RUSSEL'S TALES

The room is dimly lit, and it’s already 8am in the morning. The blinds are really thick and as I walk in my hands brush the strings of beaded cords used to drape the entrance to the room, the effect of my contact with the beaded curtain reverberates a tinkle sound like Pixies dust. I pause, and then considered my next step-left or right- I see the faint angle of the chair and decide to go right towards it. I reach out towards its arm rest, feeling my way along its mahogany and cotton body till I determined it was safe and resting both of my hands on the two arm rest, I let myself softly ease into the chair. Hopefully I didn’t startle her; she lay curled in a ball on the bed, her hair fell loosely around her face hiding her eyes from the faint, laser like ray that streaked through the gap in the curtain.

Adanma. As I stare into her face my stomach churned, and my teeth gritted. I have never felt this way about someone I have only known for only three days but I felt like i could strap myself to a bomb and even throw my hands in the blade for her to be safe. I look at her tightly shut lips as she whimpers in her sleep; she is having another nightmare. The beads of sweat begin to appear greasing her brow and I can only imagine what ghosts haunt her. But I do know, well at least I do know the tip of the iceberg because I was there-it was the night we met; the night she changed my life forever.
It was a Tuesday night I will never forget. My car broke down, actually it was my mother’s car and of all the time to disappoint me it was at the beginning of my career in the movie industry. I was making my directorial debut after so many years of hustling in this city. I had come up with the perfect script and finally had the financial backing to shoot the screenplay-I was officially a film maker. Tonight I shot the first scene; I had worked all day at it and finally was I making my way home from the outskirts of town to the mainland where I lived but I hadn’t even made it across the border into the city when my car broke down, ‘I should have left this car at home. When Friday will not fix the problem-you him give one thing and he wanders off fixing something else…msheeeew’. After popping the hood of the car to let the steam out of the engine I attempted opening the carburetor to pour in some water; it was like a glacier as the water erupted out of the car. Immediately I swung sharply under the car, the water was hot on my arm and I writhed in pain as I lay under the car covered in dust.

After sulking I came out from under the car and dusted myself with my hands brushing and flapping my shirt and pants in all directions. I looked out towards the stretch of road before me; there wasn’t a soul on that dark lane excerpt the bushes thronged with rusted vehicles as a memento of uncared for accidents on both sides of the road. My mind quickly replayed all the stories I had heard of armed robbers attacking people whose car’s broke down on the high way but I quickly brushed them away as my hands motioned across my face and chest in the sign of a cross. ‘I need to find a way out’ I noticed ahead a faint light coming from a bend in the road on the right hand side. Amidst the uncertainty of who I may meet I mustered the courage to check it out- ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ so I thought.

It was about a kilometer from where I was and I walked like a Kenyan in the Olympics, I kept going and continued to strain my ear for any unusual sounds just in case I needed to bolt across the bushes for my life’s sake; I heard nothing unusual and my confidence increased as I could see the bend clearly, it had an old sign board standing at its entrance which read NATIONAL ELECTRIC POWER AUTHORITY at the top. Now I could see the source of the light, it was coming from a truck similar to the type used by the mobile police but the light was right before my eyes and so I couldn’t tell with certainty that it was the police. So I dared further towards the vehicle. I could see much clearly now, it was a mobile vehicle; I wave as I step to the window ‘Well done oh! Please I need your help…is anybody there, please my car broke down on the main road and I saw your car light that is why I came here...I’ but I paused just before I could say another word because I looked inside the window and found to my dismay that there was nobody inside. ‘Maybe they are at the back of the truck sleeping’ but I thought ‘that would be really stupid to rundown the car battery by putting on the light and sleeping’ but I went to the back anyways but there weren’t there, so I continued. In front of me was an abandoned old NEPA power station and close by was the gateman’s quarters; I looked at the one of the gateman’s rooms and saw what looked like a flash light ray swirl around the room but I wasn’t sure because it went off almost as soon as it came on but I continued to walk forward.

Finally at the door, I leaned over and I could hear a frantic shuffling sound and moaning ‘what could be happening’. I rested my hands on the door and gently pushed it and looked through the tiny space; I saw his dark frame backing me, he was bent on all fours with his knees firmly on the ground encasing her legs as he had his pants down to his knees. He laid on top her with his hands firmly pinning her hands to the ground. It was then I heard her voice, it was croaked as if muffled up in cloth as she cried ‘No, no’ (sobbing) It was weak like as if the very life from her was completely drained and she would soon pass out. Suddenly, like as if my feet was unglued and I was pumped up with steroids I pulled him from on top of her, and as he staggered in shock I let my fist smash right into his jaw; the pain that rushed through my knuckles was piercing-it wasn’t like in the movies where the actor was immune to the pain.

TO BE CONTINUED