LIFE SKILLS BEGINS

The Chronicles continues...

For those who followed keenly my adventure in Huruma "slum" (people from there call it an estate) after my abrupt departure from the comfy hostel know that life has a beginning point.

After cleaning the room for an entire one and half hours, i was convinced that it was habitable for a human being to stay in it. Not any person could have slept in that room as it contained dirt that seemed to form a sand dune inside. The windows were marred with cobwebs, the painting on the walls had already vanished, and the floor had holes. Omo says dirt is good but i highly doubt. Cleaning the room consumed around 50 liters of water and it did not sparkle. The environment was not conducive for any human but my circumstances did not give me an option. I spread my old, dirty mattress down and laid to rest. Just before i could fall asleep, a loud groan attacked my stomach with a large pain that stabbed me like a sharp knife. That is when i remembered i had not eaten and rushed out to look for something to eat.


Huruma can be compared to a shopping mall or a hypermarket because everything is under one roof just like Nakumatt. Chapos, madondos, muturas, chips, and home made pizzas were among the delicacies found in the streets. I pulled out my few coins from the pocket and purchased some chapatis and beans which were ready for consumption. Without any other business, i jetted back to the house whistling as i fantasized with my meal. Just fifty yards before i reached our apartments, i felt a large slap on my face that blinded me for some minutes. My neck was choked by a humongous hand that left me gasping for air in desperation. My entire body became frail and weak and i released my packed supper spilling the beans to the ground. Before i could realize what had happened, my pockets were empty as they had snatched my phone and wallet. My body was in great pain and all i could think of was returning back upcountry. My eyes were flooded with tears as the heart bore a heavy pain of hatred and confusion.

I gathered myself and rose from the ground. I walked slowly towards the ground feeling broken. I was a stranger in Huruma and my phone had been stolen. I wish Sonko Rescue Team existed by that time as it could have offered me solace. I was angered with everyone, and everything as my afflictions pricked inside my soul just like a sharp, hot needle through a human flesh. I threw myself on the mattress and started thinking deeply. Why was all this happening to me? Was i being punished for my sins or was Nairobi's life always like this.

Miraculously i started dozing off, my eyes glued to each other gradually and i was soon falling into a slumber. This was the only way of forgetting my tribulations, but it did not last for long. I felt an itchy bite on my skin that left me scratching my skin aggressively. The bites continued for a while until i could not sleep anymore. That is when i realized that the second hand mattress i had purchased was infested with bedbugs. I could not sleep any further, bearing in mind i was nursing pain from the muggers. Bedbug bites are so ruthless that a person leaves the bed screaming. They are so quick and they come in a colony. Ironically, they infest when a person is a sleep. I could not lay anymore and i had to spend the rest of the night standing. One night stand.