The other day, as I was home relaxing, my TIGO phone rung or rather beeped; I would not call that ringing because, it was just in a flash of a second and the caller had cut the line faster than it had gone on! That is what I would call “professional beepers”, someone who presses the call key with one finger as the other is resting on the NO! Despite the phone being right in front of me, I did not even hear it ring, just saw the screen go on and then off again! I suppose that is the price of being a celebrity! I know, there are lots of people out there trying to rubbish me off as a mere villager but for real, I am not a mere villager but an accomplished one; how many people have their ways of thinking exposed for the whole world to see? Not many and I am one of them! It is for the above reason and maybe others unknown to me that, people keep trying to take advantage of me!As I was saying, the phone flashed and when I checked, I did not know the caller and maybe will never. I placed the phone back on the table and as fast as it had beeped, an SMS came in and read as follows “Muraho! Ndishimye kongera kubona number yanyu, gusa birashoboka kuba mutanyibuka kuko hashize igihe, ni Krissy bonn nuit” (hi, I’m happy to get your number again, maybe you no longer remember me cause it’s a long time, I’m Krissy, good night)! This left me wondering; I tried scratching my rusty brains for anyone called Krissy but couldn’t figure anyone out! Curiosity took the better of me and I decided to call this person who claimed to know me! As soon as the phone rang, it was cut, I tried again, same story, and then an SMS came in saying, “aha ndi nta network ihari, ntago twakumvikana, tuzavuga ejo. Thx” (where I am, there’s no network, we won’t hear each other, let’s talk tomorrow, thanks) I was left wondering as to who this stranger was and what he or she wanted from me! The next afternoon, again the phone flashed from same number and I was forced to call back and have the mystery solved. How was I going to live with such suspense anyway? The voice on the other end of the line answered, “Haalo, ni Krissy muvugana” (hello, it’s Krissy you are talking to)! It was a female voice speaking from a very noisy background. Yes Krissy, how may I help you? I Asked! She began narrating the same story as in her earlier SMS messages. She told me that she had at long last managed to get my number after so long because she had lost her phone where the number had been saved! One thing that is for sure, neither her name nor her voice did ring any bell in my mind! Maybe my mind was playing me tricks; if you appeal to one sense and it lets you down, you should try a second and third one, who knows? (To be Cont’d) mfashumwana@fastmail.fm
