Gilly had sat on the verandah pondering of what life would be . .He would
sit quietly in distress thinking about everything possible he was going to do
to come out from the pot of abject poverty .
A thought came to his mind and he
remembered what his old grandfather had told him at the time he was relocating
to the West Indies. The grandfather had
informed him that when life gives you
lemon turn it into a lemonade. He said to himself that never will he live a
life of regrets. He is going to turn a
new leaf. Gilly was born in a family of twelve and was the first born son in their family.
His father worked as a taut at Waland street
under the Express Vans Motors. He could
hardly get enough money in the day to
fend for the entire family. He could get
as low as five rubies or even seven on
the other days that he called the
luckier ones. He had traditionally married seven wives all aged
between sixteen to nineteen. Already
four of them are incapacitated by the pregnancies. Gilly's family lived in a
very poor background and acquiring meals was a challenge and mores so the
clothes. They lived in a desolate house which had a lot of crevices. At
night, the moon could emit its light and could brighten the house.
One could hardly catch a sleep nor tell
whether it was in the morning or at night!
This was the very house that Gilly's
grandfather had passed on to Gilly's father the time he had relocated to the
West Indies. Gilly remembers the kind of
clothes he wore especially his one pair of Blue short that had patches all
over. His playmates used to tease him that it was like as if it had torches
pinned on everywhere. He too remembers how they
used to perch on one bench which was the only available furniture
in the very house as some of his siblings could squat as they await for their
breakfast .As they sat, they appeared
like heavenly brooding birds as they
await for the only available meal. This was the hot porridge their mother could afford to
offer to
her children. It was usually served from a large sufuria.
They would take porridge with no sugar and
within a minute everything was cleared. One Sunday morning Gilly, went to a
neighbouring church. What a fortunate
day! As the saying goes that every day has its silver lining, this was
the time Gilly saw light at the end of
the tunnel. Some Missionaries had paid a visit to one of the temple. One of
them spotted Gilly from a distance and
was moved by the way Gilly would get engaged in singing. He would sing and praise
melodiously without minding the way he had dressed. The missionary who got
impressed in Gilly was Mr. White. He was a white man light skinned as the name suggested,
had drooping ears , grey but curly hair
and a goatee. He was dressed in silk marooned blazer. He was in grey pair of
trousers and stripped white t- shirt. He put on black leather pair of shoes. Upon
spotting Gilly, Mr. White immediately guessed that Gilly was from a humble background. Indeed the answer he had guessed
at was a plain truth. This was from the
way Gilly was
dressed. He was in a torn pair of shorts and slippers that was out of
age and more so of different colours. The slippers could not match! One of them
was blue while another was
red .He wore on his right and left feet respectively....
Gilly
had seen himself now as a shipwrecked clinging to a bit of wreckage. but
it had dawned on him. He, for a long time , had kept burying his face in his hands thinking hard on how he
would ease himself from a pot of poverty
.This situation had made him have sleepless nights and for so many years. His
father could not afford any penny for his children's school fees , clothing and other essential
provisions including a good family house... immediately after the service, Ezekiel,
one of the missionaries could not wait but hurriedly approached Gilly. He asked
Gilly
how he had ended up getting to such a situation. Gilly recalled with
bitterness how he was forced to be a
street boy out of harsh reality of life. He at one time earned his living from
that City's hostile street.
He would steal to the street whenever his
father was not home and would get to a busy lane .He would sit under a shackle,
gets out a blue plastic bowl his
grandfather that bought him when he had gone on a mission in a renowned country.
voices and footsteps could be strongly heard as they approached and Gilly would count on luck. He knew the more the
number of pedestrians that ply the route, the greater the benefit he would get
from those good hearted people thus he would get some coins for his upkeep.
Ezekiel believed in rescuing and assisting
such less fortunate young souls for most have ended up realizing their dreams .
Just as the saying goes ," Dreams come true." Ezekiel, a man in his mid - thirties with
soft slightly grey hair began, "We are interested in you
Gilly .We are so much attracted by the
way you praise your creator...having
explained to us all your life, we are going to come to your aid. From today you
will be getting all the assistance you
may require." Gilly, cupping his hands on his oval shaped face ,he uttered
with excitement that he never imagined
this would ever happened to him for he had depended on luck for eighteen years
now and especially from the harsh
street.
Ezekiel handed him a suitcase and
briefcase both maroon in colour whose
contents were not revealed at that time. He informed Gilly that all his details
would be taken the following morning for Ezekiel and his team was still in the
country for incomplete mission. He clasped both the suitcase and briefcase on his lap as his gaze was fixed on the
distant hills. It came to his realization that some contents were cool money in
dollars currency worth $200.
His heart throbbed a sound of a dingdong saw. A friend of mine
had once told me that poverty has no defense so then Gilly, with a
sigh, uttered to himself "I will ensure that I come out of this situation. The
same day at night , as usual, he got his mat and a sack of rags. He headed to
the to the corner of their house. Despite
the jigger -infested floor, as the whole family, Gilly could try to catch a
sleep. He had done so for a long period of time. As his younger siblings could
be heard snoring, Gilly had his eyes fully opened. The sound tsakatsaka could
come from the dry leaves of mangroves they were sleeping on. They had been
collecting any time they wished to add .They would do so from their neighbouring farm every time the
leaves dropped from the mangrove plantations.
Gilly unearthed the floor with
his finger the soil and emptying into an
old sock he had wore over time immemorial. He made sure no one sees it as it
was his only luck. He rolled the money that was in paper form as cigarettes and
slipped into the hole he had dug. He
slept with one eye open lest someone breaks
into the house .This was quite a pompous arrangements because in their
region it was famous of individuals who
were known to operate deep murky
businesses. This was a like of Mr. Nelson.
Nelson was a famous underworld gang leader.
Though he was pompous , he was an arrogant fellow...He showed amorous manners. This
was evident when he had visited Mzee Calif who worked in Western City of
Clifford Street. Mzee Calif had hired a nanny by the name Deane. Deane was such
a pretty girl. She had long neck , very full but firm breasts, a dimple , a
smooth oval shaped baby face , a hooked navel and rounded bosom which lured men
if not suitors to keep turning to see her as she passes by. Nelson had crossed
the granite hills far from Western city to check on Mzee Calif .He was always
driven in an expensive white Mercedes
vehicle.
Upon reaching Mzee Califf grandiose villas,
he was first attracted to lady Deanne. Deanne had welcomed them with a glass of
wine which she had removed from the newly bought refrigerator. Nelson stood and
overstretched his shaky hands with an intention of touching her breasts. Deanne
had to withdrew his hands and gave him some insults which rendered him resume
to his seat.
No one knew exactly the kind of business
Nelson transacted. Some said he was a military officer while some said he was a
commander. He was always driven by Kelly , a man he has trusted for a long time.
Kelly is a kind hearted man , a jovial being and medium in size. He is always
dressed in full official uniform, wears a donning a fade haircut that marches
well with a wide gap in between his whitened upper teeth .Sometimes he puts on
a broad- brimmed hat that cost him a thousand dollars.