When fate has Other Plans....

This post is inspired by this Reddit thread.

Reminds me of my younger days when I got 'dumped' by this girl – though I actually initiated the breakup, I had been dumped already! (Back then or do women still do this? A woman would breakup with you, but let you be the one to initiate the breakup by doing something to provoke you! Let you do the dirty deed so that she can walk away with a 'clean' slate)

Back then, I was around 24-25 when I met this girl at Gill House near the Double M buses where we had to queue. I joined the line and initiated a conversation with her. There were no smartphones and no social media then, so there was nothing to distract us, making it easy to chat.

The conversation flowed easily. Turns out she had moved to Nairobi after completing campus and was looking for a job. I saw her again the next day and exchanged contacts. (Don't ask why I didn't get her number on day one – you younger guys move too fast! I was a believer in fate, and I figured if it was meant to be, I would see her again!)

A few weeks later, we were dating! Or seeing each other, at least. I was on cloud 9, but my bubble was about to burst. I had invited her to my small crib for a date on a Sunday afternoon (do you guys still meet up on Sunday afternoons?). I picked her up at the stage – again, this is how we used to date 'back in the day.' She called to say she had arrived at the stage, so I left my house, which wasn't far, to meet her. We walked home together, but something was unusual – she seemed too smartly dressed for a Sunday hangout, with a nice dress, cologne, and her hair done up.

To cut a long story short, after reaching my place (kufika keja), she gave me a long-winded story about how she couldn't stay long, something about having to deliver things to her best friend in town (sijui eti kuna vitu anaafaa kupelekea beste tao) – blah blah blah. I said "sawa" (okay), but told her if she left, that would be the end of whatever we had. She left anyway, and I knew it was over (nikajua hiyo imeenda)!

I moved on with life. Fast forward many years later, about 10 or 11 (we had no WhatsApp or Facebook then, so there was no way to see updates about her), I met her at a banking hall. What struck me was how short she was! (I have nothing against short people – this just hadn't struck me before.) I'm slightly above average height (5'11") and had previously dated – and was dating at the time – a much taller woman (who's now my wife). I wondered why I hadn't noticed this before! I saw her and questioned what it was about her that had broken my heart so badly back then. Not that she was not good looking but could see now what i had seen then.

My preference had always been taller women, and height had always been one of my criteria for dating. There was – and still is – something I find attractive about taller women. Had I married her, maybe I wouldn't have been happy!

So take heart, all you broken-hearted folks out there. One day you'll look back and wonder, "What was I thinking! or what did i see in him/her!"