loved an audience and he lived on that. He was just seven but he could read the stories his Father wrote him like he was chanting a prayer. I came to learn that humans are as diverse as chairs. Chairs all have splinters but humans have blood. Humans have same components and they behave and think differently. I was glad to witness this in Michael’s house. He had four children. All four were very different. I had predicted that the twins would be trouble, but little did I know Shelley would cause her parents endless nightmares. She was ten thousand times Nancy, and one bit her Father.
August 3rd 1982
I hate August for good reasons. This year was not a good one. Michael came home one afternoon and fell on me. He just slumped, but this time it was not exhaustion. He went numb and for the life of me I have never screamed that much. Everybody told me to keep quiet. The blue wall said I was shaking up every particle of paint in her. The lamp stand could not stand still. The new sofa-set, she was the worst-she just laughed. She kept saying that my scream was insulting because the humans would never hear it. I hate that long piece of elegant wood! She just basked in her beauty like she was made of gold and us-dust! Nancy had gone to get lunch with Shelley. I prayed for hours and promised God my wooden soul if he could have it. Nancy came home half an hour later and I will say she did scream loud enough for the whole country to hear. They took Michael to the hospital. She did not come home until 8:00pm. Her hair was out of place and her eyes sunken. She called Michael’s niece and told her to take care of the children. Leon was the one she left in charge. The little man just looked at her and asked, “Is he going to get better?” Nancy who had always been witty forgot her motherhood instincts and said “I don’t know Leon, I just don’t know, but we can hope.”
“He will be fine Mama. You wait and see.”
“Thank you Papa. You know you are my best friend, now take good care of your brothers and sister. Now that Daddy is sick, you are the Man of this house. I expect the best from you.”
“Yes Mama.” Leon watched his Mother leave. He stood beside the door for a while then looked at me. He got the others ready for supper and after they ate, he saw Shelley to bed then switched off the lights. He left only the security lights on and smiled at me. There were things I was not prepared to learn about him but I knew he would come to me. He had the same look that Michael had every evening. He wanted to confess. I was willing to listen to him. Leon came to me at 2:00am. He sat on me and folded his feet. When I looked at him, he hunched his back like Michael did and his voice-though that of a child carried promise and conviction. “I know I should not sit on Papa’s chair. I also know that he is very sick. I failed my Math exam. Mr. Kamau beat me up. He said that I was growing lazy. The other kids laughed at me, but I did not cry. I could not cry really. I know he wanted me to cry. If Papa were here, I would have told him about it. Mama never understands. She always says that I need to get good grades. She would not have a stupid son. I know she means well, but at times, she doesn’t listen to me, not like Papa. I know he always talks to you. I thought he talked to himself sometimes. See, this room is big and everything here is not as old as you. That’s how I knew he talked to you. He always says that for you to talk there have to be ears to listen. I am scared. I know it is wrong to be scared with God taking care of us, but Mama is not telling us the truth. Papa is very sick. Something tells me that he will be in hospital for a long time. Did you ever meet his friend, Boko? He always says that I am more like him. Boko seems like a good man. Papa always says that he spoke the truth. I do not know how you can tell what the truth is. I also do not know why Mama always asks me if I understand things. David has a girlfriend. She follows him around school. Her name is Maria. We laugh at him some times. He gets mad. Jonah is good football player. I know he will be as big as Pele some day. Pele is far, but we love him. Every time he gets the ball, he scores. Did you know that they play football on sand? It is not easy to play there. I know I would fall so many times. I am not as good as Jonah or handsome as David, but I understand things about people. I cannot say I am good. I do not know, but my friends call me Professor. I do not want to teach. Imagine kids making faces as you write on a blackboard. I hate that chalk dust. I also would not mark exam papers. I know it is too early to say, but I want to be like Papa when I grow up. I want to listen to my kids. I don’t know if I will ever have any. I still don’t have a girlfriend. There is one girl in our class, she is called Martha. She is nice. I do not like girls, they giggle a lot. Martha is not like that. She smiles too. I want to be alive. I want to travel to Brazil and meet Pele. I want to tell him about Jonah. I want to go to France too and speak like Papa does. Mama says Mexico is also good, who knows, I might just visit them too. I wish people were like you at times. How does it feel to just sit and listen? Maybe you talk too. Can you tell me something? I bet you talk to all these other chairs. I will tell you a secret; they are not as big and soft as you. I hate that green stool. Mama says it is a thinking stool. I just wish she would sit on it herself. I have to go to bed now. Mama will be back any time soon. I don’t know if Papa ever tells you things about me. I hope he does. I hope he always talks to me. I love him a lot. He is a good Papa. He is always home. He always pays our fee and takes good care of Mama. I want to be like that. I don’t know how, but I really want to be like him. Good night. Do you have a name? Wait, that was rude. Mama would have beaten me up if she knew. I am sorry I talked to you without asking your name. My name is Leon. I am twelve years old, and you are? How about I give you a name? Can we name you after Papa’s friend? Think about it, maybe you can tell me about you some day. Thank you. I am glad that we never sit on you. I think Papa keeps you to himself because you make him feel special. Help me pray for him too. I know you miss him. Good night and thank you for being my Papa’s friend. I know he does not have many friends. I love him all the same, he’s my Papa.” The blue wall could afford some tears after Leon left. I never knew why I preferred David over him, but that night I knew Leon had more soul to him. I only wished that his Father would have known just how much. He reminded me of those people who the world destroyed. He would be like that. His heart was pure and his mind set on ideas and people. He did not tell me what he wanted to be. He only said he wanted to be alive and that was enough for me to take in. Just like he had predicted, Michael stayed in hospital for two weeks. He had a weak heart and all the Doctors could say was that he was anemic too. Nancy never left his side. She took the children to see him once. It might have been too hard on them, but Leon took it well. He told me that evening “Papa is getting better.” I never understood why he had such faith in Michael- and it was not long till I knew it.
November 1982
He came home at 8:00pm. He put his briefcase on the green stool and called out for him. “Leon! I brought you a new story book.”
He called out again and David came to the living room. “How is my best friend doing today? Have you done your homework?”
“Yes Papa, but Leon is not fine.”
“Where is he?”
“Mama took him to the hospital.”
“He will be fine David, don’t worry. I will go and check on him and everything will be right, you will see.”
“Okay, Mama told me to give you this note.”
Michael took the note and left faster than he came. He got in his blue Peugeot and sped off. I waited for them to return. I know it was asking for too much, but the whole family was worried. Shelley threw an endless tantrum and David refused to eat his food. Michael’s niece kept saying prayers and twisting those beads around her fingers. I could not stare at them without feeling sick and exhausted. A car had run into Leon as they were crossing the road from school. The lane was clear, but when they got mid-road a matatu came from nowhere and just ran him over. He pushed David and Jonah straight on but the vehicle hit him. The school chaplain rushed him to hospital while a teacher dropped the twins’ home and informed their Mother. Nancy had come to love being home. She could bake cakes and sell. Her new café was doing well wit
h Michael’s support during the weekends too. When Michael finally came home, nothing could reassure him of his son’s well being. “What did they say about the driver Nancy?” She looked at him and said “they tried to stop the matatu Michael, by God they tried, but the man just sped off. He just drove like nothing ever happened. He left my baby on the road.” Michael walked to her and took her in his arms. Nancy cried. She wailed asking for justice. Michael did not utter a word. He gave her some pain killers and took her to bed. I waited. He came later on at 4:00am. “I cannot sleep knowing that Leon is in pain. I don’t know if this is some kind of punishment, but whatever it is, it will not take him away from me. I am mad you know. I have been talking to you all these years. I have been praying to some God, but where was he when the man ran over my son? I saw him. He was just there with tubes breathing for him. He is wrapped up in bandages. He cannot even see me. Who does that to a boy? And these policemen here are useless. You have to pay them to look into something. I pay taxes, isn’t that enough? I come out of hospital only to watch my son get