I had seen him before, I think in the same No. 24 buses. He is slender and tall, his height made even more apparent by the way he hunched to avoid the bus roof. Today, he held his black accordion and gracefully played 'a number'...I remember the lyrics, "Nimemuona Bwana, nimemuona bwana, nimemuona bwana, anapendeza."(I have seen the Lord and He is good)
There was something about his voice...
My mind wandered to 8:35AM when my sister's number came up on my Samsung. I knew what she was going to tell me, but I answered anyway, hoping that I was wrong. I was right. I hung up and broke down, alone. I can't remember the last time I broke down so loudly. I muffled my mouth with the leso that was lying on the bed and let it all out. After a while, I cleaned up, left for work, my eyes still bloodshot. I was sure nilikuwa nimelia share ya leo yote...
His voice was so good! I don't know...maybe because in this whole bus he was the only one who seemed to understand that I was in pain. That I needed reassurance that God is still God, even now. I sang along, having grasped the lyrics and my eyes welled up again. A young lady took the last seat at the back and we left.
Msanii, as he called himself stopped the singing and in a brief sermonette, reminded his 'congregation' that life is a gift. I was holding my current read "The land of a thousand splendid suns" to my chest and scrolling on my phone. "Wengine wenu leo mliamka and the first thing ulichukuwa, was a novel. Wengine wenu simu, wengine....." Wait! This guy was using my stuff as props for his message. I think. I will have him know that I didn't grab anything as soon as I woke up, well, except the toilet door. My bursting bladder wouldnt have let me do anything else. On a normal day, I probably would have taken offence, but today I just smiled. Today wasn't a normal day. For the first time in a long time(ever?), I gave sadaka in a bus.
I needed to take my mind off things, so I opened the novel. Chapter 19. What are the odds? Mariam's brothers have just died in the Afghan war. Death. Mariam doesn't feel the way I do though. She was not yet born when they went off to join the army...
I knew him. I remembered his fedora, his pin stripped suits, his trademark pinch...I quickly reached for my handkerchief before my neighbour noticed anything.
The Nyayo Stadium roundabout is a mess! Pardon me, a river...
My grandfather. He is dead. I can't believe everyone is acting so normal in the matatu. It is not a normal day. Not for me.
