Wounds of a Man

By Agufa Kivuya (Kenya)

CHAPTER FIVE

Being a senior official at the criminal investigation department Junior was privy to so many secrets. He always bragged he had concrete evidence to incriminate and put behind bars almost all leaders and government officials. Even the details about the death of the president’s wife were with him.

The leader knew it that is why nobody would dare touch him for fear of reprisal. He was simply untouchable and he enjoyed it. Using his craftiness, he had perched his nest high on a cliff like an eagle away from disturbances and encumbrances. These were some of the best jobs in the world and he really enjoyed them. The job had given him a chance to know details the heads of the country.

One Saturday as he traversed his neighborhood, his eyes caught a glimpse of a tall, brown slim lady airing her clothes on the cloth line just outside his room. Her charming dimples just would not let him go. He had lived in the apartment for quite some time but he had never seen this lady. “Whose wife could this be?” He thought as he strode forward.

It was after some minutes that he realized he was standing next to the lady and staring at her like a crazy man. He blushed and said in haste, “Sorry young lady I was just admiring your dreadlocks.” The lady smiled back and the smile troubled Junior as he went towards the door of his room. Thoughts kept flushing through his mind, but Junior loved his wife too much to allow an intruder to come in between.

After staying three years in the neighboring war-torn nation, Akinyi had done enough to transform her physical appearance. Her penchant for permed hair had been replaced by dreadlocks. Rarely did she dress in tight trousers as was her liking time back and she had done enough to feign a Jamaican accent all in effort to through away any suspicious stare. And it had worked, for she could walk around the estate without raising an eyebrow.

That night Junior could hardly sleep. He had never thought of an extramarital affair, but after seeing the girl he was cudgeling his brain. He likened the girl to a bait river where he was only fishing around.

Since his wife Tausi was far away and he could not rule out a flirtation with the lady. Although Junior adored Tausi too much to marry another wife.

Things moved too fast and Junior and the Jamaican lady had become good friends. They could watch and listen to music together and eventually eat dinner together. Junior would have married the Jamaican lady, who introduced herself as Faith, if only he had met her before Tausi, a very beautiful woman. Faith was classy and sophisticated in comparison to Tausi, who was beautiful and had all the qualities of a good wife, while he felt Faith lacked some of wifely qualities.

“What really made a high government official in such a sensitive department like yours choose to live in a middle class A apartment like this?” Faith broached a sweaty topic that he had never even shared with his wife. She was starting something and Junior could already smell it. He had to play his cards right and working with the intelligence department he was sharp at that.

“You know it’s really hard for a bachelor like me to come up with life in leafy suburbs,” he lied, “and I had I not opted for this place I would have never met you. I would have missed out on a beautiful lady like you. And who knows I would have not married at all because somebody else would have taken my rib. I think. you are the reason I’m leaving here. It was predestined that. i would come here and meet a lovely lady from Jamaica and save her from many things.

Faith blushed and said jokingly, “stop lying to me. I guess you are a miser just holding back to cash.”

“Me? A miser? Never. In the first case I even did not understand the disembodied forces that kept on urging me towards this place. Now that I’ve met you I can comprehend the rationale behind it. Fate was linking us together”.

Faith went on with the investigations,” Are you married?”



Junior was quite uneasy with this question even though Faith didn’t realize it. “No,” he said twisting his palm for Faith to see the ringless ring finger.

“At your age why you are not married and yet you are financially stable?” Faith inquired.



“You know my job is quite demanding and I have never had time to settle down and seriously consider marriage.”

Faith was quite puzzled. “So you have never dated in your life? “No, I have once dated.”

“Then what happened.”



“My fiancé eloped with my best friend when I had given her all my trust and heart. She just tore my heart apart. And that is one of the pillars that has held me single up to now.

Faith, seeing that the talk had invoked bitter memories in him, kept the topic a side. “Don’t worry I’m there for you. I will be too wonderful to you and you will never think about her a gain. Believe me darling.”

For the first time Faith found herself seated on his lap caressing his beard as she spoke comforting words to him. Junior’s love for Tausi was intense, and as they talk he would occasionally break away to think about fond memories of Tausi. The love for Tausi was deeply entrenched in him, making the urge to tell Faith that he was married slowly dissipate. He kept on postponing it until he had no chance left to call a spade a spade. The temptations were too much for him and he was overwhelmed. Now he had only one option left, to keep Tausi in the dark until his mission at the estate would come to end, and then he would disappear without leaving a single footstep in the vicinity. So he had to play his cards right.

Faith was now cohabiting with him and to ask her off was too hard for him. Junior had just accepted her marriage proposal only on one condition, a permanent marriage. A thing Faith also wanted.

Faith had just married a man who could match her mind. In the future she envisaged going back home like the prodigal son, with a superb husband that her father would not reject. Junior was intelligent, handsome and quite wealthy, qualities Faith’s father would not let go. She was going to make Junior the happiest man on earth. After reconciling with his father, she would pester him to appoint Junior into the cabinet.

Faith was willing to jump from the clouds into the ocean because of Junior. Junior had stolen her heart away. She had seen many but Junior was exceptional, exactly her rib. For once she could agree with her father that Chitu was just a spoiler of her bright future.

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