Love turns sour at first sight

By ERIC LUNGAI

Students at a campus in Eldoret got something to chuckle about when a girl dumped an elderly man fiancÈe she had never met physically on the spot, saying he was not her kind.

The man had travelled all the way from Mombasa to see his ‘lover’ with whom they had been dating on a social site for three weeks when the unanticipated happened.

A day earlier, she had announced to her friends that her fiancÈ, who was American, was coming to see her on campus.

That Friday, she spent a substantial time tidying up her room to make sure that it looked fresh, tidy and appealing to the visitor. When she was done, she ‘exiled’ her roommate indefinitely.

Abuse

In fact, she had in the past been very harsh to men who tried to seduce her on campus, chasing and abusing those she didn’t fancy.

Rumour spread fast that the second year ‘proud’ girl was expecting a ‘white’ visitor who was her fiancÈ. Her friends were green with envy. Perhaps to prepare them, she had for about one week proudly switched to speaker phone each time he called so that her friends could hear him speak.

When the man called and told her that he had arrived, she alerted her friends who got out and waited to see him. Next, she directed a motorcyclist to pick and drop him at her doorstep.

Since the motorcyclist knew the room well, the man was brought almost immediately. Something, however, struck her as odd immediately the motorbike halted next to her hostel room door.

Vibrant

The person was an old man supporting himself on a walking stick. She was taken aback. The photos she had been circulating to her friends showed a young, vibrant and handsome man. The girl looked at the gate, then at the motorcyclist and finally asked him in Kiswahili, "Ni huyu mzee tu ndiye alikuwa kwa stage (is this old man the only person you found at the bus stop)?"

The motorcyclist nodded and waited to be paid. Meanwhile, the old man was increasingly becoming impatient and asked, "Can I come in?"

She didn’t answer immediately. Her friends wondered why she was restless as some approached to shake the visitor’s hand.

"No, he isn’t the one I was telling you about. My fiancÈ is younger and will visit soon," she turned her back on the old man and slammed the door.