VOICES IN OUR HEARTS

 
Prologue…

Tuesday, December 10th 2022

Kelvin briskly maneuvers his way past the sea of students making their way to their homes after a long days work, as he walks he keeps glancing back and forth at the Rolex watch that Leila had gotten him on his birthday just a few months ago. ‘Crap I’m late!’ he curses as he hurries along, halfway to the apartment he stops suddenly and reluctantly reaches into his coat pocket, ‘don’t tell me I…’ he emerges with one double “A” Energizer battery, a look of astonishment washes over his face, ‘I forgot to buy the  damn batteries!! Leila is going to murder me for sure,’ he says regretfully as he quickly turns and rushes over to the nearest kiosk.

A second later he emerges with two sets of double A batteries, he thrusts them into his coat pocket and takes off, ‘God please let me make it on time, I can’t be late for our anniversary date!’ he whispers silently to himself. Ten minutes later and one corner away from their apartment he slows to a stop, his body petrified, all the color drains from his face replaced by terror and shock, hundreds of people stand crowded on the street watching in absolute horror as huge bulks of flame lick their way all through JEMA APARTMENTS, the ground beneath this great apartment lays strewn with burnt shards of glass and bulks of burnt up concrete.

People scream and run around in terror unsure of what to do, the more composed of the lot take videos and pictures uploading them to their Instagram and Facebook feeds ‘how helpful I know,’ the wiser of the lot make frantic phone calls to Thika Police station and others to the Fire Department. Survivors make their way out of the apartment shrouded in smoke, gasping for air, some can be seen to harbor burns at different parts of their body ranging in intensity. The Jema Apartments is a eight floored beast of a building, the fire from an observers eye seems to have started from the 5th floor before quickly making its way upward, this is the realization that knocks the sense back to Kelvin, who instinctively fixes his eye to the 7th floor, ‘Leila!!’ he shouts as he dashes  towards the burning apartment without a second thought, two muscular men try to tackle him in an attempt to stop him but Kelvin skillfully maneuvers past them and dashes up the stairs.

If the situation outside looked terrible then inside it was horrific, heavy clouds of smoke reign supreme all over causing whoever is unlucky enough to come into contact with it to tear up and choke as the air is sucked from their lungs and their throats roasted by the hot, condensed air, despite this Kelvin pushes on one stair after another, wisely he picks up a towel along the way and dips it into one of the reserve water tanks then quickly wraps it around his face leaving just enough room to see where he is going. As he dashes along he comes across dozens of dead youthful bodies burnt to a crisp, from a distance he can hear the frantic calls for help from a few survivors and the hopeless wails and mourning of others, the situation is traumatic to say the least.

Fifteen minutes later and Kelvin is standing on the 7th floor, tired, exhausted with a few burns on his body, despite this, he steels himself and blocks all thought of hopelessness and quickly walks over to Apartment door 710, the fire is intense but not as severe as the other floors but this is a condition that is rapidly changing with every second that passes, his biggest worry is the unrelenting smoke that seems heavier here than anywhere else, quickly he kicks open the door of the one bedroom apartment and only narrowly escapes the explosion of fire that blasts past him, the living room a once beautiful place where he and his beloved Leila once shared is all but a memory, filled with raging flames, the seats, curtains and cushions a constant fuel to the fire.

Terrified Kelvin calls out for his beloved, ‘Leila!! Lei…la!!’ he shouts amidst strangled coughs, he looks about him frantically for a minute before an idea crops up, quickly he dashes to the bedroom and his thoughts are confirmed, the door is locked which means ‘Leila has to be here’, he thinks hopefully, without a second to waste he kicks the door with such force its knocked off its hinges, inside the room its pitch dark, smoke everywhere, his eyes tearing up uncontrollably he walks in using his bare hands to feel his way around whilst calling for his lover. The Carbon monoxide causes his body to weaken and his bones shudder, his body is suddenly filled with a sense of fatigue and he starts to stagger, he’s almost about to pass out when his hand comes into contact with a familiar figure, ‘Leila!’ he shouts in relief.