Well Hello!

Some people just strike you with mystery. Like today on my way home from work, I was seated on the second row seats from the driver, just going about my business when a certain lady made a call…she was seated behind me so I couldn’t see her. Something about her voice caught my attention. Lets call her Lola. Lola because because great brands, like Bata (don't argue with me on this, Bata is a great brand) tend to have a simple, single worded name.  Or Java, or Uber. Well if Lola was a brand, she would be one of those. Because they don't struggle to impress with big fancy names, they just do. Lola   was asking someone to send a driver Sunday evening to JKIA to pick someone who would be arriving then.From the conversation, I pictured one of those You Tubers with a morning and evening routine where everything is so meticulous and detailed as though almost planned with the precision of a doctor’s prescription. She was asking  the other person on the line to ensure the driver caries an umbrella for her guest because it is rainy in Nairobi, and she would not want her guest to get rained on. She specifically instructed the person to ensure that the driver carries the umbrella with him when he goes to meet him at the lounge area in the airport because she doesn't want to take any chances with the weather. She insisted on this. Well I could understand the umbrella but then she also asked for wine. Something french from how it sounded. I wondered how wine fitted into the context. So basically the person at the other end of the line was to get this bottle of wine and deliver it to the driver who would then take it with him to the airport. So I wondered,....is it like how you meet someone with flowers? Or was s/he supposed to just have it in the car then have it when they arrived at their destination? or maybe it was for her guest to have on the way back from the airport because with this crazy traffic, we can as well have some wine while at it....but then I thought,Lola seemed like she pays such attention to detail, shouldn't she then have asked the person on the line to ask the driver to carry a glass as well??( ok,I was overthinking it). Maybe the wine was not meant to be drunk in the car after all. She said she would meet them at home because she would be travelling later that night and will be back just about an hour before they arrive on Sunday. She said she wouldn't have enough time to go pick him. Yes, I have settled on a 'him' because that is what fitted the narrative I was creating in my head.  At this point, I was really itching to turn and look but then it would be so obvious that I was evesdropping because she was the only person talking.  The rest of us were quiet and honestly quite lethargic.( at least from the energy in the air). It was a Friday evening, and it seemed like it was going to rain later, it was gloomy, and everybody was tired from work (well,I assume)I was  haphazardly going through my phone pretending to be busy with something. Most of the other passengers( at least those I could see) were either just blankly staring out of the window,or busy on their phones. One looked realy pensive as if whatever they were thinking about was out in the distance. Lola went on to give a detailed description of the kind of vehicle she wanted, from which company and even the color...( I was like ok, we are sorry madam...anything else??) then she ended the conversation. But not before signing out with ''Ok darling, talk to you soon'' xx( the person on the line was a lady...I could hear her voice faintly, probably a close friend). I was still wondering what the wine was for but in my head,I had already formed an image of her. She must be wearing lipstick, probably red. She probably has long acrylics on her nails...and well done make up. I also imagined a candle-lit dinner on Sunday...with wine of course...and love. In a neat house, homely, and decorated with something leafy, something cosy and grey and definitely white walls, probably some hint of yellow too. No, I like mustard better.

I drifted off to Jackson Bikos' blog and before I knew it I was at my stop. Most people had alighted and I didn't notice when the lady got off. I will never know if my story about her was true. A little glimpse at her would have given me a peek into her world . But until now, all I know is the sound of her voice, her attention to detail and the wine...she asked for wine..she must enjoy making people have a good time. I will never know what her story is, but  my version of it is perfect. We all make up such stories about people. Those who happen to cross our paths and leave an impression. We get to know some of them, some we get to know briefly...some we hope to see again...we get to know some of their story, sometimes only deep enough to make us even more curious. I have come to learn it is better to not feed the curiosity ...a lot of times you will end up with a bland feeling, because when you know, then that's just that. You know...then what? No matter how deep you get to know someone, you will never know their whole story. But you can know enough to make up the rest of it...at least in your head. If you're lucky...or unlucky...they end end up becoming part of your story too...maybe your children's stories as well...and your grand children...who knows? but I know one thing for sure...there is never just a single story, neither is there a complete one.