ALPHAN THE PRESIDENT

CHAPTER 9

It was on a Sunday morning, Mutua a religious man believed working on Sunday was against his God, and thus wouldn't even accept Alphan to work on a Sunday and thus it was a free day. One had the chance to relax over all done through out the week. As for Alphan he took advantage of it and decided to take a walk through the town and maybe find out who the Makwelu was and what he had to do with him.

It never took him a lot of time to reach where mutual had explained to him, and it was never hard to identify the big house since it was the only big house and with blue tiles. Fear never took the better part of him as expected he had the courage to knock at the gate. A maasai watchman opened the gate, his outfit exposed all his traditions, the red dyed hair the red shukas around his body, with akalas {shoes made from car tyes} he seemed to know his job very well since he questioned him a lot of questions. All in a series giving him no time to repond to each of them.

He then said he had come to see mr makwelu, now tensed since he was unsure of why was he doing all that the watchman wouldn't let him in he claimed he was used to all that non sense from street boys whose aim was to steal, and after all he claime that alphan lacked respect to the doctor since nobody called him by his name they all called him doctor and not makwelu as he called him. He didn't know what to do next, other than going back to mutuas place, the maasai man then asked before he left the premises,

"who do you know from this home?"

He turned back and composed himself to answere the question

"I don't know anybody although I suspect my grandmother maybe related to daktari"

"and what is her name if I may ask?"

He again asked in a total maasai assent

"I call her bi so"

"maybe you are in the right place please come back and let me see if daktari is around"

Hopes came back was it real that the makwelu he was dreaming about was true, or maybe he was still dreaming, he was a plumb and short man, his eyes appeared mean and hi voice was authoritative, he walked like a souldier towards the gate, he had a big stomach a sign he was rich, he was black with a well shaved head that was reflecting the suns light, from far he seemed to be bothered by something maybe by the presence of a poor wretch at his gate.

"how are you young man"

"fine sir"

"what brings you to my home such an early time"

"am sorry sir I too need some explanation as to why iam her"

"are you normal?"

"my grandmother bi so is in this country and I think someone by the name makwelu can help me find out where she is"

His pale and cold face changed immediately, he keenly looked at the black boy on his gate, the unkept hair, the mtumba clothes and the open shoes then he came back to the face, he saw bi sos eyes he saw her dark skin, he saw he nose and would immediately ask

"are you alphan?"

"yes iam how did you know me?"

"she talks about you all day, no day ever passed without talking about you, you are welcomed my son"

He was now warm with a banana shaped lips proving his happiness, the guard too was amazed on how blood was thicker, he too would say

"those are her eyes sir"

He would them give him a look of asking him to mind his own business and he would mumble some words as if saying sorry sir.

There was alphan again a new member in the big house, he was welcomed and given a hot shower something he hadn't experienced in his life, so relaxed he was and would forget all his troubles, the meal he ate was a buffer, once he was settled he remembered mutal aand asked mr makwelu for permission to go for his belongings

"no need son you just have to start a new life and again tomorrow is on a Monday and you have to tell me how you made it to this place"

Bi so was not at home she had been admitted for some time in the hospital and he too wished to see her again, he missed his grandmother more than anything else and since now he was near her the only thing he wanted was to see her again.

He told his uncle his story and his long journey to the place and all they did was sympathizing with him. A maiden who had a light skin would find herself sobbing while listening to the miseries that found his boss nephew. She had to excuse herself for a moment and would come back and keep listening to alphan.

He would sometime make eye contact with her and she would face the tiled floor and maybe look above to the light. She had a special attraction to him but he wouldn't explain it. It felt more than what she felt for leah back in Tanzania. He felt they were talking a different language from the story he was giving, he felt they were also having a conversation that he wpuldnt explain. He was shown a room to sleep that night and he felt he was in another planet other than the earth. Than night he slept like a kid.

A week later after seeing his granny the doctor had him enrolled in a primary school nearby his house. He was again enrolled in class seven for him to do the Kenyan national examination after a year. Learning was fun for him as always although he had some problems learning English. In the second term the headteacher appointed him as the head boy of the school, he was supposed to work together with a headgirl who was an ever strict beautiful girl, she loved bossing around since she was in class eight and he was in class seven. Mutindi was her name, the nicknamers would call her mtindi which means a local manufactured brew which is always drunk by the village men who lacked something else to do in the Kamba community.

Time flied and the time to do the final examination came, success cards were sent to every candidate to wish them all the best, he got some small success cards from the family members, the last card to reach him was a big one, at first he thought it was from bi so but on reading it it was from anonymous who claimed that

"it is the sincere wish from those who love you works out for you, with love I wish you all the best in your forthcoming exams"