The Kindness of a Stranger
Wangari was growing tired of her toxic family. One of her brothers had let out his goats to eat the remaining of her maize plants. Wangari had sworn to report the issue to the area Chief. She hurriedly wrapped her grey kitenge wrap on her kinky hair. Today would be the day of reckoning. It was time she stood up for herself.
She found the Chief in a meeting with members of a neighbouring family who had a land dispute. She decided to wait them out. Lastly, her chance came. She walked into the Chiefs office and sat down in the worn-out chair close to the door. Meja, a vernacular transition for Major, was the area Chief for close to a decade. He was a well-educated man who had recently become the talk of the village after marrying a second wife. Meja was known to be a fierce man. At five feet three, Meja was dark and plump, a result of his insatiable appetite for meat and the local mukimo.
Wangari understood men like Meja. Their desire for recognition and influence. If she played her cards right, she would get Meja to stand up to her brothers and parents. Meja took his time to ask Wangari to state her issues. He loved it when women came to seek his help. He explained to Wangari how work had become tough especially with the new government. Luckily, the government had given them a salary raise which helped to keep him energetic for the growing responsibilities. Wangari responded by praising his leadership and great effort to make the locality safe and thriving.
The Chief explained that he had to rush somewhere but would pass by Wangari’s home in the afternoon. Wangari smiled back at the Chief who was clearly enjoying his show of power. She headed home to resume her chores which included digging up sweat potatoes to sell in the next day at the market. Wangari was an industrious woman who was left to fend for her two children when her husband left her for another woman. With two kids in secondary school, Wangari had ample time to thrive in her business ventures. Her success has attracted the jealous of her brothers and parents. They opposed her every effort to integrate with the rest of the family. The insulted her for losing her husband and labelled her a prostitute. Wangari had sank into depression trying to deal with all the trauma she received from them. They stole her farm produce, drove away her friends, and attempted to turn her two children against her. However, she had held on. She had sought the help of her pastor who advised her to turn to prayer and fasting. God knows that Wangari had prayed and fasted so that her family could love her for years. She was now tired. She decided to take matters into her own hand.
The Chief had passed by as he had promised. Together, they had sought out the brother who explained that Wangari’s land was his own, since no woman was allowed to inherit her fathers land. The Chief had tried to calm the situation and warned the brother against further trespass. Later, that night the Chief visited Wangari. The visit was unexpected and Wangari assumed the Chief wanted a bribe for helping her out that day. Wangari played along and put some cash in an envelope to give to the government man. Meja was not one to refuse cash so he took it and asked that Wangari make him some tea. As they took the tea, Meja tried to steer the conversation by praising Wangari’s beauty and character. He asked her how she managed to survive without a man by her side. Wangari brushed off the comments and said that she needed to sleep as she had an early day at the market the following day. It seemed to Wangari that Meja was determined to get more than a bribe that night. He made an attempt to fondle her which surprised Wangari. She stood up and opened the door and asked the Chief to leave. The Chief was not pestered. He proceeded to take off his shirt and demanded that Wangari close the door. He proceeded to state that Wangari was no child and that she must meet his manly needs if she expected him to protect her from her brothers. All this made Wangari angry and she felt a new strength build within her. She took her coat and left the house. She walked for so long until her anger started to wear off. She could not believe that Meja was such a bully. She knew the man had an ego problem but she never though he would go to such lengths to disgrace himself. She sat by a tree and listened as the crickets sang into the night. She would await day break so she could return to her house. She was glad she had decided to walk away from Meja. In the early days of her marriage, she had learnt how to deal with abusive men. Her husband had been one, always ready to fight her any chance he got. She had tried to fight back severally but she learnt that men were physically strong and her only chance was to ran whenever a man got unreasonable. Under that stary sky, Wangari hoped that one day her life would be peaceful.
The following morning, Wangari walked back to her home. Luckily, she met no one on her way home. She tiptoed into her house, hoping that Meja had already left. She showered and packed her luggage to go to the market. She knew it would be a difficult day as the shock of what had transpired with the Chief was still fresh in her mind. She later received a call from a friend who warned her not to go home that night. The friend informed her that her family had sworn to lynch her if she stepped foot in her father’s compound. Meja was also part of the plan as he had been bribed by the family. They had accused her of witchcraft and prostitution.
Wangari was devastated. She loved her house which she had built slowly with proceeds from her business. She had bought goats and chicken to supplement her income. The plot of land was given to her by her late grandfather, much to the opposition of her father. She shared her troubles with her friend at the market who promised to host her until she resolved her issues with her family. Unfortunately, Wangari’s woes were far from over. Her friend had advised her to purchase a plot of land which was up for sale in the next town. They arranged to proceed with the purchase the following week as Wangari was still in shock. The land purchase ended up to be a fraud case as it had been sold to multiple people. As far as Wangari knew, she would never get her money back. She was stuck in her friend’s house, too afraid to go back home. She was numb for days.
The savings she had left she rented her a house so that her children could have somewhere to stay. She paid her rent upfront. As she awaited her children to close, she had the idea to disappear into a far place, find peace and calm. One night as her children watched TV, she had an honest talk with them. She told them of her depression and the fall out with her family. She told them that she had to leave or else she would lose her mind. She packed a few clothes and some food and left. She said she would be back before the holidays were over. Wangari had no idea where she was going. She got into a bus headed to Nairobi. When she got to Nairobi, she headed for the railway station and sat by the station for hours. She had no idea where to head and all the money she had she had left it with her children. She sat there in a trance. Passengers arrived and departed leaving her sitting there like a statue. She was startled when a woman started to ask for directions. She was heading to Nanyuki and was not sure which bus station to use. One of the men close by explained that one of the old trains was leaving for Nanyuki that night. The woman asked Wangari where she was heading to, Wangari was tongue tied. She lied she was also waiting for the train to Nanyuki. Wangari lied that she had gone to visit a relative in Nanyuki. The woman was excited to have a travelling companion. She told Wangari about her life in Germany. She had just completed her fellowship and was eager to join her husband in Nanyuki where he had bought a farm. The farm had been in operation for three years and the lady was eager to help her husband run the farm. The lady invited Wangari to stay with them for a few days.
Fast forward, Wangari ended up working for her friend at the Nanyuki farm. Getrude, the stranger from the railway station ended up being a close friend to Wangari. Wangari opened up about her situation with Getrude. Getrude introduced her to a therapist. Luma, a young man from West Africa was a practising therapist in Germany. He was also eager to visit Getrude’s ranch. When he did visit, he met Wangari, who now worked as a marketer for the ranch. The two fell in love and started making wedding plans. In a span of a few months, Wangari had changed from being labelled a prostitute and a witch, to being a fiancé to a West African therapist and a successful marketer. Her trauma had partly healed and she was excited about life once more. All thanks to the kindness of a stranger.
# Life Stories
