Twisted Times: Son of Man (Twisted Times Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Since then I kept on dreaming and hoping that one day Kate would forget the primary school bullshit and take me back to the realms of her heart. Seven years, and still counting, was a long time. I always dreamt of her, that one day we will be.

  Now this night it was her again.

  I stayed awake thinking of the lost glory with her. Amidst the maze of thoughts about her something occurred to me.

  I needed help. Cathy, lovely Kate, could help me.

  At last it was Kate to help me… yes? Time to mend torn friendships. Kate, my lover and best friend.

  CHAPTER 12

  The ride to Thika town the following day was the shortest ever partly because I was thinking of Kate and partly because the matatu that I took was practically flying. It was that time of the month when avaricious drivers took advantage of the end of the month rush risking macabre road carnage.

  On alighting I did not waste time. I went straight to Thika Arcade where Kate’s parents operated a cybercafé. Trust my investigative skills, I had already gathered that she was around and she helped her mother in the day to day running of the cybercafé.

  I saw Kate before she saw me. She was helping out a customer fix something he was not getting on the internet or so she told me later.

  The first thing that caught me by surprise was her inexplicable beauty. The last time I saw her she did not have the aura of a Da Vinci’s La Gioconda. Her chubby cheeks exuded a radiance I only saw in the paintings of the Virgin Mary, cheekbones well formed as though it was Michelangelo himself who was working on them and her eyes were gibbous orbs of beauty and glamour.

  I had not seen Kate since leavers’ bash after completing our end of primary school exams. She went to the Coast over the long December holidays. When she came back I had already joined the seminary. The seminary’s program never coincided with that of other schools thence we never met for almost seven years. After completing high school she went to stay with her cousin who was in the military at the Coast.

  Kate was barely a week since she had come back.

  The encounter was rather awkward, but I understood. The place and space did not permit for hugs and what-have-you, but the coldness she greeted me with made me lose my confidence. I did not anticipate it to be this way.

  We exchanged pleasantries meant to be the warmest mode of reunion of potential lovers who had not seen each other in almost seven years.

  There was no beating around the bush. I told her how much I had missed her. Let her disapprove of me, I told myself.

  She showed me over to the cashier’s desk to go and wait for her there while she finished with the customers. What made me optimistic was the tone of her voice when she told me so.

  For hours we talked and talked, remembering our primary and high school days with nostalgia. None talked of our past relationship. After all we were just kids then.

  I then told her what I needed from her, and why. She agreed to help me out. Just like that. “Come tomorrow at our place and I will see what I can do.” There were no words as promising as those ever said to me.

  “Won’t you be coming to work tomorrow?” I asked.

  “If I want to. I’m just but keeping myself busy here as I wait to go to college.”

  “College?”

  “Yep. I did not secure an entrance to the university.”

  “I see. What would you be doing?”

  “Selling peanuts…?” she said in Swahili, smiling coquettishly.

  “You know what I’m asking,” I said to her.

  She answered anyway. She was to do a Certified Public Secretary course.

  “Dad advised me so… I don’t care. But I think it’s a shot worth. You know he himself is a secretary in the provincial administration office. He says it’s a good job to do and he’s more of my mentor.”

  Well, many a time the wisest thing to do is keep quite. That’s what I did instead of corrupting her obeisance mind with my ‘children-should-be-allowed-to-choose-what-they-want’ thinking.

  “Your choice,” I said rather aloof. “So you won’t be in town tomorrow?”

  “Because of you…” she said and winked at me. I would have given anything for her to wink again at me.

  “I will be at home, alone. Mom will be going to church and Dad has a meeting in Nairobi.”

  I thanked Kate for listening to me and everything, and then left.

  *

  “Well, how did it go?” I asked Mother the minute I got home.

  “Nothing. He was not even moved, but I will talk to him.”

  A lump blocked my throat. I wanted to die that very minute. Even after reading the scholarship letter Dad was not moved? Damn him.

  “I am terribly sorry, son… he did not even read the letter.”

  I did not know what to say. He did not even read the letter?

  I think it is the look Mom saw on my face that made her say what she opened her mouth to say, but I did not want any consolation. I waved her off.

  I turned to go. “I am sorry, but I promise I will...”

  “I am sorry too, Mom.” I said and left without looking back.

  CHAPTER 13

  “Don’t worry, brother. It will be alright.”

  “For how long am I going to wait for it to be alright? I want my life.”

  “We’ve been through this together.”

  “Together? You know, sometimes you astonish me. For God’s sake you are not real. You are just a phantasm.”

  “That’s not fair. How could you call me that?”

  “But that’s what you are anyway. You are not real.”

  “Don’t you see? I am real to you. I have always been. I am experiencing what you are experiencing.”

  “Look here, Danny. I have got a life to live, you have no life. You are just but a dream.”

  “Dream? I never believed in dreams. You are becoming so rude. You call me a phantasm, now it’s a dream…”

  “Because that’s what you are. If you aren’t, why do you keep on wearing the same clothes you were wearing the last time I saw you, and the last before that?”

  “You can’t understand. In this life everything is perfect, but your life is full of imperfections.”

  “If that’s so, why haven’t you grown up?”

  Laughter.

  “What’s funny now?”

  “Brother, you never saw me any other way. You always took me to be the small boy you used to boss around. Can’t you see I am now a grownup?”

  “You know, ghostly nature has given you a dry sense of humour as opposed to the life you used to live.”

  “Now you crack my ribs, brother. I came to tell you not to worry. Everything is going to be alright.”

  “I don’t want to be given hope against hope.”

  “You are so pessimistic. You’ve never changed. By the way, that girl, what’s her name? Keith? Oh! Kate? She’s a piece.”

  “What do you know of girls, Danny? I’m your elder brother and you can’t tell me anything on certain issues.”

  “You’ve got a lot of attitude bro, when would you change?”

  “Would you please give me a break?”

  “Not this time round. You should know that we belong together, brother. There’s no need of living in rivalry.”

  “You are right, little brother.”

  “Now, would you mind telling me more about this Kate?”

  “Yes, I mind.”

  “Come on brother, we were just the two of us, sons of man.”

  “Don’t go there. You never gave a damn.”

  “But I do now.”

  “I don’t want to talk about Kate.”

  “A little banter isn’t bad, bro. I will tell you about my Kate. She’s called Lavender. I call her Lav.”

  “You are very insistent. I flatly say NO in capital letters.”

  “You will never change, brother.”

  “You say so.”

  “I gotta go… next time I will come with Lav. And stop fretting yourself over n
othing. Everything is going to be alright…”

  He was gone before I could say anything.

  I woke up feeling a little fuzzy as always when I dreamt of my brother. Time to get moving. I was to go and see Kate today.

  CHAPTER 14

  Marry me Ken, marry me Ken.

  The song kept on replaying over and over though it was so distant.

  Marry me Ken, marry me Ken.

  She remembered where she had heard it. It was the theme song from the Nigerian drama movie, Guardian Angel, starring Nigeria’s ladies’ man, Nouah Ramsey as Ken.

  Jeez! She had watched that movie just before going to bed. It was her ritual to watch at least one movie before going to bed. Now she was dreaming of it.

  She woke up with a start. She looked around. She was not in a corn field, nor was she in a scene in the Guardian Angel. She was in her very own room, in her bed. No fictitious Ken or the real Nouah Ramsey. She was just alone.

  I hate dreams. They never come true.

  She shimmied on culottes and a Celtel Kenya T-shirt and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She always did when she was at home. Her mother never woke up early to do such things when she had a big daughter around who could do that.

  To her surprise her mother was already in the kitchen preparing pan cakes. Whatever got her today?

  “Good morning Mom?”

  “Morning. You overslept and I decided not to wake you up.”

  “What time is it?”

  “It’s already eight. You slept late last night.”

  “Sorry Mom…”

  “Sorry for what? You too need to relax.”

  Kate smiled ruefully. Mother is always happier on Saturdays especially when dad is around.

  Kate began setting the table for breakfast. As she continued setting the table, she told her mother that she wanted to spend the day at home.

  “Who will be at the cyber, Cathy?”

  “I told Sheila to take care of everything. I am not feeling well.”

  “The hell you are not feeling well… and you slept past midnight?”

  “Mom, please…”

  “She’s still young, Cathy.”

  “But she’s been doing it when I was away.”

  “Only on holidays… But now you are here. You should be there with her.”

  “Just today, Mom. I just feel that I need some rest.”

  “What have you done, Catherine? This is not Mombasa…”

  “How Mom? I was not idle.”

  “A lot of beach. I understand at the barracks there’s a beach. You did not need to go looking for it.”

  “No. And you already know that.”

  “Today only, tomorrow you would go to clean the cyber after church.”

  A moment later, Sheila announced that she was leaving. She blew her sister a kiss and left. Three hours later, Kate was alone.

  Then, the memories started coming back. Even after seven years she had not gotten over the shock. She was planning to surprise Ken that year’s Valentine’s Day with a present, but when Randolph’s friend, Mose, showed her the letter written to Ken by her friend Pauline the whole world came to a standstill. She always wanted to be with Ken. Kate hoped and prayed it was not true that Ken was pushing on with her best friend.

  Kate was nostalgic. She wanted to go back to those old days with Ken, not the kind of friends they were but as lovers. It was time she invaded the world of boys. Kate decided that she will give Ken what he needed plus something else.

  CHAPTER 15

  The sun was fierce and scorching. Dry sweat beaded on my face, and from time to time I dabbed it with the hanky that little sis’, Stephanie Nyambura, had given me the previous Easter holiday. I hoped to that Kate would do what she had promised me, with a wink.

  Kate was there waiting, for me, in a flared miniskirt, a sleeveless top and matching anklets. Apart from the aroma of some meal cooking somewhere she had put on a very sweet smelling fragrance I identified as frangipani.

  She wrapped me in a firm lingering hug and welcomed me to feel at home. In her embrace I felt like I held the future. When she pulled away I felt like a car being towed away.

  She served me with Highlands orange juice in a white wine wineglass and said, “Just give me a moment… I am setting the table for lunch.”

  “Okay,” I said and started feasting my eyes on the photos hanged everywhere in the parlour. It had been long since I was in this living room. The last time it was during our revision of the last K.C.P.E paper.

  Lunch was boiled Pearl rice served with beef stew. After lunch we reposed on the couch watching the afternoon show on KTN TV. It was not long before I realized that I was no longer watching the TV. I was watching Kate who was directly opposite me.

  Her skirt had shrunk leaving her thighs exposed. I liked what I saw but I did not like what it did to me, what was slowly crawling into my mind. I tried to push it to the dark recesses of my mind to no avail. Kate’s luscious thighs were seductive and tempting.

  The much I tried to suppress the feeling is the much I failed horribly. The devil on my right shoulder convinced me to start hatching out a plan on how to get her out of her clothes.

  What if she does not to consent to it? The angel on my right interjected.

  A kind of a sadistic thought crossed my mind. We are just the two of us, who will know if I force her to?

  That is not manly. It is immoral, unethical, a voice whispered back.

  As though Kate had noticed that I was no longer watching the TV and she was doing it on purpose, she opened her legs in a shear like movement revealing pink lingerie. Kinky!

  My body automatically switched to ready mode and at the same time upped the alert to amber.

  She said something. I did not hear any of it. Temptations are a devil and he’s coming for you… I was only thinking of what was about to happen if the light blinking in my head turned red.

  I studied her. Her long tawny-black hair, her Madonna face, the gelatinous orbs of beauty, chubby cheeks, thick fleshy lips, neckline like a watchtower, rhythmically moving bust, the tummy and the region just above the belt line… It was incredibly tempting. She shone with the glamour of innocence.

  And then I saw again: the Garden of Eden.

  At that instance the light in my head turned red. I began to tumescent, to wake up from my twenty years’ sleep like Rip Van Winkle.

  When you think like this… when you think like that… when she looks at you like this… when she looks at you like that…

  She too was studying me, or so I thought.

  I knew that things might get messy, even messier, and the thought occurred to me to balk away from the impending disaster and mistake, but the passion was so scalding. I did not want to, but the devil on my left shoulder whispered, ‘it’s damn sweet. They all lie to you… you’ll have the desire of your desire… the truth all of them do not want you to know’.

  I moved closer to where Kate was.

  I put my hand on her lap. She did not move, or push it away. She did not even flinch.

  It started mysteriously. We were weird, and quirky.

  I was doing a million and one things, she too.

  She started to moan and arch herself up to me.

  We stared at each other. It was like forever since we saw each other.

  The next minute our lips locked. She had one hell of velvet soft lips. Then the next moment we were naked.

  My hands were everywhere on her. The die was cast. Instinctively she parted her legs and I did not need to be told what to do.

  Kate was impenetrable but we did manage helping each other through. She writhed beneath me, wriggled her hips, scratched my back, and held me tight to her. It was asphyxiating. I felt her legs around me. More squirming. And then the climax came so fast.

  That was it. Less than five minutes. I fell on top of her with an inexplicable sigh.

  She pushed me slowly from atop her, created room for me on the sofa and snuggled. Her eyes had a radiance
I had not seen before.

  A long quiet followed.

  An hour later, we dressed. I did not want to look at her in the eye. She too avoided my eyes.

  She had made me a winner.

  I had made her a sinner.

  CHAPTER 16

  Two days later, I stayed outside the cubicle that was my house doing nothing but watching the stars at night. It felt satisfying.

  In the millions of stars in the black blue of the night sky I saw some hope somewhere. So many light years away a small star twinkled at me each time with an increasing intensity. Just for me.

  I was so absorbed by the aura of being with nature that I did not realize when Mr. Moon had come by to say goodnight to me. A big yellow plate had risen rendering an eerie glow to Mother Earth.

  I had no intention of sleeping, though. Not this night. Not before accomplishing my mission. It was today or never. The plan was in motion. I couldn’t hold myself captive in my parent’s home. I wouldn’t. I could go and keep going and pretend that I had no family, no home. I could keep going and never look back. Of course I would go back, when I had made it in life, to gloat to Dad. But right now, I had to do this. I was mapping out my life.

  I checked my Casio wrist watch. It was already one in the morning. The wind had cracked my lips, my cheeks flushed and eyes stung from the brisk rush of the air. There was still some light in my parents’ room. However, what I had been waiting for (lights off) came a moment later and my wait signal blinked green.

  Twenty minutes later I gave the place that had been home for the last decade or so a surveyor’s look. It was the last memory I was going to carry with me. Even in the glow of the rising moon it had the aura of a wilderness. I am sure I will not miss you.

  I got inside my cubicle, grabbed my rucksack and walked into the night.