I glazed at my iphone in awe because it was impossible to comprehend what I just saw as the caller ID. So many mixed emotions bombarded my head and it felt like each of them was fighting for attention. The dead don’t return but guess who was calling me…
On Thursday of the previous week I had set on a journey to Kisumu with the purpose of attending an alumni get together event for my primary school. I left Nairobi at around 7:04am. The event was scheduled not to start until 2:30pm at Hilton Hotel Kisumu so I had plenty of time on me. Of course I was driving, not a personal car but an automobile I had rented from Epic Travels.
Just a back story… I was driving a Toyota Crown for that journey. A vehicle which was not of my preference, but on the material day Epic Travels had alluded that all the small vehicles in their fleet had been hired out and it was the only remaining unit, hence was left with no other option but take it. Toyota Crown is always rated to be among the top Luxury Sedans, so anyway I felt like I was upgraded even though my pockets were seriously dented.
At a reasonable speed I drove while enjoying my playlist. My phone phone too was on silent mode to avoid distractions from it ringing. At 10:01am I was arriving in Nakuru where I decided to make a stop over because for an event that was to start in the afternoon I still had some time. I went straight to a restaurant inside the West End mall for some small meal before continuing with my journey. For the road I also ordered a cold glass of White Cup beer to accompany the food with. My go to drink is normally the White Cup not because of how tastes or anything but because holds a special place in my heart. It was the favorite beer for my late best friend Bryce, with whom also apparently on our last meet up before his demise we were having it.
I got done with my meal, paid up and then hoped into the car to continue with my journey. The route I had planned to use was after taking the left exit from the famous Nakuru – Eldoret Highway at the Mau Summit junction, I would proceed and get to Kisumu by taking another right turn at the Londiani junction through Muhoroni instead of heading straight to Kericho. I felt like the Kericho route was longer and quite overstretched.
At exactly 11:26am just before the Londiani junction the music in the car stopped for a minute. In my head I knew it was just a network issue and so I didn’t bother much. It didn’t bother me at all until I heard my phone ringing on speaker as if I didn’t set it to be on silent mode. Shocked at how I could hear my ringtone on a phone that was silent I got a bit confused and slowed down the car. At this moment I was just at the Londiani Junction where I was supposed to take the right turn.
I picked up my phone to check on who was calling and it is at that moment that my world stopped for a bit. My hands froze and my heart pounded as I stared at the screen. The name flashing on my phone belonged to my Bryce friend whom I had mourned and buried long ago. How come Bryce was calling me!!!
That was impossible!!!
At this moment I am already in confusion. As if that is not enough I had completely stopped car at junction holding up traffic and I could hear vehicles honking at me to move. In that small snarl up I saw drivers of the vehicles behind me throwing out their hands in anger signaling me to move out of the way. I was so swallowed in that moment and instead of taking the right turn I proceeded straight.
My phone still on my hands with trembling fingers, I slid to answer, my pulse roaring in my ears and the moment the line clicked open, a suffocating silence poured through, heavy and unnatural, as though something that shouldn’t exist was breathing on the other end. It was his voice, clear as day, saying, “You did well,” before the line went dead. A cold wind brushed past me, and as I sat there my right hand still on the steering wondering what had just happened, music resumed as if nothing had ever occurred. I turned the volume down to the minimum and kept driving even while difficult, unexplainable thoughts crashed through my head. Like what just happened !!!
When clarity set in I also realized that I had proceeded straight towards Kericho instead of taking the right towards Muhoroni. My journey was again going to be longer.
I eventually got to Kisumu at around 2:51pm and headed straight to the venue of the event. In a jolly mood I greeted everyone, laughed with some while reminiscing our school days. Deep down the smiles and the laughs were just fake because I was hiding the confusion I was in.
Suddenly just in the midst of the small talks a classmate of mine, Peter just asked jokingly which route I had taken. Casually I answered him I took the longer Kericho route to Kisumu. Then came the shocker response from him,” You’re very lucky to have used that longer route because there was a serious tragic accident at Muhoroni…”
I immediately took my phone to check on the latest news. It was actually in the headlines. A tragic accident had occurred at Muhoroni where a fuel tanker had lost control and rammed into other vehicles causing an explosion that really took so many lives. In the pictures of the accident I noticed something and as I zoomed in it was images of the cars that were ahead and behind me almost burnt down to nothing.
So was it the call from Bryce that confused me making me not to take the Muhoroni route that saved me. Somehow, I felt both relieved and grateful, yet still wrapped in fear.
Curiosity got the better of me and I opened my call history to call Bryce back, but there was nothing. The call had vanished as if it had never happened. Right then I just told myself this moment wasn’t going to consume me. I whispered, “Thank you, Bryce” under my breath and walked straight to the bar counter of Hilton Hotel. I ordered a cold bottle of the White Cup beer, and with teary eyes scrolled through my gallery found the last photo we ever took together with Bryce, and sat there smiling at it, sipping our favorite drink as if sharing one more toast with him…
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