Grandfather and Grandmother

As my grandfather grew older we would see him continually daydreaming of the time in his own youth when he was a warrior and fought the Masai. In one raid he had lost a brother. But he returned with a young woman called nyokabi who became his second wife. Her great beauty still shone out even though she was so old. Nyokabi was so calm and kind and gentle, but when she moved she went as swift as the wind. My own grandmother, first wife, had a tough temper.

It was fun to sit and listen to grandfathers stories. But he often reminded us that when he was young, girls were not allowed to sit near when the elders were discussing such things. For this reason I was glad I was not alive in those days. Yet in my heart of hearts, I wished I had known the story character. I wished I had known the great giant who lived in the forest and had one big eye, one leg and two mouths-one for swallowing flies and the other for eating human beings. The giants had fire on his tail and carried a bell. It was said that anyone who saw the light of the fire or heard the sound of the bell would become rooted to the spot, powerless to move.

When the herder brought my grandfathers goats and cattle to the compound in the evening, this was the signal for us to start four-mile journey home. Our way home led through a small forest. Once we came face to face with what looked like a fox in the picture books. As we had been told that Kenya has no foxes, it was probably a jackal secretly glinting at us on the path. It did not frighten us, but we were scared of the general reputation of the place. People said there were mocking ghosts there, tall, white creatures who slapped and pulled the ears of evening travelers.
I suppose I only half believed these tales, but I still keep an eye for ghosts in the forests. I still do not travel through them at night.

When I look back, I remember how upset my grandfather was by our shapeless red and white stripped Sunday school dress. I wonder what he would say if he were alive today and could see his grandmothers driving cars, working as airline hostesses and dancing the night away in jean.

By Edwar Ombaka Adeny