First of all, before I begin my story,I would like to give a massive shoutout to ‘Uncle’ Luke. Well, that’s what the lady I loved so deeply said he was. She said he was ‘Uncle’ Luke. I never for a moment thought anyone would ever steal my sweetheart from me. I thought I was the man.
I wish I could do a lot of things. I wish I could hire a gang to beat you up ‘Uncle Luke’. It’s said that for a man, revenge is the second sweetest joy; the sweetest joy is making love to the woman of your desires with a wallet full of money on the side of the bed. I agree. But the Bible says though shall not revenge, Right?
Second, I’d also love to give a massive shout out to Lisa, my former lover, a lady I loved so much. I treated Lisa like a queen. I did everything for her. I sacrificed all that I had for her. Why did she have to break my heart and crush it? Why did she do this to me? Why? The question has a repetitive structure in my mind but no answers come.
I would also like to give a shout out to all ‘uncles’ – unreal ones. If I was in a position of power, I would make them all suffer. I don’t know how but I would find a way. There comes a time in life you love a girl and feel you would give everything for her. You feel she’s your life and you would do anything to keep her in your arms forever. That’s how I felt for Lisa. I know a part of my mistake anyway. I broke an important law of love by loving too much. Adequate love is permitted but excessive love is always poisonous.
An ancient law of love and seduction says you shouldn’t be too nice. Being too nice is the greatest error a man in love can make. At first, perhaps, your kindness is charming, but it soon grows monotonous; you are trying too hard to please, and come off as insecure.
Instead of overwhelming your object of affection with niceness, try inflicting some pain. Make them feel guilty and insecure. Instigate a rapprochement, a return to your earlier kindness, will turn them weak at the knees. The lower the lows you create, the greater the highs you will get to. To heighten the erotic charge, create the excitement of fear.
I met Lisa under unpredictable circumstances. I was at the bus park in our campus, seated, waiting for the next bus to Ruiru to arrive. I had planned to go see a friend who resided there. I didn’t have a bus pass so I had borrowed one from a friend. Being a crucial time of the semester, I was quite broke and had resorted to using the student shuttle services illegally. I noticed that the girl seated next to me was crying. She seemed deeply troubled and in pain so I went ahead to ask her what was wrong. The moment she turned her head and looked me directly in the eye, I felt lost. Her powerful round eyes pulled me and I sank in them, deeper and deeper as she spoke.
At being in an inconsolable state at first, she opened up and told me she had lost all her money and purse somewhere in school and she had nothing left. After some internal debate whether it was appropriate to put my arm around her shoulder, I finally did it. She didn’t resist and I was glad to find out that movie scenes sometimes do come to life. I then offered her my new unused handkerchief to wipe her tears with. I kept on offering her mental support as we were in the bus and our chemistry slowly developed.
When we arrived at Ruiru, I withdrew some of the little money I had in my MPESA account and gave it to her. I felt pity for her. She appreciated and gave me her number. It marked the beginning of bliss that later turned into agony.
It turned out to be the onset of a sweet love affair that blossomed like a lotus flower. Conversations on Facebook, Twitter, Whats App and texts ended late in the night always. To say it was wonderful is such a massive understatement. It was amazing, unbelievable and intriguing. Every passing day was a reason to be happy and look forward to the next. The way she always jumped on me whenever we met, made my friends jealous.
Everything seemed flawless. Everything seemed real. Everything seemed the best there ever was.
One evening while strolling with my friends at Kahawa Sukari, bragging to them how my fine lady was good in bed, I saw a fine looking lady getting into the front passenger seat of a Range Rover Vogue just a few meters ahead of us. It was Lisa. She was looking skimpy than usual. She even wore a mini skirt. Something she seldom did. She always preferred decent African designed attire. She even had a personal designer who happened to be her cousin.
On the driver’s seat, there was an older smart guy, probably in his forties. He had a fitting tailor made suit or perhaps Armani if I wasn’t wrong. The vehicle sped off as soon as Lisa boarded. They were all smiles.
Out of curiosity, I tried calling her but she didn’t answer. I also sent her a few text messages which were also ignored.
Later that night she replied,‘”Oh baibe, I’m very sorry for not picking up. That was my uncle: Uncle Luke. He’s so sweet. He even assists my mum in paying my fees. You know my dad neglected us a long time ago so we struggle sometimes. Uncle Luke helps us as a good relative. He ensures we live a good and comfortable life. He was taking me shopping’” I was convinced.
Her lulling voice always left me with reassurance and zero doubts. It’s like she spoke in controlled vocals that kept on reverberating in my mind.
The next evening, Lisa came to my place. She brought back my laptop and modem. I had lent her mine since her computer was having technical problems and I’m not the kind of tough guy who is good at fixing malfunctioning sinks and electronics. She was looking even more irresistible. I held her against the wall and started kissing and caressing her. That was our usual style when he had missed each other. We always kicked things off on the wall before going to the bed.
“Darling, not now please. I need to see a friend. I’ll come back tomorrow. Ok?”, she said. I was disappointed but I obliged. I allowed her to leave. I sat down and switched on the laptop. I had missed surfing on the internet.
Within moments, a Skype message came in. Apparently, she had forgotten to log off her Skype account. The sender was a guy called Luke. I didn’t want to open it since I wasn’t the poky type but I decided to do so nevertheless. Up to this day, I still wish I didn’t.
A video started playing. It was Lisa naked making love to that same guy I saw picking her up. The same guy she said was Uncle Luke.
Feelings of pain coated with betrayal slithered through my bloodstream. I didn’t want to look at the video anymore.
Another video message from Luke came in. It was the bastard, now talking. I was quick to note that he spoke with a fake American accent.“Hey baibe, I just sent you the video we recorded last night. You see how crazy we were? It was awesome. I can’t wait for part two tonight”
Anger surged in me like venom in the veins of a rattlesnake’s victim. I nearly crashed the laptop against the wall. I was just about to go ahead but I realized I would need it again. I would need the evidence.
I tried calling Lisa but her phone was off. I couldn’t sleep that night. I bought a 250ml bottle of Viceroy Brandy and gulped it all up in minutes. All that time I had suicidalthoughts. The proceedings were eating me up bit by bit. Imaginary demons haunted me, demons of betrayal and disbelief. I loved Lisa a lot. I just couldn’t accept that this was reality.
The next day I tried calling her but she was unreachable. Her phone was off. I texted her several messages but she didn’t reply any of them. I tried calling her roommate Sarah but she never answered her phone too.
I stayed in my house the whole day doing nothing, stressed up. It was a Friday. I missed all classes. Brian, my best friend came to offer me support but after trying so hard to make me feel better, he gave up and left.
In the evening I made up my mind to go to Lisa’s place and check if she was there. I just needed an explanation. I wanted to know why she would do such a terrible thing to me. I wanted to understand.
As soon as I arrived, I knocked on the door but no one opened. There was mild music playing inside. Surprisingly the door wasn’t locked so I let myself in. I heard noises coming from a room in the house. It sounded like moans.
Was I hearing things? I headed towards the room where the noise came from and opened the door. I was still a bit drunk and with a lot of courage. I still pray no other man ever gets to see what I saw. Exactly the same thing I had seen in the video. Lisa and the Luke guy having sex.
That wasn’t even the worst part. They both didn’t seem shocked. The guy angrily came to confront me. In his fake American accent he insisted on calling the police. Lisa asked him to settle down then she finally spoke.
“You never make me happy Philip. I don’t want you anymore. I have moved on. Please stay out of my life. I need to be with someone I can see a future with. Period”
It’s still a wonder to me, how I never collapsed from shock. I tried to speak but no word came out.
The events that were unraveling before my eyes were more like a nightmare than a real occurrence.
“Please leave! Now!,” the guy ordered. I left, trying to figure out what was going on. On my way outside is when I noticed a BMW parked outside.
My mind resisted reality. I nearly got hit by a car twice on my back. How I arrived at my place safe is a miracle. I dumped myself on the couch. .
A text message came in. I was still hoping it was Lisa’s text, telling me that was her twin or something. Not her. It was my dad. He asked me not to miss the get-together family function that was happening the next day. I had even forgotten about it.
I woke up the next day and left for home. Home wasn’t far. I had to keep myself busy. I arrived a few minutes later and my mum was so glad to see me, so were my aunties. They were always fond of me.
I busied myself catching up with one of my cousins before my dad called me. He said he wanted to introduce me to some relatives I had never met before so we headed to the living room. Upon entering, my heart somehow tore to pieces. My dad began to speak.
“I’d like you to meet Uncle Luke, the husband to your aunt Lucia. He’s been in the USA for a long time and has finally come back home. Luke, this is my son Philip.”
The way I and that Luke bastard trained evil fiery glares at each other made everyone in the room horrified. It was like Spartacus and Gaius Claudius Glaber; So much enmity, calling for blood.
The anger I felt inside clouded my judgment. I turned over the table, spilling all the drinks that were on it. He was shaking I could see. My dad and my aunt Lucia didn’t seem to comprehend what was going on.It sounded like a joke. Lisa’s fake uncle and sugar daddy had turned out to be my real uncle.
‘Uncle’ Luke was indeed Uncle Luke.
“This was my first big story as a writer. This was the piece that heralded my entrance into the world of the pen while I was still an amateur. While I still hadn’t mastered the art of linguistic maneuver, the appreciation I received after writing this piece fueled me to what I am today and what I’ll be in future “
By Philip Etemesi
www.doitadigital.com