Edwin's Corner

I had gone to Diani after a tough year, having lost my father. I was doing what I love at the beach, which is walking aimlessly with reckless abandon, while staring at the horizon. My head was empty. The ocean was calm, resembling a waxed turquoise floor.   At that moment, something occupied the periphery of my vision to the left. Many boats were near the beach, but this particular one stood out, as if it were an accident waiting to happen. It had a flat white top, with blurry insignia on the side, floating a kilometer away. Six foreigners, likely from the backpacking fraternity, were diving from the flat top, having the time of their lives.   I felt something get stuck in my throat, so I swallowed. It was a taste of disgust. I quickly looked at my feet, ashamed. As a rush of sadness bathed over me. I felt cleansed by the salty water slapping against my feet. I looked again to my left. They were still there enjoying the ocean while I was wallowing in mild depression....

Rebecca stood at the edge of a deep and steep ravine. She had walked the winding, lonely route to this point alone, lost in thought.  The view before her was beautiful. Majestic winding hills curved by a masterful hand. Shades of green and brown traded with yellow and grey as her eyes sought the answers she was looking for. Rebecca had seen tremendous success. She had climbed to the top, and still, something was not right. She held something in her hands, unable to carry it in her rucksack. I am wealthy. I am caring. I am happy. She had affirmed herself many times and had seen these come to light. ‘God said I AM.’ In this statement lies the infinite existence of God and the limitless possibilities present before man. Rebecca, from a young age, discovered she was many things: intelligent, charismatic, and curious, and she embodied these and many more. But as she stood there in awe, she wondered. “I may have forgotten who I am, or what I am, or where I am. But did I for...

“She was nothing to me, baby,” Robert said desperately. She didn’t look convinced. “She led me on and wanted me to have a relationship with her,” She shook her head. “She said that a good man should be shared.” Sandra had walked in on her husband of five years to find him in a compromising position with Hellen, a nurse she knew. Sandra and Robert were doctors. Sandra would have none of it. Neighbors reported later hearing screaming and cries for mercy and a deep groan like an animal going through a deathly ordeal. When they charged into the Airbnb, they were assaulted by a gory display of blood everywhere. Sandra sat at the dining table, numb and withdrawn from her surroundings. Her hands were on the table, with her right hand firmly holding a bloody slicing knife, which was missing from a knife set in the kitchen area a short walk away. Sandra was covered in blood. The blood trickled down and formed a meandering path into the corridor. Face first on the floor was Robert, with multiple...

One of the most intricate emotions to process is grief. I have seen people destroy themselves and lose their minds in trying to reason loss. The scapegoat may vary from the faceless enemy in the tomb of our consciousness to a specific person or people. We love a good scapegoat to blame for all our troubles. In grief, wars have been fought, atrocities committed, and lives lost. A few years ago, I lost my father. An enigma that I have tried to solve most of my life. A man who was kind, gentle, and present. A man who withered before my very eyes. Muscle, sinew, and ligament dissolved into bone, and skin folded into a tent for a once vigorous and happy man.    Standing at the door of a bleak future, I refused to open it. When circumstances forced the door ajar, I came to the same door down the corridor. I was confused, lost, and disoriented—the reverberation of a sheltered life, one where my father, once a provider and protector to many, needed the same in return. An oas...

The idea of being born free and equal was enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). A document crafted with the help of Eleanor Rosevelt, and announced on 10th December 1948 by the United Nations. This was a few years after World War II where almost 120 million people perished, or 5% of the world’s 2.3 billion population then. By today’s scale, that would mean wiping out the entire East African Community. A staggering toll of death and destruction. This document inspired UN member countries to enact laws ensuring that as long as you were born a human being, you had certain rights.   The Bible says, ‘We are all created in the image of God’ which signifies inherent dignity and worth. Thus, worthy even before we add or deduct from our lives. The image of God - able to reflect him morally, intellectually, and spiritually.    Yet, our dark history shows us devolving from Eden. Cain killed his brother Abel because of jealousy.  He then went for...

It had been two days since the event. Two ladies were seated at a restaurant having dinner. One of them, Sue, heaved visibly. She remembered how it all began.       Sue was locked in a present ennui, watching trees turn into a foggy green, and zooming by. The further they were, the more picturesque they appeared. Rolling hills majestically hewn from the ground. Robert had sent her fare to visit him in the big city. This was a virgin voyage. Raised in Embu, she had never charted a course to Nairobi. Her mother, a nurse, had never thought it necessary. Her father, a businessman, had died when she was a teenager.                  Sue had met Robert on a dating app.   The chemistry was instant. ‘He makes me feel special,’ she wrote in her diary. Yet couldn’t bring herself to tell Agatha, her best friend, what she was up to. “I am traveling to Nairobi to visit my aunt,...