Fortitude

14-Foolish

Mtikisa mbuyu hujitikisa mwenyewe
(One who tries to shake a baobab tree only shakes oneself.)
Meaning: There are things that cannot be changed.

______________________________________

Raziya

"Hey strawberry," Taji said walking up to me and gave me a hug. I went in for my usual side hug. His scent was intoxicating and I didn't want to lose my head over it in church. I also didn't want to see Lily's reaction to what he just called me. He gave Lily a hug then walked with us to the seats I'd booked. I could feel Lily's eyes digging into my back as she itched to ask what that was all about. Taji and I were together the previous day and for some reason, I honestly couldn't wait to see him again.

"Hey Taji, we have a fund raiser at work later in the day, wanna tag along?" Lily asked as we sat down. Mr. Fumo, our boss, had sent us an email on Friday inviting us to some charity event he was organising. I hadn't mentioned it to Taji probably because I hadn't seen the need to. The weird part was, immediately the question landed on him, his face turned pale. He shook it off then turned to me with a small smile, his beautiful eyes begging me to say yes,"Will you be there strawberry?"

"Yeah sure," I said with a slight blush. In the brief period of knowing this guy, I've been more flustered than I've been my whole life. The service started and we all got up for the proceedings. It was kind of weird at first seeing how hard he was trying to follow along with the music. Taji had two left feet and it didn't help that was next to Lily who seemed like she'd been picked out of a reality TV dance show. It was really cute seeing him like that.

He took notes as the pastor spoke and at some point he actually took out his Bible and asked for a highlighter. As he flipped through the pages, I noticed a lot of girly doddle art next to highlighted scriptures in all sorts of colours. It's not everyday that you see that in something a man owns. He noticed me staring as he highlighted the verse he heard the pastor read out and looked up at me with a smile. I gestured to the little cute drawings and he got the message. "It's my mum's Bible, she did this a lot," he whispered as he leaned over. "Ssshhh, you'll flirt later," Lily whispered to us. We both rolled our eyes and turned our attention back to the ongoing sermon.

His mum's.
Doesn't she use it anymore?
And why is he speaking about her in the past tense?
I really need to get to know him more.

After the sermon, the pastor called out for an alter call. I felt Taji's body tense as the call was made. I glanced over at him, internally hoping he'd heed to the call. He seemed a bit shaky. His palms were probably sweaty since he was rubbing them over his laps. His breathing hastened and for a second I was afraid that he'll start hyperventilating. He held on tightly to his trembling knees to the extent that his veins started popping up as his head remained bowed. I reached over and placed one arm around his shoulder and the other on one of his hands and whispered to him,"Are you okay?"

He sighed, his muscles relaxing under my touch and whispered back," I think it's about time, just a bit scared to walk all the way there," he raised up his head gesturing the pulpit.

"I can come with you,"

The fear in his eyes dissipated. "Are you sure you don't mind the attention?"

"Taji," I started, tightening my grip on this shoulder. "There's nothing to be ashamed of in the presence of God," I continued with an assuring smile. He let out a breath he'd been holding then smiled back. He got up, holding on tightly to my hand as we walked to the front. Someone else from the crowd got up and followed suit. He was probably waiting for someone to spearhead the walk. With every step, the cheer around us roared louder and louder. Times like these made me appreciate being part of a church family. Everyone was always pumped when someone new gave their life to Christ.