Kindled Hearts

13// An unexpected guest

Kiki smiled at her reflection. Red violet lips, blushed cheeks, perfect hairdo. There was always so little that Kiki could tell about her features, she was pretty, but beautiful? No.
Compared to Nicole, Kiki fell terribly behind, her visage a dreary stroke of paint. If she were a character in a story, she'd probably be the faceless notion in the mind of the writer, her pseudonym of more value than the edges along cheeks.

But today, Kiki would beg to differ. She was no five-and-dime. The mirror on the wall bespoke of a richness she didn't quite thought existed. Her skin glowed against the touch of light, her eyes a palatable hue to the teal sheath embracing her body. Today she looked breathtakingly beautiful, a charm in its rarest form. Exotic. No writer would best describe it.

Kiki checked her phone. It was thirty minutes past eight. She still had some few minutes to kill before James would come knocking at the door.

                       *************

Earlier that day.

Kiki's playlist had received some revamp. Her love for soul appeared worn out as she easily outed each song in her phone, choosing to incline towards the sounds of afro beat. Davido's song Jowo blared in her ears as she jogged along an open field set aside by the county of Nairobi with the sole purpose of providing reprieve to those that craved tranquility. A lousy green project, Kiki would say. The main problem in the community lay in waste management or rather the lack of it. The streets of Huruma were marred with dumps, refuse and stalls that threatened to collapse at any moment. Kiki would've preferred if more efforts were put into cleansing the toxicity in the streets rather than in serving bits of bread to the many hungrier lot where the hand that serves is one Trojan Horse draped in finery. One big scum.

Skirting a problem doesn't make the problem go away, only makes it grow bolder.

Kiki increased pace, trotting two times harder than she normally would. Her breath struggled in harsh and weary tones, the morning wind swift and rabid against her soft skin. Mr. Hawi's words streamed to her mind like the burst banks of river Nile. Embrace the ache, pain and loneliness, let these emotions quake within you and feel every beat in your pulse. It is after you hunger for these emotions that you will feel guilt and grief slip away. 

To hear and to do are two different things. Kiki heard Mr. Hawi, heard the metallic timbre of his voice. But to do? Kiki couldn't even begin to imagine how to go about it.

Kiki was now in a dangerous momentum, her legs charged weightlessly along the track, her body shook as waves of vibrations snuck round her bones, pumping more energy into her. Kiki's earphones suddenly jolted from her ears, landing limply on her right side. She stopped short and tugged the earphones away from her phone, gently slipping it into the front pocket of her blue track pants. 

When she looked round the field, Kiki realized she was being watched. The sky was still in its infant state, dreary and lost of a sun's glare, yet a large crowd had already cocooned the open field. Kiki almost wondered why until she  remembered she'd forgotten it was The Tuesday. A political rally was meant to take place here. Something about a by election.

Kiki's athletic show had stringed interest. She didn't appreciate it, didn't like being the diamond among a sea of dust. It disarmed her and she felt heat rise to her neck. Among the group of onlookers, Kiki saw a familiar face, dressed in a gray tracksuit. James? Her eyes collided into his already watching ones. Kiki could've swore she saw a smirk creep to his face before he smiled at her. A frivolous action, Kiki noted.

Just how embarrassing can a day start?

Kiki awkwardly turned away from everyone's gaze, attempting to scurry away but instead she lost her footing and stumbled, her ass landing impolitely onto the misted ground.

Stupid Tuesday.

Kiki heard the sounds of laughter behind her, loud and uniform, it almost reminded her of the sounds produced by a flock of sheep when jarred by an oppressive weather. Baa baa it continued on, lowing as Kiki struggled to her feet.

"Need a hand?"

Kiki stared up at James's amused face, then at his stretched hand. Of course, he'd come running to her side, probably to needle her. Why else if not to derive pleasure?

Kiki grudgingly let her hand slip into his and he helped her to her feet. Kiki stood at a shy inches shorter, stopping only at his stour shoulder. His grip was strong yet gentle and Kiki felt an electric sensation crawl through her veins to her heart, cindering whatever protective layer stood against it. She dropped his hand, more so out of the discomfort in her pecs than for any other reason.
"Thank you," she said, wiping dirt from her track pant. "Good to know I ain't the only lost one around here."

James laughed and Kiki saw crow's feet at the wick of his eyes. He looked different, crude even, but more handsome than she'd last seen him. "I got a good excuse on my part. Am still new in the neighborhood, didn't know of any rally. I guess that makes you the only lost one around here."

"Right, like I'd smell every political stir within my vicinity."

"You got a pretty interesting nose with a very edgy base, I am pretty sure no hearsay would escape you."

Kiki couldn't help herself. She laughed hard, forgetting all about her embarrassing fall. "How interesting?"

James held a squint to his eyes as though to think before he decided upon an answer. "Too long like an eagle."

"Not a flattering analogy I'd say."

"I am not good with words." He shrugged his shoulders, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "But I must apologize for the way I behaved in our previous encounter," his voice had now grown grave, his eyes a darker shade of intensity. Kiki looked away, afraid of what his eyes would do to her. She doubted her sanity. Trizah was right after all, James had stolen her heart. She barely knew him yet she ached to be around him.

"Would you vacate?" Kiki asked.

"What?"

"I don't like that you are my next door neighbor."

James made a few steps closer, standing an inch away from Kiki. He regarded her sharply. "Why? Do you not trust yourself around me?"

Kiki started. She managed a nervous cough. "What? No."

"Then go out with me." His eyes held hers, a certain candor to his expression.

Kiki thought the weather that morning was inexplicably cold that her ears had merely played a trick on her. "I don't date my neighbors."

"Am not asking you to date me, I only want to take you out tonight and see how unaffected you are around me."

                     ****************

Present time.

Kiki bristled when she heard a soft rap on the door. She could barely move away from the mirror. Why did she agree to the arrangement? Was it too late to back down. James surely won't mind if a lie made to her lips. A good lie it would have to be, maybe blame it on a cold. But James was no stupid, he'd probably know she chickened out.

A second knock came through, more robust than the first one. Kiki decided against her plan and weaved her way towards the door.
Her face suddenly grew taut when she realized who stood at the other side of the door. "Mr. William Mwaura?"

Why was Nicole's dad at the door to their apartment?