True, I was ready to wait for her to finish her education, not matter how long it took. She was that woman whom I wanted her to reign my heart even if it meant with an iron rod till death put asunder between me and earthly life, or so I convinced myself. Whatever made me think of her that way, heaven knows; and this coming from someone who had impregnated three sisters and run away to hide in the church.
She was right as hell in whatever she was saying. I was not ought to, but being doltishly in love it’s strange. I could wait for ninety-nine years like the Father of Faith, Abraham.
“You are wrong,” I answered, almost irked myself. “The fact that I fell for you, a school girl, doesn’t make me a savage, and a Don Juan.”
“A what? If you’d spare me the jargon please I would greatly appreciate.”
The gal has nerves.
I explained it to her. She was not convinced that I was not a Don Juan.
“Hedwig, you’re too direct with me. Do you have to be so frontal?”
“How do you want me to put it out to you? To mince my words with you? Enhe? It’s my life. I can’t sit around and enjoy the ride of all times while I know I’d be ruining my life. They’re all in it, girls like me, but I am not the type.”
I felt seemingly helpless in her presence. She had rare assertion. If she was like that at her age, how would she be in five years? I did not blame her. As I sat there studying her figure, somewhere deep inside me a melancholic sigh inadvertently slipped past my lips inaudibly.
“You don’t just fall into bed with anyone. That’s the first rule of trust. And trust isn’t something that comes ad lib. It’s built, Ken, or is it Paul? Build that trust first and fortify it. Whenever I would open myself to the risk of love depends entirely on me over time…”
“You don’t give in easily. Do you?”
“No!”
I could not blame her. A strange sense of tediousness caressed me, metamorphosed to apathy then to lethargy and lassitude. I was up for a great battle.
“Why?”
“Many reasons, best known to me….”
“One?”
“I don’t believe in limerence and immature love.”
There was a long moment of silence when at last she said, “Yes, Paul. I give you an assignment. Love is patient and kind, not jealous or conceited or proud, not ill mannered or selfish or irritable, it does not keep record of wrongs, not happy with evil, never gives up and its faith, hope and patience never fails. Love is eternal…” and with that she rose to go before I could gather the gumption to tell her that she had alluded the biblical St. Paul in his missive to the Christians of Corinth.
I was left where I was sitting, hanging my head, frowning – church girls are tough. Her words meant an acceptance of her decision. “If you think that by saying you love me you can follow what the Bible teaches, then you can think that you love me.”
She was going, walking away from me. She had to. I did not want it that way. I called after her. She turned, indifferently.
“Yes?”
“Have you definitely made up your mind that you don’t want to be waited for even by somebody who’s willing to spend all eternity in the queue?”
She stood where she was and stared into space; maybe dithered.
Something was happening to her. Her head was raised as if to drink in the sun. What a beautiful scene! But it wasn’t. There was so much going on beneath the surface, or so I thought. I could sense the waves of emotions vibrating from her. I couldn’t sort out what they were, but whatever Hedwig Sanzi Joe was feeling was incredibly intense.
An emotion that intense couldn’t exist without a release that would be volatile.
You look beautiful when you are thinking.
Epilogue
Damn, I had acted as careless and raunchy as a teenager, I thought in disgust as I strode toward the church to prepare the chapel for the adoration hour. Why be surprised? I was raunchy, but God forbid, never careless. I had made mistakes in the past, but not out of carelessness. But that moment with Hedwig had brought dizzying sensuality of what former Son of Man had been.
Not good at all. I had filled a young innocent mind with amorous thoughts, and showing her the tart jaded side of that emotion called love would make it more complex.
Morals and law could not allow, but I had broken all the codes. I shouldn’t have done it. Dammit, she didn’t deserve it from me. For once, why couldn’t I forget what-I-want-fantasy and be a good man? Maybe I wanted to take what I wanted and to hell with –
My cell phone rang. Unknown number. I hit the answer button.
Silence. “Hello there. Long-time no see, enhe?”
I said nothing.
I knew the voice too well to mistake it for anybody else. Why now?
“I told you that I’d come for you. You can run but can’t hide from me. No, you can’t. You can’t... we’ve some scores to settle you bastard.”
The phone went dead.
My head started to spin... it shouldn’t be now, not after that entire period of time.
The caller was none other than my former crime boss.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to all the professionals who willingly shared their time and expertise: Josephine Njoroge (lawyer and philosopher, Egerton University), Dr Solomon Okoth (Nairobi Hospital), and Augustus Nyakundi (editor).
For their responding to my crowdsourcing call out and proofreading I would also like to thank Ken Mukira, Wambui Njuguna, Eric Khalwale Amwoga, Mirriam, and Juliet. Special thanks and a standing ovation to Nduta Macharia who is as wonderful a copyeditor as she is a friend.
About the Author
Vincent de Paul is the author of the 2010 Nairobi International Book Fair literary awards winning collection of poems, First Words, and the sensational collection of love poems; Holy Emotions and Holy Crimes. Other works are Flights of Poetic Fancy and Flashes of Vice: Vol I & II. He has a Diploma in Comprehensive Creative Writing from the Writers Bureau, UK.
Vincent has been published online on different websites and dailies in Kenya, Africa Creates, the African Street Writer, The Africa We Know About (TAWKA) Diaries, NaijaStories, AfricanWriter.com, African Street Writer, Artbeat Afrika, and Storymoja Africa amongst others. In 2013 he was long-listed for the Nigerian Belgian-based writer, Chika Unigwe Best Short Competition and published in an anthology of New Age African poets, Black Communion, in Nigeria.
Vincent de Paul is a member of Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), affiliate of Association of Independent (AIA), and Naija Writers Community. A freelance writer, blogger, author and poet, he is all over the cyberspace. For more of his works go to:
www.poeticjustnes.com
www.flashes-of-vice.blogspot.com
www.elovepoetry.wordpress.com
Books also Vincent de Paul
General Poetry
First Words (2011)
Flights of Poetic Fancy (2014)
Love Poetry
Holy Emotions (2012)
Holy Crimes (2014)
Anthologies
Black Communion (Poems of the New Age African Poets) – 2013
Flash Fiction
Flashes of Vice: Vol I (2013)
Flashes of Vice: Vol II (2014)
Acclaim for Vincent de Paul’s books
Flashes of Vice: Vol II
It is addictive when you begin reading and you will continue going to the next story and before you know, you are reading the blurb.
Ronedion’s World
One word, SUSPENSE!
Storymoja Africa
Short and crisp as usual.
NaijaStories
Undoubtedly, you can write. Kudos. Do keep writing; do keep breathing into your words… You are such a good writer.
Storymoja Africa
Flashes of Vice: Vol I
Using flash fiction, a style of fictional literature of extreme brevity which is also known as micro fiction or short short stories, Vincent has bequeathed his readers with
Flashes of Vice, a collection of 33 tell-them-as-they-happen-in-real-life stories.
The Sunday Nation,
26th January, 2014
It makes a good read.
Principal Education Secretary
Kenya National Examinations Council
There’s no limit to learning! Do come to Naijastories indeed. You will get a more-detailed critiquing of your work.
Storymoja Africa
Brief but nice…
NaijaStories
Apt…
NaijaStories
Short, sharp and nice, I like it.
NaijaStories
Holy Emotions
Very well written…
NaijaStories
More lovely than comely, erotic not so broadly; but romantic and enticing.
NaijaStories
First Words
Brilliant. Well done. NaijaStories
Connect with the Author
Get the latest author updates and posts, purchase author books and keep informed about upcoming releases.
Subscribe to Email for all the latest news, reviews from Vincent de Paul, and the chance to download for free and win copies of his books.
Go to:
Facebook
GoodReads
NaijaStories
Google+
LinkedIn
Poetic Justness
Flashes of Vice
Twisted Times: Son of Man (Twisted Times Trilogy Book 1) Page 28
