The Other Side of the Coin

Today is like yesterday, seething cold and harsh. Normally these days make for a great market day for the night dwellers but not today, pockets are dry. Everyone passing by this street looks broke to the core. I sometimes laugh out when I recall the days I thought my life was a struggle, these Riveroad streets have exposed me to the real face of struggle.

As I type this, it’s 2:15 am. I have only sold 3 cups of coffee to a kind watchman who normally buys my coffee regardless of the time of the month. On a good day, by now I could be on my way home to my 2.5 year old girl. That young champ keeps me going. I brave this cold just so I don’t go through the agony of watching her young tears as she cries of hunger. When you get to know me, you will know what ‘choices have consequences’ looks like.

2 years ago I was the bright beauty from Kiage all excited to join campus. My village people called me an academic giant given my enviable prowess in academics. I came to Nairobi green to the core. I remember landing in the big city in a brown dera, a pair of wash and go akala and a packed suitcase.

I was focused on the bigger picture, getting that degree that will position me in an enviable job in a giant corporate firm and upgrade my parents. I rode that focus for a year until I crossed paths with this polished, bearded man from church. He was the type of guy that will convince you that there are some good men remaining out here.

He spoke the good word and walked in it or so I thought. I took in his words like a gospel reality. Without quite realizing it, I was taking in too deep. If you ask me how I came from being a spiritual daughter to a naughty lover, I couldn’t quite lay down the real image for you. Some things in life happen just like that.

I crossed bridges from getting worried on what to eat for dinner to getting overwhelmed with foreign trips. I was eating life with a spade no doubt casted high and burning bright like a phoenix. My pictures from Puerto Rica trip especially modeled me as the ‘boss’ on social media streets. No one told me that when you fly that high chance of dropping like a hot potato was a surety, but such is life. How quick you gain something is how fast you lose it.

There’s a reason crops don’t sprout out of the ground without due process. I love process; it’s chronological and guides you onto the next cause of action. Speaking of process, this coffee will not sell itself now will it?

Featured image by: StockSnap from Pixabay