Chapter Two

It was on the twenty-fourth of December when Anyango, Ogola's mom came to visit her mother when news of her illness reached her ears. She got the news the previous day and made her way into her Marsella's home the next day very early in the morning. Marsella had suffered from malaria for three days and no proper treatment was done to her. Ogola had to stay at home with her for those three days. She was a candidate and she was to sit for her final examinations in a few months time. It meant that she had no time to waste as she had to work hard to go to a national secondary school as she had hoped and maybe someday be a doctor, her dream job.

Mr. Wadagi would send Angujo every evening to check on her and demanded to be told when she would go back to school. He was worried that she was missing a lot, especially from his subject. Wadiaga never took it lightly on truancy and even if a student had asked for permission to miss school for a given reason, Wadiaga would ensure that this was true by doing his own undercover investigation; a true example of the doubting Thomases.

Mama Marsella was taken to the clinic after several failed attempts to connect with the doctor so he would go check on her at her home. Doya was a very proud and mean man. This was simply because he was the only doctor in the whole village. He was respected and feared and nobody dared cross his path because no one knew when they would fall sick and require his services only to die because the only person that could treat them refused to do so because he was offended. Upon arrival at the clinic, Marsella and her daughter were made to wait for over two hours as her stepson pleaded with the doctor to treat her,after which Doya had to operate on her because she would not keep her mouth shut. Doya operated on the cash-on-order basis and would not employ his expertise on anyone unless the payment was made first. The amounts he demanded depended on the type of family his patient was having and because he learned the connection between Marsella and the stepson,the then luo elder, he demanded one-thousand shillings. Willis paid it without hesitation then left to wherever it was he was going. He never liked Marsella. I guess it is natural for hatred to exist between the different houses in the polygamous families even without logical reasons.

The next day Ogola went to school and left her mother Anyango with her grandmother. She had hoped to have time to talk to her about how life at her grandmother's had been and how much she missed her because since she came they had not had time to talk to each other properly. That evening she was disappointed and her face lost all expression though she tried to hide it from her grandmother. Anyango had left without even bidding her goodbye. So many questions raced in her like, was it her fault to be born?and what had she done to be treated like that by her own mother? She tried to act normal but nothing ever escaped that woman. Sometimes she wondered if she had superpowers. That Saturday evening, there was no need to fetch water or firewood since Anyango had done all that before leaving. Thus Ogola had nothing to use as an excuse to get away from the grandmother. She did not want to cry infront of her breaking down in tears infront of her old grandmother is one of the stupidest thing she never wished to do, ever, but the way she looked at her, Ogola could not help it. She broke in tears and her grandmother rushed to hold her in her hands. She always felt safe in her arms. She always found comfort in her words.

"My grandchild, you don't have to hold back your tears. You don't have to hide them from me, for the more a man runs away from his pain the bigger the wound in his heart gets. Were (God) created the earth, day and night so beautiful but he ensured he also created seasons, each to come at its own time. How can one comprehend rain  if he has not drought,the same way you cannot understand light if you have  not known darkness. My child, I want you to be the strongest you have ever been for feelings are like the passing wind, soon it will be no more. Don't let it carry you with it. A seed thought to be useless when cast on a fertile soil gives rise to the biggest tree  with the sweetest fruits. Cry now, my daughter, for the darkness inside must give space for light."

"I don't know if I am meant to be understood, and if I am,

I don't know how to

I don't know if I am to explain myself

Because even if I do

No one understands

I'd sit locked in my room,

if I had one

Yes, I want to.

I'm not mad,

I'm not bored,

I'm not heartbroken,

I'm not under pressure,

But you'd never understand

nobody would

I guess I am still growing,"

Ogola spent the whole of that evening crying. She only stopped from exhaustion then fell asleep. The next morning she woke up after the sunrise, something she was not used to. Marsella had already got up to tend to her crops and was then preparing breakfast. Ogola was ashamed and cursed herself inwardly for being lazy. Breakfast was serverd then she had to wash the dishes then head to the river before going to the market to sell the yams her grandmother harvested that morning. She quickly finished the washing and off she went to the river. She fetched it a couple of rounds then took the basket and headed for the market.

Though she was late, fortune was on her side and before noon all the goods she had had been sold out. She did not want to waste any more time so she bought everything she was told and headed back home. She prepared lunch then did the dishes. After that they storied with her grandmother till late in the afternoon. She then went to her books to finish an assignment they had been given and by evening she was all done. While making stories, Ogola together with the grandmother walked all over the compound looking for firewood. Grandmother's stories were always intriguing and she could not get enough of them. She always wanted more of them if it was not for the schedule she had, she would have spent all of her time listening to her grandmother.Ogola then realized that she had not taken a bath yet and so she had to go to the stream again. She took to her heels and headed to the river with a pot on her head for carrying water. Little did she know that this trip to the river would change her life completely; that she would be a different kind of person all together.

Things happen so fast. One minute you are in pain and agony the next minute something good just happens to you and before you know it, you are all happy again. Ogola's life took a different twist. While going to the river, Ogolo met a man, a handsome man. None of her classmates had dared approach her trying to seduce her into dating. They hated her but were also afraid of her. I mean, won't you be afraid of someone who rarely talks, does not have friends and is always busy. She was beautiful, with a petit body and trim figure. Her skin was so soft despite all the work she did back at home. She had this cute but charming smile, contagious if you ask me. Most of those that tried their luck did so through piles of letters which they hid in her bag during break time and everyone was not in class. She termed them as useless and mere time wasters. She had a determination to get better grades and have her own job someday, and be able to have different pairs of clothes like did Madam Maria,and different pairs of expensive shoes, the kind that her headmistress had.

Arnold was the name. Arnold was visitor in the village. He had gone to visit his uncles from Nairobi. He was older than Ogola by far but we all know how these old folks can be cunning especially to entice their young preys.

Arnold was in nairobi working in a shop as an assistant retailer. He only came back when the owner replaced after his son arrived in the city. Arnold met Ogola along the path to the river and pretended he was lost and needed to be given directions. Upon being assisted, he asked for her name which she reluctantly gave him. He insisted to take her to the river as she was going to fetch water and was all alone let alone the fact that it was getting dark, and believe me you, the nights in Dago Kokore are darker than the darkest night runner I have ever come across. Ogola refused but he would not take no for an answer and she had to give in. The guy kept on talking and talking until he got her to start answering him so that he would stop. On reaching the river, Arnold offered to draw the water. Ogola could not help but laugh at how he was struggling to carry the pot.

Arnold took advantage of the situation and began pouring out all that was in his heart and how much he wanted to date someone as strong and beautiful as herself. Yeah, all that crap that men say just to get a girl to fall for them. Ogola could not say no, and as much as she had a lot in mind to achieve, she thought that as not that harmful to her course. "I mean, how many of my agemates are dating but are still doing well in their exams. Besides he is handsome," she thought to herself. So that was how the two got together. It happened that everyday after school, Arnold would meet her as she went to the stream and would walk her there. He was more than willing to get her gifts and new things. Stuff men do just to get what they want!