Lights Off

 

After taking his last sip of that Thursday night 16 years ago, Albert staggered to the car tapping his pocket should he have dropped his key. Somewhere at the second fourth or fifth floor was a woman half a sleep waiting for her husband to get home. Arranging words that sting like bees that she wanted to unleash on her 3am man.

At the Bomas junction Albert rammed into some vehicle. The offended got out in full rage confronting Albert. Maybe he had hired the car or just bought it the other day with hefty loan from some unforgiving microfinance because wueeeh that guy was furious. They started arguing shortly before Albert withdrew a pistol and fired.

Because it was in Gods plan that the offended had to finish paying his car loan, Albert missed his target and hit another guy who was driving home. A guy who I won’t judge, maybe he was just waiting for everyone to get out of town so that he switches off the streetlights – they also need to sleep. 

In his head thinking of what he would tell his wife this time because last Friday he promised never to get back home past midnight. He promised to be getting back home because Perez his daughter always asks where daddy is at supper time. Baba Perez coincidentally turned out to be Albert’s classmate in high school. And he died.

Albert was jailed for a couple of years. While in jail the widow of the guy he shot filed civil proceedings against him, as a result of which the judge ruled that he pays her ksh 18 million pesa taslimu. Albert was broke and couldn’t pay, so in 2018 he applied to the court to be declared bankrupt.

A few incidences in the past have made me believe that a pistol, alcohol and temper are not relatives neither are they friends. The consequences are ugly once you pull the trigger because this is not a movie where you’ll die in one and resurrect in another.

Baba Perez needed a second chance to see his daughter grow but the other guy also had to pay his car loan. The dice fell on the former and lights went off.

Goodnight world!