It had been a hot September day and the sun that had worked so hard to
ensure that even my dark skin get sunburns was regretfully showing it’s final
orange-red rays in the horizon, a reminder that its reign of terror was a
possibility the following day.
DH-T stood near the
opening of the once white tent, whose sides had gaping holes, emphasizing its
unkempt state. He was listening intently to, Kamau, one of the many youth that
looked up to him, as if Kamau was the only thing that mattered in his life.
When he saw me walking
towards him, he forgot for a moment about Kamau and a smile, so warm and
welcoming, spread across his dark chocolate face. At that point, I must have
thought I was the most important person in his world. Happy to see him, I
returned the smile; he was my constant reminder that one of the best pleasures
in life is people. I said my hellos to the duo, quickly excusing myself,
wondering into my thoughts, and finding ways to apologize for being late again.
I didn’t need to
apologize; DH-T began entertaining me with fables, jokes and facts the minute
he was done with his little meeting, flashing that smile that showed the
incisor that jutted out from the normal alignment of his set of teeth in
defiance to the lack of space- a symbol of his character. He led me to the
place we hang out when we needed free Internet.
“Have you started your
blog?” He asked, hopeful.
“No.”
He grunted, feigning
anger and disgust. He decided at that moment that putting up my blog was the
most crucial thing to do. It was about 6.30 pm and I knew I shouldn’t agree to
this. It could take ages if the Internet was slow and my siblings expected me
home by 7.30. If I arrived late, they wouldn’t be too pleased with me. Although
these worries flooded my mind, I agreed to his plan. How could I say no to him?
As luck would have it,
the Internet was slow and I didn’t have a name for my blog. As time wiled away,
we stared blankly at the screen trying to figure out what I would call my new
creative and expressive platform.
7.00. No name. We chat
a little, hoping chatter would spring up a name or even a clue.
7.05. No name. He
tells me about his latest story that I have fallen in love with.
7.15. Still, no name
and DH-T was getting tired of hearing me repeat over and over, ‘my sister will
kill me’ like some sort of chant that would materialize a title for my blog. He
was so weary of my song that he typed it as the title of my blog and continued
with the process of signing up.
I don’t even remember
the time I arrived home. I just know it was past 7.30 pm. I think my sister was
a little ticked off by my being late though she wasn’t ready to go out to
dinner. I shouldn’t have been so worried after all.
A couple of hours later, after jokes and lots of tales had been shared around a dinner table, my beautiful sister gave a toast in my honour. She said the most
amazing things about me in front of her friends. I tell you, it was a
wonderful, emotionally charged moment, realizing that my sisters believed in me
and that they loved me a lot. All I could do was smile, take a sip of my wine
and hope the lump that was forming in my throat would go down with the wine. It
didn’t.
So, this is for my big
brother DH-T and Sensei for pushing me to begin this blog and write, believing that one-day I’ll be a big shot in the Literature scene and for making sure I had posted this blog post; and to my
wonderful siblings who love me as I am, believe in me even when I don’t,
challenge me to chase after my dreams and inspire me to be unique and kick ass.
Thank you for making this happen.
And this is to my
beautiful, talented, and intelligent self. Unanimity is for the invisible. Keep
writing!
