On hitting Argwings Kodhek road, he
slowed his car to avoid knocking down the bevy of twilight girls who surrounded
his car, flagging him down, and noisily offering him carnal pleasures at great
rates. He took a quick one over and decided there was nothing on offer that was
exciting as he slowly released his clutch and brake pedals.
"Kwani ulikua
unatakaje?" one of them asked, sensing his disappointment.
He paused briefly then in a
drunken slur replied "nataka kubwa nyeupe"
"Shiro Kuja hapa!"
she hollered.
The girls made way for the
said Shiro, who strutted in dramatically in very high heels and a dress that
looked like it would rip at the seams any minute. She indeed fitted the product
specifications.
"Unaonaje huyu?"
enquired the self proclaimed sales lady.
He nodded and opened his car
door. Shiro let herself in.
"Pesa ngapi? ", he
enquired matter-of-factly after moving a few metres from the pack.
"Short time ama
all-night? ", she shot back.
"Short time"
"Erfu biri.. "
"Sina elfu
mbili..."
"Kwani uko na
ngapi?"
"Mia tatu... "
" Mia tatu perekea bibi
maziwa! "
" Haya shuka
basi..." This said while unlocking the doors.
"Ogeza mia biri upate
short time. Twende kwa parking ya Buffet Park", she offered.
He agreed and quickly
executed a 3-point turn, heading into the club's parking.
_________________________________________
James was scrolling through
twitter feeds when a tweet caught his eye:
"Have you seen him? Last seen leaving Buffet Park on Saturday 2am". A picture of man not older than 30 was attached to the tweet with a hash tag#HelpFindOparanya
He quickly recalled a young man walking over to him at the late hour and making an unusual request. The man had asked him for 500 bob in cash in exchange for swiping his bank card for an equivalent amount as as settlement for part of his (James) beer bill. He had hesitated briefly, but the clearly inebriated man had explained to him that he needed the cash to pay off a taxi driver and that he considered the effort of driving to an ATM machine too much for the amount in question. James had summoned a waiter who had executed the request. The beneficiary had been profuse with his gratitude.
James had watched the young man jaunt towards the parking area and disappear into the cover of darkness. His attention had drifted back to his drink and company.
But here he was now, staring at the image of the same man, trending on Twitter, with rewards being offered for information leading to his whereabouts. He quickly replied to the original tweet, disclosing that indeed he had interacted with the aforementioned, and disclosing details of their odd encounter. The retweets of his reply were generous, even catching the attention of the IG of Police who quickly asked him to walk into the nearest police station to record a statement. Clearly Oparanya was a man who even the police were eager to find unharmed. James freshened up, bade a quick goodbye to his girlfriend and drove his Honda Accord to Kilimani police station. He shared whatever information he had with a bored officer who took his number "in case he needed more information"
"Have you seen him? Last seen leaving Buffet Park on Saturday 2am". A picture of man not older than 30 was attached to the tweet with a hash tag#HelpFindOparanya
He quickly recalled a young man walking over to him at the late hour and making an unusual request. The man had asked him for 500 bob in cash in exchange for swiping his bank card for an equivalent amount as as settlement for part of his (James) beer bill. He had hesitated briefly, but the clearly inebriated man had explained to him that he needed the cash to pay off a taxi driver and that he considered the effort of driving to an ATM machine too much for the amount in question. James had summoned a waiter who had executed the request. The beneficiary had been profuse with his gratitude.
James had watched the young man jaunt towards the parking area and disappear into the cover of darkness. His attention had drifted back to his drink and company.
But here he was now, staring at the image of the same man, trending on Twitter, with rewards being offered for information leading to his whereabouts. He quickly replied to the original tweet, disclosing that indeed he had interacted with the aforementioned, and disclosing details of their odd encounter. The retweets of his reply were generous, even catching the attention of the IG of Police who quickly asked him to walk into the nearest police station to record a statement. Clearly Oparanya was a man who even the police were eager to find unharmed. James freshened up, bade a quick goodbye to his girlfriend and drove his Honda Accord to Kilimani police station. He shared whatever information he had with a bored officer who took his number "in case he needed more information"
________________________________________
It starts with a light so
intense hitting the eyes that one is forced to open their eyes. An unfamiliar
room with cheap bedsheets and a smell of dirty feet, cigarettes, alcohol and
dust. A very unfamiliar place. All alone.
Then three minutes synthesizing the environment and nothing gives. And there's this splitting headache. Slowly you recall your name and that of your kin. Oparanya Okalebo. You then remember that this is the 21st century, therefore you should be in possession of a cellphone. Then as you frisk yourself, you realize that you're naked. No cellphone, no wallet, no clothes.
You walk towards the window, trying to ignore the massive headache. Looking down, you realise you're on the 4th floor of a building. From the bird's eye view, you can see that the world is moving on without you. And the world that you're seen is nothing familiar to you. Carts, porters, matatus are embroiled in a battle for the narrow space that passes off as a road. You take a seat on the bed trying to collect your thoughts. You cannot remember a thing. You walk back to the small bed, lie and blackout again.
It will take another full day for the chain of events leading to your family finding you to kick off. And they will begin with the room you're in being allocated to another 'short time' customer, who will storm in eager to finish his business, but have to inform the management that the room is occupied by a naked man, who appears disoriented. Police will be summoned and quickly match you to the reported missing character. Your connected family will soon be reunited with you and nothing will matter to them then more than the fact you were found alive.
Then three minutes synthesizing the environment and nothing gives. And there's this splitting headache. Slowly you recall your name and that of your kin. Oparanya Okalebo. You then remember that this is the 21st century, therefore you should be in possession of a cellphone. Then as you frisk yourself, you realize that you're naked. No cellphone, no wallet, no clothes.
You walk towards the window, trying to ignore the massive headache. Looking down, you realise you're on the 4th floor of a building. From the bird's eye view, you can see that the world is moving on without you. And the world that you're seen is nothing familiar to you. Carts, porters, matatus are embroiled in a battle for the narrow space that passes off as a road. You take a seat on the bed trying to collect your thoughts. You cannot remember a thing. You walk back to the small bed, lie and blackout again.
It will take another full day for the chain of events leading to your family finding you to kick off. And they will begin with the room you're in being allocated to another 'short time' customer, who will storm in eager to finish his business, but have to inform the management that the room is occupied by a naked man, who appears disoriented. Police will be summoned and quickly match you to the reported missing character. Your connected family will soon be reunited with you and nothing will matter to them then more than the fact you were found alive.
________________________________________
As
James went through his Twitter feed on Tuesday, he noticed this tweet:
#HelpFindOparanya Oparanya has been found. He's undergoing medical tests at the
Aga Khan University Hospital. Thanks to all who came through.
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