"FOREVER AMEN - CHUI..."

REALLY,WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF BIRTHDAYS?

Nilla had decided to sleep on top of her suitcase and cover herself with a shuka. Other parts of the world call shuka a wrapper. It is a wrapper that most African women tie around their waist. Shuka is what this a part of the African call it. In Mombasa, there is a saying that goes"mwanamke kanga", which means a woman is not complete without a shuka. A shuka can act as a blanket, a headgear, a carrier for children both on a woman's back and chest, it can act as a layer of protection against the sun when you spread it over your head and many more. So, tell me why the women in the Kenyan Coastal region would be wrong by saying a shuka is what makes a woman complete. In this situation, Nilla, after drying up her house, hopped on top of her suitcase which was not drenched in the water as it was placed on top of a wooden stool in the room. She decided to air her mattress on one of the clothes lines and let it hung freely, dripping the water. She woke up in the morning, gave her gratitude for life and had her day started.

"Nilla, we are having new tenants in one of our office floors in the Orange Plaza building. Please go clean up, the company will want to move in tomorrow." Mrs Majimbo told Nilla. Nilla had never known that the Orange Plaza also belonged to Li & Associates. How could she even know? She was just an underpaid messenger who also doubled up as a cleaner." Please, also note, until they are able to find a cleaner, you will be doing the cleaning for them." She added. She changed into her work uniform and crossed the road over to the Orange Plaza. Nilla was headed for the elevator when she saw the mzungu man she had met the day before, coming her way." Good morning young lady, how are you?" He said as they both entered the elevator." Good morning sir, I am good, you?” Nilla greeted back. "I am ok, you sure you are not lost today?" He asked as they both laughed." Today, I know clearly where I am supposed to go." Nilla said as the door opened, and her friend stepped out." Bye" He said. "Bye” Nilla said back. She spent the better part of the day cleaning the whole floor. Much as she was used to hard work, she felt like she needed to work smart instead. Sometime back, she had overheard someone say "If hard work pays, show me a rich donkey." That statement struck a nerve. She felt challenged at the conversation the two strangers were having on the bus. She wanted a way to raise more money. What could she do? Her pay was not enough for both her and Brian. The only thing standing between her and a side hustle was the crazy work hours. She was expected to be at work by 7:30 AM and leave at 6:00 PM. By the time she got home, it was usually 8:00P. M because of the distance and Nairobi's crazy traffic jam. By the time she got home, she was usually too tired to even eat sometimes. The thought of looking for an extra source of income really hugged her mind tight. She decided she would clean that floor very slowly while thinking of what she could do with her life. She was expecting the month's pay, and would use the money to start a side business. This way, she would not have to worry about some bills. Brian would also soon start calling for pocket money to use in school. She did not want him to be the only one left out among his peers in school, without anything in his pocket. She had to think. Think hard. By evening, Nilla had settled her mind on making samosas! She would do office deliveries for the offices around the Upper Hill area! She could use her tea break to make office deliveries for people who wanted tasty samosas. She would make friends with the ladies at the front offices of the surrounding buildings, tell them to help her look for clients. Finally, she would have more income. She was a very great cook, and knew this would be a sure bet. Nilla decided to use the stairs and was lost in her thoughts when she saw her mzungu friend from one of the windows. He waved. She waved back smiling, not because of anything, but because of her new-found route out of bondage.

She crossed over the road and headed over to her office, to work on how she would run her business without interfering with her work. Luckily for Nilla, she met Sarah about to step out, a very nice lady who never treated her as just a cleaner. Sarah would say hello to her and even have a tiny chat whenever they met. She felt like the other ladies did not really notice her, unless they wanted their offices arranged or cleaned better. Nilla's office was just a*****e where detergents were kept, with a tiny desk and chair. Whenever anyone wanted her sent, Judith at the front office would notify her. She saw how beautiful the women were, she wanted to look nice like them. She wanted to walk gracefully like them, but above all, Nilla really wanted to also be as comfortable as they were as women in the city. She was tired of being beaten by life.

"Hello Sarah, are you leaving already?" Nilla asked.

"Oooh yes! I am, why are you still here?"

"I have been cleaning an entire floor at the Orange Plaza since eleven in the morning. Fatigued but with a raschias course."

"Hahaa, please, say R-A-CH-I-A-S" Sarah said as she corrected Nilla's bad grammar." Where did you get that wonderful wording from? I love it. Righteous course...sounds cool"

"Thank you for the correction. I once heard it on TV, and I am even shocked it decided to emerge from the archives of my brain uninvited hahaa!" Nilla said as they both laughed." Also, how do you manage to speak such beautiful English? I have met many people who can speak in English, but they do not do it as you do. You speak like a mzungu. I wish to one day to be like you." Nilla really wanted to improve her English and to speak exactly how Sarah did.

"If you want your English to improve, please read a lot of books and speak in English more. Also, please note, if you do not try, nothing will grow, just as the saying goes, there are no shortcuts to the top of the palm tree." Sarah said in an assuring voice.

"I also needed your help with something..." Nilla said.

She felt she could trust Sarah's wisdom on her business idea. Sarah was very kind. She invited Nilla to her office, took out a pen and paper and decided to write down a workable plan for her. She was very kind to warn Nilla about Mrs. Majimbo, finding out about her side business. She also warned her that not everyone would be happy for her and that Nilla really needed to be careful. Sarah also had an idea. She wrote down all the business complexes owned by Li & Associates. Since she had connections with most people in the total of five business complexes, she would send word and ask them if they could put word out there about her new business of samosas. She would then cover up for Nilla as she went to make her deliveries. Nilla was really moved by this act of kindness. She could not believe it. Sarah had really helped her out, and she was not asking for anything in return.

Nilla had spent the previous night going through the business plan Sarah had drafted for her. She was a little anxious,yet did not give herself a choice. She had to create time and make her samosas later in the evening. She would sell them on Friday and Saturday morning, then evaluate her work on Saturday evening and Sunday to see whether to continue with her work.

Thursday was a good day for Nilla. Sarah called her in her office to ask whether she had made any samosas yet. Nilla explained that she would start making them later in the evening after work. "Please, during lunch hour, go to these buildings and look for these people. Here, I have already made posters with your number on them. They will pin the posters within their buildings and help you get clients. Give it your best shot and at the same time, please, do not let the new business snatch what you already have from you, unless, of course, the samosa business starts doing well." Sarah told Nilla. Nilla was very grateful, such a heart was rare to come by.

During lunch hour, Nilla went to all the business buildings as Sarah had told her. She delivered the posters and they were well received. It seemed like Sarah's good heart was recognized by many people and that is why they were all willing to answer when she called. Nilla had decided to finish her errand by dropping the last poster at the Orange Plaza, since it was the one closest to where her office was. On her way out, she met her mzungu friend coming from his car. Nilla was in a good mood. "Look at the people sleeping as we build Kenya." Nilla said while laughing." I will paint after the building is done," her friend replied as he walked towards her." Who taught you that? Who?" Nilla asked as they both continued to laugh. Nilla's phone rung and she excused herself. Her friend was still standing next to her, waiting to talk to her after the call. Nilla's phone had a bad speaker, so she had to put it on a loudspeaker for her to hear her caller. It was Brian, he was calling to wish her a happy birthday. "Happy birthday to you big sister. As you turn 22, I wish you more rains in your garden. As the birds come, let them be ones that don't destroy but the ones that sing as they build their nests for your beautiful view. I will talk to you more tomorrow since it will be a Saturday, and it is the only day we are allowed access to the school telephone. My class teacher was so kind to let me talk to you on your birthday." Brian and Nilla had a short talk and hung up. "Wait, you are twenty-two?" Nilla's mzungu friend asked. "And your name is Nilla and today is your birthday!" He added. "I cannot believe I have been talking to you without knowing your name too." Nilla said.

The two had been meeting along the corridors of the Orange Plaza, especially during the period when Nilla had to go clean for the new firm that had just moved to the sixth floor early in the mornings. They had just been having short talks and going their ways.

"My name is Robert, the company I work for occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the Orange Plaza. Nice to meet you, and I am not twenty-two like you." Robert said as they both laughed. "How about I take you out for lunch dear friend? It is your birthday," Robert asked. Surely he was standing right there when he heard it was her birthday. He just wanted to buy her lunch on her big day. Nilla always had the shame of accepting help or gifts from anyone, she declined. "Please, do not bother, birthdays I don't even like. I do not celebrate them. My brother makes a big deal out of them, me, no." Nilla said.

"But why? Birthdays are fun and a day to signify change and growth."

"Please talk slow, my English is not so good and your style of speaking I also not used to."

"Way of speaking, accent you mean?'

"Yes, you speak with your nose. Why?"

"My nose? I never had anyone tell me that before aha!"

The two joined in a long laughter.

"Tell me why you don't celebrate your birthdays, Nilla."

"Because some will find you grown and some will find you without the willpower for growth. Some will find you ten steps away from your last move. We experience these on any normal day yet, birthdays, according to the world, should represent growth and new beginnings only and, to me, that is not okay. So really, what is the essence of birthdays?"

"If you put it like that, then you will not see its essence. On the days when you do not have the willpower to continue, you celebrate because you made it through to the last lap, on the days you are at a standstill, you celebrate the quiet, and you just get to listen to your voice or no voice at all. To me, the essence of birthdays, is to celebrate life of what has been born, death of what has served its purpose and growth of what is continuing to be."

Nilla was moved by those great words but more, by the fact that she heard the words he said clearly. She conquered with every word he said. "Guess we are going for that lunch. Thirty minutes remaining to end of my break."

The two friends had a meal and a small cake together. Nilla laughed because Robert thought she was a teenager who would maybe come to her parents who happened to work within the building. Nilla had always been a very funny person and, clearly, Robert was having a great time talking to her. This was the first time they had ever sat down and talked as friends. This was Nilla's first birthday ever where she celebrated with someone else other than Brian. On their way to the hotel exit, Robert decided to get Nilla a teddy bear as a birthday gift. "Here you go my little friend, happy birthday to you. We came to enjoy your birthday and I ended up enjoying every moment. Thank you so much."

“Thank you too for today. Indeed, a good friend is he who feeds you,"Nilla said, as they both burst into laughter.

"Goodbye Robert, have a great afternoon."

"See you Nilla, hope you enjoy today."

That evening, Nilla went to bed late. She had decided to kick-start her samosa business. Sarah had told her to make them at night, then when the clients wanted the samosas, Nilla would use the microwave in her office to make them hot. The following day, Sarah was the first person to order the samosas from Nilla. Nilla had insisted that she was never to pay for any samosa she would order from her, but Sarah refused, saying friends should be the ones building each other's dreams. Friends? Friends? Did Sarah consider Nilla her friend? Indeed, the essence of this birthday was to celebrate the new seeds that were sprouting. Sarah made some few calls and her friends from the neighboring buildings wanted samosas for tea too. Nilla delivered her samosas and there was a shortage. They were very tasty. The first day was a success and Nilla vowed to sacrifice her sleep and make more samosas.

That evening, Brian called so that he could wish his sister a proper happy birthday. Nilla told him about her mzungu friend who took her to celebrate her birthday and even bought her a cake and a teddy bear. She told him about her new business and her new found friend in Sarah. Brian always loved his sister and was happy that her birthday was better that year compared to the past birthdays. He was, however, worried about the mzungu guy and why he would want to take someone he did not know so well for a birthday lunch. Being protective? Maybe. "Sis, please, just be careful with that mzungu man, I really do not trust someone who can take someone he has not been friends with for so long and he doesn't even know well, for a birthday lunch, I am just saying. Everyone In Nairobi is always after something you know..." Brian said.

"Relax, besides his name, I do not even know the man that well, and I only meet him when I go cleaning the offices in the building where he works. I don't even have his phone number", Nilla said. Brian gave a sign of relief.