~~Makena~~
January 2013
“Did I do something wrong?” Ayara asks as I pack out of her guest room, where I have been living for the past few months.
“No,” I assure her.
I thought and concluded during the holidays, this was the best decision for me.
“Okay, then.” Ayara pouted. “But you will come and visit, right?”
“Yes, I will.” We hug goodbye.
“Are you sure about it? It’s not too late to change your mind, you know?” Wanja asks as we get on the bus. She has come to help me with the move.
I nod.
When I was home, Joseph made me realize something. I could switch schools and go to Trenton College in Githurai.
It is cheap and affordable, and I’ll be able to pay for it myself. All I need to do is transfer my credits from Benford.
I don’t want to be in Daniel’s world anymore.
Welcome to Trenton,” Wanja says as she takes me to her hostel room.
Luckily, I am going to be her roommate. Her old roommate Akinyi is now living off-campus in a one-bedroom apartment not far away from school. Her sugar daddy paid for it.
I unpack on the opposite bed, which was nothing but springs. Later we go to Githurai market to buy a small mattress, a pair of bedsheets and two blankets. Wanja reminds me that we will be picking Joseph at the bus station in the morning. He is arriving in Trenton tomorrow.
I see a billboard of Daniel where he is advertising the deodorant near the market. He looks so fresh and devastatingly good looking.
I transferred from Benford to stay away from him, but here he is on a giant billboard and on my mind all the time. My broken heart yearns for him.
I see him again in the evening as I peruse one of Wanja’s magazines. She has picked up a new habit of buying fashion and entertainment magazines monthly.
The Benford rugby team is featured on the Christmas issue of Melanin love. Daniel poses with the team in a rose-coloured shirt and blue jeans.
“So, what are your plans for the holidays now that your team closed the season on a high.” The interviewer asks him.
“You know, nothing much. But I miss Hawaii.”
“What do you plan to do now that you are graduating this coming semester?” He is graduating in July.
“I will keep playing rugby. It makes me happy. There are try-outs for the national team, and I plan to try out. Wish me all the best.”
“All the best,” The interviewer says. “And now a question which many have been wanting to know. Do you have someone special in your life?”
My heart races in anticipation as I read the next line.
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I do,” he replies.
I read through the line fast.
Daniel is seeing the lovely Lynn Masinde, and she is helping him so much as he is going through a dark period in his life.
I close the
magazine after reading
his interview. I am the dark period in his life that he is talking
about, and Lynn is helping him get over me. I curl myself in my new
bed as tears fell on my pristine bedsheets. Will this heartache
ever end? Will I ever get over him?
I close my eyes and ask God to take away the pain. I will do
anything to have this pain go away.