The Chase

One evening, not too long ago, I took a walk on the back roads of a Kampala suburb.

Back then, Makindye’s back roads were dirt lines of bright red clay easily bestirred by the footstep.

And as dust was literally kicked up by one’s walking the line, a mournful silence fell upon the road’s surroundings.

At both sides of the road stood a muted riot of homesteads which rendered a portraiture of waking solace to a Kampala evening.

As one looked closer, lingering lights pierced the darkness with fiery fanfare.

And several persons moved briskly about—shuffling, frantic, random, ebbing, flowing, searching—doing what they must at such a time.

I turned towards a solitary path.

Its emptiness and silence were a chorus of blank balladry.

I felt rested, totally at one with the peace around me.

Then, suddenly, like a bat out of hell, a huge animal came charging at me!

I couldn’t at first make out what it was but after a few moments…I could see the silhouette of either a bull or a bull-like cow.

And it was heatedly rushing at me as if I was the bullfighter whose usually lethal sword-thrust somehow only injured it this time.

My adrenaline up-ticked like some imitation Nike sneakers.
.
Damn!

I don’t know how the decision was made, but my legs suddenly started moving!

As soon as I spun on my heels, I found myself sprinting for Gold, and winning!

Sweat glistened and streamed down my face as I heard the thuds of that bovine creature gaining ground on me.
I didn’t realize whether anybody else was around.

At the time, my existential world was inhabited by me and the four-legged stampeder hot on my tail.
And it pursued me as if it had no tail itself, and so wanted mine as compensation for Nature’s oversight.

I ran.
Then I took a right, so did it.
I took a left, so did it!
I took a couple more lefts and rights, but this animal was on me like mismatched voice overs are on a low budget Kung Fu movie.
And boy was it going to kick my ass.

I took another right, then a left.
And it did exactly the same!

Pretty soon the animal and I were sliding; grooving left and right like two dancers as the evening breeze windily blushed at the spectacle.

This was not going to be my last dance partner in this life, I said to myself.

And just as inexplicably as the bull had appeared, it suddenly receded into the night.
But I was still running, running…until the drumbeat of my heart quietened to give sound to the calm around me.

There was no longer a thudding frenzy of pursuit behind me, so I stopped while breathing heavily and sweating fluently.
My clothing clung to me tight as the wetness of my body became gluey in its liquidity.
The quiescent puddle of sweat that expanded around me was deep of lake.

I almost died, I thought to myself.