👻Booo! 👻

   👻booo! 👻

Ghafla bin vuu, 

mvua

When boarding this matatu, the tout said to me sweetly 

“mrembo,

wee kaa starehe hapa kwa kiti yangu,

nitakaa mbele.”

I think, oh well, why not, how kind sir. I shut my umbrella and get in and he closes the door, again and I think, how chivalrous. Little by little, water starts trickling and then pours on my left side, and now I think, how cunning.

The lady infront of me has her umbrella strategically placed to cover her left leg. There's a drenched gentleman at the back who's been yelling profanities I cannot say. Do I say, when it rains it pours. As the memory played in my head, I realized your life can change in a snap, like Nairobi weather. 

Here I was, past the talking stage, in the we doing this stage in a relationship with someone's son. Who I couldn't have met if it wasn't for the cards that had been played by fate that day, the tout offering me his seat, me being drenched by the water trickling in little by little on my left side.

So 

how did my path with someone's son cross? 

Well resigned to my fate, wet, wishing for the matatu to speed up so I could get home quick, dry off, slack off on the couch, munching on something before drifting off to sleep later on. 

The sudden biting cold that was cutting into my bones was what brought me back to reality, the tout had opened the door, and was beating upon the outside exterior mabati, to signal to the driver to stop at the next stage for a couple of people to alight.

After a couple of people had alighted, I decided I, Wanjiru, I ain't going to stay where I was, and let the cold aided by how wet I was to chew me completely. So I switched seats from where I was to somewhere interior, warmer, and dry. I was so focused in shifting seats, I didn't notice who was seated next to me.

After settling in my seat, that's when I noticed him, and I was like damn! This one can be the father of my babies any day, any time. Handsome, dressing wasn't shabby either. He looked peaceful, head on the window, sound asleep, and I couldn't stop staring. 

However much I tried to stop gazing at him, I couldn't stop. The sudden brakes applied by the driver of the matatu was what jolted him awake, hitting his head on the seat in front of him. He was confused for a second, then he noticed me, staring at him without a shred of shame. 

He smiled. 

That folks, 

was the final nail on the coffin, 

in other words, 

that's what did it for me. 

We started talking, some jokes here and there. Unfortunately I saw my stage for alighting quickly approaching which I informed him. He smiled, and handed me his phone to put my number. I handed him his phone as the tout was calling out if there was someone who alighting at that stage, the stage I was alighting on. 

He told me, he will call me when he settles at home, as I hastily told him goodbye and proceeded to alight from the matatu, which picked a few people before speeding off. 

Story by 

Wanjiru the Storyteller, 

adapted & edited 

by 

Letstoriesunfold.