A New Life

I don't remember feeling the vacuum left by my bothers my mother when then moved permanently to the village. My step brothers covered that vacuum perfectly or maybe I got used to it. We even became so close with my step brother during the one year that we schooled together that we started adopting bad habits. It started with skipping school.

We would monitor the movement of Mzee and his firstborn son to ensure they have left for work so we could go back. While they were at work, we would spent most of the off-school hours loitering. I would have all the time I needed to build toys. And when I was not making the toy cars, we were driving them.

We lived by the road, so we made it our playground. I would tie a string to the front of my own-made toy car and pull it.

Those days, there weren’t many cars on the road. I remember the two of us sitting by the roadside - when we got tired of playing - to count passing cars. We would each choose a direction and compete who counts the most cars. Winning was pure chance but it was fun. Sometimes we felln over who takes which side or whose count was higher.

This particlar day, I remained behind after a related conflict as we walked back home. I was passionate about every toy I made and I'd watch closely the toy as I pulled it. To see it moving, I had to walk while facing backward. I would frequently look forwards, but only at a glance to see where my next steps would go. The road was smooth and there weren't many vihicles on the road that afternoon. I had already covered tens of meters walking backwards, enjoying the view of my small car following me gradually. As I turned to scan the road for my next steps, something hit me hard on the face, nocking me unconscious. It was a bicycle!

It was a customized Black Mamba bike. It had a customized steel carriage on its front, designed to hold light items and a rectangular metalic seat at the back for currying heavy loads or a passager.

When I regained consciousness, hysterically trying to recollect what had happened, the rider varnished. I found myself a ditch, about five meters off the road. People hard started gathering around me.