The Night That Never Was

It’s Friday evening, I think it is 1700 hrs. My friends are busy. With what? I didn’t care to ask. There is a certain mood in the air. Did I mention its February? So I think its love. I spit. Love is still a bitter taste in my mouth, a concept I refuse to grab (too much emotional dependency). Emotional vulnerability is not one of my strong suit. So many couples, I think I am the only single person around here. I don’t care though.

I walk looking at the poor, surprisingly stable, show of architecture. Some buildings though, are well thought out and beautiful. I admire those. Not for long though, I have a night to waste. Might as well start now.

I’m at my favorite place now, THE SHRINE. One quick look at my plug. He’s in the Stratosphere. That’s why we call the place NASA. Because here, you can only go up. Excites me every time. I bought two joints. I use not abuse (important to note the difference). I light one up, the sound of a new flame coming to life for the first time, nothing like it. I sit down with the plug, we elevate and talk about everything.

This time he’s drilling me on why I’m single. “Love is a beautiful thing.” He keeps saying. Why I am I single? I still can’t answer that one yet. Maybe I’m looking for someone weird enough, maybe it’s the 82 year-old soul crammed in a 21 year-old body. He says I’m either gay or I have a connection problem I’m not gay so it is the latter one. We laugh for the next 20 minutes. It is always a funny time with the guy.

Its 8:30 now, I am hungry so I pass by my usual spot to feast. Looks like it is going to be a boring night. I had a heavy meal, and by heavy, I mean HEAVY! Off to the Batcave, my place. Yes, “I am Batman!” (Insert Christian Bale’s voice for movie effect). Oh! And don’t tell anyone. 2200 hrs. I grab a quick shower, throw on some clothes and the night begins!

With nothing but a couple of hundreds, my thirst for Guinness and a joint, I leave the house and hitch a matatu. Music playing. Caught a vibe in that P.S.V.

Moja kwa moja (step by step) to the club. At the entrance, I look around. Man! There are a lot of pretty ladies in this city. Don’t talk to them though, I just observed for a minute then I was in! No friends with me so I zip line to the counter. Tim’s working the counter tonight. Tim is a GENIUS!! But he works here because it has the two things he’s most excited about, Alcohol and beautiful lasses. He sees me and lights up.

“What’s up!” he almost screams, but tries to maintain his ‘cool’. “Maryjoe to the ceiling.” I reply, fist bump! “Lots of pretty ones tonight.” He mentions, in a voice that still creeps me out two years into knowing the guy. I don’t have much interest in them, when I was 18, oooh I would have been all up in there. Now I lost the psyche. He hands me a shot of whisky, I down it. Like a stone to ground. I do two more and order a beer. As he gets the beer, I down 4 more shots, just to be sure the buzz is there, as I spot an empty table to sit. Found it! As I bring my eyes back to the counter, I spot her.

“My God!” is what even an atheist would have said. The most beautiful being I have ever seen in my life! That is not a figure of speech. She was like something straight out of a music video. The classiest looking lass. The essence of an African Queen. She wearing a floral dress and one of those head scarves with an African print. Looking real Princessish. I will admit it, I was dumbfounded. Staring at her, not looking, not observing, but staring. I gently nudge Tim and show him, he is blown away too. His exact words being, “Brathe, kama hauna Benz hapo huwezi make” (if you don’t have a Benz there is no way you’re getting there). I don’t believe in that stereotype, after all even Enzo Ferrari was a lowly farmer when he began. I had to meet her. Confidence has never been a problem, just interest, what’s the worst she can do? It is not like she’ll shoot me or anything. Maybe snub me? Which is nothing out of the ordinary for any human being.

So, I pick myself up. 5’6 I don’t know much about standing tall but, I can stand. That counts for something right? Grab my beer and make a B line to where she (and her friends) were seated. I greet them like the gentleman I am and divert my attention to her. She gives me this look of confusion. I don’t think she is used to being approached like that. I complement her on her beauty, I’m nervous as hell nobody notices though, she gives me the warmest smile and says Thank you. Their drinks have arrived. Not one to cramp anyone’s style I leave them to it.

Finally at my table, with my beer, observing. I just want to drink tonight. Get drunk and go home. Lost in my thoughts 10 minutes in when I heard a chair bring pulled up. I look up and behold! There she is. Why she chose to come here, I don’t know. She sits and places her wine on the table then looks at me and says, “With the confidence you have. I didn’t peg you as a loner.” I still couldn’t believe she was at my table. “Maybe, being a loner gives me all of this confidence.” I quickly pick myself up from the completely and utterly stupid facial expression. It is a useful skill I learned because I can’t hide a facial expression.

We had a moment of silence, not like an awkward silence, but the kind that lasts all of five seconds but feels like an eternity. Isn’t it funny how within such a short time you can see a lot of someone and find yourself at awed by them. I looked at her and I just couldn’t help gazing into her eyes. Those eyes reflecting the club light. The sheer beauty they displayed. Her eyes taunted me yet, gave me a certain peace. The way she smiled brought out the light in a shadily lit room. I will admit it, I was tongue tied for a second because honestly, I wasn’t really expecting or hoping I’d get this far. But Alas! I am here. I could describe this amazing model of a lady. From how her eyebrow raises when she tastes something bitter to her calm siren like voice. But, that would mean another whole story.

“You have a set of gorgeous eyes on you.” I catch myself and break the silence.

“Oh why thank you,” came the reply. “You have an irresistibly telling pair yourself.” She added in a muse like voice. You see I’ve been told a lot of things, but I have never been told that my eyes are “irresistibly telling.” I have been told a lot of things but never before have I been told that my eyes are ‘irresistibly telling.’

“Telling huh? What they tell you?” I asked. She sets her wine glass aside then comes within 2 inches of my face. Our noses almost touching! I played it cool, as is the way of the Young Oracle, though. She looks deep into my eerily dark eyes for a whole moment. Then she says, “They tell me you’re alone….”

“Clearly, after all I came here alone.”

“No, not that, I mean you are alone in this existence. You’re not like other people. Your eyes tell me you have seen more in life than you wanted to. And it did something to you. Your eyes tell me you’re both Bliss and Chaos. Your eyes tell me to stay away from you.”

Just like that, she had y full, undivided attention.

“What if my eyes lie?” I ask. She lets out a smirk and says, “They cannot lie. Especially to someone who sees them as clearly as me.”

“Ahah… You see them clearly huh? So, are you going to listen to them? I ask her this time with a smirk on my face.

“And stay away from you? No, I could’ve but there is just something about you.” She says while making herself more comfortable.

“Is it my devilishly charming smile maybe?” I reply. We share a light laugh and she tells me not to be dumb.

I tell her some jokes hoping they are not total disasters. I was pleasantly surprised she laughed. I don’t mean the ‘hehe, dry joke but I’ll laugh because we are here together’, I man really laughing. That ‘ugly’ laugh that you never really let out unless something is hysterical. With her though even the ‘ugly’ laugh was breathtakingly beautiful. All I could think though at that time was, “HAYIA! Anacheka!” (HAYIA! She is laughing). If you don’t know what HAYIA! Means I am sorry I can’t help you.

A few more laughs here and there then we found ourselves dead locked eye to eye again staring at each other. this time however, there was a certain attraction. I could have sworn it was a good 10 minutes. Ten minutes of staring into her numbingly seductive eyes.

It wasn’t about that though at that moment though. She was in my head. She saw some shit when she looked my soul through its windows but, she was not afraid. We spent the next 2 hours and some drinks talking about things that are beyond us.

By now, her scarf is off to reveal her wavy hair as it gracefully rested on her shoulders. Wow! I mean WOW! If this was a dream, I wanted to dream for eternity and a day.

After some conversations about history, aliens, stars, life, humanity, the Oceans, and her curving a number of dudes (I stopped counting after three) because we caught a buzz and we are both into weird shit apparently, “I like you.” She goes. “I like you too.” I confess words which would be a contender for understatement of the year. Uuuh! Look at the time. It is 1AM now so she tells me she has to go now. Frankly as much as I didn’t want it to end, I had to go too. Looking at her thinking about how good an experience this was. She was a well-rounded lady. She had a way with words and leaving her vicinity made me feel a little sick. Looking at her, I could tell she felt somewhat of the same. As we stand up, she reaches into her purse and hands me her phone. No mixed signals here, I put in my number on her phone then give it back to her. As we are about to leave, she comes closer to me and plants a kiss squarely on my lips FIREWORKS in my head. It lasts a minute and she thanks me then we separate. She waves goodbye as I watch her and her friends leave.

Going back to the counter, still very woozy from the kiss and all the alcohol “Eish my guy!” Tim’s voice brings me back to planet Earth. “Una uchawiiii? Au nini?” he asks as I chuckle and down one last shot for the night. “Ni bahati tu brathee” I finally answer him after briefly nursing the tequila burn. We bid each other goodbye and I leave the building. Batman Out!!

In a mat on the way home music blasting but I couldn’t hear any of it. She was on my mind. I was a full blown idiot now.

So, I get home and I get ready for bed. All this time, I was thinking about this lady who had me dumbfounded (ME of all people) and whose name I realized I didn’t even know. “That really did happen huh.” I tell myself. My eyes are heavy now. But, just when I was about to fall asleep, I hear my phone ring. New number. I don’t like those but I answer regardless. Phone to ear, I hear, “Hey there….” It’s her. [To be continued]