Stick People

Stick people are so much fun. They do not have heavy flesh or gaudy clothes. They do not have to worry about the money. They are sticks- a combination of sticky fingers and sticky feet, with round bubbles for head and stick for necks, with a stick for the back and stick for the stomach. Stick people do not have stomachs and no buttocks; they have no hearts or lungs. But they live. They breathe and walk around. They wake up and fall asleep, they eat and sit. These stick people.

Njeru was a stick man. He had a stick wife and two stick children – a boy and a girl. The stick family lived in a mud house not far from our home in the village of Karunganga. Ever since I knew him, he lived from hand to mouth for he was jobless. He was carrying out a number of odd jobs so that he could earn just a little to feed his family. When there was nothing to do, he would walk from house to house begging.

“Saidia maskini,” he would say

For the longest time people used to give him money. Then slowly, his stick figure started swelling. He became fat and lazy. He was no longer walking to peoples home. He looked for the perfect spot. He chose a place where people would be walking up and down all through the day. He selected the junction. The junction was quite far from his house. He would wake up early in the morning and go home late in the evening. He made money- a lot of money although no one knew just how much he took home.

The trick worked until one day. It was a normal day in Karunganga- the sun was up and the wind was just at the right speed. Njeru was dressed in his tattered school-boy green shorts that had a patch at the back. He was shirtless that day, just as he usually was on such warm and windless days. A young woman stopped before him. She was slim, tall and full of smiles. Njeru was blinded by her smile. He did not see the almost tattered clothes she was wearing and the almost empty bag she was carrying.

“Can I sit here?” she asked pointing at a spot next to him.

He almost said no but changed his mind immediately he looked up and saw her big round eyes. The girl sat after folded her dress under her knees. She was silent for long and Njeru was not sure whether he should talk to her or not. After a long silence, she spoke.

“Do you have anything to eat? I’m hungry.”

She comes to sit at my spot and now she wants my food? Who is this woman? Njeru thought. He was quiet for a while making the woman think he had not heard her.

‘I said I’m hungry. Do you have food?”

“No food.” He replied looking away.

“Then give me the money.”

“What money?”

“That” she pointed at the coins inside his begging bowl.

“You want me to give you my money?”

She nodded

“No way. It is mine. Find yours.”

Her huge eyes opened wide as she stared at him while pouting.

“I will take it.”

“Don’t dare.”

“I will.”

“No.” Njeru picked his bowl just before the girl reached for it.

Just as he was about to put the money in his pocket the girl jumped at him, trying to snatch as few coins as she can. Njeru defended his cash by pushing the girl off him. She fell down with a loud thud, making Njeru turn to look at her. He was about to laugh but the whimpers and sobs of the young woman before him stopped him. His amused face was immediately replaced with a worried look.

He made to help the girl up but she screamed. The scream was so loud that a few passers-by were curious enough to stop and stare.

Everyone was wondering why Njeru- the beggar, was fighting with a young woman. While most of them stared, some of the courageous ones went close to the scene.

“Njeru, niki?”

Before he could answer, the girl increased her voice and sniffed.

“He pushed me.” She said while pointing at Njeru.

“I did not. You. You wanted to steal from me.”

The girl cried even more at that, and Njeru felt bad. After listening to the two sides of the story, it was decided that Njeru should give the girl, Wambui some money for food. He counted some coins and threw at her. Wambui picked them up eagerly and tied them in a lesso before she got up. The villages started walking away one by one once they saw that everything was settled.

Njeru sat down sulking, waiting for the end of the day. He kept counting his money over and over again. He was still mad and it showed on his face. His ire was too much, he decided to go home.

To get to his home, he had to pass through a number of footpaths after getting off the road. In his bad mood, he was not in the position to entertain anyone. He was still thinking of the day’s event when he heard ruffling leaves. He stopped in his track and turned back. Nothing. He made two steps and he heard footsteps behind him. He turned with the intention of hitting the person behind him but stopped once he saw Wambui.

“Ngai. Ni we!”

She smiled without answering.

“What do you want?”

“I don’t have where to sleep.”

Now she wants to sleep in my house. She took my money now she wants to take my house. Mwadhani taidhia!

“And how can I help you?”

“Let me sleep with you”

Njeru said a little prayer. He would not mind her sleeping beside him but he had a lot to lose. He kept calling Jesus’ name.

“Let me sleep in your house.”

“No.”

“You are a mean man, Njeru. Where do you want me to sleep?”

“Why do I care? You stole from me.”

“But you pushed me down”

“You took my money.”

She started crying.

“No. Don’t cry, again.”

That just made her cries even more.

“Stop crying, eh. You will sleep in my house.” Njeru relented, and as if by magic the girl stopped crying and followed him to his house.

Three months later, Wambui’s belly began to show. Her slim silhouette started becoming rounder and rounder. Njeru still went to the junction to earn his living. His well-fed body started shrinking. The stick man that he was ages ago started reappearing. His hands became longer. His eyes became shrunken. He needed more money now. His wife and kid will need something to eat and the money he was getting from the begging business was not enough. He had to do something, and he had to do it fast before the bundle of joy arrived. With the economy, the people were meaner with their money. He has not making as much money as before. He kept regretting falling into temptation.

I should have said no to Wambui. But what man says no to a woman who is crying? That woman is blessed. The food she cooked! He licked his fingers as he remembered. He remembered how she had pleased him the night away.

“I should have known. Woii, I should have known,” he said to himself. She had all this planned ou-te fiasco at the junction and following me home that night.

He went back to begging from one door to the next. ‘Saidia maskini’ was not working any more. People had gotten tired of it. He had to come up with new stories. Stories that will help him earn money for the day.

©Beenduta 2012