Dance in the Rain
Is my hair too long for this fluffy kinky hairstyle? I wonder… how will I look? Will I look like a cool girl or perhaps, it might backfire. I stared into the mirror asking and answering myself at the same time. I didn’t notice he was right behind me. Not even the fact that he was smiling at me and trying to get a minute of my time. Few people knew his name. He couldn’t speak well and neither could he walk. ‘’Mae Mae, he said.” For a moment I had no idea what to do so I ignored.Perhaps he would get tired and go away that is if somebody would come and help him wheel his chair.
He was there, inside the salon for quite some time, struggling to tell us how beautiful we were, how he would like to visit our homes or how he wanted us to visit his. He cheerfully ate his mandazi and drank his bottle of soda, a good Samaritan had bought him lunch. He was a happy man, despite his sickness and constant visit to the clinic nearby to get physiotherapy. Who is he? I wondered. Every time I looked into his eyes, he smiled.
They called him” Wa Mae Mae,” because he constantly said the words”mae mae.” Few people knew his home but many knew him as a cheerful man. Perhaps he understood that life need not always be about the struggles and heartaches. It could be beautiful if we learnt to appreciate the things that matter most, the gift of life, family and the people we meet every day who become a significant part of our lives.
One hour later and I saw someone coming to assist him to push his wheelchair as he headed home.I watched him go and soon he had disappeared into the busy street. I only saw him once after that. He was cheerful as always and somebody bought him samosa, who knows maybe it was the only meal he would have for that day.
A month later after our interaction at the salon and news had it that he had passed on. He was rained on as he went home. Due to his illness, he just couldn’t handle the cold weather and he was gone. A cheerful man who perhaps if he could, he would run home if he had seen the change in weather or like the children, he would choose to play and dance in the rain. He couldn’t do any of those but he could be happy and that is what mattered.’’Wa Mae Mae,’’ reminded me to dance in the rain…..
Dance in the rain, let it wash away the pain. Let the rain come down and allow the sun to shine. Let it teach me to be happy and appreciate the blessings that God has abundantly given me even when I don’t deserve. Let it teach us to be happy. Dance, dance in the rain.
