It was at night, but it could as well be day. The car I was driving had two suns for head lights. It had lightening in the exhaust pipe, and thunder under the engine. The road had no traffic, so I eat it like fish with no bone, no need for caution. Clear road, just flying away.
At 2am the road is as smooth as jelly, no traffic, no distraction. Just lovely music coming out of the stereo.
I could see Nairobi on my side mirror, I could see Kikuyu on my windscreen mirror, my electronic maps told me Limuru was close.
I passed Limuru by a distance.
A little out of town, I noticed the road. I hear such places car failure is as good as the end of your life. If you got a puncture on that road that cuts through the forest, don't try to fix the car. Just get out of the car, get a hoe, dig yourself a grave. Robbers would have their brutal way with you.
I was alone, I could feel a chill run through my spin. I felt lucky. At that black death spot, I drove faster.
"no, please don't stop."
"do you want to stop?"
I hit the steering as if it would urge the car to perform.
"come on, come on..."
I pressed the clutch in a desperately, I fiddled with the gear anxiously, i turned the acceleration key.
I could see the night outside, I could see the darkness, I could see myself stop, I could see men covered in masks coming out of the bushes happy they have fresh meat. I saw myself dying, that's why I couldn't let myself switch on the hazard lights. To me that meant surrender.
The car jerked, good girl, and it moved, it was loud but it moved. Back to it's normal self.
Oh, had it decided to break down on me, I would be dead by now, I would have been sliced like met, everything I owned, everything I was wearing would be taken from me, the car would be dismantled to screws, the screws would be sold before they discovered my body.
The car stopped.
I tried to press the hazard. But all was off, lights off, electric door, dead, window off, everything electronic of. From a distance it was like the car wasn't there. The night was so dark. The car was so dark. If an oncoming car was overtaking, it would meet mine in a sudden head on colusion, and I wouldn't blame the driver.
If a car came from behind, it would be surprised to met mine right there on the road in a crush. And if the driver tried to escape, he would fly off the bridge. I was trapped.
I had two options, to let the car be my grave, wait to be hit while am inside, or to leave it, stand outside and die in the hands of a robbers knife.
I chose the robber. At least then I could fight.
So there I was, seated on the tarmac pavement looking at the car on the road from a distance. I could see drivers almost hitting it, especially busses and lorries, they would come hooting, angrily at the car that lay on the road. But then they would overtake it, I was glad they did, it's better than to watch it hit off the cliff.
Every time I saw men walking by the car, they looked into the drivers seat, the window was open, but the oncoming traffic lights kept them off. They were men that walked by the high way at 2 in the morning...
