Depths of Life

By Sabrina J.

In this sweeping work, we learn of the life and experiences of Sabrina, a Kenyan girl who is carried along on the wings of fate. Encompassing the major milestones of education, love, marriage, parenthood and death. A classic romance novel with the unique quality of having the main character from Kenya. The settings are International in scope. The story ends in Bahrain, in the Arabian Gulf.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469147963

Sabrina J.

I was born in Nairobi, Kenya and fortunately come from a well-to-do background. My dad was a businessman and a professional hunter. Both my parents were highly educated. I completed my primary education in Kenya and then was sent abroad, to London, England to finish my higher studies. After school graduation, I jointed Ashford University Hospital in London and trained as a State Registered Nurse. I worked at the same hospital as a staff nurse for a while and then changed my profession to that of a banker. I took up Business Administration at Hammersmith College in West London and worked at a bank in London. I married an Arab from Bahrain and moved over to Bahrain in the 1980's. I have worked extensively for major international institutions in England, Kenya and now in Bahrain. My husband is also, an ex-banker, who now runs his own business in Real Estate. We have one son, who is grown up and has successfully completed his university education. He now works for the American Express Company as an accounts executive. Most of my family members live in England, some in the U.S.A., Australia and Kenya. We visit each other regularly. All my husband's family members mostly live in the Arabian Gulf.

Book preview

Chapter One

I recall myself as a little girl, nine years old. I came from a well-to-do background; my father was well educated and so was my mother. We were a family of five sisters and three brothers. I am the youngest of all in the family, the last sister.

Dad had his own business, a large ranch where he bred horses as well as cattle. We had a large number of cows, which provided the milk supply to almost a quarter of the population of the city of Nairobi. Besides that, he also bred goats and sheep. Our ranch was about ninety kilometers from the city itself. He employed two herdsmen who took care of the cattle. In the late afternoon when the cattle returned to their shelter after a long day’s graze, four milkmen came up to milk the cows. They had to homogenize, pasteurize the milk, put it into appropriate containers and load it into the van for distribution.

I used to go to the cattle farm to watch the milkmen milking the cows. There were many times when I would just try to milk a cow, just out of curiosity to see whether I could do it. Somehow, it interested me a lot, watching the entire process.

At our ranch, there was a special section set aside just for horses. We bred horses, just trained to run races. Dad employed six men who were skilled and took care of our horses, fed them, bathed them, trained them and took care of their health in every way.

At our ranch there was also a limestone plant, where around ten men worked for my father. Their job was to dig out the limestone, treat it in the machine, turn it into a powder, pack it into sacks and load it into the trucks for local distribution. It was a very handy business at that time. Out of all his businesses, Daddy made good money; our family was counted among the wealthy ones.

Besides all the above, Daddy had a large supermarket, where provisions of all kinds were sold, such as foodstuffs, fruit, vegetables and almost everything of necessity. Daddy employed two men to run this business. He had a good line of customers and business was flourishing. There were times when the income was so high that it took Daddy and his two employees forever to count the cash in the night.

Daddy was also a professional hunter. He would receive parties of up to eight to twelve men in a group, whom he would accompany on long hunting trip into the jungle. Sometimes he would stay out on these hunting trips for over six weeks.

These hunting trips were grand. Daddy would prepare for days for such trips. The tents had to be in order. All the men who accompanied him had to be provided with tents to live and sleep in for as long as they stayed in the jungle. Then there were motor vehicles which had to be serviced well before their departure. Then came the foodstuff. He had to have a stock, minimum for two months, because sometimes it took them longer than six weeks, as it depended mainly on what the party was hunting for – a lion, an elephant, a rhinoceros or a crocodile.

There were also the guns to take care of. They had to be serviced in order to maintain them well. Then there were local natives to think of, some trackers who knew exactly where to find what they were looking for. Daddy hired them to accompany him on these trips, as their tips were always handy.

All the above arrangements took a lot of my dad’s time and he was hardly left with any spare time to take care of his business side of life; thus he employed others to take care of that.

Chapter Two

All this time I was studying in a local junior school. Then came a time when I had to be transferred to an intermediate school and for that I had to go to the city. I left the small town and went to live with my two married sisters in the city, where I went to a senior school accompanied by my younger brother.

Living with my two sisters was like living with strangers! One of them, who was the eldest, had got married at a very young age and had three kids of her own, a boy and two girls. Her eldest son was my age, with two younger sisters. My sister was a widow. Her husband had died at a very young age, leaving behind a lot of money, which took care of her and her children. She shared a house with my second married sister, who was recently married with no kid, just she and her husband. So we all lived in the same house, where each one of us had a room to ourselves, but I had to share with my younger brother, which I did not mind at all.

In the beginning, it was very tough. I was not used to any of them, it meant getting used to their attitudes, their likes and dislikes. I was always trying my level best to please them. I missed my own mother very much, could not talk to them much, could never express my feelings. Even when I felt sick, I never told them, in case they thought I was making it up. I lived with my unexpressed feeling within me. It was like I was shut out within myself.

I did not live as a carefree person, like the other teenagers! There were many times when I had wished I lived with my own parents, who could understand me, feel for me and my little brother when we were troubled, when we had problems, in school or with other children and felt like talking to someone closer, such as a mother. My brother and I missed out on that – and felt it a lot at times.

I had to go to school on a full-time basis, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Then there were rules laid down at home, once we came back form school. Like, after school we had to come straight home, I had to get out of my school uniform immediately, wash up and prepare the afternoon tea for all of us, serve the tea and make sure to clear up the table after it was over, since we had domestic help only until 2 p.m. and then onwards we were on our own. Once that was done, I had to complete my school work, do some revision and assist my brother in his studies as well. By the time I would get over with all this, it would be almost dinner time. We children took it in turns to set the dinning table up for the entire family, since we all ate together. Once dinner was served, we had to clear the table. Then I would press my school clothes and that of my brother, keeping them ready for the next morning, take care of my books, etc. and then prepare for bed. We children mostly slept around 9.30 p.m. I was always up in the morning at 5.30 a.m.

As a growing girl, I had formed a habit of exercising for thirty minutes each morning and to date, I have not given that up. It keeps me fit.

First thing I did when I woke up was to have a wash, brush my teeth, do my regular workouts, and then take a shower, say my morning prayers and get dressed for school. At the same time, I had to take care of my younger brother, get him ready for school, make sure he had his breakfast – tea, toast and cereals – as well as myself.

Then I would rush to the bus stand to take the school bus to school; spend the entire day in school learning. I took keen interest in studies and was a very brilliant student. I actually saved four years in my school education of fourteen years including higher education (A levels) as I was promoted to higher classes for my brilliance.

As I was a teenager now, there were quite a few boys who took an interest in me. Although I went to a girls school, there were many occasions when we did come across boys, e.g. when we attended certain school functions held for all the schools including boys and girls, then when we competed in games together, etc. Then we had some nice looking boys as our neighbours who were always trying their luck in being friendly with me. Anyway, as a teenager, I was a very shy person and whenever a boy approached me, I would start blushing, my hands would become very sweaty and words would not come out of my mouth. So I tried to stay away from them as much as I could and avoided them whenever possible.

The above had a lot to do with my upbringing. My parents were very strict. They both were religious and did not believe in the mingling of young boys and girls, especially while they were at school. Both my married sisters were brought up accordingly and maintained the same strictness.

We were not allowed to go out much, just to the school and perhaps sometimes to the local shopping centre when we needed to purchase certain things. There was not much of play or fun, all serious business. We were taken out on Sundays, either to the city park, or to a movie.

I grew up as a religious person and was very much disciplined.

Chapter Three

Since I was so good in my studies, my father decided to send me to London, England to carry on with my further education, as my grades in school were excellent. I did exceptionally well in my intermediate exams and was taken into a senior school, where only after two months in form one, I was promoted into form two. Daddy had discussed the matter of me being transferred to an English boarding school in London with the headmistress, who had made arrangements for me to join form three at the beginning of the next year at a boarding school in London run by nuns in a very disciplined manner. After my dad was assured that it was one of the most reputable institutions in England, he made plans for my departure at the end of the year. I was to stay at the same school, with boarding and lodging arrangement being made for me by my father.

Daddy accompanied me to London, where we were met at the airport by the appropriate school authorities, who took us to the Duchess of Gloucester Boarding School on the outskirts of London.

Upon our arrival at the school we were met by the headmistress, who was a nun. The entire place was run by nuns, who seemed to be nice but very firm in all their ways. The headmistress was nice to us and she welcomed me very warmly. She discussed the whole school procedure with my father and then she showed him around the school dormitory, dining hall, classrooms, etc. It seemed my father was quite impressed by the immaculate state of the entire place. She also informed my father that if I did not wish to stay in shared accommodation, then I could have a separate room, for which he had to pay extra.

Daddy asked my opinion and we both agreed to having a separate room to myself, since he did not mind paying a little bit more, we both were aware that I was more of a private kind of person and would prefer my own accommodation rather than sharing.

I was shown to my room by another sister who was in charge of housekeeping. I quite liked it since it had its own attached bathroom, with built-in wardrobe. It was small but enough for one person, with a large window opening into the school garden with tall trees and flowers.

Once I was settled in, my father and I went out to his hotel where we had our evening meals. Daddy took me back to school at night and left me in the care of the school management.

When he said goodbye to me, I felt sad, as I was going to be just on my own from now onwards. Daddy knew how I felt, and encouraged me by saying he was going to send me an air ticket to travel home during my school holidays once every year and that I should not feel sad.

Next day, I was told all about the school rules and regulations and the date of commencement of school lessons, which was only after one day. I had met a couple of other girls staying on the same floor as me and together we wandered around the school grounds. We were given our school books, school uniforms and the timetables for each lesson scheduled. We were altogether around sixty girls in batches of ten in each class. Our classes commenced the next morning and everything went smoothly.

After a week, I was used to my new life. It was almost the same as at my sisters’, lot of rules to obey and hard work, which I was quite used to.

Our teachers were all nice and very helpful in every way, since they were all nuns.

Most of the girls were nice and we all got along well. I did miss my brother the most, since we both had grown up together and were more friends than brother and a sister. I wrote to him and explained to him about the cold weather in England and about my studies. Life went on smoothly, with lots of hard work from all the students, since everyone was there to achieve some goal and with the aim of getting the best out of our education. I, as usual, worked extra hard at my lessons and studied most of the time in my room, which benefited me a lot. I was among the best students of the class and my superiors were very impressed with my results. All my grades were good and my father was really happy with me. He felt proud of me: my success in school was a great glory to his dreams of education his daughter in the best possible way! He rewarded me with all my needs in the best possible way. I went home to Kenya during all the summer holidays for the next three years.

I passed all my exams with flying colours, first my GCE O levels and then A levels. Just as I was going to appear in my finals, about six months prior to that, we were asked to make decisions as to what we wanted to do next, apply for a university and select a career. I had written to my parents, who wanted me to take up teaching, but my mind was set on being a nurse. I wrote to them about it and they agreed with my wishes. I had sent applications to several reputable hospitals in London, where I could be trained as a live-in student nurse.

I got replies from several of them and one of them was the Ashford Hospital on the outskirts of London, which is considered as one of the best to train in as a nurse.

I accepted their offer and filled in the necessary formalities on the application forms they had sent me and submitted them. They wrote back to me asking me to join them at the beginning of the next year which was in three months’ time.

Upon the result of my final exam, which was Advance Levels, I had scored top marks, and thus was awarded a scholarship to train as a nurse for three and a half years at the Ashford Hospital. I talked to my parents in Kenya and my entire family was filled with joy at my success. Daddy asked me to take a long vacation in Kenya before commencing my nursing career and I did so. I flew over to Nairobi and stayed with my folks for almost two and a half months before returning to England to commence my nursing training.

I enjoyed my holiday in Kenya thoroughly. I went for a four-week beach holiday at the south cost of Mombasa Island in Kenya accompanied by my brother and my sister senior to me. Rest of the time I spent in Nairobi with my parents, which was equally enjoyable.

I returned to London just in time to start my training as a nurse at the Ashford Hospital where I was given a room of my own at the nurses’ residence within the hospital itself.

Chapter Four

My training sessions commenced shortly. We were in a group of twelve students, all females, no male student with us. We had three different tutors – two elderly English ladies and a South African lady. All of them had vast experience in the nursing field and were very good at teaching.

We had to attend classes form 8 a.m. until 12.30 p.m. and then from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. It was all hard work. Mornings we had lessons and afternoons we had practical work, when were shown how to handle very ill patients and how to care for them. We carried on with our school for three months, and after that we were sent to work in the wards, where we really had to look after the sick. It was very tough in the beginning, with things I did not want to do, such as carrying the bedpans, cleaning the bedridden, very old patients, who would mess themselves up completely, but my determination made me go through the rough patches in my nursing career.

We continued in the same manner, three months in the wards and three months in the school, for one year, at the end of which we sat for our first year exams, which all of us passed.

We had a short holiday before commencing our second year, when we all were required to work in various wards for six months to gain experience. We were sent to different wards for a period of two months in each ward, so as to familiarize us with all kinds of patients. During my training period, I had to work very hard, but there were lots of good times as well.

I started going out, sometimes with my colleagues, while at other times with some young doctors who were still under training. Whenever I had a day off or night off, I went out, for dinners and many times for dancing, in the company of other girls.

At the dancing clubs, we would meet many eligible young men, with lots of ambition; some were good-looking too. I made several friends, but was always careful and choosy. I could never get friendly very fast, especially with men; since it was my very first time getting acquainted with men, I had to be extra careful.

After I had completed my first year training, I met someone, so special, so good, a man of my dreams – just the person I had in my mind! A tall, handsome guy, with black shiny hair, very well-built and so very nice in every way!

I was shopping with a friend at one of the department stores, when I saw this attractive personality, who grabbed my attention instantly! There was something about him which made me look at him a second time, and that was when he looked at me as well; our eyes met, I felt my heart miss a beat! My hands became sweaty and I felt myself blushing, I could not go on looking at him any longer, and shifted my eyes away, as he was gazing at me too intently!

The thought of him lingered in my mind even after I went back to my room at the hospital and it stayed with me for days. I just could not get him our of my mind. There was something in him that I had liked so much.

Next week once again I went out with the same friend of mine, named Nina, when I saw him again. He looked at me with a lot of interest this time, and so did I at him. He happened to be with another guy, who was familiar to my friend, a brother of one of her friends. They said hello to each other and talked. I was, of course, introduced to him and eventually to the other guy as well, who had captured my attention. When he shook my hand, he held it for a while, we exchanged smiles and his touch on my hand felt amazingly beautiful. His name was Harry, which I found to be very sweet, as sweet as the person himself.

His friend asked us over for a cold drink at the shopping arcade cafeteria, and we accepted his offer. While we were seated sipping our drinks, we held small conversations. All this time, Harry was looking at me, and sometimes even smiling. He was more attractive when he smiled – I felt this stranger was really obsessing me with his good looks and gentle manners!

After a while, we parted, saying goodbye to each other. In my mind, I was sorry that we were parting. I felt like staying with this person for a longer time – which of course was not possible that moment, as I hardly knew him!

After this meeting two weeks elapsed. Then out of the blue, my girlfriend, Nina, was contacted by telephone by the brother of her friend (the person we had met at the shopping arcade once, who happened to be with Harry, the day we met them).

He asked Nina if I would be interested in going out with Harry, as he was very much interested in getting to know me better, and would like to take me out. A telephone number was left for me, to get in touch with Harry. I was touched, pleased, as little did he know how much I was longing to see him again!

Nina teased me a lot, as she knew how much I was attracted to Harry. She told me, ‘Your wish has come true – God has granted you an opportunity to meet the man of your dreams!’

It was my first weekend off after six consecutive days on duty. I felt that I should give him a call and see how he reacted. I could go out with him, if he asked. I had a desire to be with him. I proceeded towards the public telephone booth situated at the entrance of the nurses’ residence; my heart missed a beat, while I dialed his number.

I got him on the line and explained to him who I was. It seemed from his voice that he was thrilled to hear my voice; he told me, ‘I have been waiting to hear from you so desperately, I thought you would never call!’ He asked me when would I be off duty, so that we could meet. He said he would like to go out with me. I told him that the following day, which was a Saturday, was my day off, plus Sunday. He seemed thrilled at that, and asked me if it was possible for him to see me that evening, around 8 p.m. He said he was quite desperate and wanted to be with me, even if it was only for a short while.

When the evening came, I could not decide what to wear, since it was my first serious date with the person I adored. I had to look good.

I took out several dresses, and after trying a few, decided to wear a trouser suit in metallic blue meant for evening wear. I applied a bit of make-up, blew dry my hair and got myself into the outfit. I took a last look at myself in the wardrobe mirror and thought I looked okay. I was nervous, since this was the very first time I was going out alone with a guy whom I had liked so much! I did not have a clue what I was going to talk about, how I was going to start my conversation with him! All this time, my heart was beating quite fast. As the clock on my working desk was approaching about 7.45 p.m. I decided to go downstairs and look for his car in the parking lot. When I got down and looked through the reception area glass window, I could see his sports car, an MG, metallic green, parked right opposite the reception hall. I could also see him sitting in the car, smoking a cigarette, while his eyes were fixed on the door. It seemed he was impatient to see me. I decided to go out and meet him in the parking lot.

As I started to walk towards his car, he saw me and got out of the car. He watched me walking towards him; I felt more nervous, since I knew he was really observing me!

Somehow, I completed the distance between us; as I reached him, he extended his right hand in a greeting, waiting for a handshake with me and saying hello to me. I extend my hand in exchange and said hello to him. My hand was held by him for a while in a passionate grip, while he smiled at me and said, ‘It’s good to see you.’

I replied, saying, ‘It’s good to see you too.’ He opened the car door for me while I seated myself, and then he shut the door, came around from the other side and sat in the driver’s seat.

He looked immaculate in a black suit, a white shirt and a red tie. Once seated, he asked if it was okay if we went for some drinks first and while were there we could decide where we wanted to go for dinner. I agreed on that with him and we drove out of the hospital grounds.

We drove down to a roadside pub around the Slough area; he parked the car in the parking area and we both walked into the pub which looked quite cozy on this cool evening. He looked for a cozy corner, which we were lucky to find, and seated ourselves away from the rest of the crowd. The place was dimly lit, with not so many people around, just a few couples. After we were seated, he told me it was very nice of me to accept his offer of going out with him. I replied to him, saying that it was nice of him to ask me out. Shortly, the waitress came over to ask for our orders. He enquired what I would like to drink; I told him I would like some fresh orange juice while he settled for a pint of beer. The waitress went away taking our orders.

We looked at each other and smiled. He was cute; his looks were a bit like that of Elvis Presley, with long side-burns, and the same kind of hairstyle, with a very cute smile, which almost took my heart away! Every time I looked at him, the desire to be near him and to keep on looking at him deepened.

He asked me where would I like to go; I could not really suggest any particular place, so we decided to go for a late night movie show. We talked for a while, He asked me how long I had been under training, and when I would complete my training, and then where I planned to work once I was qualified.

Later I asked him about his job. He told me he was an aircraft engineer, still under training and working at Heathrow Airport. He said even he had to work late evening shifts sometimes. We talked about our families as well. Later, he suggested that we leave for central London, since the movie we were going to see was showing in the West End, and it was quite a drive to central London.

The film was a love story and a thriller, which we both enjoyed. After the show we went for some light snacks at one of the roadside cafeterias in the West End, and later on Harry dropped me back at the nurses’ quarters; before he left, he asked me out again the next day, since it was a Saturday, and my long weekend off. I agreed to see him, since I enjoyed his company as much as he enjoyed mine.

That night I had difficulty in getting to sleep. I kept on thinking about him; even though I had just met him, it seemed to me that I had known him for quite some time. I turned and twisted in my bed for quite some time, only got sleep in the early hours of the morning and slept quite late, missing my breakfast. I went for an early lunch at 12.30 p.m. at the nurses’ dining hall.

Somehow I carried on with the usual cleaning of my room, arranging my wardrobe, etc. and was finding it difficult to pass the day – I was anxiously waiting for the evening when were going to meet. It meant a lot to me; his face appeared in front of me most of the time that day.

Around 5.30 p.m. I started getting dressed up for my date. I wanted to look good. I wore a short skirt in black with a black shiny pullover, applied light make-up and blew dry my shoulder-length hair. I took a glance at myself in my tall wardrobe mirror, and thought I would pass for him; in other words, I looked good. I looked at my watch and realized it was almost time to go down and meet him. I took a look out of my room window, and could see his sports car parked in the parking lot.

I picked up my handbag and headed for the elevator; once inside, I pressed the button for ground floor.

This time, I was not nervous as the day before, but still my heart beat was fast, anxious to see him. I started walking towards his car and saw him getting out; he was dressed in blue jeans, a sky-blue T-shirt and a matching blue jacket. He looked handsome, as always. As I approached him, a smile appeared on his lips. He said, ‘Hello, how are you?’ and shook hands with me.

I exchanged greetings with him, holding his hand, and realized he held on to my hand for a while. Then he walked forward and opened the car door for me to be seated. After I got seated, he got in and we drove out of the hospital grounds. He looked at me, and said, ‘You look very pretty in a short dress. You also possess a very nice figure.’

I almost blushed at that and said, ‘Thank you.’

While we drove around, he enquired if I liked dancing, because he would love to dance with me and would like to take me dancing that night.

I told him I liked dancing, and quite often went dancing with my colleagues at the Hammersmith Palace in West London. He was delighted to hear me say that. He asked me which nightclub we should go to. I told him it was entirely up to him to decide. He said he would like to take me to Tiffany’s in the West End, where we could dine, watch a cabaret show and later on dance the night away, to which I agreed. Later on he asked me what time I had to get back to my quarters. I told him, since it was my weekend off, I could return at 2 a.m. or even stay the night out. He asked me whether I had ever stayed the night out, to which I replied that I had never done that, as I had no immediate relatives in London but only a few good friends whom I visited until late at night but never stayed the entire night out! He said to me, ‘You are a very disciplined person.’ I just smiled away at him.

He had already made reservations for a table at Tiffany’s and we drove there around 9 p.m. We were given a very nice table just facing the floor, where the main show was going to be held. This was my very first time in the this place, I liked the interior décor of the place, it was very impressive very romantic.

The waiter came with large menus for us to look at and enquired about our drinks. Harry asked me if I would like some wine to start with and I agreed, so he ordered a bottle of chilled white wine while we looked through the menu.

Our bottle of wine arrived and the waiter served us. We made a toast to our friendship and sipped our wine. Later we placed our orders for food, which was served to us in twenty minutes’ time and was delicious. All this time, Harry talked with me, asked me questions. He also mentioned to me how much he was attracted to me. He told me the first time he saw me while in the shopping arcade, he wanted to approach me, but was scared that I might not like the idea.

He asked me if I liked his company, as he said he liked mine a lot, and wanted me to be his steady ‘girl’. He also asked whether I was going steady with anyone – to which I replied that I was seeing no one in particular. I told him I went out a couple of times with some guys, but no one was my steady boyfriend. I told him yes, I did like his company a lot and we could be friends.

He told me about himself. He said he also went around with some girls, but no one in particular was his steady girlfriend. He said he would feel honoured if I became his steady girlfriend, as he liked me a lot. He also mentioned that he would like to see me more, and if we could go out whenever it was my day off. I did explain to him that my duties were odd, sometimes, late evenings, while at other times, night duties for two to three months.

He said he understood, and would like me to keep him informed in advance about them. I promised him that I would do so.

The night was thoroughly enjoyable. The show started around 11 p.m. and lasted for one and a half hours. After the show, there was music, when everyone took to the dance floor and so did we. When he held me in his arms, my body really close to him, it felt great! I found it to be so peaceful, so comfortable in his arms; these feelings never came to me with any of the other boys I had been out with. There was some sort of magic in his touch!

His touch made me go wild! I felt as if I were being swept off my feet by this charming prince! The feeling of wonderfulness, unfortunately, had to come to an end since it was approaching 1.30 a.m. and we had to leave. I asked him if he could drop me back at the nurses’ quarters and he obliged me. While on our way, driving towards the hospital, he stopped the car for a