The Sad Story of Kairu

Kairu stood at the door of the shop, a long baton in his hand. The uniform he wore, apparently too heavy for the hot weather, made him look shorter than he actually was. And his boots did not fit him; they were too large.

Of all the things he wore though, it was the helmet that looked most comical. It was one size bigger than his head, almost covering his eyes. As he stood in the blazing Sun, peering at the world under the rim of the helmet, one got the impression that he was a comedian playing the part of a bored guard.

But Kairu wasn't dabbling in comedy; guarding Tamara Clothing Store was his work. The job was very boring, standing at the door of the shop all day long as customers came and went. Often his legs felt weak, tempting him to throw his baton and sleep right there on the floor.

Earlier in his life, he dreamt of getting a good education and improving his family's living standards. After finishing high school, he stayed in his village and admired its beautiful ridges. But he realized he didn't belong there because the ridges had sapped his father of every bit of energy, leaving him frail and shaking.

So he set off for Nairobi City, his mind heavy with thoughts. He trekked for miles on hot tarmac looking for a job before he was accepted for training by Paka Guards.

The training turned out to be so strenuous that Kairu shuddered when he thought of it. Like the other recruits, he was beaten, starved and abused. And in mock fights against robbers, the trainers had injured some of them.

But all that was nothing compared to Kivumbi Hill where recruits were forced to run up and down at midday, making the murram that covered the hill blister their feet. Climbing the hill on their knees was even worse. It was torture beyond words.

Kairu knew many people were waiting to replace him if he lost the opportunity to work for Paka Guards. So he had withstood the training with the courage that comes from living in a world where so many things are threatening to break one's spirit.

Although it was now over, he could not shake off the terror of those two months in the training camp. It had left him weak and scared. He had always loved arguments but in the camp, he learnt to obey. It was also in the camp that he realized how needs can force people to put up with what they don't like.

Here he stood at the door of Tamara Clothing Store under the blazing Sun, summoning every effort to stay on his feet. The job was not only boring but also low-paying and prone to danger, for he could be confronted by robbers any moment. He often wondered what he would do if such a moment ever came; he was not certain he would not run away. End of story.

That fictional story, which I first read in a high school textbook called "Integrated English Book 2", has challenged me to work hard as a blogger. I have just dreaded falling into the same predicament Kairu did. Stories do have the power to change us, be they real or fictional.

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