Chapter 4

In Warume, Gatamu was on his toes. He prayed day and night for things to fall together as soon as possible. Not only did he have the trouble of confining these dreams and his intense feelings for Peninah to himself but also, to mask them from Silviah. She hardly left his back. In fact, Silviah was more of a tick than his love. As it is hard to keep the tick off the veins, so it was to keep her from Gatamu.

He tried his best to keep his feelings for the civic girl Peninah curbed but…not hard enough I guess. Some things, especially feelings, are hard to conceal from women, especially with them always around you and by your side. It was not long and Silviah noted Gatamu’s sudden lack of interest in her. She could also not keep it to herself and had to ask Gatamu a question about it.

She went ahead to ask of what had gone wrong since his visit to Malaba district for the project. Gatamu tried to get himself off the hook but men… was it so tight! As much as Gatamu mentioned the massive water project to be the source of his destruction, Silviah could not help to wonder how. How can a project such as that be of more importance to a man than his woman? She wondered.

As an answer to that question, she had suspicion with a fact for sure. The only thing that can get a man’s attention from his woman could only be, another beautiful woman. Due to her status and class, she could not imagine of any other woman that Gatamu could have fallen for. If indeed Gatamu had fallen for another woman, she must have been an angel and, Silviah was eager to find out about her.

She looked bothered to the heart, “My Prince, my love, what is happening to us since your trip to Ruaki village? Did our love go for the same trip as well but failed to return?” Silviah asked.

Putting on a sure-of-what-I-say face, “Why do you ask these questions Silviah? I do not understand what you mean by that,” Gatamu replied.

Silviah made faces stabbing her finger towards him, “Do not play dump with me Gatamu… come clean! Did you find another woman? Who could she be anyway? What good woman can come from such ruins of a village?” she asked.

Putting on a serious tough face, “Silviah, this has gone too far. What has come over you? I have no other woman…and stop that insolence! Those in the bucolic are people too. If you must know, I have headed a major project there and therefore, I thought you should understand that I may seem preoccupied for a while,” Gatamu said.

She moved back a little and held her six with the right hand and with her left leg slightly in front, “What do you take me for, uh?” she asked shaking her head slightly up and down in anger, “What project could be of more importance to you than me, your woman?” Silviah continued bitterly.

He walked slowly forward towards her, “I take you for nothing less or more than the woman you are but…I can now see that you might have become something else when I was away. Let us have this talk another day. As you can see my dear, it is such a quite cool morning and I am heading out. I wish to preserve its tranquility and do not want you ruining the rest of my day either. It is still way too early for trouble neither am I in the mood for it. So please…if you may, I have to run!” Gatamu said as he left for his convoy.

She turned to look at him as he walked past her, “Well Mr. Prince, it’s your world against mine. You belong to me…and me alone! You had better get this into that sick head of yours…or I will do it for you! I swear to find out about this woman….and if I do…just pray that I don’t Mr. Man…just pray I do not prince…pray hard,” Silviah reprimanded as she slowly followed.

He turned back at her, “Suit yourself woman! A piece of advice though; watch your tongue as well as your step,” Gatamu concluded.

After the heated dialogue with Silviah, Gatamu knew one thing for sure. Silviah was the crazy type and could go to any extent just to prove her point. That was yet another bone for him to crush. Meanwhile, he left for his doctor friend’s house to seek some more advice on the way forward. After that heated dialogue that seemed not to solve or give her any answers, she could not extend her stay in the palace. She also followed and left and very angry with the prince.