Isidora

By Kally -Jay Mkwawa

Spending the better part of your life being called a good listener, a weirdo, a hermit or a ‘mirror of ugly truths’ and a walking-talking memory machine isn’t at all what it’s cut out to be. To a large extent, it’s a lonely life. You arrive into this life without even meaning to and suddenly it seems that you carry the weight of the whole world on your shoulders. You get sucked into it quite easily and coming up for a breath of fresh air is not easy at all.

This is an account that will give the reader, an idea of what Isidora has encountered in this beautiful, yet twisted and noisy place called the world. It’s not a long story with a happy ending (at least not so far). Rather, it’s about the reasons for her tears, worries, the unending voices in her head and the blows that life threw at her. It’s also about those precious moments of sheer joy and last, but certainly not least, her encounter with Him. Hopefully, sharing her story will find others who can relate to it and make them feel they’re not alone. Writing this work has been like an ‘extension’ of herself whilst overcoming her fear of hurting people or being compelled to ‘walk on eggshells’. It’s one of her legacies and as always, has been her type of therapy. May it be a type of therapy or an inspiration for you too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kally -Jay Mkwawa
• Release date: Jun 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463359723

Book preview

ISIDORA

The Life, Mind and Memories of an African Phoenix

ISIDORA

The Life, Mind and Memories of an African Phoenix

Kally - Jay Mkwawa

Copyright © 2018 Kally -Jay Mkwawa

Published by Kally -Jay Mkwawa Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by L.J. Mkwawa using Reach Publishers’ services,

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 14113

Author’s contact email

[e-mail]

Edited by Gil Harper for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

Contents

Acknowledgments

1. The Beginning

2. Until the end of junior high

3. Snail mail issues

4. For the boy with the extra set of eyes

5. When I was that man’s muse

6. To the stranger I once knew

7. That ‘Heavy Love’ that wasn’t so heavy

8. A walking-talking jukebox, lover of books and children, and a birthdates whiz

9. My family, the ones who became family, my friends and some of my encounters

10. A Divine encounter (to He whose Love for me is eternal)

11. Conclusion

Acknowledgments

The list of people mentioned in this part (except for the first show of ‘gratitude’), are in no order of importance. Each person and moment played a unique part in contributing to my writing. It’s all love.

My sincere gratitude goes to Him who has always had my back my entire life. I praise Him, believe and thank Him abundantly and I’m more than sure He already knows I am writing this and that my gratitude is from the heart.

I thank those who were there for me always as my parents and teachers. I can only hope and pray that during the course of my life I have made them proud. From when I was an infant to when I supposedly ‘grew up’ and through it all, they have always been my parents. To my sisters, brother-in-law, nieces and people I have met along this journey: asante sana (thank you): I love and dedicate this ink to you. To my Chechi (my own version of a fairy godmother), to ‘Me-Heart’, my ‘Burberry’ my ‘Kryptonian’, my friends, to the sisters and brothers I chose and my family, colleagues and ex-colleagues, you will always be a blessing to me.

To my dearly departed, I miss you every day and I thank you too so very much. May He continue to rest your souls in peace and I pray to see you again someday. And last, but definitely not least, to those who will take the time to read this whole book, merci beaucoup! (thank you)

Asanteni sana for being my inspiration.

1

The Beginning

I was definitely not a happy ‘sunshine and rainbows’ kind of child growing up in Tanzania. I love this place I call home immensely but not all my memories of it are good. The few that follow are definitive, can’t-be-changed brief facts about me. You will find the real story behind these from the chapters that follow, but as for this one, each paragraph is a short description of my character. You can skip this chapter if you’d like, but I strongly feel it will prepare you, as the reader, for what is to come and thus allow you to travel through my mind and memories as I grew up.

• I think an incredible amount. I don’t know when or how it started and it is not that it’s a hobby. Thinking is something that I just can’t help but do and sadly there’s no ‘on’ or ‘off’ switch to this annoying yet self-embraced habit of mine. For example, when I was younger, while the rest of my family were talking and happy and jovial, I’d find a reason to crouch in a corner, and hum a sad tune to myself which eventually ended up with me in tears. Whenever I was asked what was wrong with me, I simply didn’t have a good reason. Some might say I just wanted attention but growing up, I always disliked the limelight no matter how many times it came to find me. My mother says that of all her daughters, I used to cry a lot as an infant and they didn’t know why. I wonder if that contributed to why even now, I just cry about everything be it anger, joy, hunger, pain, frustration, weariness or any extreme emotion. I’m simply just a weirdo and over the years I’ve totally accepted myself as being one.

I love and loved playing with kids. Growing up I used to enjoy playing kidari (tag), kombolela (hide and seek) and rede (sorry, I can’t find the English word for this game,