story of different characters who go through hardships of life ,pains and meet through their pains which ends well and happily..
Ridha is at the ashes of his house looking sad then he remembers the voice of his wife and children crying for help then he couldn't hear them again ,all of his family;wife and children were dead .Apart from his eldest son Mwangeka who is always abroad at work with his wife and child lived with Ridhaa but they also perished from that fire .He the remembers his daughter sarah who was in high school and always aspired to become a lawyer ;everytime when she came from school they would talk about how Kenya got independence(kenya was colonised) anything about law and politics you would ask sarah and she would answer, she would always play law ; she played with her friends, think of how she would one day vote but then she was no more to participate on the elections on day .All this while Ridhaa was remembering this while crying.He then remembered her lovely wife ."My husband ,"he remembered"when will you ever stop thinking a whole doctor like you always thinking and stress ,when did a man ever change his destiny?".He answered "why do you always mind it my business ,stop it ".Ridha didn't know that was the last time he wont hear his wife's sound .He wished he could use all the time in the world and cherish his wife but sadly she was no more .Ridhaa recalled of how his wife would complain about their neighbour Mark about land issues he even remembered of how her wife warned her that if anything would happen to them one day Mark would be responsible .Mark was always interested on his land ever since and maybe he was the one that causes fire on his house which caused a tragic loss off his loved ones .He saw the cloud had started to change because it was about to rain so he picked up the remaining ashes and kept it in a container which would always remind him of his family .He had no where to sleep because everything was swept away by fire ,he kept it at the kitchen place which was always separate,and slept tje whole night close to his family's ashes .Election time was on and campaign was between a woman Marie and Martin .Whereby they were competing for a area.The campaign season was over and a woman was elected ,Marie won .The chauvinistic men were complaining that they can't be ruled by a woman ,but it had already happened Marie won and she became their leader.War began by those who did not concede the elections they started stealing from those who voted for marie and also did the killings gun shots was everywhere and fights people started running for their lives .They knew that if marie was on the seat women would startt schooling and at their time only men went to school ,that women would become more superior than them .They wouldnt allow that to happen while they were still there and alive .Lorries of police officers and tear gas was sent all over the place to stop the war and the youths who were supporting mark said that the wouldn't stop at any cost.Ridha stood with serious pains his hands back and his backbone had curved with pains ,his eyes looking over the sky of smokes.He turned around looking at fire on his palatial house .Now Ridha remembers blinking of his left eye for two consecutive weeks his wall clock fell down without him knowing the reason of why the clock fell down .He remembers the voices and crying of crows at the rooftops of his house .The cries that symbolized the crying on the last day of losing his family.He surrendered in tears and let the tears control him .He went back to his burnt house and near the place which used to be the sitting room he remembers his wife ,his two kids ,daughter in law and his grandson .He remembered again how sarah on political topics nobody could ever defeat her .He exclaims and cries ,"My whole properties and family perish on one day ...".Her daughter sarah had left this world even without her maturing first and know life and achieve all her dreams .Ridha couldn't answer all the questions he had on his mind ,he wish for this kind of life .He didn't whish for life to become hard the way it was at that moment .He did not expect life to be that way even after staying in that place for ten decades whereby the were now given notices to vacate those premises which they had inherited from their parents .Now Ridha wished she would call his wife and talk to her but his mind reminded him that she had left the world never to come back .He did not know he had stand there for how long he want and sat besides his family ashes and he fell asleep. He recalls in his sleep how the headline news ten years ago ,he listened to it as if he was listening at that moment ,the news was how tractors were sent to demolish houses that were along the road that it was intended to expand the road and un luckily his houses were among the selected and Ridha was watching on tv on how his houses were being demolished and the way he had used milkions of money to build them and till now the government had never taken action on compensating them and roads had never been made .Despite of that shock he never kept that loss in his mind but then another shock had hit him hard again.
He now the remembered his son Mwangeka who had gone on a millitary fight and had taken long to come back .Ridhaa recalled his sister Subira who was miles away from him.His friend Mzee kedi was the one who architected his house ,he continued "...my wife and his wife were best of friends,i was the one who even paid fees for his other son and made sure he finished school .Why has he decided to pay good with bad ? why all this jealousy and we were all good and okay ??".All this why Ridha was saying this all while crying."i was the one who made sure electricity was all over the neighbourhood,i made sure water was within and a borehole so a the villagers did not suffer water for domestic uses ,why is this happening to me then ??"
"Is this contribution in the community enough to be called a brother ?
"Subira bring the chairs we want to watch the news ."That was sudi Subira's husband.The news was still about the fights that was continuing on the other side of Ridha .The door bangs and when Subira goes to open she is hit by some goons on her fore head and loses her consciousness.They also hit three of her children the son and the daughters.Her son was beaten badly and her two daughters were r***d by those youth goons .Some police men came in but it was too late and incident of r***d had already happened and the goons had ran away .
A traumatic scenario it was for her daughters .She came back to concious and heard about the incident and she wept bitterly but it had already happened and nothing could be done to change or erase it sadly it was going to remain in the minds of these children unless the went for a therapy that could help them heal .
Her husband was lamenting of how he felt so bad that his children were r***d infront of her eyes and she couldn't do anything .Imagine how bad it was to him and the wife .
After being done traumatic incident like that they decided to book a matatu and travel to where they didnt know .The matatu reached to a place where it could not pass and decided the passengers to leave the vehicle so as for them to continue with the journey.
After being left in the middle of nowhere ,they reached to the refugees camp where its was in the middle of the forest .Sudi ,husband to Subira was pressed and was looking for a toilet and did not find one ..he was told that there people used flying toilets ,hahaha .Flying toilets are those which on goes for a long call or short call in a piece of nylon paper and throws its on the side .If it slaps the other person on the face then that was that persons problem😂😂.Sudi was told that over there they had one meal a day and the non government organisation came once in a while and to get even drinking water or bathing water was and is a problem.
subira and her family started mermering of how they had gone days without food and the rescue red cross team had taken a while without coming to se them ,the complained how that place was congested and even a place to spit saliva could not be found .Her husband sudi had not yet healed well after the beatings he was given by goons .He saw another woman besides her and asked how she found her self there and she said ".... since i had voted for Marie ,and the fight had began i was chased from our own home and thats how i and my family came up here ."she consoled them and left .A Lorry was passing around and they all run to check if they were remembered with food but sad enough it was just a lorrry that carries pits and waste material ,what a bad luck 🥺.
Later on a church organisation came with food.Padri started "peace be with you ......,in the name of the father and the son ...."and people only responded "we want foood .".He then listened to their cries and asked them to make aline .Here one family could make some of their members to make a line even thrice for them to get more food later ,was that not corruption anyway that was the only means of survival they could use over there .
Ten days had pass them being there .Nothing had chamged over there ,and wasn't the lifestyle people used to live there .The only thing that chamged there was the vilage .People who died due to starvation some were buried there and some were thrown the forest .There were those who were buried under groumd even without coffins and others who were lucky were burried with coffins .
people said that there was no difference in people dying but just look at the environment of how people were burried .
Now Sudi and Ridha met and thats when sudi explained every thing that was happening to them .He started to recall how tribalism had taken over their community after a woman marrie was elected ,how investors had to shut down thier businesses to run for their lives.And if you were not speaking the same language as the opponent Mark of how your hoises would be burnt down and you would be beaten severely.He talks to Ridha while sad and crying this r**e incident to his daughter edna and sally was something that he could never forget .He tells Ridha how he big doctor is also there and that he didn't deserve that (Ridha was a professional doctor).
Ridha and Sudi decided to start and operation of "we are going back home".A campaign operation which was to make people go back to their home so as to stop with the struggles in that camp .
After six months of the operation Ridha was lucky to get from that camp through that we are going back home operation.Over there he was able to control the blood pressure that he had due to much stress .He was able to control it because over there he was able to meet people he would call brothers and sisters who had same problems than him or even much worser than him.But thanks to togetherness they had ,they were able to get through it .Remember he had no wife nor children he would call family because they all perished apart from Mwangekaa .
Its in the morning,Ridha has sat at the receiving place at the airport .He has stared his eyes inside that room like he was waiting for an announcement to be made he then hears "Those who are landing from airplane number 255 have arrived safely ".He's main need is to see his son Mwangeka healthy and safe .And that voice was which made him come back to his senses because he was lost in thoughts.That moment had finally arrived ,Mwangeka is there .Father and son them looked at each other with surprises on their faces .His son had arrived in the country safe and sound .But no one has taken action to go and hug and embrace the other one ,"My son ,My son ".Mwangeka replies "Daddy !daddy !"...." and finally they hug each other .Tears of joy on their faces it was long since they saw each other Because Mwangeka had gone to the millitary to fight for his country and took long to come.
"i did not know that you will ever come back alive since that time you went to fight for our country,My son the time i got to lose your siblings and even my daughter in law and grandson got to perish through that fire without even the remaining corpse to burry them ." "My son i know your tired because your exhausted from traveling,lets reach home first i will explain more to you ."
After Mwangeka and dad left for home where they used to live.They reached ,there was nothing to explain because everything was evident of the tragic that had happened months ago .
Mwangeka was telling his dad that why didnt he even involve his neighbours so that they would have burried his wife ,child ,mother and siblings through mass grave?
"My son it was said that our house got burned due to the bad connectivity of electricity ,fire fighters even came early but there was nothing to save because the fire had rapidly througg through the whole house ....mmh "he exclaimed ."My son there is no problem that doesn't have the other .Three months ago we got to burry your uncle Makaa who had gone to save people who it said they were going to fetch petroleum from a lorry that had fell ,in the midst of saving some women he slided and got to fall on the petrol that was flowing like water it had burnt him badly on his face and whole body that it was hard to recognise him .
people had warned them from going to fetch the petrol but they wouldn't listen due to the thirst and hunger because of poverty,they hoped the fuel would help them at home and sell some they were not afraid of death that was coming.
Here where i am you are used to calling me a doctor ,i have saved many people from various sickness and even received awards but i wasnt able to save my own family .Its that i wasnt able to save my family but i can remember vividly that i had gone to do an operation to a patient who was injured badly from the demonstrations that was happening while being chased by the police .While i was on my way home from work i was able to hear my wife's voice from a far said that it had ended .My wife ,grandson and children perished and even my properties perished just like that.
My son i was praying everyday that God would bring you back when you are alive because you were my only source of hope and i thank Him so much because i have no other child left with apart from you .Lets get in ."
Dad am happy seeing you ,after i watched everything happening on tv ,war between villagers,distraction of properties,sickness ,death of my uncle and congestion in the camp my heart was in pain seeing that .I continued following everything up on the email that was always sent to me .Lets forget on what had happened and focus in the future ."Mwangeka said while his eyes were all red because he was talking while crying.
" I am worried with the youths that instead of protecting our properties and lives they accept to be used by politicians ".
Mwangeka could not live with his dad even after his dad had given him a room to stay because he couldn't bare to live with the pain of waking up everyday and looking at the ashes of his family ,he still couldn't accept the reality so he decided to look for a land and build his home but his father had warned him on building on a land that further investigation had not been done because he was not ready for history to repeat it self on what had happened to him years back.
In the forest where Ridha was once before,people took refuge there and made there home .Many would wish to go back home but they were not able because they were misplaced and Kangata family was among those families that lived in that forest .Kangata together with his wife they had his boss there who used to work for them and became fond of each other and even when his children went to school they would be identified by his boss name which was kiriri for example;Lunga Kiriri ,Okello kiriri and Asia Kiriri .Till date the firstborn of Kangata is called Lunga Kiriri Kangata .so after that it was said that Kiriri's business had gone bankrupt.This was after his wife and child decided to go back to their country after they got a green card and left him with nothing this depressed him and he eventually died later .So all his land and properties had remained to Kangata as his next of kin .
As the normality of Kangata and his wife in agriculture the produced the land and many years later Kangata and his wife died .It was said that Akello got married to a family with their clan had rivalries and then her story was never known or heard .Asia got married after finishing her form four high school education to one driver who betrayed thier love the driver used to drive far distances so he built her a house in his village but he left her .
Now remained Lunga Kiriri Kangata who became the successor of all the properties that their late father had left them because he was the only male child and firstborn after her sisters got married .Lunga had studied a degree in agriculture where he was the leader in that sector that after he finished his degree he even became a lecturer in the institute he studied his course .He also worked with environmental conservation organisations and even in highschool you would find him in clubs and debates trying fighting and campaigning for trees to be planted ,environment to be cleaned and air pollutions to be reduced .He was also invited in schools to give speech on what he was good at and this job gave him popularity so much .
After finishing his masters and degree ,Lunga got a well paying job at a flour production company which he was even made the manager .So there was a time that the company wanted to import maize from Portugal for it was cheaper .But after Lunga made invastigations he found that the maize was yellow in color and very toxic to human consumption .imagine if the maize was even a threat to a mouse what about the life of a human being ?? .It was a threat and poisonous .
Months passed by and Lunga was still in a campaign of objecting the importation .So one day as he was in his office as usual he got a letter on his desk it drew his attention despite it being that short .it went like this
DOLLAR MAIZE MILLERS COMPANY,
PO. BOX.135,
NAIROBI,
Dear Lunga ,
Due to maintenance and development aiming to achieve this company to move forward .we lack much resources for this and we as boerd we have decided to reduce some staffs to avoid bankruptcy and unluckily you are among those members.sorry to inform you this but you are fired .
Yours sincerely,
CEO ,
signature .
That was how Lunga got fired from that company .He knew that ,that was not the main reason of being fired but the truth was that he was standing for nothing but the truth and was also fighting for the poor who couldn't fight for themselves.Now Lunga was jobless .Lunga opened and read the letter him not believing yet after all the years he worked there and gave his all .Its always said that a thankyou of a donkey is kicks .
Lunga stayed months with no job and this made his blood pressure to rise due to stress of how he would feed his family.one morning he woke up and decided to through his phone that day it was a notification that woke him up which was a message from his wife.The message was like this "I would love to wish you luck and i have gone to search for greener pastures for our family to get in truck again .Good luck ,Love you take care of your self and the kids tell them i love them so much ."This was another shock to him after losing his job .He read the message again without him believing that his wife would do such thing to him .
After some time Lung went asleep again and slept for long ,as he was coughing on his bed he continued coughing and that was how Lunga passed away .And now it remained a task to the house help sauna who now remained a mother and father to Lunga's three kids who were Umu ,king and Mwaniko where she had to raise and feed them .
Mass happened and Lunga was buried .After people had invested so much in that forest and it became their home .....they went there when the land was virgin they grew plants and trees there and produced food but the government refused that it was not a place for people to stay and still did the operation of "Go back home " .The people tried once again to protest but they were never heard .
One morning Umu woke up at their home and she found her self .She went to in the sitting room to find her siblings and their house help but they were not anywhere to be seen .That time King was on the seventh grade while mwaliko was on the first grade ,they were still young.She even asked around the neighbour hood but she didn't find them .So she decided to head over to the police station and report this case,and write a statement but the police were she was given an OB and told her they were going to investigate the case.
Umu was worried and then she recalled of how her mother left them because her dad had money no more ."Aunt sauna you have decided to do this because we are orphans ,you were just waiting for my dad to do this for you to run away with my siblings..".she wailed while saying this then headed to a road where she saw a sign post written"church road " she headed that way untill she reached that church on that church way she met a group of street boys who were sitted there some were smoking bhang ,some were eating bread and others were sniffing glue .There is were he met a boy called Hazina ,this boy remembered her because she one day helped her with money when they were coming from church with her mother ,Hazina was once a street boy who were begging.Umu then recalled when her mother had refused to give her money then she took her offering money and gave to him .
Hazina continued talking to her "i and some other street boys were lucky to be taken by some good samaritans and took us to different institutions to do short courses some became masons ,others plumbers and i went to do hospitality and became a chef and am working right now that's why you see me glowing like this .And you what are you doing here ?" "I have come to look for my siblings after our mum left us and dad passed away eventually,we were left with our house help sauna whom this morning i woke up and found out that he ran away with them i dont know where they went and i have no one to help and no where to go ."
Hazina said "I am going to help you because you one day helped me and this is away of appreciation,i will take you to where we live since we were taken our mum will be able to help you out .Lets go then i will buy you food first because you seem hungry ."
They reached were Hazina stayed, she was taken to Mama Ruth and Mum explained everything to her of which she agreed she would stay there and be enrolled to a school to further her studies ,Umu was in form two that time .Ruth continued to encourage umu to stay strong in her hard times like that and that everything was going to be fine and her siblings case was going to be investigated and she would find them .
"Umu!bring back your mind to class! " her teacher told her this with a loud tone when she noticed she was absent minded during her lesson.After classes she called her and asked her why off late she wasn't paying attention,because Umu was a clever student and an active learner.she then told her "I would wish to have my parents like any other student ,i want someone i could call mum and dad ,i want to have parents who i could take my report form after an exam and be happy for me .i want my life back ! " she replied " i have a friend who has a big house and her and husband are very good i will talk to them and they will take you in and be your sponsors and also become your parents .They are loving ,so stop the stress and go back to class and please focus i dont want you to drop in your exams because of something that i can solve ."
She went back to her class and were she sat there were students who lived with Mama ruth like her and they started talking.Umu began , "what makes a mother to leave her children and husband like that ?what kind of woman is she ?she doesn't even have compassion for her kids? " Then one of her friends continued , "what you are going through we have also passed through,i remember vividly ,me ,my mum and siblings were walking on the road we were on the road because we were chased home we were walking on the road constantly with no breaks no water and no food .my younger brother who my mum was carrying on the back died ,my mum and i cried to mourn him and the she went on a nearby forest dug a hole and buried him just like that .Then we continued with the journey not knowing where we were going .We reached on a high way where mum asked us to rest a little bit while waiting for the next day .That where we met people who their clothes were written "FBI " they came and took us to the camp .There we met thousands of people and we suffered congestion of people.
We lived hoping that things would change one day but sadly enough things continued becoming worse day by day .My dad had parted ways with my mum when i was still young because he couldn't be with a woman who gave birth out of wedlock .My mum owned a business but of low income but because of the issues of land who owns the land and who didn't own the land emerged income became very low .But let us continue to live here hoping that things will change one day . " silence was seen for a while
The other one started "After being sent home from the forest where we took refuge ,My dad kaizari was able to start our life afresh ,he built a new home being in that financial crisis .Me and my brother we were returned back to school the same school we used to learn there in our village.My brother was good in plays, acting ,him not being in school for a while it made other students to miss him so much .I was good in activities of music and reciting poems ,our neighbours helped us so much in bringing our life back on track with words of encouragement and some little help ,they made sure that nothing was going to destroy the relationship between them before.One day while i was at home, went to our room and was able to find a letter on my room table it was drawn love ,i read this letter and it seemed to have something in detail.Dad went to look for mum at their home place for four months ,when he reached at their home place he was told that mum had gone to the city to look for a job .When he went to the city to look for mum he found out that she had died in his room two weeks ago ."