Hidden Fate

IN AUGUST (CHAPTER 1)

This is the worst month of every year for the vehicles; August has large amount of rainfall thus making almost all the roads muddy. Muddy roads are bad for all the vehicles but small vehicles suffer the most. Many small vehicles truly prefer constructed highways but fate is constantly working in the shadows. Fate wouldn’t allow any vehicle to be completely locked on to the highways. It has drastic charms and measures that can lore off its victims from the highways. Sometimes the victims would face difficult situations removing their vehicles from the mud but sometimes again, perhaps one can be faced with a hidden destiny. A destiny that can bring to you your true partner, the one made for you, your soul mate.

I didn’t ride far in Gidda and I noticed that someone was waving at me. It was an old man stranded in a heavy rain with his car. It was raining heavily that I could barely see him. His car, Mercedes Benz, was badly stuck in the mud. I stopped, came out of my car and went straight to him. As soon as I got close enough, he rushed and greeted me warmly. I looked into his eyes and saw some discomfort in them, even though he tried to hide it. “What happens to your car?” Obviously, I knew the problem but it definitely worth it to ask some questions before giving out a helping hand. “It has stuck in the mud; despite my relentless efforts, it gets worse every time I tried to unstuck it. I have been here for more than three hours and thank God you showed up.” His eyes now widen with relief and gladly showed me around the car. “Your car is pretty much stuck. Would you mind if we find a shelter first because it is raining so heavily? After the rain stops, I would find some help to pull your car off the mud.” I politely asked him while looking at the wheels in the mud. “No problem son. Besides, I am getting chill up in the rain already and that is not good for my old bones.”

We walked to my car and sat in it for a while before starting the engine. I wiped water off on my face and arms and I gave him the handkerchief to do the same. While doing that, I observed him thoroughly. Although he is an old aged man, his infant look has not faded completely. He has a long sharp nose little bit broad around the edges but relatively small. His eyebrows and eyelashes are wide, long and broad. He has curly hair mostly grey with few dotted black hair. His face is long and covered with grey beard and little bit darker on the chin. His face is shinny and well taken care of. His look tells you that he used to be a handsome man. He looks like a holy type too and calm both within and outside. “What is your name, son?” He asked me calmly. “My name is Yusuf.” I replied. “Oh! That is a very nice name – Yusuf. I wouldn’t agree with you any less than accepting the fact that this name suits you because your handsome look justifies everything.

“Where do you come from?” Usually in The Gambia, if an elderly person asks you where you come from, is often about your origin, the origin of your parents and grandparents. This can help them connect the bits until they come to know someone who might be related to you or maybe either well-known to them or related to them. Gambia is a small country and inter-marriage relationship is very common within the ethnic groups. This makes everyone somehow related to one another. Even if you hardly know the person, through chatting and asking questions in some tail ends, you might begin to know that you are somewhere related.

“My parents were born in Brikama but my grandfather came from Kiang. Through trade, he settled in Brikama and married my grandmother who was a native of Brikama from an ancestral line of Sanneh’s in Sanneh Kunda ward. My grandmother was born in Imam Kunda. Her father was well-known Imam Bakawsu. My grandfather, despite his less scheduled time, used to go to the Imam for some Quranic lessons. Because of his good heart, Bakawsu, my great-grandfather, decided to give him one of his daughters in marriage who became my grandmother. When they got married, they settled in Nyambai ward where my father was born.”As I explained this to him, I realized that he was impressed about it and cut me through my talk. “Well son, I can see that you know your origin. Many children nowadays can hardly say a half of words you just said about your parents. I am sure you know a lot more. If one does not know where one comes from, one will not know where to go. History is very important because it tells a lot about you and your origin. It also reminds us about our good people who passed before us. Everything about them, their bravery, honesty and piousness needs to be preserved so that it will be a lesson for the younger generations. Unfortunately, today, both our history and culture are endangered, soon they will extinct. Children of these days feel bored to listen to the deeds of their ancestors and that results into poor yield of behavior. I can say that I am also from Kiang, in a village called Tankurar. My grandparents moved from Kiang to Badibu where all my parents were born including me. After travelling for so many years, I bought a compound in Busumbala village and finally settled down and had all my children there. Travelling didn’t give me enough time to get married early. So I got married so lately. I always wanted a male child of my own but God is the giver of children. Some, He denies them of children, not even a single one. Some, He gives them plenty of mixed children, male and female. Some, He gives them only males. And some, he gives them only females. I found myself in the last situation. I have two wives and each has three children. I used to pray for a male child but all my six children had become females. Despite my grief for a male child, now I realized that female children are no less important. They equally can make you a joyful proud father. I believe that they are even better than me when it comes to commitment.”When he continued talking about his children for a while, a moment of silence broke in. He bowed his head down and smiled. A smile that can lighten the heart of a father and made all the problems of the world once again bearable, it was that smile I saw on his face. It was like he had been in a lost for so many years in search of one thing but now he realized that things around him had everything he ever wanted.

It was still raining heavily when we finally came to my shop. I packed the car beside the shop. Though we were soaked in our wet clothes, we rushed into the shop to avoid the rain. To me it was pointless running away from the rain when we were already wet but as humans our reflexive actions always play their part. I brought a chair for him and a cup of tea to warm his body. He sat, drank and gazed around the shop for a while. “Your shop is pretty much big and congested. You have good building materials here. I would need a brush and a white paint myself.” “Okay no problem, I will surely get it for you later. Would you mind if I have a moment with my boy, Buba? I want to have some business recording with him.” I asked him politely. “Surely, no problem, go ahead.” I spent a lot of time with Buba checking all the records of last couple of weeks’ business. I never joke with business record because it is the only thing I trust. I went through every transaction and re-recorded it in my personal record book. It took me for about three hours to finish and compile everything. My attention was so much dwelled in it that I forgot about him and the rain. “Hope I have not kept you waiting for so long?” my uncomfortable voice went through asking this question after attending to him finally. I felt I was negligent of him by keeping him waiting for so long. “No you have not kept me waiting and I don’t mind spending some time here. Besides, I am not in a hurry. All I was worried about was the heavy rainfall. Now the sun is peeping through the cloudy sky and that makes me much comfortable.”

“How old are you?” He asked me. “I just turned twenty seven.” I replied wondering why he asked this question. “It is a fine age.” He nodded and continued talking. “You are a ripe young man.” Upon saying this, we both laughed softly. “Are your parents still there?” “My mother passed away a decade ago but my father is still there. They had only me.” I replied and took another chair and sat beside him. I guessed he had a bunch of questions in line but I didn’t mind answering them all. “Do you have any other sibling after your mother?” He asked again. “No.” I replied. “Why? Is it that your father does not want another woman in his life again?” I felt that I should give him a long explanation. “My mother was the only woman my father ever loved. She was like a whole world to him. She was very kind, loving and so caring. Before they had me, my father and my mother went through so many difficult situations. For more than twelve years of marriage, they had no child of their own. Many women used to mock my mother, calling her different names because of her childlessness. Some even called her a witch because they believed that she ate her children in her womb. Despite giving dreadful names to her, people always testified that she was the best woman around. My father was poor, could barely bring money home for feeding and other things but he was relentless. He kept on striving for his family. Despite his poor income, he always earns through honesty. My mother used to make a joke to me about my father’s poverty. ‘Your father was so poor that there was no rat and mouse in his house because there was no food spared for them. He then would go into the bush to pour water in a container for birds to drink in compensation for his missing rewards from God about rats and mice not feeding on left-over meals in the house.’ He was a well and latrine digger. He was and still an honest man with a strange honor of a Samurai warrior. One fine day, my father met a white man who was from Norway. He admired my father’s honesty and commitment and established a well digging company with him. They went round digging wells and boreholes in almost every town and village in The Gambia. Three years later, after my father had a company, my mother got pregnant of me. She called that year the blessed year of her life because she became wealthy and at the same time her head stood high in the society. Everyone now came to them for some financial support. She would always tell me that anything in your wealth that you spend on yourself is not yours but the ones you give out are truly yours. ‘Open your heart to people because no situation lasts forever. Your father and I used to sleep on mats instead of beds but today any type of bed I want I can get it and sleep on it.’ She would also preach to me about honesty, helping others, speaking the truth, avoiding violence and minding my business. For all those years I spent with them, I had never seen them quarrel even for once. Her demised literally killed my father in his heart for ages. It is like a half of his wholeness has been torn apart. My presence and his memory of her keep him going because they are the only connections he has with her. I don’t think he will love another woman again. Many people said that time heals every wound but I find it hard to believe that this wound will be healed by time.”

“Son, life sometimes can be a mystery. The more we tend to life, the more our wisdom and experience drag into nothingness. Any man, who after spending some time with your mother cannot morn for her absence, is a devil reincarnation. No matter how fast a horse runs, you must whip it. I am pleading to you to give more support to your father. Do not stay far away from him for a long time. He needs you now more than before. A good seed produces a good yield. You are from good people and without any doubt I totally concur that you are a good person. A book cannot be judged by its cover but a book written by a best renowned scholar should be judged as a good book.” He paused for a while, thinking through what he was going to say next. Old wise people don’t just talk for the sake of talking, they think through everything they utter. Their brains come first before their mouths. They believe that if your hands put you in trouble, they can help you out but if your mouth puts you in trouble, you can be drowned in it forever. Words are something if they come out, they can never be taken in. “Are you married son?” I didn’t see this coming; I thought that he was going to continue with the advice but a question like this I was not expecting that. “I am not married yet” I replied. “Have you seen someone whom you have decided to be united with?” He asked again. “No I have not seen anyone yet my education and my work have kept me from marital affairs.” I replied guessing what he was going to say next. “Well let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t make the same mistake I had fallen into so many years ago. As cunning as I used to be, so much dived into ambitions, I left everything behind. Thinking that wealth is going to give me all the things I would ever want but the truth is that wealth and family are two different things. You ought to make some time to start a new life with your own family and at the same time pursue your dreams and ambitions. Making family is almost inevitable but when to make family is the most important part of it. Don’t wait till your bones get knaggy and you start making family. Besides, like I told you, I have six daughters, if you won’t mind, I can tie a knot between you and my eldest daughter and she is twenty five years old as at now. Her name is Kadijah and she has just completed her business education at GTTI (Gambia Technical Training Institute). I am not in a desperate position to give out my daughter in marriage, rather as a man who passed through so many experiences. What I can see as I am sitting on the floor you cannot see that while standing on your feet. Now I want to ask the question. Will you agree if I ask you to marry my daughter?” I knew that I should give him an assurance yet not making any promise. So I had to choose my words carefully. “I understand everything you have said and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. If you decided to give me your flesh and blood, that means a lot. It is an absolute trust. I am a complete stranger to you but out of our thin conversation you are ready to make my life complete. However, this matter we cannot make the final decision. First you may need the consent of your daughter and I will also speak with my father about it.” I said this while being little bit bamboozled. “I know about this son. Everything starts with you. If you are ready to try, then the rest will follow. Through your words, I know that you have complied. I will speak with my family about it, especially my daughter. I will never force any of you to accept the alliance because your happiness lies within your palms. You know yourselves better than I do. If either of you don’t accept after seeing each other, we can end it right there. If you all accept, then let it be and leave everything in the hands of the mighty God.”

We spoke for few more minutes and went to mosque for Asr prayer. After making the prayer, I phoned Omar, a business friend of mine, to bring his tractor. Truly speaking, tractor is a powerful machine. It dragged the car from the mud as if it was dragging a wheelbarrow. The tractor carried the car all way to the highway where it is safe. I didn’t expect – it would be so quick. Anyway, I gave Omar some cash as a compensation for his service. I took a bucket of paint and a brush from my car and went to the old man. “Here is your paint and brush that you have requested earlier on.” I stretched my hands to give him the items but he hesitated and put his hand in his pocket on the right side of his kaftan. He brought out some notes and took the items from me and hand the notes over to me. “I cannot take this money from you. To me, you are considered a family now and it is not appropriate to collect any money from you because of business.” I meant every word I said and pleaded with him to take the money away. “If all your family members take things from your business without paying, that can cause your business downfall and disrupt everything you stood for. I don’t want that to happen so please consider me as a customer.” He affirmed his will to pay. “Taking few items from the business cannot break the business.” I protested. It took us more time than the tractor dragging the car from the mud before he finally gave in to keep the money. I was relieved as he gave up and got into his car. “Please do not forget about what we have discussed earlier on. I am serious about it. Do extend it to your father.” He said this after taking my phone number. We bit a farewell and drove away.

*Author's note: (Look out for Chapter 2)*