His brain was in overdrive

By Onie Ndoro | Nov. 12, 2023

A number of commuters were milling around Rezende Street. There were some light showers and many commuters were seeking shelter on the shop fronts.

I arrived a bit early home from work than usual. This was because I managed to get a ride home much sooner than expected.

By the time I arrived at the bus terminus, a number of commuters were milling around Rezende Street. There were some light showers and many commuters were seeking shelter on the shop fronts.

And as usual, when it was raining, the kombi operators raised the kombi fares by doubling the price. As I was absent-minded at the time of boarding the kombi, I only realised when it was too late to disembark that the fare had doubled.

Luckily enough, I had a dollar on me and I paid through the nose.

Other commuters would wait until peak hour was over. After that fares would return to normal. As I had arrived home early, I intended to go and see Baba VaTata whom I had not seen for several days.

As it happened, the first person I saw when I arrived home was the landlord, Mr Tigere. With him was another man I had never met before. He was a perfect stranger. My wife, Mai Maidei was hovering just by the entrance glaring at them. I must say I was not too pleased to see my landlord either.

The moment he laid his eyes on me, he suddenly got excited and almost bounced on his feet. He was too excitable.

There was no love lost between my wife and Mr Tigere. I glared at him, hoping he would melt away. The other man looked down at his feet in discomfort.

Keep Reading

“Mr Tigerehedu has come to evict us,” said Mai VaMaidei using the landlord's full name.

I was alarmed. It was not even the last day of the month.

“I want you out of my house this time. I am tired of your hide and seek games,” he said.

“But I have the money for next month's rent and I am up to date with my payments,” I protested.

“I don't want your money anymore. I have brought my new tenant. I want him to take a look at the house,” he said, using his forefinger to point at the man beside him.

The other man continued to look down at his feet. I could see that he was not enjoying this.

“You are not going to enter the house, you cannot just bring strangers to intrude into our privacy,” said Mai VaMaidei.

I nodded in agreement. “Surely Mr Tigere, there is a better way of doing this,” I said.

“You cannot tell me to what to do with my house,” he said bitterly.

“But you must give us adequate notice,” I said.

“You are big-headed, you don't deserve a notice at all. You have defaulted many times in the past,” he said.

He could not keep his feet in one place whenever he was excited or agitated.

Even though I did not see my neighbours, I knew from experience that they were peeping through their windows and trying to catch every word.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the other man start to move away bit by bit.

“Where are you going? “ asked Mr Tigere, turning around backwards.

“I think there are complications here, I will find other accommodation,” said the man.

“You should wait, don’t listen to these two,” said Mr Tigere, his voice was raised a pitch high.

But the man continued to walk away, all the time shaking his head from side to side.

“See what you are doing, you are driving away my new tenant,” said Mr Tigere, as he opened his palms in desperation. I wanted to burst out laughing. He scratched his head in exasperation. He looked like he wanted to run after the man but then he thought better of it.

“You think you are clever?” He asked. He was perturbed.

I kept my mouth shut. I knew a compromise was in the making. He could not just give in. And deep in his heart of hearts, he knew he was not going to find a new tenant anytime soon. His brain was in overdrive. He could not afford to miss a month or two of rentals.

“Pay your rent this moment or you get out of my house,” he said. “I don't want to hear any stories, “ he added.

I went into the house and retrieved the money from under the mattress where we kept it. All the time, Mai VaMaidei kept guard at the entrance.

We only saw his back after we paid his money. He went away bouncing on his toes as if he owned the air we breathe. I breathed a sigh of relief.