Balcony Conversations 1

I am (sadly) at that age where sleep has a habit of pulling Houdini on me. Sleep just ups and goes. Just like that. This makes me feel cheated. Like having a plate of your favourite meal taken from you before you lick it clean.  I work for better part of the day to early evening. The last thing I need when i crush in bed in the cool of the day is having my eight to ten hours of sleep undergoing uncalled for metarmophorsis and turning into a three hour power nap. This means, I'll be up at random hours - like four hours before my wake up alarm is meant to go off.

And I always wonder if God has anything to do with it. I mean, He grants sleep to His beloved so He either has something He needs us to talk about or His love for me is bamba fifte. Ama 8MB bundles of unlimited limited Suffericon connectivity. Such a terrible connectivity that cannot even download a whole mini skirt. Behaves like your gas running out when your tea is just about to boil. ABOUT!

I digress.

When sleep pulls a Kenya Power on me, I end up on my balcony. I sneak out of my bedroom and perch  on my balcony. God has a sense of humor best at these ungodly hours.

Action

0315ish hours 

 

A flat in front of where I live. There is a lady peeping at me cautiously. I perch quietly not moving. How she even saw me yet I was in dark clad I wouldnt know. She goes back in her house, draws her curtains closed, then peeps through the window. SMH. Her lights are on so I can see her. I think she prayed in her vernacular perchance I threw any devils her way.

0330 hours 

Flat across mine to the left.

The bathroom, loo, kitchen and bedroom window got it's lights on.Dude is brushing his teeth teeth in the kitchen. I casually find me hoping he wont spew the mess in the kitchen sink. I can tell it  is his kitchen because those were many mini shelves to be found in a bathroom or anyone's bedroom. Plus he did not move much. He was basically picking and replacing stuff while brushing his teeth. Wow! At last a dude that can multitask. He's taking too much time brushing his teeth than I take milking my mama's cow. 

0350 hours

I get really cozy on my balcony. There's virtually nothing much on my balcony. On the far corner is a mop that broke last week [Mental note for replacement] and a broom. The other item is some huge water backup plan. I get cozy atop it. When did I become flyweight?  I have company sadly. Seemed a mosquito followed me outside as well. I am about to engage it on a conversation then a freshly voice-broken cockerel decides to croak. Jogoo wa shamba hawiki mjini. It must have puffed its pubescent bony chest out because no grown jogoo can be high pitched unless it has gender issues. In fact, never heard a cock crow in this my village. I am certain that a Westerner must have brought it home with them after the Easter holidays. Birdie should write a will and not croak. This jogoo should know neighbourhoods.

0400 hours

 

An early morning hawker setting his wares catches my attention. He's the mama mboga's husband helping his wife set her stuff. It's drizzling a little but Husband here is doing fine shifting jerricans of water. Hmm. A husband that helps you set your wares in place regardless of how mundane your thing is, well, that must be a keeper. No I am not saying y'all men get your water-fetching on.

0405 hours

A Safaripark Hotel staff van is doing drop-offs and pick-ups. But that driver must be terribly  sleepy on the wheel. He did a ten-point reverse yet he was the only traffic on the road at that time.  Poor employees. I hope they arrived at work on time - and alive.

0410hours

Two taxis leave their ramp. Collecting some drunks maybe? Or maybe picking a clande to deliver it in it's rightful homepage before Jimmy Gathu does another faithfulness in marriage/relationships ad.

0430hours 

 

A couple of minutes later, some motorcycle VROOOMS past the flat I live in, defiling the quiet of the night and startling me off my hide. If it were those huge machines I would have appreciated but it was one of those boda boda. I prefer calling them a cab on two wheels. The boda was playing Rose Muhando's Nibeebe. I am certain what was next on that playlist; some track called Waraka.  Song is so long than Dark Knight (the Dark Night I watched was two and half hours long). I quickly make a mental note to make me a "feya", you know those slingshots. Something akin to this:

 I bet you haven't seen this in yonks ey?

Wait. Did I see one, two, three, seven lights come on in 5 different flats?. Apparently that vrooming boda boda was some form of alarm. I could have sworn those houses were owned by mamas but I would be biased so I won't.

Lady peeping at me earlier is back out and about her balcony. She must have figured that I was not intending to use my broom for my nocturnal activities. I would have given her something to tweet about if not a prayer item.

0440 hours

Sliver of moon to my left beneath thick clouds. The night is clearly making its bed just before daybreak make another new debut. I pause and marvel; I mean it was raining a while ago with no sign of clouds letting up way into the day. And now you are sitting there wondering what the fuss? Sorry, but in my books, I am able to see anything's bigger picture by trying not to miss the little nitty gritties of life. 

0450 hours 

I need to head back to sleep. I say a prayer - Ok in between my sights above I have been conversing with God. Sometimes we have those laid back conversations. Or no conversations at all. Sometimes you want to pray but you fall short of words. Perceptions have a way of speaking louder when we are struck by occasional dumbness. 

But I need to tell you what happened to the dude brushing his teeth at 0330 hours above? Brother actually did spit the mess in his kitchen sink!!. WAAARRRGH THOP! I swear I heard it hit the sink.

As an earthling who has a thorough thing in culinary skills, I am having trouble getting that image out of my head. 

To date.

0500 hours

A tremor, that I never felt but its evidence were my little books collection had changed positions, is felt in Nairobi and other places in the country.