"Ma'am! You dropped your book..." he called from behind me as I walked through the city library doors. The words sounded like they came from a stranger, but his voice, his voice greeted me with the fondness of a friend. When I turned, I could have sworn I found both, a person I never knew, with familiar creases in his smile.
" 'Hadithi ya nyumbani kwa naf'si' by Nyumbani Phiri" he said softly, "this is a pretty old book, it's good, but you might wanna hold on to it a little tighter, I won't always be there to pick it up for you."
"Well you don't have to always be there, maybe just until I finish reading." We both laughed when I said this, and then there was a pause, a mutual confusion hovered between us. It felt like that moment you have just woken up and your brain is still trying to figure out where you are, but we just couldn't get it.
"Have we met?" he said, "I'm sorry, I just feel like... I know you."
"I was wondering the same thing." I replied, "what's your name?"
"Sanmi."
"Hello Sanmi, my name is Lerato. Pleasure to maybe meet you? Again?"
He laughed when I said this, "the pleasure is all mine." And when he smiled, I knew in that moment...