Ng'ombe halemewi na nunduye.
(A cow is not oppressed by it's own hump.)
______________________________________
Taji
Do you know that feeling you get on the inside when your folks finally get you that one video game you've always wanted? If not, do you know that feeling you get when you get that one dress that you've always wanted even if you don't really know when you'll ever wear it? None of that compared to the excitement I had that early morning.
Not so long ago I'd managed to convince Raziya's parents that I'd bring her back in one piece. There I was going to the coast for the first time in my old age. My life had turned into a whole album of hit songs, each better than the last.
Well there was also the fact that my whole body was tingling as I tried to shut down the excessive ecstasy I was getting. I still hadn't bothered to get more meds. I had bigger things to focus on honestly. For starters, how weird Tanya was getting. I was bummed when I didn't find her home a week ago but she called me everyday since.
I was packed up and ready to go by 4 am. The drive from Nairobi to Mombasa would take about 8 hours, at least that's what Lily said, so we all decided to meet at my place at 6 am. I spent the next hour on my morning devotional routine.
As expected, my punctual Strawberry was the first to arrive. She wore a baby pink hoodie and grey sweats with her hairstyle changed to long dark braids with purple highlights.
"5:30? Did you even sleep?" I asked as I hugged her.
"Imagine no, and it's all your fault anyway,"
"How so?" I asked as I chuckled.
"You texted me till 2!"
"Well you replied didn't you?"
"Well... whatever, please tell me you have food." She said as she dropped her duffel bag then walked to my fridge. She pulled out some left over rice and beans and heated it up in the microwave. It was really heart warming seeing how comfortable she was roaming my apartment like she had shares in it.
She could.
You never know.
"You seem ready to go," she said bringing my head back to planet earth before it went too far.
"Well of course I do, for obvious reasons. You seem eager to see me," I replied with a wink.
"What?" She chuckled as she took out the plate and sat on a bar stool.
"You came here early knowing that our other friends are horrible with time. It's self explanatory sweetheart,"
"Ewww, no, just stick to strawberry, sheesh,"
"So you like it?" I said stepping closer to her.
"Probably," she answered with a mouth full of food. Real cute.
"So you're not denying that you wanted some alone time with me huh,"
"Well, what if I did?" She asked, her voice low and dark. I wasn't expecting her to play along. So I just stopped in my tracks and gawked at her. She then burst out into laughter and I scoffed. I sat across her and just stared at her.
"That's just creepy," she said with a shaky chuckle.
"You're really pretty you know." My words made her bow her head and bite her lower lip to conceal a blush but I knew her too well. I reached over and placed my hand on her chin to tilt her head up. She tried to avoid eye contact but failed terribly. I didn't really know what to do next. It'd been like 4 years since I tried this whole thing and I just felt like a rookie. So I retreated my hand and changed the subject.
"I thought you were coming with your sister."
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot to mention. She's sleeping over at our cousin's. We're supposed to pick her up along the way. Don't worry, this won't mess up any plans. The house is along the way. I'm really sorry for any inconveniences. "
"Sleepover? Didn't she come back home like three days ago?" I asked ignoring her usual unnecessary apology.
"The girl has a December bucket list and a strong will. Also, I really need a nap before everyone gets here. I'm sure they'll be late." She said and I got up to fetch her a pillow and a fuzzy blanket from my room. I didn't want to suggest that she should sleep in my room. My mind was already trying to process a lot and a lot could happen in the midst of that. I placed them on the couch for her.
She was at the sink washing her plate. Being around a perfectionist wasn't actually that bad.
"What's the first thing you wanna do when we get there?" She asked as she curled herself into the blanket.
"Definitely go to the beach." I said as I sat on the carpet next to her. I was beginning to think if this was a wise idea since I had a deficiency when it came to swimming skills. But anyway, everyone in the group has had their fair share of embarrassing moments. First it was Elizabeth, then the whole street food thing with Raz and soon enough, Mark was bound to make a fool of himself.
She went on and on about all the things I should do when we get there. I was honestly not really listening to a thing she said. My ears were blocked by how enamoured I felt as I watched her talk.
"Can I braid your hair... if you don't mind," she asked as she hesitantly reached her hand out of the blanket to touch my hair. She was still a bit reserved about getting too touchy and I didn't mind it at all. It was actually kinda cute if you ask me.
"Of course you can strawberry,"
She sat up cross legged and I scooted over to sit in front of her. I heard a slight gasp as she took off my hair band and my cocky self just smirked. My mum and sisters were the only people I ever let touch my hair. It's just always cringe worthy when everyone's filthy hands keep trying to force their way into it. But I was just comfortable with Raz.
"I need a comb," she said and I got up to fetch her one. I came back and played some jazz.
"You like jazz?" She asked as she started parting my hair into portions.
"Who doesn't,"
"Me," she said with a chuckle.
"What! In fact, I'm not changing the playlist," she let out a groan and I just laughed. We spent the next couple of minutes discussing music preferences as she did my hair.
"Done!" She said as she handed me the comb. I looked up at her and found her grinning, probably proud of whatever she did to my hair. The problem was, I couldn't look away. Her grin faded as she tried to look away from me as I smiled at her. She put her hands on my shoulders and leaned over bringing her face close to mine. My breathing immediately got erratic as I tried my best to sift through the thoughts running through my mind. With a husky whisper, she said, "This is the part where you stop ogling and take a look at yourself in the mirror."
Ah.
I chuckled and moved my eyes from her. Lily then came in singing.
"Oh be careful little eyes what you see,
Oh be careful little eyes what you see,
For the Father up above,
Is looking down in love,
So be careful little eyes what you see..."
She then plopped herself on the couch next to Raz looking straight at her with a grin. I got up laughing as I went to the huge circular mirror on the wall.
"You look like a short chubby Travis Scott," Mark said as he got in with Shaba.
"I'm not that short," I laughed back.
"And the moon is green. Now that that's out of the way, where's Riziki?" Lily joked passively then posed the question to Raz. She narrated the story to her as I ran my fingers down a braid dropping down my face past my chin. I hadn't known how much my hair had grown till then.
》《
After a communal prayer for the trip, we left at 7. Mark, Lily and Shaba went to Lily's car, as expected, and I was left with my strawberry grumbling about how she never took her nap. We left first to pick up the other teenager joining us. Riziki was extremely excited to see me, but even more to be in my car. The cousin, was not so subtly gawking at me. Lily caught up and I followed her since she was the one who knew exactly where we were going. We had agreed to switch drivers after 4 hours which seemed fair.
I just loved the energy in our car. Teenagers could be really annoying at times, but Riziki's energy was really entertaining. She'd somehow convinced us to switch from our and I quote 'old people music' to a bunch of Christian rap songs. She loudly fumbled through the lyrics with every song that came up, making Raziya and I laugh each time.
After a lunch stop over and a driver switch stop over, we were finally there at around 5 pm. The air flowing through the windows was warm and humid. The sound of honking vehicles and coastal music died down as we got closer and closer to the beach house. All that surrounded us was the soothing sound of the leaves on palm trees bumping into each other as the wind blew through them and a distant sound of crashing waves.
Lily slowed down then stopped beside the road and we followed suit. I was genuinely glad that Raziya was the one driving through the last half of the trip. The adrenaline rush in me was getting a little bit out of hand but I really tried my best to calm down. I had covered myself with my jacket as she drove to hide my trembling hands from her. It wasn't yet time for her to see that. Well anyway, at least that's what I thought.
"What?" I asked her piercing expression.
"Are you okay?" She asked placing the back of her hand on my forehead in an attempt to check my temperature. "You seem a bit, I don't know, off?" She continued searching my face for clues. The main problem with perfectionists, nothing gets past them. Nothing. She told Riziki to go ask Lily why we stopped then turned her attention back to me with a concerned look.
"It's, n... nothing you need to worry about," I answered, biting my tongue before I said anything else. I'd already began stuttering and pretty soon I'd be rambling about a bunch of nonsense. She furrowed her eyes at me then continued prying.
"Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything Taji,"
"I'm okay, you're okay, everybody's okay. Okaaaaayy, that word sounds funny, okkaaaayyy. I wonder who came up with it. Who came up with English altogether? Who decided to call it English? Y... you know what, I... I should start my own language. I'll call it Tajish. Sounds exotic. Taaaajisssshhhh. How does it sound to you? Never mind it's mine, not yours so I don't need your opinion. I should learn how to say that in Tajish. Taaaajisssshhhh...