safarigirl i really love your storyline, u r good, very good. Thanks for the update, buh please can a have a bowl of popcorn?

******

The park is always a nice place for relaxation, especially on weekdays. Why? There aren’t too many people here on the weekdays, it’s much easier to think and reflect on your life when you aren’t being distracted by a bunch of young adults playing loud, obnoxious music, a rowdy wedding party, or someone’s spoilt kid screaming his lungs out with the excuse of crying.

I don’t like being out much, but whenever it is I do venture out, the park is one of my favorite destinations. There’s just this purity about it, so untouched, that speaks to me personally. Nature is one of the few things that man’s destructive ways are yet to wipe out. Yes, they have spent many years trying, but nature always fights back and it’s something I can relate to. The refusal to be trampled upon, the sheer power and will possessed to fight any form of adversaries and a damning wrath.

I and nature are a lot alike and so, I choose to spend most of my time with that which I can connect with on a personal level.

I sit on a bench, just watching the very few people around live their lives. Most of them are adults, some having conversations, some taking pictures, and others, just hanging around aimlessly. I take note of those having conversations. Some of them are people of the same gender, but a few are opposite genders.

I watch their interactions closely, at least the few I can see. A couple of them are pretty young, so one can assume, they’re here on dates. I usually wonder what these people discuss on these so-called dates, what lies women are told in the well-planned attempts by these men to bed them. I can only imagine because I’ve never given any man that opportunity to fill my head with unrealistic nonsense.

Too many times, I’ve had this crazy urge to approach some of these couples and call out the men for their lies, but I’m not that crazy, besides, the women will eventually see the men for the lying dogs they really are, and end the farce- or at least that’s what I hope for mostly.

I sigh deeply, as my eyes stray further until they land on an odd sight. A man and a girl sit some metres away from me under a tree, I can only catch a glimpse of the man’s sde profile from where I’m sitting, but the girl, I see her very well. She’s pretty and caramel-skinned with bright eyes and a beautiful smile. She’s laughing at something the man probably said, her eyes are wide with excitement and she makes rather animated gesticulations. She’s no more than fifteen going by her looks. Although she’s sitting, I can tell she’s pretty tall with most of her height from her legs, she has on a yellow polo to match a yellow, butterfly hairclip on her hair.

I cock my head to the side and watch the girl who has suddenly caught my interest, the man reaches out and touches her button nose and she tosses her head back in another fit of laughter. I wonder the relationship she has with him, I don’t assume he’s her boyfriend. The way she seems so free with him, he’s probably a relation.

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to approach anyone as much as I want to approach these two, but I remain seated, my attention now solely on both of them. The girl still has a smile on her face, it’s so contagious, I can actually feel the beginning of a smile on mine. The pull this girl has on me is almost disturbing if I didn’t think her so adorable. I want so much to walk up to her and ask her name, I want to know her hobbies, her class and most importantly, what the man is saying to get her to laugh so much.

Just as those thoughts come to me, the girl’s eyes land on me and I find myself frozen. She holds my gaze for a short time, as if she’s trying to study me, I assume my expression is same. She watches me for a few extra seconds and then sends me a warm smile that makes me smile. My reaction to her is shocking, I mean, I can’t even remember the last time I smiled, probably decades ago, and then I see this young girl, who I barely know and I’m smiling at her?

The man notices her distraction and then turns to look towards my direction. He loses the smile on his face once his gaze falls on me and it’s replaced with a haunting look. He looks to be in his late forties to early fifties, his skin is lighter than the girl’s and he looks…..familiar. where could I have met him?

He suddenly stands to his feet, he’s rather tall and it hits me once again that I know this man- or I should know him, before he can move, the girl is on her feet and grabbing on to his forearm, her brows are knitted in confusion and she speaks to the man, who takes his eyes off me to look at the girl and the n glances back at me. I should probably leave by now, but I can’t seem to move, I have no will to. I want to remain here, I want them to come to me, I want to know who they are and why the girl has me smiling.

She’s still talking to the man when I notice another man approaching them, this man looks to be of Arab ancestry, he’s about the same size as the older man, but obviously a lot younger, “Daddy.” The young man calls pulling their attention away from me. The girl turns around and grins at the approaching young man before leaving the older one to run to him. I’m even more confused.

The older man seems hesitant to turn away from me and so remains more or less, rooted to the same spot he is while taking glances at the two wards in his care, “Dad, what’s going on?” I can just make out the voice of the younger man as he gets closer.

I should really go now, but I remain seated.

I watch the young, Arab man get closer, a smile on his face while the girl clings to him in a way that tells me they’re very familiar with each other. Once again, I don’t get any vibes that this is a relationship in that sense, but it’s much harder for me to just tag him her brother because, well, he’s Arab and she’s apparently not.

Once the Arab gets to where the older man is standing, he repeats his question and his gaze follows in the direction the man has been staring- me. I watch the smile wipe off the Arab’s face as well. What is going on with both men? The confused teenage girl is probably wondering the same thing going by her expression. The Arab walks towards me warily, but is stopped by the older man’s hand on his wrist. He turns towards the man and then back at me. There’s a familiar look in his eyes and I can’t help but think that just like the older man, the Arab knows me……but how?

“Dad, it’s……”

My eyes shoot open and I sit up with a start, what the hell was that? I look around wildly and find that I’m in my bedroom….and I’m extremely sweaty. It’s like an entire bucket of water has been poured on me and from the feel of things, my bed was not spared.

I repeat, what the hell was that? My heart is beating erratically as I try to collect my thoughts, was it all a dream? Those people, that girl, did I dream all of that up? I look at the clock on my bedside table. The time says 1pm, have I been sleeping for four hours?

What the hell was that?

I try to steady my breathing only for a sharp ring to startle me. I gasp in shock, what was that? It takes me a while, but I finally recognize it for my doorbell.

I get out of my bed, more like jump out considering the speed the action is done with. Who could that be? I don’t have visitors over here, nobody knows this place.

I get to the door and ask warily, “Who’s there?”

“Isi, darling. It’s Gladys”

Gladys? I didn’t invite her over. What the hell is going on? ….You won’t be alone for long…….have fun Chuma’s words come to me then. He set me up!

nice updates,isidore so u were dreaming?keep d updates coming ma

whew!!

Captivating story. Good job

You've really being trying a lot,and I must confess that I have loved everstory of your's that I've read but I must call your attention to tell you that we are still expecting the rest of "getting a life","in only
memory".thanks

safari gal.....u b bomb..

If u are not tuned to Safarigal's station, u are MISSING soooooo much.

Weldone safarigirl dah was wonderful, pls keep it up! Thank u!

Let's play a game
The story has about 5-6 more years to the end, guess how it ends

safarigirl:
Let's play a game

The story has about 5-6 more years to the end, guess how it ends

Don't do this pls.....I'm not good at guessing.

Like seriously 5-6YEARS!!!! On Your Own.

safarigirl:
Let's play a game
The story has about 5-6 more years to the end, guess how it ends

Mj45:
Like seriously 5-6YEARS!!!!
On Your Own.

I didn't mean I would take that long to complete it.....I meant the years IN the story

heemah:

Don't do this pls.....I'm not good at guessing.

no one will guess correctly anyway

****

It’s funny how time flies……no, I’m not quoting a line off Styl Plus’ ‘Call My Name’ track, it really is funny. It’s been three months since I and Chuma reached a favorable agreement and I almost find that impossible to believe. Three months of being civil and to some extent friendly, to each other, three months of his constantly calling me every night to read me the bible and wish me good night. And just over two months of his bi-weekly get away with Ismail, they never tell me where they’re going or what they do over the weekend and I think I’m just about done trying to find out. The factthat even Ismail who tells me everything, keeps that bit of information from me is enough clues to understand that I will never know. My only succor comes from the fact that Ismail always returns with a grin on his face and an all round happy disposition and save for one time when he returned with a scrape on his knee- largely, uninjured.

I try to remain conscious as Chuma drives us back home, Ismail lost the battle about ten minutes ago and is now fast asleep in the backseat and snoring lightly. It’s Christmas and we’re just returning from the Christmas Eve mass I would like to say Chuma coerced me into going for, but that wouldn’t be the whole truth. I went partly because Ismail wouldn’t stop talking about how he’s never been to an all-night vigil and I felt the need to at least help him fulfill one of his many wishes- so I guess, part of the blame can also go to Ismail, but let it be known that, as usual, Chuma put the idea in his head first.

And guess who sleeps off first, you would think Ismail would at least try to stay awake till we get home, but I do have to give him some props for not crashing like most kids his age had during the Mass.

Chuma parks his car in my driveway and turns off the engine, “We’re home.” He announces rather dramatically, he’s probably a nocturnal being going by the fact that it’s 2am and his eyes are still gleaming- or maybe he drank lots of coffee before coming over to pick us up.

We both get out of the car, and he’s opening the back-seat door and carrying Ismail out before I can even move my stiff, sleep-weakened limbs to do same. Sometimes, I’m actually thankful he’s around because I feel far too tired to carry Ismail right now. I make my way to my front door and unlock it, I step into the hallway and turn on the fist switch I can feel to my right. I wait in the sitting room while Chuma goes straight to Ismail’s room to tuck him in, he’s done that so many times over the month I’m pretty confident in his abilities to tuck him in without incident.

I wait for him to come back out, during which the sleep partially leaves my eyes. He’s out within minutes with a big grin that once again makes me think he’s some sort of night-crawler to not be exhausted at this time, “Merry Christmas.” He says once again, he’s said that about five times already since the Priest wished us all same, he acts like it’s his first Christmas and not his thirty-second.

“Merry Christmas.” I reply as I make my way to the door to bid him goodnight.

He follows me, “So, should I come pick you guys up tomorrow or you’ll bring Ismail to mum’s place?”
Of course, Gladys always has a big Christmas get-together, comprising herself and a few friends, ever since I moved out, I’ve successfully lied my way out of making an appearance, but as with everything Gladys-related since the advent of Chuma in our lives, I won’t be escaping this time.

“I think I still remember how to get to Gladys’ house, no need going out of your way to come here.” I reply.

He smiles at me, “I’m not complaining.”

As if he ever will, he doesn’t complain whenever his task is to inconvenience me or butt into my life, I’ve come to realize he actually enjoys such, “I am.” I reply simply. I don’t think he realizes he has made himself a permanent fixture in I and Ismail’s lives, and considering that he’s still fairly young and probably has a bevy of young, beautiful women just waiting to get his attention, is wasting those years.

Some day, he’ll have a nice, well-mannered young lady who smiles as much as he does and shares his whole positive mindset, then he’ll have to leave us and it will be a lot harder to explain such an occurrence to Ismail, as much as I dread the day that will happen, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s inevitable and Chuma needs to realize that too.

He looks down at me, his smile wavers just a little, but it’s still there, “Well, don’t tire of me just yet, because I plan to be around for a long time.” He replies, there’s a conviction in his voice that rattles me just a little. He sounds so sure of himself and such surety goes against my theory of him finding a nice, sweet girl to settle down with

I shake my head at him, “Your future wife probably won’t enjoy you abandoning family time to run over to a troubled woman and her kid in a few years.”

“You’ve found a wife for me already, Isi?” he asks

I stare up at him, why doesn’t he see what I see? And what the hell is he seeing anyway? Why does he keep countering my very realistic expectations to dwell on fantasies and dreams?, “Stop it Chuma.” I say seriously.

He loses his smile, “Stop what?” he asks

The way he acts so clueless to my meaning pisses me off even more, “ Stop this, all of this. Stop acting like you’ll always be here when we both know you won’t. You take Ismail to school, you take him for weekend outings, you’re always around and it’s not good. It’s not good for him, for his psyche, because you and I both know that you won’t be here very long. You will get a woman and get married and have kids and leave I and Ismail, so stop acting like you’ll always be around.” I know I’ve had that thought in my mind for a long time now, but as I actually speak them out, I feel a sharp pain pass through me at the sincerity of it all. The thought is easier to swallow than speaking them, when those words were in my head, I could actually think of that scenario and follow it up with what would happen then, how unattached I would be and I ‘d probably pull Ismail out of his temporary state of depression eventually, but saying it…..i realize, even I will need to be pulled out of depression if Chuma leaves us because try as I have to be unattached to this man, I’ve found myself hopelessly attached to him.

He watches me for a while and then sighs, he shakes his head, but I don’t sense any sort of anger from him, “Are you trying to chase me away?”

“I’m trying to be realistic!”

“Well, your reality is different from mine. In my reality, I’m not leaving you or Ismail, I won’t leave, even when I pull you out of this haze you’ve shoved yourself in that makes you think you’re damaged goods, you still won’t be able to get rid of me because I honestly can’t see myself in any life without you and Ismail.”

He reaches for me and places his hand against my cheek, cautiously, he closes the distance between us, my head says I should avoid him, but my body refuses to do as my head says because it likes his closeness and revels in the warmth that seeps off him. His words strike me hard and leave me immobile. He lowers his head to join his forehead to mine, “You don’t understand, do you, Isi?” he whispers to my hearing, his fresh, minty breath spreads across my face. It may seem like an exaggeration, but I can say that I have never met anyone more perfect than Chuma in my life and his perfection scares me because nothing, no one, should be this perfect. I stare into his eyes and what I see in those brown orbs leaves me in shock, and no, it isn’t a negative form of shock, it’s the kind of shock you get when someone expresses such a numbing faith in you, a faith you simply don’t have in yourself.

“You keep beating yourself up, you keep telling yourself you’re not good enough and nobody should want you, you’ve beat yourself up so much you can’t even see when someone adores you, you can’t even….” He lets out a sigh that speaks directly to my soul in ways nothing else ever has, in ways nothing ever should “…you can’t even tell that I’m in love with you.” He says softly.

I think my heart momentarily stops beating and I can’t even feel my pulse at those words, and the reaction isn’t solely because of his words. Yes, I never imagined anyone would ever speak them to me, hell, I don’t even believe in them, but my reaction to his words is borne from the scary thought that even before he spoke those words, I expected them from him, I expected them from him because the words filtered into my head the moment they left his lips. Even though I’ve never felt the emotion, I know that I feel something for Chuma close enough to ‘love’, something I’ve never felt for any one else and didn’t think myself capable of feeling. I enjoy his presence, I look forward to his visits with almost as much eagerness as Ismail, I know myself enough to know that it’s not a normal occurrence for me and even with Gladys, I don’t feel the kind of peace I do whenever I speak with Chuma. I know I feel something for him, I just don’t have a tag for what I feel.

I don’t realize I’m crying until I feel Chuma’s hands wiping my tears, “Don’t cry Isi, please, don’t.” he says as he pulls me closer and wraps his hands around me in a hug, but even as I hear the words, I still can’t stop my tears. The reality of this situation is overwhelming, overwhelming and unbelievable, so I tell myself that this isn’t real, Chuma didn’t really say those words to me, I’m sleepy anyways so I could have heard wrong and even if he did say them, then he probably doesn’t mean any of it. It must be one of those spur-of-the-moment comments he’ll retract by tomorrow. He does this a lot- maybe not the whole ‘I love you’ thing, but he plays with my emotions, whenever he speaks to me at night, hos voice is laden with affection that’s hard to miss and when the morning comes, there’s no trace of that in his interactions with me.

So yes, this is just like those situations, by morning, he’ll act like it’s all good between us and he didn’t throw a gigantic wrench in my plans for the future by uttering the ‘L’ word and professing his eternal presence in our lives. I only have a few hours till my reality trumps his and spending these few minutes in the warmth of his embrace is what I need right now.

Bless u girl!! You rock!!!

Pheeww

God! I so much like dealing with hard girls like isi, their stubborness can be fun most time( thats if she no break your head before she realise that you mean no harm)

Girl u are smoking hot. Thank u for this beaautiful update.

Nice

Thank u for d beautiful update......God bless u!

Interesting story and I will love to read more from the update

me likeyyyyy!

Woooooooow! This story pulls tender strings in my heart. Oh love.

wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow! i so wish i culd b as hard as Isidore

dherbee:
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow! i so wish i culd b as hard as Isidore

then you would have remained single til WOmenopause lol

datz nt a nice tin to say to a lady

Safari girl.. You are deeply loved.. I started reading this yesterday.. Welldone

Am waiting for morning too,but we havent finished tonight's episode.

I see you sarafigirl....are you about to post another episode and don't forget in memory only......

Safarigirl please update thanks

Doughyeenbae:
Safarigirl please update thanks

will have to wait till tomorrow or Tuesday, on my way to school and I don't have a laptop with me.

Started the update, but couldn't finish it. Will hopefully finish it tomorrow