Fiction: Innocent hawker saved by his legs

“I prayed for twenty years but I received no answer until I prayed with my legs”. Fredrick Douglass-escaped slave Legs literally saved a one Mr. Wanasibwa from an irate mob which was hankering after his blood last weekend at Bukavu. He as is his routine was going on with his daily chores, namely hawking. He specializes in selling ladies’ lingerie. It is said that on this particular day, he had gone to deliver some merchandise to one of his good clients. Wanasibwa had arrived at his clients premises in the afternoon to deliver some goods she had ordered. He was invited inside the house, a gesture he least expected but which he gladly accepted considering the scorching sun he had endured for the better part of the day. He ignored the fact that the lady of the house was scantily dressed. He had assumed the weather to be the cause. He made himself busy by removing the contents in his big patched bag as soon as he was ushered in while the lady dashed into the kitchen and later came with two glasses of cold juice. “Wow,” he muttered to himself and swiftly emptied the contents in the glass down his thirsty throat. “Can I serve you with another glass? Please, feel free,” the lady requested. Wanasibwa nodded in affirmative. It took seconds and the lady was back with another glass of juice and sat right next to Wanasibwa who had by now displayed the goods on the table for his customer to scrutinize. The lady didn’t seem interested in the goods displayed but rather engaged Wanasibwa with endless chat on day today life. Her close proximity to him made him quite uncomfortable considering that she was married. This prompted him to stand up, pick a pair of brassiere and handed them to her to try them out in an effort to interfere with her endless seductive chat. She obliged, picked the brassiere and to his amazement, exposed her bare front and invited him to zip it up for her from the back. He had reluctantly followed her orders when the door was flung opened and the man of the house popped in unannounced. He found the hawker behind his wife with his hands casually caressing his wife or so he thought. The rage displayed on his face was unmistakable and Wanasibwa didn’t see the need to explain. The husband entered the store adjacent to the kitchen in search of a weapon to teach the strange man the lesson of his life. Wanasibwa did not take chances and adrenaline rush took the better part of him. He jumped through the window which was partially opened and dashed towards the gate. The man of the house followed him shouting and threatening to kill him should he get hold of him. Neighbours joined him in hot pursuit of Wanasibwa who was clever enough to find refuge in a nearby police booth where he narrated his ordeal. True to the saying, expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian. skangongoi@yahoo.com