KUEDI

I threw myself back allowing the stream of water to hit my face, followed by a peal of a familiar boyish laughter. I squealed as glee ran across my face. Now it seemed like we were hundreds of miles away from home and had made our plans the night before. Like we did in the past, once when we heard the slow, footsteps echoed on the veranda, announcing the Matron as she made her usual rounds. We ran as far as our legs could carry us without stopping until we reached the shore.

“Kuedi, stop…” I screeched as he splashed more water on my face, my voice betraying me. It sounded like I loved it.

The wave receded as quickly as it appeared, leaving me alone on the surface, lit only by the glimmer of dusk. By now, my breasts, which were once like buttons are now visibly peeping out of my wet blouse.

Kuedi and I seemed inseparable ever since the death of my mother who had put me in the care of her family members while she was still battling with her ailment. They never treated me well and wouldn’t even put in my possession the liberty I deserved.

When Mama was alive, she would allow me to play with the other kids at the shore and would come chasing me home when the sun started to set. It was all fun and I missed her every day. I remember days I had sobbed and huddled beneath the covers of my bed sheet.

“Shhhhhhh.” Kuedi would lay in the adjacent bed, trying to comfort the eight-year-old me.

I met Kuedi at the orphanage home a month after Mama died. Her family members said they couldn’t take care of me and I would eventually end up like my mother who got herself impregnated by one of those men at the beer parlour.

They made me feel so low on myself and my self-esteem was tampered with. At the orphanage home, and when other kids taunted me I had Kuedi who was always protecting me and he took my beatings for me many times even though not all saved me from solitary confinement. I remember when Kuedi was picked up for adoption and we were separated. We cried the night before and he held my hands, promising me he would come back for me. At that time, I was seventeen years old and he was twenty years old. Why would any family want to adopt a grown-up child? Why? I questioned no one in particular but I yelled furiously at everyone and refused to eat for days after our separation.

During this separation, I realised my love for Kuedi even more. I also realised how much I was dependent on him. Still, as a mature lady, I held all the feelings for his happiness. And when other children swam to shore and ran inside to the sea bream and wild greens, I would seclude myself and mourn Kuedi’s absence.

I’ve been waiting for Kuedi, all my life and ten years never changed anything. Even though I had started working at the Methodist Orphanage Home, I still waited by the pond where we did some fishing together as teenagers. Yes, Kuedi had promised to come for me and he told me to wait at the fish pond every evening, that he would come for me soon. But how long is 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏? 10 weeks? 10 months? Or 365 days? That I never got to ask him so I was left with no choice other than to stay by the fish pond, with the hope that he would come for me someday.

I remember Matron Lydia trying to link me up with the 46-year-old Brother Matthew, whom everyone knows to be shy and doesn’t dare to summon up any lady. Well, I declined bluntly and we fought for days over it. Many days, I had to assure myself that Kuedi would show up again, he always kept to his words. As scary as this may seem, I still held to my belief in him.

Sun was already setting, and I made myself comfortable, after a sumptuous coriander-pasted sandwich with lettuce, onions and cucumbers, I rested my head on a hard but cosy pillow and lay looking out through the window at the little boys who were enjoying the sun and throwing the ball. Just like a dream, he showed up. His jaw was now covered with beards and his dimples were still as deep as they were_ they could hold water.

“Kuedi, what took you this long?” I clumsily ran into his arms as we fell into the tangled vines in the thicket in the yard, our arms intertwined in an embrace.
“I missed you, so much”, Kuedi said and gave me an unexpected French kiss. Nothing had changed. The way he speaks and holds me_ his touch sends chills down my spine.
“I want to see the shore with you again”, I sighed wistfully with my belly bursting with emotions.
“We will. When we see the shore together again, I’ll take you.” He kissed me tenderly as the thistle nodded in the warm summer breeze.

Kuedi gazed out into the horizon and breathed in the crisp, briny seashore air. Behind us, my footprints in the sand next to his traced our path.
“Don’t go too far again Kuedi. Come back and take me with you.” The little girl in me beamed at Kuedi, splashing as if I had been born in the water.

As I played, Kuedi visualized the eight-year-old me and smiled deeply. As the waves crashed, the memories from a decade before flooded and faded with the rush of water. Our whole night’s talks, our first meet, our promising moments, our first kiss and the crazy surprises gushed into his mind like a short film as he watched me play with keen interest.

After a while, we left the shore and strolled under the night sky as the silver light of the full moon shimmered on our skin.

“It may sound cliche but you are the moon of my life!” Kuedi said shyly and deeply measuring the depth of my eyes.

“Haww! Do you mean to say I’ve dark spots on my face? Am I not perfect?” I teased him and pinched him hard.

“No one in this world is. But your love… it’s perfect. It’s like the moonlight, diffused into my life, showing me the path in the darkest of time. It’s peaceful, pleasant, radiant yet silent.”, he said sincerely. This time I could see the seriousness in his eyes. I leaned forward and hugged him tightly

“That’s because you are my sun. I’m just a reflection of yours. You burn every day and I shine because of you. I love you Kuedi.”, I whispered.

When dusk fell, Kuedi and I looked on, hand-in-hand, as Kuedi announced that he would be leaving soon.

“Come back for me, Kuedi and don’t take too long like before,” I whispered, my eyes wet with tears.

“No, I won’t be late my love”, he replied sweetly and pulled me into a long hug.