CHAPTER ONE
Her screams of pleasure had a motivational effect on him; he quickened his thrusts into the warmth of her ‘honeycomb’. With every strike her bottoms’ motions provided the trajectory for his penis to rub against the soft flesh of the projecting clitoris eliciting it was pure pleasure and joy. The orgasm was long in coming; sweat ran down their bodies freely meeting in a wet vortex on the surface of their bellies. That was the first time they were having sex to consummate their marriage. The succeeding days were not different.
Those were the days of joy and love. Rogers was then a caring and loving husband. Not anymore. The Rogers of two years was now a selfish, insensitive and controlling beast. She didn’t delude herself, this marriage was irreparable, and the only option would be to end it and each of them to go their separate ways. She knew that to convince her husband to accent to a mutual agreement to divorce was a tall order; but she had to. Continued life with him was like casting oneself in the dungeon of hell with one’s eyes wide open.
She on several cases called her mother, a single mother, to complain about the changed behavior of Rogers but she had urged her to be patient, perhaps one day the good hand of fate will touch him and have him change for the better. Samira felt that everybody was against her. If she failed in the divorce negotiations, she had the only open option, run away and keep on running until she could run no more.
The only daughter of Mr. David and his wife Myra, Samira had had a rough upbringing. The family was more often than not lacking in many material possessions. Her mother was a waiter at a local eatery while father David worked as a private security guard. Even their combined wages was not enough to sustain the family with the very basic of needs. All the financial strain notwithstanding, Myra vowed to ensure that she gave her only daughter a good education that according to the old woman would secure her future. Samira was a bright and intelligent student and after passing her school her mother gave her the leeway to enroll for a course she felt could bring value to her life. She picked and enrolled for a Business Management course.
In her second year in college her parents divorced and Myra remained with the task of seeing Samira through college. A few months later Myra was diagnosed with pancreatic pneumonia and since money was hard to come by Samira was forced to suspend her studies to take care of the mother. Myra was admitted at a local medical facility and it was her daughter’s duty to sit by her bedside as she fought for her life.
One day she was surprised to see Mr. Rogers, his business studies teacher coming to the hospital bed where her mother was lying incapacitated. At first Samira though her lecturer was visiting his patient in the same hospital and asked him as much.
“No Samira, I heard that your mother was ill and my conscience would not allow me to sit pretty when the kin of one of my brightest was lying in hospital,” he said in that soft but penetrating that Samira and other students knew him for when delivering lectures. She was deeply touched.
“I am grateful to you sir for this kind gesture,” she said thankfully.
“It is a duty that we have to fulfill. By the way what is the bill so far?” he asked reaching to his coat pockets.
“I am not sure but by yesterday evening the total sum was twelve thousand shillings,” she said her face showing how skeptical she was of getting all that money; Rogers saw it and went on to reassure her.
“Samira we are family your pain is our pain collectively,” he said pulling out a brown envelop. “When your colleagues and staff heard about your mother the raised some funds and sent me to deliver them, here take this in there is the sum of fifty thousand shillings which I hope will take care of the hospital bills and upkeep for both of you,” he said handing over the money.
She was overwhelmed with emotions and could not control herself. She found tears freely raining down her cheeks. She thanked Rogers in between spasms of sobs.
Myra came of the hospital. Two weeks after Roger’s visit and went back home. Rogers continued visiting mother and daughter often urging Samira to resume her studies. At the moment she was not keen to go back; first there was the issue of finances and two her mother was not yet out of the woods. Rogers had promised to pay her fees and see her through the course but she had flatly rejected the offer. What he had already done for her family was enough and she was not ready to be perceived to be taking advantage of his magnanimity to fleece him; although poor she and her mother were people of integrity.
One day a friend named Rosette from the old school days visited Samira’s home. She had heard about Samira’s Mother’s long hospitalization and decided that since was in the local tow she should pay them a visit. They were happy to see each other and spent most of the time catching up on events that have been happening since they parted ways after high school. Samira learnt that Rosette was working in a big corporation in the coastal city of Mombasa but was planning to venture into private business. Samira told her friend that she had decided to suspend her studies due to financial constraints and asked Rosette if she had someone would help her Samira secure a job.
“My friend opportunities are plenty in the city so long as you know the right places and people to see,” Rosette said.
“But you live in the city and you have a better chance to know about these places and the right people. Help me my friend, life in this village is becoming unbearable,” Samira pleaded.
“I wish we could travel to the city together but you see you have a sick mother; who will take care of her?” she asked concerned.
Myra who was seated in a couch interjected, “I have no problem at all. I am now near-fully recovered and do most of the house chores on my own,” she said coming up lively.
“Are you sure mum?” it was Rosette asking.
“As sure as I know that today the sun rose from the east”.
“Then I think Samira can accompany me back to the city within two days from now,” Rosette confirmed.
Armed with some savings from former college mates and staff Samira accompanied her friend to the coastal city. It was an overnight trip by bus so there was very little in terms of sightseeing during the ride. For the first since her mother was discharged from hospital Samira missed her greatly; this was the first time she was venturing more fifty kilometer from her home. She prayed that all will be well and she will have something to do once she arrived in the city. Despite Rosette’s assurances Samira was cautiously optimistic; she didn’t want to raise her expectations too high only to be disappointed later.
Adjusting to the climate and the environment in a new place can take time. Samira was used to the relatively cold weather in rural areas so the extreme heat in Mombasa was for some time a bother. She would take a shower thrice a day. However, the residents of this town were very friendly and welcoming to visitors. Rosette set off immediately to secure some space for her friend to start of a small business selling secondhand clothes. She found a medium size shop near their residence and took out a lease for six months. They had initially agreed that the business was going to be a joint venture and that Samira will take care of everything until such a time that her friend would find it fit to resign from her job and join her.
