A DATE WITH THE MEGA TRAFFIC JAM.
I turn to my friend, Mercy who is sitted beside me in the bus and ask her a very random question “Have you ever been on a blind date? How did you feel when on the date?” I hurl another question, having responded positively to the first question. Her response on the question perfectly matches the feelings I have at the moment. Feeling of panic; I wish I never had come..; what on earth am I doing here…etcetera. These are some of the feelings someone would feel on a traffic jam.
We have been on the exact spot for about two hours with no hopes of moving and the driver has long stopped the engine. Time has frozen and I get so impatient and have to get used to the fact. I opt to listen to my rock music to reduce the risks of getting bored but my phone battery goes low and I try to find something else to engage myself with. Of course my choice would not have fallen for sleep since I was so restless knowing that the jam would make me miss my bus to Mombasa and again it was so noisy .Sincerely, this is the part where one can willingly pay for an air ticket despite the falling of the Kenyan shilling. At one point I wish to go back to school since we are in Athi River where the night mare began, but that would be like an army retreating from its battle.
My ‘hope gauge’ rises when the driver starts the engine and cannot resist the temptation of popping my head out of the window as the bus struggles to make its way in the mega traffic. I keep my fingers crossed all along and finally after a fierce struggle the bus manages to move with the other motors. Finally we make it, the bus was moves smoothly in the convey but would have liked it better if it would overtake some slow moving vehicles. Something that would not ever happen since motors on the other side just experience the same problem, traffic jam. All the same having them there created a perfect destruction for me since some of passengers in the other buses make faces making me laugh, some wink while some wave like they know me and with no time I am in town and have to run to the booking office to catch my bus that was to leave in ten minutes time. Thank to the flat shoes I wore, I make it on time. I hved never counted myself lucky before but this was one lucky moment and felt I could celebrate every bit of it. Too bad I was already in the bus, I could not wait to reach Mtito Andei (where buses stop for a while.) and buy myself something to celebrate my victory.
I sit back in my seat relaxed and hope not to have a seatmate conversation with anyone. To avoid this I pull the seat push-back lever, wear my hoodie and close my eyes, it marks a perfect DO NOT DISTURB note for my neighbor. I fall fast asleep until the next morning.
The murmurs in the bus wake me up. Am shocked to find out that we are near Mlolongo, in the traffic jam. The jam has extended all the way to Makutano junction in Machakos. Guess my date with the mega traffic jam is not over after all. My stomach grumbles with hunger and i remember how I had wanted to get to Mtitu Andei to celebrate my victory. I glance at the man next to me and he smiles. So sure he heard the noise from my stomach. I force a smile. Again I avoid any opportunity for a conversation and leaned back on my seat facing the window. Though I do not want to be part of it, I cannot avoid eavesdropping on the hot discussion between my seat mate and the old lady opposite him about the government expanding the roads to avoid traffic jams. They got everyone talking about it and I felt as though I was in a parliament debate. In such debates my mind automatically switches off and flickers to something else engaging.
Traffic jams are the worse dates one can ever wish for. It messes people’s schedules and adjusting to it is very hard. One thing I fail to understand is how they get to start.
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