[COMPLETE] African Pride

24. Blood Is Thicker than Water

I was silent on the plane ride from Shanghai to Nairobi. While the others talked or played games on their mobiles, I stared out of the window. I watched as we flew over the land, over the sea, each moment drawing us closer and closer to my home.

My home... I was finally heading home!

I wondered how much of Kenya had changed since I've been gone. It's been two months. Although I had spoken with Bardu a couple of times, I didn't know much of what was happening with my family. Like, what if they had moved? How much had the Twins grown? I wondered what Halima had gotten up too while I was gone, what Bibi thought of my sudden disappearance. I had to do see Busar, that I knew. I had to beg for his forgiveness for vanishing without a moment's notice. I had to make him understand that me leaving was not my choice.

When our plane landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, I practically ran off the plane. I almost dropped to my knees and kissed the ground in my gratitude in my joy of returning.

"So, this is Kenya," Victoria said, her eyes sweeping the airport. "It looks so... beautiful."

"Told you," I chuckled. "This is where I grew up."

"It looks much clustered than D.C," Albert said. "So, where are we headed?"

"My home. Come on; I'll hail us a teksi."

After we got all our bags from the Claim, Victoria, Albert, and Lei all followed me out of the airport to and to the street. The usual hustle and bustle surrounded us as I whistled for a teksi. A yellow and black van approached us, and briefly speaking to the driver we all climbed inside.

As we rode down the roads, Victoria pointed to the street vendors, expensive restaurants, various stores, condos, shopping malls, and more. No doubt she heard Anne's ranting about Kenya being an untamed and savage land. She would have filled their heads with scary stories about the wicked people in Kenya, how we were uncivilized. I understood why Mama wanted to get away from her.

The ride to my home was quiet; however, as we get closer, I could feel my anxiety rising.

My family... how would they respond when I walked through that front door? What would they think? Baba... he had sent me away, forced me to leave from the only home I had ever known.

As the taxi pulled up into the parking lot of my home, I was a nervous wreck. My body was trembling, and my eyes kept shifting from their normal state to their feline.

A warm hand rested on my knee, and when I looked up, Lei was smiling to me.

"It's all right, Karasi," she whispered. "What is on your mind?"

"Trying to control myself," I confessed. "I fear how this will go."

"It can't be as bad as you believe it to be. I'm sure your father will understand."

"You don't know him. Come on; let's get this over with."

Opening the door of the van, I walked to the front door. My hand raised to knock but froze, the muscles refusing the move.

"Karasi? You all right?" Victoria asked.

"Y—Yeah," I said, taking a deep breath. "I'm fine."

Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to move, to deliver five hard knocks with the knocker before stepping back. A rustling could be heard inside, and when the door opened, I found myself face-to-face with Baba.

✵✵✵

I gazed into the golden eyes of my Father for the first time in months, and the first thing I wanted to do at that moment was to punch him.