Chapter Eight

Sheenah was putting on her nude heels, they were her favorite. They were all dressed up, looking gorgeously beautiful, ready for the dinner. All four were going for a dinner night at the hotel where they were spending their vacation. Sheenah, Lilly and Kendy at first had found the idea of dressing up and going all the way when they were practically going no where to be utterly ridiculous, until Tash convinced them that one didn't need an excuse to look good. Now, they were all set, dressed impeccably, all looking gorgeous.

Tash was wearing a cute little black dress that flared from the waist, making her look adorable while Lilly rocked her creamy white skater skirt with a matching crop top. Kendy looked beautiful in her jungle green jumpsuit and Sheenah wore a maroon chiffon dress with a plunging neckline. They all looked good, but more importantly felt good.

Which was all that mattered.

As they descended down the stairs, they had an audience, and Sheenah thought how if she was alone, she would be wishing of invisibility, but with the girls, she was almost basking in the attention they were getting.

They really brought out the best side of her.

They made their way to the restaurant, which was flocked, as it was some minutes past eight pm. Dinner time. Tash being an organized organizer, had reserved a table for them prior, so they all relaxed, settling in their seats.

"Remind me not to bother for an organizer during my wedding." Lilly told Tash, fixing her top.

"That's a big if Lilly." Tash challenged, her eyes gleaming mischievously.

"And I repeat," Lilly paused, earning all the girls' attention. "You are boring."

Kendy shook her head, loving the bickering of the two while Sheenah laughed lightly. A waitress arrived to take their orders, and after they did so, talking resumed at their table.

"This is really nice Tash." Sheenah said, smiling.

"Thank you." She smiled in return.

Their food arrived and they all dug in, conversations taking a break for a while. The one thing as of now that Sheenah loved about Mombasa was their food; sweet, spicy and definitely tasty. She was definitely gonna miss that. And the aroma was a slice of heaven!

"How's the project you were doing Kendy coming along?" Sheenah asked, stuffing her face. Kendy gave her a quizzical look, almost confused.

"What project?"

"You know, the book."

"Oh, I stopped." Kendy said, and continued eating.

The other three were shocked, and very disappointed. They had read the first draft of the story, and some few chapters of the second one, and it was really good. It was sad that Kendy had stopped, and that no one, apart from them would have the opportunity of experiencing the goodness of a well written piece of work.

"Why?" Tash asked, almost angry. Among the girls, she was the biggest advocate of talent.

"I didn't have time. Work."

Lame excuse. Sheenah thought silently, but who was she to judge?

"You just stopped? Just like that? You were exquisite Kendy!" Lilly asked, her eyes a piercing menace. Things didn't get to her easily, but when they did, boy was she scary!

"I really didn't have time. Work. Plus it's not that much of a deal, nobody would be interested anyway." Kendy shrugged, but there was a hint of pain in her voice.

"Kendy!" Tash yelled, visibly pissed. "Are you even listening to yourself?"

They got a few stares from nearby tables but they didn't care. They needed to knock some sense into the head of one of them.

"Yes it's a big deal. Yes people would be interested. Have you read your work?" Sheenah replied, her face very serious with a scolding tone, "your works have been making waves around, of course it would make a difference. C'mmon girl, some of the 'acknowledged best writers' at these firms are thanks to you, you can't throw that away."

Kendy was good at writing, in fact, she was blessed with the ability to be excellent at whatever writings she did, from articles, poetry and all the way to novellas. She had great works of hers stored somewhere in her laptop, the ones she couldn't master the strength to sell away, for much needed cash. The place where she was currently working was in all honestly whack, but she needed the money, which wasn't that good, so she sort to using her talent to make more income. The bills had to be paid after all.

Kendy had been writing, she had never stopped, and wasn't planning to anytime soon. Except, she was doing it for others. Her personal works were however currently on hold. She sold her works to people, and they in return paid nicely.

It was a win-win for her.

"I don't have time to write. I've been working extra hours. You guys know how badly I need this job. It would be such a waste of time and resources if I end up jobless because of writing after all the time I spent for this certificate course." Kendy replied ignorantly. "You know my boss." She finished, with the same old excuse.

"Girl, shut up." Tash bugged in. "yes, we know your boss, you've been complaining about him since." She rolled her eyes at this, and then shifted in her seat. "I don't even know why you brought him into this conversation but that's beside the point. You are afraid of being jobless, which is understandable considering this country's shitty economy. But think about it for a moment, your writing is the only thing that made you really happy. Do you really want to let go of that? After letting go of your degree too?"

"You deserve to be more than just some lower rank level junior procurement officer. You are worth more than that you know." Tash said, shrugging sassily, her gaze fixed on Kendy, challenging her.

"Uh...not all of us have tycoons as their fathers you know. You have privileges that I'll never have Tash." Kendy said, offended. "My degree has already gone to waste, I can't allow my 'low level' certificate to do the same."

The other three groaned, that wasn't how the talks were supposed to go. Sheenah wanted to pinch some sense into Kendy's stubborn head, the way Mam Rose used to do with her.

Tash breathed in deeply, and with the most gentle voice, spoke to Kendy, "we can't all be book smart, otherwise the streets will remain unexplored. My point being, academics are good, but so is talent. Kendy you have something that nobody can take away from you, use it!"

"Yeah, I agree." Lilly spoke, she was the only one who was almost done with her food. "The job is good, but it's not helping you get what you deserve, we all know you deserve better. So why don't you try navigating things differently? Use your ability, and maybe one day the degree will be an added advantage. For all we know, you might be the next Chinua Achebe." she smiled gently.

"Also, I did not mean to offend you, sorry." Tash apologized. "I already know your answer to this but I'm just going to try my luck again. I can ask my mum to talk to-" Kendy cut her off by shaking her head. She refused being a charity case.

"You know you're just being proud right?"

"Says the one who refused her father's money and now wants me to take it."

Tash rolled her eyes at this. "He's not my father. Plus I also changed my mind. Anyway if you ever decide to put your pride aside, you have my number."

Lilly laughed and sipped her water. "Kendy, my dad would be-"

Kendy groaned loudly. "I'll get back to writing. I promise. And would you two chill. I know you're from old money but geez! Anyway thanks for your concern. I'll call when in dire need."

Sheenah looked at Kendy, and the look in her eyes said it all. They had gotten to her. And she smiled, her heart constricting.

She loved these ladies.

They continued eating, with lighter banters being thrown, laughter floating through the air. Such moments were priceless, deserving to be stored somewhere where they could never be forgotten.

The heart.

"By the way Sheenah, what's your talent? Apart from steady hands?" Lilly joked, and the girls cracked up.

After their dinner, and freshening up, all of the girls were settled in their room, ready to sleep but not before praying. It was something that they always did whenever they were all spending a night together. Almost like a custom. So they knelt, held hands, closed their eyes and believed.

Kendy prayed The Serenity Prayer, "Dear Lord, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we know we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen."

"Amen."

They turned off the lights and slept. Sheenah feeling serene?

***

Sunday morning.

Sheenah woke up early, her phone was almost out of power so she plugged in her charger, prepared herself mentally for a run, changed into suitable clothes, and off she went.

The routine was the same;

Run.

Get into her thoughts.

Increase her speed.

Reach her limit.

Easy enough.

But today was a little bit different. While running, she felt a gram lighter. While getting into her thoughts, they weren't too sad and almost depressing. Increasing speed wasn't as hard as it used to be. When she reached her limit, she felt relieved, but a different kind of relief today.

It seemed almost too easy.

Mombasa was messing with her head! Damn it!

Sheenah finished her run, went back to the hotel, only to get a text message and a missed call on her phone. She called the number almost immediately.

"Hello?"

"Jaber hi, how are you doing?"

She blushed.

"I was wondering if you'd ever call. I'm fine, what's up?"

"Sorry, I was held up with some stuff. Are you free today?"

"Uh, I think so. Why?"

"I'm sorry this is sudden, but would you like to go out? For a proper tour that is." He chuckled.

Was it a date?

"Uh, sure. Where are we going?"

Reigner insisted on picking her up, and they were to meet in an hour, so she had to be quick. The girls helped her to dress, well Tash mostly, but it was a combined effort all the same and she looked wonderful.

Sheenah had natural beauty, so making her shine wasn't a hard job, it seemed no job at all honestly. Her skin was flawless and she had a nice body too; slender with curves in all the right places. The glow on her face was godly. Shee was easy to deal with. Reigner picked her up, as earlier promised and off they went.

***

Fort Jesus.

That was their first stop. A tour started with history. She loved the outside more than the inside which gave her chills.

"You can't come to Mombasa without visiting Fort Jesus. So what do you think?" Reigner asked.

Sheenah shrugged, not too pleased. "It's okay. Great I think. Kind of spooky."

"Are you kidding me? God!" He paused, looking at her, his eyes smiling. "What do you like about my city so far?"

"You."

And when the word left her mouth, she was too shocked at herself. Where the hell did that come from? She looked down, too embarrassed.

"So you like me." Reigner drawled, his tone teasing.

She was not used to telling people that she liked them. Especially of the opposite gender. After Jack had made her feel worthless a thousand times, she had vowed to keep off from the male specie. She had almost forgotten how to flirt! Then Mombasa came in, carrying with it Reigner and making her rethink her vow.

Reigner lifted her chin so slowly, she thought she'd die of embarrassment. She looked up at him, to find him looking at her so intensely she felt weak. He then smiled making her heart jump a little.

"Come on, next place." He tugged at her arm gently, and she was relieved he hadn't pursued the matter any further. "If you won't like this place, then you are honestly screwed." She laughed, and followed his lead, enjoying herself.

Haller Park- Butterfly Pavilion.

That was their next destination and Sheenah couldn't help but marvel at the breathtaking beauty of countless butterflies and shining, almost gleaming, pupae.

"Wow." She breathed, almost short for words. Reigner had been right, if she couldn't love this place, she was screwed. How could she not when the nature was breathtakingly magnificent!

"Told you you'd like it." He grinned, with a boastful voice, feeling proud of himself.

"How do they maintain all this?" She gestured with her hands, still mesmerised.

"Well, the area is enclosed, so the butterflies can't fly away." He finished with a 'duh' tone making her roll her eyes, "and I learnt they actually buy pupae and hatch them in the Butterfly house."

"That's nice."

"Yeah, it's all about protecting the environment." He added casually, and on seeing Sheenahs confusion, added quickly. "That's their objective I believe."

She nodded and went back to looking at the many species of butterflies flying all around. Then a sudden thought came to her and almost immediately dampened her mood.

The butterflies could fly freely around, they had the illusion that they were free, when in reality they weren't. There was only so far as to where their freedom reached. They were almost like her. She had freedom, but whenever she tried to get too far, she was always pulled back.

Free, yet caged.

A butterfly flew and perched itself on her left shoulder, making her come back to reality. She wanted to touch it, but it would fly away. So she remained still, looking at it from her peripheral vision, lest it flew from her.

Reigner made contact, the briefest, with the butterfly and it flew, making Sheenah scowl at him.

"Let it go."

He whispered with an intensity in his voice that Sheenah had never heard. She wanted to protest, but paused abruptly on the look in his eyes. Just then she understood. He wasn't entirely talking about the butterfly, he was talking about her, to her, and the past that she seemed to hold onto even when it was tearing her apart. He was telling her to let go.

Sheenah was suddenly very scared. This man knew her. He could read her, and that alone made her thoroughly terrified. The worst part was that they had known each other for less than a week, and she didn't want to run, even though her logical part was screaming at her to, threatening her with, 'it will end in tears' threat.

For once she wanted to stay. For someone to read her, and the thrill both excited and terrified her at the same time.

She looked up at Reigner, who was still studying her, eyes glazed with intrigue. They stared at each other, this time, not discreetly. Studying each other, trying to find the mystery behind the other person. Sheenahs eyes, without expecting, darted to Reigner's lips and in her head, she made a decision. She was going to break free. From all the cages that were holding her. She was going to regain back her freedom, and what better way to do that than by doing something that she knew her old self would never think of, let alone dare.

She kissed Reigner.

She made the first move.

Reigner froze, visibly surprised from the action. It took him some good seconds to regain himself, almost making Sheenah pull back, before he kissed her back. He had fantasized about kissing her, but never had he imagined that it would be with such a view, with the fact that she would kiss him first.

She kissed him.

While they shared their first kiss, with colorful butterflies flying around, it seemed perfect and all, but she was pulled back. She couldn't fly too far away. It all came back to her, crashing the life out of her. She pulled back, breathing heavily, not from the kiss, but from something entirely suffocating. Tears brimmed her eyelids, and before she could cry in front of the only person who seemed to understand her, she ran, without looking back.

Her old self was calling.