Letstoriesunfold ™

You may or may not believe it, but I used to work in one of the big bus companies for long distance travel in Kenya as a conductor. The two drivers I used to work with, one was called Nduki Moto Makopolo and the other driver was Kata Funua Macharia and our route was from Meru to Mombasa and vice versa. It was a day like any other, but on this particular day, we bought our daily dose of mgox (mgox is what we used to call Mogoka) from the wrong guy. Huyu alikuwa anakaa elchapo flani sababu he would tell us tunaweza hata nusa hio mgox na stimu zitapanda.  I assumed that perhaps, it was the normal salesman hype lakini  WUEH! By 1900 hrs tulikuwa Embu. After kuchukua abiria wa Embu, safari ikaanza fiti, tukasema sherehe ianze. Our cockpit was one of its kind, sema kaportable mid speaker with bass abilities, madere wanaelewa. We switched off the passenger’s speakers and the one that was left was our “mziki” speaker. Nduki Moto had this flash disk that had everything hadi national an...

           Kuna hizi silhouettes za a popular figure zimekuwa zikinimaliza ajab, plus story ya Baltazar Engonga ikatokea, that legend, singlehandedly putting his country on the map. The last time I heard anything concerning that country was many years ago, when I was in primary. Kidogo nisahau kuwawekea story mfurahie.  Anyway, nilikuwa nimejipata nimepitia thread ya “in my prime” kwa social media, sikumbuki kama ni TikTok ama Twitter, a few days prior ndio nikakumbuka hii story, after kushangazwa na revelations za watu, particularly, what people's daughters did in their prime. I had an ordeal in the hands of my own mother twenty-five years ago that I have failed to forget. Back in the day kuna wale wazee walikua wakizunguka vitongoji duni wakinunua "chupa na debe" n old stainless steel sufurias. The pioneers of Mari kwa Mari, or old skull Mari kwa Mari.  (For context and for those who don't know,  Mari kwa Mari  are people who go aroun...

Denno felt his blood pressure spike. He didn’t even bother responding. He jumped up, grabbed his jacket, and bolted out the door.  When he got to the club, his heart was racing, not from the sprint, but from the anger simmering within. He spotted them immediately—Stacy, looking too comfortable, laughing at something this guy had said. Denno could feel his fists clenching.  He took a deep breath, trying to calm down, then marched straight up to them. “Stacy!”  he called, his voice louder than intended. She looked up, eyes wide with shock.  “Denno!  What are you doing here?” “I should be the one asking you that.  Busy at work,  sio?”  he spat, glaring at the guy beside her, now looking more amused than concerned. “Relax, bro,”  the guy said, raising his hands.  “We’re just having a good time.” “A good time?  Dude! This is my girlfriend!”  Denno fumed. “Denno, calm down,”  Stacy said, standing up.  “This is just a collea...

Denno was having one of those days where everything just seemed to flow.   He had hit the “Send” button on his final proposal a few days back and leaned back in his chair, stretching and yawning. He had just received an email confirmation that his proposal had been accepted.  He couldn't believe it, he had just landed a big online gig that promised good money and a steady workflow for the next three months.  As a freelancer, this was the equivalent of hitting a jackpot in his world.  “Babe!  Guess what!”   he shouted towards the kitchen, where Stacy, his girlfriend, was busy preparing breakfast. “What's up?”   Stacy replied, glancing at him with a smile that could melt an ice cap. She was dressed in her corporate attire—a crisp white shirt and a pencil skirt—ready to head to her office job. “I just secured that big contract I was telling you about!  We’re eating good,  for the next three months!”  Denno grinned, showing his exciteme...

This is a continuation from  Hawker Jameni III            Why would they place such important things so distant from one another? I wondered. I ran up the next flight of stairs, knocking down a couple of mannequins. After asking yet another attendant, she pointed to the changing booths at the far end of the floor.  I limped into the changing room and shut the door. I quickly chucked the shorts and stretched one rubber band, slid one foot into it and rolled it up to my thigh. I then tucked my homo erectus and held it against one thigh with the band.  The bands were quite small and tight, the poor quality has a low elasticity so I added another one and walked out, like a normal human being – relieved- albeit with a slight limp. The bands were a little tight and uncomfortable but they were better than a dangling deek in public. I was so relieved that as I walked down the stairs, I confidently saluted an attendant who was redressing the mannequin...

This days, I don't eat meat, be it red, white, or multi colored like an army's gear.  Reason why?  Let me take you a few years back. I used to live at Naivas by then, a common hustler in that lakeside estate called Kihoto, kwa mukorino mwisho. Living in a single mabati apartment room posh enough to have a cemented floor.  When I say hustler, I mean hustler or rather what Mbusii says, “sufferer”. There are people who came through massively for me in my life a lot like Mama Njoki. Mama Njoki had certain a “Villa Rosa Kempinski” kibandaski, near the stage offering, and serving all types of meals.  At Mama Njoki's place you could even have a pizza if you fancied.  Let's chill on that for a moment. Back to the main story, I was a life member at Mama Njoki's, meaning it's where I took all of my meals. I could eat, without a coin to my name because I was trusted. You are wondering how I pulled it off,  aren't you? We used to supply the place with assorted foodstuf...

Continuation  from HOUSE ALWAYS WINS 1   Something snapped inside me, I came at him quick, a kick at the groins to buy me ample time to calculate my next attack, some quick attacks here and there, while trying to evade his blows and kicks. Some kicks and blows from him found their way to me, blinding me for a moment, other times forcing me to connect with solid ground eating dust. It was now between me and him, adrenaline pumping, fists flying, dust swirling.  Right there and then, I was certain that was how I was going to go.   The next moment I decided to have a taste of gambling was one year after legally turning into an adult. I had one clear cut objective with gambling, to use it as a means to chase the bag, gunia or mtungi.  I wanda! Like all things in life or in a game, we moved to the next level, gambling at casinos. Movies and films make gambling in casinos look easy.  I could have gone to Hades happy, swing by and said hello to Dedan Kimathi, show...

The patient monitor showed Ambrose pulse and vitals as he slowly gained consciousness bit by bit. He sensed that there seemed to be somebody in the room with him because he sensed movement and someone speaking but he could not comprehend what the person was saying. He tried to find out who it was, by turning his neck to check but it was futile attempt plus the pain that accompanied the effort was too much even for the heavy pain killers that were continuously being infused in his body by a drip.  His mind raced, various thoughts rushed to him at once. As much as he could, as much as he tried, he could not block out those thoughts.  Where was he?  Did his wife hire someone to finish him off quietly? Had he been fired from his job? Had news had reached the HR?  Was she gloating over his misfortune.  What the hell had happened?  It all came flooding back to him gradually at first then it greatly intensified. From the HR's smirks to the house girls tears all th...

To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, Chairman asked his house girl to accompany him to the car. The HR lady loudly reminded him that the medical cover did not include abortion.  Chairman replied,  “you are childless,  because your womb is a morgue,  but, I can donate some kids” Tears flooded the HR's eyes as she walked away. Chairman disappeared with his young distressed wife. They went to see a doctor at Marie Stopes to establish the cause if missing periods.  Afterwards, she was shuttled to Busia to wait for matters to calm down. Now he went home to face Nduta and several prayer warriors who had come cleanse the matrimonial home.  They welcomed him with a round of prayer against evil spirits of admiring anything that walks in a skirt. The final demand startled him completely. Hands akimbo she demanded a gift, something that moves zero to 100 very fast. Nduta was tired of walking. Her weight made breathing a real struggle. Chairman had a solution, w...

His office phone and mobile rang almost simultaneously from security guards. He decided to pick up the mobile call first.  “Boss,  bibi yako alikuja na wamama kumi,  wakaingia kwa..."  The call dropped. The office line rang again. “Kuna mgeni anasema ni bibi yako,”  Makori at the gate said.  The chairman  needed clarification. He told Makori, the guard he never got along with, “tell her to call me,”  The house girl called. She had been chased from home by the evil woman and a battalion of women in choir uniform. She was also worried that she couldn't locate her periods either. The Lady HR was in cahoots with guards to gather intel on who came late and who left early, to reward them accordingly. Makori, her chief snitch, reported about the distressed wife of the Man of God, Ambrose.  Excited about potential breaking news, she rushed to receive her.  Ambrose called the home guard first to get the full incident.  “Bibi yako,  amek...

 It was late in the evening. The sun has set couple of hours ago, and the sky was dark. You know it's  one of the nights the moon is afraid to show it's face, maybe it has glanced upon the future, and seen it can't bear to witness what is about to unravel. Simiyu's wife Lucy, is lying prostrate on the ground while Simiyu, her husband standing in front of her. Lucy is crying, you would to if you would be in her shoes, while Simiyu's face remains expressionless, devoid of emotion.  Let's rewind it  just a bit  so you can all connect the dots. Continued from Simiyu Part one Jioni ikafika, siku haikuwa na kasheshe ama ngori mingi. After kumalizia shughuli kadhaa, nikavutia Simiyu nijue anatokea saa ngapi ndio tuongee, nijue ni ngori gani ilinifanya anivutie at the break of dawn. Venye nilivutia Simiyu, nikimsho tupatane pahali kwa wazee tukunywe kikombe, perhaps ya supu.  Simiyu akanisho Zi, nivuke kwake, hapa sasa nikaanza kutense mambo haiko fiti.  Mimi ...