smelled divine especially at 11am!

So, I step back and think, “You are holding onto some chic’s man!”

I look up and the vendor is grinning like he’s won the SportPesa jackpot and this muscle is smiling and blushing at me.

“I’m sorry, look, someone pushed me and please, it’s my bad. Are you okay?” He asks.

“I’m okay, thanks.”

“Pole, I didn’t mean to, am Anthony.”

I looked at his hand and thought to myself, if I took it, this could spoil the moment or it could leave me with his scent for the rest of the day and so I looked at his hand and took it into mine. It was warm and all I know is I said, “Dora.” He smiled and drew me back to the vendor with his hand still holding mine and said, “Let’s get you out of the way, so no one runs into you again, by the way, you’ve got a beautiful name.” The vendor clears his throat and says, “Msupa, aki sina, but pitia pitia tu, nikiget nitakusort.”

“Sawa, thanks.”

I withdrew my hand from Anthony’s and told him I was walking to get coffee. He did that thing with his lips again, half smiling- half grinning, before saying he’d walk a while with me and so we stepped together in line. I know you think am insane, but if you see that short fat flying cherub called Cupid, tell him he’s gotta ease up on the potion.And then this song by Zikki came to mind( PS: It’s the full video):

So, there we are walking, asking each other questions in our heads not looking at each other and then he stopped and walked back after saying ‘goodbye.’

See, the first thing I did was walk into this cyber and just put it out there, so that cute guy wherever you are…Asante. And about running into me, “well, hakuna matata.”