She boards a ‘matatu’; the first
scene that meets her eyes is that of a lactating mother. A plastic smile plastered on her face is all
she can afford. She finds a seat at the rear, as soon as she settles another
woman carrying a baby (about 7 months old) boarded and sat next to her. The
cheeky girl keeps glancing at her provoking her to reveal a fraud smile. In no
time, the taut makes his rounds collecting his portion when it gets to their turn;
the kid calls him “baba “exposing a vast smile. The mother quickly warns the
kid “huyu si baba” as she pays her fare. Dying inside she swallows a lump of
saliva and gazes outside the window to shun the kid’s attention. In no time she
arrives at her destination and hurriedly alights. Hopefully, she walks in the
room anticipating good news after the complications that ensued upon her
initial trial. She prays persistently hoping against hope that her prayers
won’t bounce back. Tears have been her food for days. Regret has inhabited the
better part of her life.
She vividly recalls how it all
happened.
Yes, she was young and naïve but
still, why did she have to do that??
As the doctor approaches, she
hastily stands up to shake his hand. ’Umeshindaje?’ (How have you been?) He
inquires in a confident voice as if to assure her of the good news that she
anxiously expected to hear.
How did our deal go? She asks in
a refrained voice. The doctor then directs her into his office pulling a chair
for her and offers a cup of tea. Restlessly, she could even forward the scenes
if only a remote would be handed to her. After a couple of rounds in the
office, the doctor settles and grabs a file embedded with her name.
Tension elevates as soon as the
doctor opens the book, flipping the first pages of the file.
“Uhm…your health is okay but…” a
knock on the door disrupts the conversation. “Come in…”the doctor shouts. A
nurse looking rather confused beckons at the doctor who walks out of the office
with the file.
She then looks puzzled at the
abrupt occurrence of events. Thirty minutes, one hour…two, three still waiting
for the doctor who was then attending an emergency at the maternity ward.
Hours later after, praying,
dosing off and scrutinizing the office, the doctor finally returned. He was
empty handed. “Sorry, there was an emergency, the lady has survived and the
baby is currently in the incubator...” The conversation progressed smoothly
until it switched to her case.” OH, and I misplaced your file… uhm, for your
case…there’s less we can do I could recommend you to start considering a surrogate.”
As soon as she heard the news,
disbelief filled the better part of her sanity, silence engulfed the room. She
was unable to conceive a baby on her own.
“Ok, thank you.” Is all she could
utter to the doctor as she left the office speechless, where else could she run
to? With no idea of her relatives’
whereabouts, she was disoriented.
Memories of that fateful day kept
haunting her disturbed mind. She could vibrantly hear the crying voice of that
innocent helpless baby that she dumped by the dumpsite wrapped in some rugged
clothes three years ago.
A nearby church was her refuge
after she ran there to moan. She cried, prayed and cried more. Tantamount to
Hannah the one depicted in the Bible.(As she narrated her story I could only
remember the lady who prayed without ceasing till God answered her
prayers)Well, for her case, it was different. Yes, she prayed persistently,
thought about it all day and night but she didn’t reunite with the infant she
dumped some years ago. Being a norm to many after persistently praying she
expected her prayers answered exactly as she prayed but lo and behold.
Months later, she decided to move
on still praying for God’s favor, forgiveness and miracles.
Isaiah 59:1 “Surely, the arm of
the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.”
1 Corinthians 2:9”However, as it
is written “No eye has seen, no ear has heard ,no mind has conceived what God
has prepared for those who love him”-
As an ambitious entrepreneur in
Nairobi, she managed to expand her businesses to other counties: Embu and
Kiambu. While running her errands hither and thither, she was too busy to
notice an over speeding Prado that was about to hit her until the driver
diverted and hit a tree that was beside the road causing him to pass out.
Extremely shocked, she gathered help from passersby and rushed the man to
hospital ensuring all his bills were paid. She camped at the hospital till the
guy woke up. Before departing, she continuously apologized for her reckless
road crossing. Touched by the woman’s traits the guy, a banker, appreciated her
efforts, exchanged numbers and the rest is history. Now the two are married
with two children but she still regrets her actions. She cautions other ladies
to bear the pain of raising a kid despite the tribulations that they may face.
Insufficient funds, shame, discrimination, hatred may come your way but a life
saved is multiple generations saved.
