Kili City

The main reason to why Jean and his mum had to move to the city, was because, Natalie had just gotten a transfer letter to one of the best hospitals in Kili city. So, in order for her to work there, she had to relocate.

This sudden unexpected change ignited a spark of mixed feelings in the hearts of the duo.

Jean on one side, felt bitter for leaving his childhood friends behind. Although, he wasn't that good at making friends, he at least had some that could be referred to as his friends. He was also going to miss the countryside kind of life that he was accustomed to. Not forgetting the possibilities of him facing a challenge of adapting to a new kind of life. The kind of life that he only heard of from those who had experienced it, or also heard about it just like him.

All these potential challenges weren't a big deal to Jean, as he was confident in his abilities to adjust and fit in the new kind of life in the city.

Making new friends, this was what Jean was more worried about. He was just ten, and he really needed a playing mate.

On the positive, he was going to experience a city kind of life that most of his village mates craved for. He was also going to have a close view of the breath-taking city environment that he only imagined of and read of.

Natalie on the other side, was bitter for parting ways with her long term acquaints and neighbors. While on the other side, she was happy because, she was going to have a better working environment with an improved salary and allowances.

***

One fine afternoon, in Kili city, two figures could be seen alighting from a public transport vehicle, at one of the bus stops within the city.

The smaller one was a petite boy of ten years of age with short blonde hair and grey eyes, wearing a black hoodie and a black trouser, while the bigger one was a lean lady in her early thirties with black long hair that rested on her shoulders, black eyes and was wearing a blue exquisite dress. The lady was carrying a black leather suitcase on her right hand. From the way she leaned on the side while carrying it, it could just explain how heavy it was.

"Come this way!"

The lady said to the boy as she took him by the hand.

The boy followed silently in the direction that he was being dragged. In his eyes, a gleam of curiosity and amazement could be seen. He kept shifting his gazes from one person to another and from one structure to another.

Indeed, Kili city was a city of its kind with a breath-taking environment of tall, beautiful structures and scenery. Roads joined into a series of interconnecting network. The city was at buzz, and every person seemed to mind their business. Different vehicles of different sizes, models and colours, could be seen snaking the asphalt-roads across the city.

With all these combined together, Kili city could be described as one of the best cities within the country.

"Focus, we need to cross the road!"

The lady instructed as she moved and stood by the Curbs of one of the main roads. The place that the two were standing was one of the crossing areas and a few individuals were waiting to cross the road, too.

After a few minutes of waiting, the traffic lights turned green and everyone that was patiently waiting on either side of the road, made their way to the opposite sides.

When the dual got to the opposite side, the lady flagged down a taxi and showed the driver a physical address that was written on a paper. The two then bordered the taxi in the back seats one after another.

While in the vehicle, the driver cocked the engine to life as he stepped on the accelerator. The vehicle took off in a medium speed.

"Jean, how is your experience so far?"

Jean whose eyes were now glued on the glass window observing the street structures and environment, shrugged and without looking, said in an even tone,

"The experience so far, has surpassed my imagination. I expected the city environment to amaze me, but not by this much."

Natalie grinned as she gave Jean a furtive look. This looked creepy to Jean who had just shifted his gaze and was now giving Natalie a sideway look. After blinking for a couple times, Jean reluctantly looked away and spatted.

"What?!"

Natalie cleared her throat.

"I knew you were dazzled, when you were shifting gazes anyhow."

Jean almost hit his head on the taxi window when he heard this. He had expected his mom to tell him that; she too was stunned by the breath-taking environment of the city. But to his surprise, Natalie turned out to be more reserved and composed. Clearly unperturbed by what was meeting her eyes.

'How comes she is pretending not to be moved by what she is seeing?!'

From the way Jean knew his mother, he expected her to be a little bit naive when they got in the city. Since Jean was born, he had never stepped a foot in a city. He had not also witnessed or heard of his mom visiting a city since then.

Judging from Natalie's behaviour since they arrived in the city, Jean was forced to throw his speculations out of the equation. Natalie's behaviour explained everything, she couldn't be mistaken for a novice individual that Jean was at this time. She looked like she had spent part of her precious life in the city.

Jean was right with his judgment. Natalie had ever lived in a city before. When she got a scholarship to study in university, she was admitted in one of the universities in one of the cities within the country. Though, the city she had schooled in was not Kili city, at least in some instance, they shared some resemblance in one way or the other.

"My fuel is low; I need to refill!"

The taxi driver resounded from the front, bringing the conversation between the two into a halt, and driving Jean out of his reverie.

As the two glanced at the taxi driver, the taxi took a turn to the right and entered a gas station.

The gas station had a Service Bay, a Car-Wash and a sizable ample parking lot on its far left. On its left, there was a Cafeteria.

From what Jean had observed while on their way, he had noticed that; this was the basic structure of most gas stations in this city.

 Among all the structures within the gas station they were in, only one structure caught Jean's attention. The cafeteria was what Jean's eyes were glued on, once he noticed it.

'I need to eat.'

Jean thought for a while and suddenly gave Natalie a quick glance. As if noticing Jean's stare, Natalie looked at Jean and lingered.

"Want to tell me something?"

Jean blinked for a couple times, opened his mouth, closed it and opened it again. Just as he was about to say something, the taxi driver resounded once again.

"Would you like to grab something before we commence with our journey?"

Shifting her gaze to Jean, Natalie raised her brows. In response, Jean shrugged.

"I wanted to tell you the same."

During this time, the taxi had already been refueled and it was moving out of the refilling area.

"Stop!"

A split second later, the taxi braked and stopped.

With a confused look clearly written on his face, the taxi driver shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Natalie.

"What is it?"

With a complicated look, Natalie shrugged.

"Don't you want to grab something before we resume our journey?"

The taxi-driver's face immediately shone with a bright smile. He shook his head in disbelief as he moved the taxi to the parking area near the cafeteria.

The taxi driver had asked if Natalie and Jean were willing to take something before embarking on their journey. He expected an answer almost immediately, but since Natalie delayed for a while, the taxi driver assumed that her answer was a "No". So, when Natalie decided to answer the question, some time had passed, and it wasn't a straightforward answer. As a result, it made the taxi driver to panic as it sounded as an alarming shout, rather than a request for him to stop the vehicle.

A few minutes later, the three entered the cafeteria. The taxi driver led the way, followed by Jean as Natalie trailed from the back. They then picked a vacant table on the left and sat around it. There were other customers in the cafeteria and only a few tables were empty. This was a clear indication that this was one of the peak hours of the cafeteria.

Minutes later, the taxi driver and Jean could be seen walking out of the cafeteria, with each of them looking livelier than when they entered the cafeteria some minutes ago. They immediately entered the car and waited.

A minute later, Natalie – who had remained behind to settle the bill, walked out of the cafeteria with a small shopping bag. She then went straight to the driver's window and asked him to unlock the boot and moved to the back of the vehicle.

By the time the boot was getting unlocked, Natalie had already arrived at the boot. And without hesitations, she swung it open before opening the suitcase and placing the shopping bag in the suitcase.

During this time, Jean was busy observing the way other vehicles were being refueled at the refilling area, not to notice what was going on around the vehicle he was in.

When the car door flung open a few minutes after, is when he noticed that his mom had arrived, and it was time to leave.

After like twenty minutes of continuous travelling, the taxi slowed down, veered to the side and came to a halting stop. Natalie paid their fare and later, the two alighted.

They had arrived at their destination.

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