Wonders of Wanda

When boys of nowadays say they are in love or they know how to love, I just laugh and mumble, "Lord forgive them for they don't know what they are saying." In those days, my name was on the lips of every beautiful girl in the whole of Kawangware and even as far as Kangemi. I sold more than hot cake and I'm sure I would sell even by today's standards: though I can't imagine donning a ragged pair of jeans and an unbuttoned shirt in the name of fashion. You know where PBK Supermarket stands today in Kawangware? Near Kabiro Primary and Maranatha Church. Yes. That's where my house or rather the house I rented was. It was a seven by seven feet self-contained room--it had a kitchen, bedroom, sitting room and bathroom in one room. A bedsheet was hung on a piece of string to separate the sitting room-cum-dining room from the bedroom. The kitchen had jerricans, a stove, a  metallic bucket where I kept my flour and a utensil rack on which all our sufurias and ot...

All the nine villages around Marobo and Luuya knew about them. They had heard about them and seen their deeds since they were a boy and his girlfriend to today when they are a grandmother and grandfather to a whole clan. From Luuya to Mabanga and Nalondo to Kabuchai and Bokoli to Khachonge, Sitila to Ngalasia and the entire Luuya-Bwake Location, everybody talked about them. Cherita Namalwa and Wanda Wambulwa  khwa  Nabai aka Lutilo aka Khabukulu. Who didn't know about them? They were a couple like no other in the entire Bukusu region-South Bukusu, East Bukusu, North Bukusu, West Bukusu and Central Bukusu.  Looking at them in their old age, you would not see any flashes of the characters you hear in legends about them. They looked innocent and too holy for such epic activities. Many of the times,  mzee  was barely audible enough even to somebody standing or seated two metres away, especially whenever he addressed the matriarch, whom we fondly referred to...

                                                                image: smooth.com.au The last time I had seen her had been four years down the line; when I was still walking barefoot to Kesemulila Primary School. I could only remember her for having "bombasticated"(those who went to school in those years know what I'm talking about) a small success card to me. I had not been sure about it but I thought she felt something for me--men always do whenever a girl shows a good gesture to them. It was a small success card with a picture of a girl and a boy kissing in a very intimate embrace--I always wondered who in his right senses would expose boys and girls of twelve to fourteen to such pictures. I was glad my father was not around. They could have passed for pornographic material, which was not welcome in our house. ...

Crickets stridulated in all directions and frogs and toads from a nearby swamp croaked noisily, reminding Mkonaambi of the story his mother once told him. According to the story, frogs always want to know whether their friends are still alive or have been killed by stray passersby. The first frog always calls out to the second one, "John" and the respondent says "yes". The caller then asks John, " wamekukanyaga " and John always says "No". This calling, responding, asking and answering always goes on whole nights and sometimes days. That's his mother's story. On this night, he thought he had heard something close to what his mother had told him: the indefatigable calling and responding of John and his relative. From a distance, he could hear the barking of dogs. Some woofed, others ruffed while others arfed. Everything else was silent and still. Mkonaambi walked on determinedly. He was a man who always got whatever he wanted no matter ...

I looked at my fresh wound and felt sorry for myself. I sobbed and wailed at the same time. Tons and tons of tears rolled down my face uncontrollably. I could have done better. Surely, I could have. It now dawned on me that professional doctors could have shown some caution, care, and love. But being the believer I have always been, I had to be more sanguine in the powers of the Most High. "God will intervene," I thought as I coughed loud enough to scare demons out of a possessed man-I had seen a local pastor claim to scare out some stubborn ones out of an old woman in a nearby church the previous Sunday. The pain shall end. There was a lot of haze in the room as smoke covered all parts of the round-shaped hut and I could hardly make out one thing or the other. The obscurity in the house was so prominent. The only things I was sure of were those that made up my bedding. I lay on a bedding made of a combination of a few sisal-made sacks and dry banana leaves. The sacks look...

Nostalgia can make us or break us. Forget the part about breaking us for a minute and read this one that has made me what I am today. My right hand never leaves my cheek whenever I painfully remember my sweet past experiences. Today, I remembered those sweet childhood games and plays and wondered why these days the kids we sire do not possess such kind of creativity.  One wonders whether they even know what "mkebe" and "chapata" are. One also wonders whether they know what "kuruka uzi" means. Besides, when asked to play "kumuchurusia" and "kumutecha"(these were the games we played with balls made of polythene bags and some strings around them), will they even know where to start from? In those days, girls would go to the posho mill and play "kati" for four hours. Only the approach of dusk would remind them that it was time to go home. They would fold their skirts and tuck them in on one side. This was meant to make them f...

Letters Letters are among the oldest forms of communication ever documented. They always involve the sender and the recipient, with the former having a message to pass to the later. Modern-day letters are categorized into formal and informal letters depending on the type of message to be communicated and the relationship between the sender and the recipient.                                        Formal letters/Business letters These are letters that are used by individuals and organizations to pass official information. There are many types of formal letters. These include: ·          Application letters ·          Letters of apology ·          Letters of inquiry · ...