HEAVY

The Meet

The clouds were dark and the sky looked gloomy. The wind gushed over the trees swaying them side to side. Light showers fell and thunders clapped. Sofi was getting ready for dinner with her girls. She put on a tiny white dress that revealed her melanin-thick thighs with an open back. Her hair curled up mostly covering her face. She looked pretty. Sofi sat in front of her dressing mirror ready to add glamour to her face. She started with the face cleanser and wiped it off with water wipes. She sprayed rose water on her face and let it sit for two minutes. She went in with some vitamin C serum, night eye cream, moisturiser and a little bit of sunscreen.

Her phone rang. She answered and put the call on speaker.
"Hello, Sofi. Uh... have you looked at tonight's weather report? The weather is gonna be bad!" the voice said.
"Hey Mia, aye I have, but that won't stop me from being happy tonight," answered Sofi.
"I will not make it. I don't feel confident enough to leave the baby with Max alone in this weather. Can we reschedule?" concluded Mia.
"It's okay Mia. I understand. Say hi to Max and the baby for me. Have a lovely evening," Sofi comforted.
"I will. Thank you for understanding Sofi. Love you," Mia said and hung up.

Sofi sighed and continued with her make-up blend. She sprayed perfume on herself and walked towards her shoe rack to choose what shoes to wear. Her phone rang again and this time, Paula was calling. She just assumed Paula was also not going to make it to the girls' date night.

She shrugged but still picked up the call.
"Hey Paula, don't tell me you ain't making it just like Mia?" Sofi asked.
"(Laughs) I have a better plan. There's this party I have been invited to. I wanted you to be my plus one. It's a friend of a friend's party. Are you up for it?" Paula asked.
"What about my food? You know I love eating, that's what the dinner was all about!" Sofi replied.
"There's no party with no food. Or better still, I can grab something for you to eat from that joint you love," she encouraged.
"You're already there?" She consulted
"Mmm... not yet. I'm on my way," Paula answered.
"Okay. Don't forget my food and I'll try to be in the moment. You know I love random parties," she concluded.

She placed her phone down and went through her shoes again, trying to pick her vibe for the night. She danced to the music in her head, put on a pair of white sneakers, and a long black trenchcoat and carried a small black purse to complete her night's look. She peeked at the mirror to get a final glimpse of her look. She then grabbed her keys, walked out of her room and locked it. She walked straight to the bus stop and waited. 

At the bus stop, buses and matatus passed by fully packed. It was so cold but Sofi had no intention to spend her weekend alone in her campus room. She waited for an hour and a half for an almost empty bus to pass by the bus stop. She could not think twice about alighting even when the fare was slightly more than usual. She found a seat next to a guy who was going towards the same direction as she was, which was great since she did not know where she was going exactly. The bus ride was less than thirty minutes from her first stop. She got out and was offered a bike ride to the next bus stop, which was on the other side of the road.

It was raining heavily on these sides, and she thought of going back but remembered how long and lonely the weekend would be. She got into the next matatu to her final destination. She called her friend to help remind her of the bus stop to get off at. She said it would take less than fifteen minutes but the ride to her final stop took over thirty minutes. The roads were flooded, traffic was huge and no vehicles moved.

The driver took a turn at the next junction and she started to worry about getting lost in a town she had never been to before. She was restless and tried to peek out of the window but she could not see clearly. She tapped the conductor and asked him where they were, and how long it would take to get to her stop.

The conductor giggled, "Just a couple of minutes. We had to use this route to evade the traffic. It's bumpy, quite longer but has no traffic."
"Okay. Don't forget my stop then. Thanks," she reminded him.