Chapter Thirteen
“Girls,” Maria motioned to us from the swimming pool, her hair drenched with water, “the water is lovely, you have to come in. I could swim in here forever!”
“You are going to wilt,” Ikunda warned her, “you’ve been in there forever!”
“I will have a Fanta please,” I told the thin waiter who was standing beside me, then pointed towards Maria. “Don’t forget to take her order too.”
Smiling at Ikunda I reached for my handbag and reached for a mirror, a compact one like the one kaka Joseph’s fiancée carried. I then examined my carefully applied lipstick; the way one kaka Joseph’s fiancée did, and then smacked my lips together in satisfaction.
The birds were chirping happily, while the crickets seemed to be dancing and singing a chorus to the birds’ happy tune. Laughter rang out, bouncing around us. The sun had cast a brilliant colourful glow over the slopes of the mountain as if God and His angels had been playing with a paint palette. I was happy. Everybody was happy. Happily I positioned my left red high heel on my toes then twirled it around.
“It was so nice of Dubya to share the money, wasn’t it?” Maria giggled from the pool.
“Darn,” Makicha who was sitting across me exclaimed, “I have ran out of cigarettes!”
“They should have them, here,” Aichi pointed out, crossing her legs that were in light blue trousers. Her painted toenails picked elegantly from the blue high-heeled sandals she was wearing
“Waiter!” Makicha called out, snapping her painted nails in the air impatiently. “Hurry! Can’t you run? So lazy!”
The waiter came running with our orders of drinks in his hand. He jumped as Makicha started howling abusive words at him loudly, dropping the tray. It fell a foot from her breaking the glasses and spilling the drinks.
“Can’t you see where you are going? Look at what you have done, you useless baboon,” Makicha snapped pointing at her green dress that was spotting a few bluish black stains from the Coke.
Suddenly a group of people with bibles and crosses came running from the gates towards us, calling us “sinners”. We all got up screaming and running wildly, but our shoes were too high. The angry mob was catching up to us fast. I slipped and cried to Ikunda and Makicha not to leave me behind. I looked back, the mob was inching closer and closer. I couldn’t leave my red high heels behind. I tried to take them off, but I was too nervous to unhook the ankle strap.
“Burn them! Burn those thieves! Burn them with their sins,” they chanted as they ran towards us. “Burn them! Burn them!”
The ground then suddenly broke open. Something was happening, something was swallowing us, pulling us. The chairs, the swimming pool and the brick houses also got pulled in. We started thrashing around and screaming. We screamed and fought – our voices echoing through the night.
“Uwiiii!” I heard screams. They were getting louder and louder. Suddenly, I woke up with a start, gasping for air and choking. My old bed sheets were soiled with sweat. I sat bolt upright on the mattress, realizing that it was just a dream a sighed with relief. Hearing the voices again, louder this time, I looked blindly, “uwiiiii!”
“Ikunda,” I called out nervously, “what’s all that noise?”
My eyes were now wide with fear and I had jumped out of bed, but it was too dark to see anything since the kerosene lamp had been put out. With my hands I nervously tried to feel my way around, careful not to bump into anything.
“Ikunda, where are the matches?” I whispered into the dark. “Where did you put the matches? Can you hear the screams outside?”
I didn’t know what was happening. I strained my ears trying to work out what was being screamed about outside. I got even more scared when Ikunda didn’t reply, so slowly and carefully I made my way back to the mattress on the floor. Ikunda was such a light sleeper that such loud noises would have had her up and bolting by now.
“Ikunda,” I whispered as I felt around. My hand touched a face, but it was Salekio’s. I moved my hands again and got hold of Shindo’s chubby hand.
My eyes had now adjusted to the darkness a bit and I could now vaguely just make out two bodies on the double-bed mattress. I was confused – I was thinking about the dream and the voices outside. Bibi had told me that if I got a disturbing dream, praying always helped in getting its meaning.
“Ikunda!” I called out again while silently saying a quick prayer. I was sure the angels that made dreams had gotten it wrong. You won’t get swallowed if you were beautiful dresses.
“ikundaa!” I called out again. There was still no reply. I could hear excited voices outside the house. I couldn’t bear it any longer. The bedroom door was slightly ajar and quick I slipped through it and ran outside.
“Ikunda! Why didn’t you wake me up when you heard the noises!” I called out to the group that was standing by the yard.
“Ooooh!! Uwiiii Ruwa! Kiruuuu! My baby girl!” I heard someone scream. It sounded like Makicha’s mother. I squinted my eyes trying to make out the shadows and spotted Mama holding Makicha’s mother.
I could see Mama was trying to make out of what the hysteria was about but Makicha’s mother was too upset to talk. Ikunda was not there. She must be in the bathroom, I thought.
“Go get some water, Manka,” Mama instructed after she had seen me, “Makicha’s mother is very dehydrated! Hurry!”
“Its too dark, Mama,” I replied nervously.
“Light the kerosene lamp in the lounge and ask your sister to assist you.”
As I was making my way back inside, I caught sight of a group of people running up our kichumi. They were shouting excitedly. They were still a long way off so I couldn’t make sense of what they were shouting. As they came rushing up, I ran back to Mama.
“Manka!” she scolded me, “I thought I had asked you to bring me some water!”
“There are people coming Mama,” I answered nervously. With all the crying and noises around her, Mama never heard the other people walk in. Makicha’s mother was sobbing violently.
“What is going on?” I heard Mama ask through clenched teeth. Mama always clenched her teeth when she was either very angry or nervous.
“My baby!” Makicha’s mother wailed as if to answer Mama.
As they got closer, I realized that it was a group of sisters. It was a chilly night, so they had wrapped khangas round their white habits. They hurdled together with looks of dread in their eyes. The youngest sister was sobbing with grief.
“We can’t find Maria!” One sister announced sadly. “Even the bag we had gotten her to keep her belongings is not there!”
“My Makicha is also gone!” Makicha’s mother wailed loudly between chokes of tears.
“Go get water, Manka!”
I was confused and scared as I ran back inside. I had totally forgotten my fear of the darkness as I looked for the kerosene lamp. Mama always left it on the table at the corner of the lounge, so it wasn’t so hard finding it. Quickly I lit it and ran to our bedroom for Ikunda. I wondered why she never came out after her trip from the bathroom to watch all this fuss.
“Ikunda! Oh my God, you won’t believe! Makicha and -” I had started. I then stopped after realizing that Ikunda was no in the room.
Quickly I ran into the dark with my kerosene lamp to the back to the lantern – now having completely forgotten about Mama’s request for water. The old thin dress I had worn to bed now clung to my body with perspiration. As chilly as the night was, I was now drenched in sweat.
“Ikunda!” I called out loudly his time.
With my free hand I opened the corrugated sheet door to the lantern. But the one square metre room was empty. She must be checking on her children, I thought as I ran to Mama’s bedroom. Sprawled soundly on the bed was only Ikunda’s little children and Bibi. I was now confused as I quickly ran back to our bedroom. Looking around or bedroom then it hit me – had I dreamt? That conversation?
“Mamaa!” I then screamed after realizing that Ikunda’s old bag was missing, “Ikunda is also gone!”
THE END
