Drum Bits of Terror: Drum Bits of Terror

14

103 14 onths after his arrival in Kakamega, Sam met Wanja, the woman who would later become the love of his life and still remains. He met her at the most unusual time and place. It was not in a bar like he had met Nekesa. He was not inebriated, which happened a lot following his expulsion from Bumbe Polytechnic. He met her accidentally in a maize field. It was one beautiful Saturday morning when he had gone to help Furaha, his half-sister, in a nearby village to harvest her maize, an odious job that lasted an entire day. He had spotted her as she wrestled to pull an ear of corn off its unyielding husk. Her ebony skin glittered under the sweltering sun. That was attractive. She did not notice him gawking at her as she wiped the sweat off her gleaming brow. An occasional cool drifting wind passed, soothing her sweaty brow. She wiped her wet hands on her bottom. Though Sam was attracted to the girl, he recalled how he had been beguiled by Nekesa. And as a sage might say: ‘Once bitten, twice a fool.’ Sam had been bitten numerous times than he cared to remember. He had even vowed never to make a fool of himself ever again . . . in his life. Sam kept his vow. That was before his eyes landed on Wanja. She was such a beauty—a short rotund sweet and charming lady, with an impeccable smile. Each moment he got, he stole calculated glances at her. What man could resist such a beauty? He resolved not to pursue her, but simply admire her from a far. Neither did she make any effort to meet nor make his acquaintance. She smiled suggestively at him whenever their eyes chanced to meet. Had she been a pale looking woman, one would have seen her blush; fortunately, for her, her skin was as dark as the ebony wood. By the day’s end, nothing happened between the two; each went his or separate way; yet, Cupid’s arrow had already pierced Sam’s heart. When Sam returned home and told Achaga about the girl, he said he had never met or heard of her. “She must be a very special girl,” M 104 Achaga said. Sam nodded his agreement. There was no more conversation about the girl. That night, when Sam went to bed, he barely slept. He tossed and turned in his bed thinking about her again and again and again; while outside, the sounds of chirping crickets filled the air. Numerous frogs, too, were croaking. ‘What nonsensical creatures!’ he mumbled. He ignored these sounds as his mind drifted back and forth from the girl to Nekesa, the very woman who had broken his heart. He remembered a vow he had made a couple of years ago: ‘I’ll never fall in love with a woman again.’ That was a foolish promise! It made him conflicted about his new love interest. ‘Women, you can’t live without them!’ he gasped. No matter how much he tried to forget the young lady, her figure remained an enigma too hard to ignore. He kept on seeing images of her delicate hands as she wrestled with a corn husk, or as she struggled to pullout the corn. He wished he could have gone to her, touched those hands, caressed them gently or shielded them from being scratched by the sharpened edges of corn-leaves. Once, he noticed her licking one of her fingers. What a pity! He knew what had happened! She must have had a cut . . . the most painful thing to happen when harvesting corn. The girl cocked her head in Sam’s direction as she made her final lick. Sam’s heart missed a beating, but he dismissed it as triviality. Other times, Sam kept on seeing the bright glitter of her eyes whenever she subtly looked his way. When their eyes chanced to meet, his heart missed a beat, again and again and again. And the smiles upon her face . . . Yes! That smile was radiant. Although he wanted to go to her, make small talk, he restrained himself, remembering his vow. Now, as he lay on his bed, he hated himself for following reason instead of his emotions. Sadly, too, he did not know her name. It was best that way. Anonymity was noble, or was it? Sam was in love. That was a fact. He knew and understood that love was irrational. That...